Icelandic

The Icelandic language belongs to the Nordic languages, a subgroup of the Germanic group. The Icelandic language originated from West Norway with the people who came to settle in Iceland in the 930 A.D. One can relate it with other Indo-European languages with the fact that it has complicated grammar. Interestingly, the language does not adopt foreign words but rather, it revives old words and gives them meaning. 

Countries where people speak the Icelandic language

Apart from Iceland, these areas also speak the Icelandic language:

• Washington Island around Lake Michigan
• Utah
• North Dakota
• Canada
• British Columbia
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta

 

There are several interesting facts about Iceland all of which make the language unique and exciting to learn. For instance, linguists had to invent an Icelandic name for the computer. This is understandable considering the Icelandic language does not accommodate foreign words. Other facts about the language are as follows.
 

1. Listening to the tongue is a form of time travel since it has not changed for years and has used the same dialect for a hundred of years.
2. It was not until 2011 that the language was considered an official language in Iceland. Over the years since its establishment, Iceland has been using several other languages such as German, Dutch, and French. However, in 2011, they officially accepted Icelandic as a national language.
3. In most cases, Icelanders do not have surnames as the father’s name is used as the base of the child’s last name. Although they mostly follow the patronymic naming system, the gender equality aspect of language has caught up with Icelanders. Nowadays, many Icelanders name their kids after their mother.
4. Icelandic is an ancient language similar to Old Norse with many people believing it that it is a dialect form of Old Norse. People believe it is ancient because unlike many other languages in the world, the Icelandic language remains unchanged.