Alright, let’s be real — Icelandic is one of those languages that sounds like it belongs in a fantasy novel.
But behind all those magical-sounding words is a living, breathing language with a story that stretches back over a thousand years.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at Icelandic — how it grew, why it stayed so loyal to its roots, and what makes it such a fascinating (and occasionally mind-bending) tongue to learn.
Get ready to meet a language that’s battled the centuries, fended off foreign influence, and still finds ways to invent brand new words without losing its ancient soul.
Here’s what makes Icelandic so special. ??
1. A Day to Celebrate Every Word
Since 1995, the birthday of 19th-century poet Jónas Hallgrímsson, on 16 November each year, is celebrated as Icelandic Language Day. This special day is a testament to the importance of the Icelandic language to the country’s culture and history. It’s a day of festivities centered on appreciating the language and its literature.
2. A Tiny Island, A Mighty Language
Native to Iceland, the majority of Icelandic speakers live in the country, with a population of around 314,000. However, Icelandic is also spoken by communities in Denmark, the United States, and Canada. Despite its small number of speakers, Icelandic has a rich cultural significance and history.
3. Icelandic’s Northern Roots
Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic group of the Germanic languages. It’s part of what’s known as the West Scandinavian languages. Despite its geographical isolation, Icelandic has maintained close ties with other Scandinavian languages, reflecting the region’s shared linguistic history.
4. The Grammar That Time Forgot
Icelandic is more conservative than most other Germanic languages. While many Germanic languages have significantly reduced inflection, Icelandic maintains a four-case, synthetic grammar. This means that words change their form to express different grammatical categories. Icelandic is also known for its wide assortment of irregular declensions, making it quite a challenge to learn!
5. The Lingo of the Vikings
Icelandic is a North Germanic language hailing from the Indo-European language family. It is spoken by around 314,000 people, predominantly in Iceland, where it is the national language. Icelandic is most closely related to Faroese, western Norwegian dialects, and the extinct language Norn. However, it’s not mutually intelligible with the continental Scandinavian languages such as Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
6. New Words, Ancient Soul
When it comes to vocabulary, Icelandic is deeply conservative. The language regulator in the country follows an active policy of creating new terms based on older Icelandic words. This means that rather than borrowing words directly from other languages, new words are often conjured from existing Icelandic terms, maintaining the language’s unique character.
7. The Manuscripts That Shaped a Nation
The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies is a state-funded body responsible for preserving the medieval Icelandic manuscripts. These ancient texts serve as a rich resource for studying the language and its literature. Some of these texts, written in Iceland from the 12th century onward, include the sagas of Icelanders and the Poetic Edda.
8. How Icelandic Sounds Changed — and Didn’t
The pronunciation of the Icelandic language underwent significant changes from the 12th to the 16th century. This was especially true for vowels. For instance, the letters -ý & -y merged with -í & -i, and the letter -æ evolved into the double vowel -ai. These changes have shaped the unique sound of the language we hear today.
9. Icelandic: Built to Last
Despite the Danish-Norwegian and later Danish rule of Iceland from 1536 to 1918, Icelandic remained in daily use among the general population. This had little impact on the language’s evolution, keeping it more archaic than other living Germanic languages. It’s a testament to the resilience and preservation of Icelandic culture and language.
10. Cousins Across the Sea
Part of the North Germanic group of the Germanic languages, Icelandic has a close relationship with specific languages. It shares the most similarities with Faroese and western Norwegian dialects, as well as the extinct language Norn. However, it’s more distinct from more widely spoken Germanic languages, such as English and German.
11. Old Norse, New Voice
Icelandic is derived from an older language known as Old Norse, which later evolved into Old Icelandic and then into Modern Icelandic. The division between Old and Modern Icelandic is generally placed around the year 1540. This makes Icelandic a language with a rich history that has evolved over centuries while maintaining its unique character.
12. The Protectors of Icelandic
The Icelandic Language Council, which includes representatives from universities, the arts, journalism, teaching, and the Ministry of Culture, Education, and Science, advises authorities on language policy. Alongside the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, these organizations play a vital role in preserving and studying the language and its literature.
13. Letters With a Story to Tell
The Icelandic alphabet is based on the Latin script. It was established primarily by the Danish linguist Rasmus Rask in the 19th century. The alphabet’s foundation lies in an orthography outlined in the early 12th century by an anonymous author, known as the First Grammarian, in a document called the First Grammatical Treatise.
14. Speaking Icelandic: A Very Exclusive Club
Outside of Iceland, Icelandic is spoken by about 8,000 people in Denmark, 5,000 people in the United States, and more than 1,400 people in Canada. Particularly in the region known as New Iceland in Manitoba, there is a significant Icelandic-speaking community, thanks to settlement by Icelanders in the 1880s.
15. From the Faroe Islands to Icelandic Glory
Around 900 CE, Old Norse—the language that would evolve into Icelandic—was spoken in the Faroe Islands. It was brought there by Norse settlers during the settlement of the Faroe Islands that began in 825. Interestingly, many of these settlers weren’t from Scandinavia, but were descendants of Norse settlers in the Irish Sea region.
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.