Wikijunior:Languages/Icelandic

What writing system(s) does Icelandic use?


Icelandic uses what is today called the Latin Alphabet. This alphabet is thought by many historians to have been a modified version of the ancient Greek alphabet, which in turn is also a variation of ancient Phoenician writing. Icelandic also uses some letters that are not very common in other languages, like ð (eth) and æ (ash).

Icelandic is descended from Old Norse.

How many people speak Icelandic?
All inhabitants of Iceland (about 300,000) speak Icelandic.

Where is this language spoken?
In Iceland, some parts of Canada and also some people from Denmark, Sweden, Norway speak the language.

What is the history of this language?
It descends from Old Norse.

Some famous people who spoke this language

 * Björk Guðmundsdóttir- Björk is a famous singer from Iceland.
 * Eiríkur Rauði- Eiríkir Rauði or "Erik the Red" was an Icelandic Viking.
 * Gunnar á Hlíðarenda- Gunnar á Hlíðarenda or "Gunnar from Hlíðarendi" is a character from book Njála.
 * The band Sigur Rós from Iceland
 * The band Of Monsters and Men from Iceland

What are some basic words in this language that I can learn?

 * Halló, hæ- Hello, hi
 * Bless, bæ- Goodbye, bye
 * Fögur er hlíðin- The hill is beautiful, an excerpt from Njála.
 * Og - And
 * Ég - I
 * Hvað heitir þú? - What is your name?
 * Ég heiti Páll. - My name is Paul.
 * Hvaðan kemurðu? - Where do you come from?
 * Ég kem frá Bretlandi. - I come from Britain.
 * Takk (fyrir).- Thank you