Hún spurði hvort hlaðvarpið væri betra með þessari stillingu eða hvort hún ætti að hlusta á það í öðru forriti.

Hvort means whether.

In this sentence, it introduces an indirect yes/no question:

• hvort hlaðvarpið væri betra...
• eða hvort hún ætti...

So the structure is basically:

• She asked whether X ... or whether Y ...

The second hvort is there because the sentence is comparing two possibilities. In English, we can say either whether X or Y or whether X or whether Y. Icelandic often does the same.

Væri is the past subjunctive of vera (to be).

It is used because the sentence reports a question rather than stating a fact directly. The speaker is not saying that the podcast actually was better; she is asking whether it might be / was better under that setting.

So:

• er = is
• var = was
• væri = were / would be / might be, in an indirect or hypothetical sense

In reported questions and other less certain situations, Icelandic often uses the subjunctive.

Here ætti comes from eiga, but not in the sense of to own. In Icelandic, eiga að often means should / ought to / be supposed to.

So:

• hún ætti að hlusta = she should listen

Ætti is the past subjunctive form, matching the indirect-question style of the sentence, just like væri does.

This is very common in reported speech:

• Hún spurði hvort hún ætti að fara. = She asked whether she should go.

Hlaðvarpið means the podcast.

The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the word instead of using a separate word like English does.

So:

• hlaðvarp = a podcast
• hlaðvarpið = the podcast

This is one of the most important features of Icelandic nouns.

Because hlaðvarpið is neuter singular, the adjective has to match it.

The adjective betri means better, but it changes form depending on gender, number, case, and whether it is strong or weak.

Here the form is:

• betra = neuter singular

Since hlaðvarpið is a neuter noun, you get:

• hlaðvarpið væri betra = the podcast would be better

Þessari stillingu is in the dative case.

That is because it follows the preposition með (with), and með usually takes the dative when it means with in the sense used here.

So:

• með þessari stillingu = with this setting

Breaking it down:

• þessi = this
• þessari = dative feminine singular form of þessi
• stilling = setting
• stillingu = dative singular of stilling

Because í here means in, and in this sentence it describes location or place, not motion into something. When í expresses location, it takes the dative.

So:

• í öðru forriti = in another app/program

Breaking it down:

• annað forrit = another program/app
• öðru forriti = dative singular, because of í

Also note that forrit is neuter, so the adjective has the neuter form öðru.

Because hlusta normally takes the preposition á.

So the pattern is:

• hlusta á eitthvað = listen to something
• hlusta á einhvern = listen to someone

That is why the sentence has:

• að hlusta á það = to listen to it

English says listen to, while Icelandic says hlusta á. You just have to learn this as part of the verb.

Það refers back to hlaðvarpið.

Even though hlaðvarpið is neuter singular and means the podcast, when it is replaced by a pronoun after hlusta á, it becomes:

• það = it

So:

• hlusta á hlaðvarpið = listen to the podcast
• hlusta á það = listen to it

The word order is normal for a subordinate clause introduced by hvort.

The basic pattern is:

• hvort + subject + verb

So:

• hvort hlaðvarpið væri betra = whether the podcast were better

Unlike main clauses, subordinate clauses in Icelandic do not usually show the same kind of verb-second behavior. So this word order is exactly what you would expect after spurði hvort.

Because ætti is followed by að + infinitive.

This is the normal construction with eiga að in the sense of should / ought to:

• ég á að fara = I am supposed to go
• hún ætti að hlusta = she should listen

So the að here is the infinitive marker, similar to English to in to listen.

They are different case forms of the same noun.

• forrit = nominative/accusative singular
• forriti = dative singular

In the sentence, forriti is required because it comes after í in a location sense:

• í öðru forriti = in another app

This is very typical in Icelandic: nouns change form depending on their grammatical role and the prepositions used with them.

Yes, that is completely normal.

The sentence begins with:

• Hún spurði... = She asked...

Then later:

• hvort hún ætti... = whether she should...

In many contexts, both hún refer to the same person. Icelandic does not avoid repeating the pronoun just because English sometimes might rephrase it.

Could it be ambiguous without context? Yes, sometimes. But that is also true in English:

• She asked whether she should listen to it...

Usually the surrounding context makes it clear.

Often, yes.

A version like this would also be natural:

• Hún spurði hvort hlaðvarpið væri betra með þessari stillingu eða hún ætti að hlusta á það í öðru forriti.

But repeating hvort makes the two alternatives more clearly parallel:

• whether the podcast was better with this setting
• or whether she should listen to it in another app

So the repeated hvort is not strange at all; if anything, it can make the sentence clearer.

Here it most naturally means a setting in the app or device sense, not a physical arrangement.

• stilling can mean setting, adjustment, or configuration

So:

• með þessari stillingu = with this setting / using this configuration

That fits well with the rest of the sentence, since it also mentions listening in öðru forriti (another app/program).