Icelandic: The official language of the smallest country
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10 facts about the Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language that is a native language of most citizens in Iceland, and it is spoken by around 314,000 people, primarily the residents of Iceland.
Icelandic is most strongly connected to the Faroese, the now extinct Norn, and Western Norwegian languages.
Unlike most other Germanic languages, Icelandic is more traditional to its Indo-European language roots.
Icelandic preserves a four-case synthesized grammar and features a large number of unusual conjugations.
Icelanders can comprehend traditional Old Norse writings from the 10th to 13th centuries because the written language has not altered significantly.
Icelandic is significantly closely related to Faroese. Both languages have nearly identical phrases, but their speaking forms are not comparable.
Icelandic is also spoken by 5,000 people in the USA, 8,000 in Denmark, and over 1,400 people in Canada.
Several of the writings found in Icelandic were centered on literature and legislation that was passed down verbally for generations.
The well-known Icelandic Sagas are renowned for the literature produced from the twelfth century and on.
Ancient Icelandic was a western dialect of Old Norse; it was used for the well-known Icelandic Sagas.
Origin of the language
The Icelandic language originated in Norway.
History of the language
It is thought that the Icelandic language came into existence in the 9th century.
Learning the language
An English speaker will need about 1100 hours to learn Icelandic.
Icelandic language for beginners
Ten basic words to start learning in Icelandic:
Goodbye=bless
Beautiful=falleg
New=nýtt
Boring=leiðinlegur
Old=gamall
Happy=ánægður
Bad=slæmt
Good=góður
Sad=dapur
Hello=Halló
The thing about Iceland is that we are trapped there anyway, all of us. We have been trapped there for thousands of years.
Baltasar Kormákur
Actor, producer and writer
We thought it was drops of dew and kissed, cold tears from the cross grass.
Jónas Hallgrímsson
Folklore writer and poet
It’s a pity we don’t whistle at one another, like birds. Words are misleading. I am always trying to forget words.
Halldór Laxness
Writer and Nobel Prize winner
Fun facts about the Icelandic language
Alphabet in Icelandic
The Icelandic language has 32 letters; it contains the same Latin letters of the English alphabet as well as letters unique to the Icelandic language: á, æ, ð, é, í, ó, ö, þ, ú, and ý.
Inhaling sentences
It is fairly typical to hear a sentence in Icelandic uttered on the inhalation rather than pausing in speech.
Terms and phrases not recognized in English
In Icelandic, numerous terms and expressions are not available in and difficult to translate into English, such as gluggaveður, which means "window weather."
Altered language
Icelandic is a modulated language with altering terms such as an article, person, accent, case or numeral.
Original language
Rather than use foreign terms for objects, a new word is created by repurposing an old one. For example, "computer" is called tölva, which means number oracle.
No similarity with English
In Icelandic, the suffix “-s” is frequently used to indicate the genitive, but not the plural, of a word.
Importance of language
The Icelandic language has persisted for a very long time without being influenced by other languages which highlights the value of language.
Identity of one of the smallest countries
The language is distinctive in that it embodies the identity of one of the world's smallest countries.
Confusing sounds of letters
Non-Icelandic people confuse the letters "Þ þ" with "p," but it is supposed to sound like "th" as in path.
Complex grammar
Icelandic's complicated grammar is another distinguishing aspect of the language. In addition to the active and passive voices, there is a middle voice.
