Questions & Answers about Ég elska svona tónlist.
Here svona means like this, this kind of, or this sort of.
So svona tónlist does not usually mean one specific song or piece of music. It means a type of music: music like this or this kind of music.
That is why the whole sentence feels more general than specific.
They mean different things:
- svona tónlist = this kind of music / music like this
- þessa tónlist = this music in a more specific sense
So if you are talking about a style or category, svona tónlist is natural.
If you are pointing to the music that is playing right now, þessa tónlist would be more specific.
Icelandic usually does not have a separate word like English the in front of nouns. Instead, definiteness is often added to the end of the noun:
- tónlist = music
- tónlistin = the music
In this sentence, the noun is being used in a general sense, so plain tónlist is the natural form.
That matches English too, since we also often say simply I love this kind of music, not necessarily I love this kind of the music.