Language Course
Posted: 2003-10-18, 3:45
Part 0: An introduction to the Faroese tutorial
Faroese is a language derived from the Old Norse language of the Scandinavian and Jutland-peninsulas. Norwegian Vikings, who spoke Old Norse, colonised the Faroe Islands in approx. 825. In the 11th century, Old Norse was divided into two languages, Western and Eastern Norse. Eastern Norse was spoken in modern-day Sweden and Denmark, while Western Norse was spoken in Norway, the Shetlands, the Orkneys, northern Scotland, especially the Outer Hebrides, the Dublin region of Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and southern Greenland.
In the 15th century Faroese separated from Western Norse, but clear dialectal difference can be found already in 1298 in the so-called “Seyðabrævið”. A Shetlandic “Seyðabrævið” was also written in 1299. This dialect of Faroese is usually called Medieval Faroese. Certain things were written in Medieval Faroese, but after the Reformation in 1538, Danish became the school, church, court and literary language.
Following the Revolutions in the early 19th century, a spelling system was developed in 1846 by the priest, Vencelaus Ulricus Hammershaimb, or V.U. Hammershaimb, as he’s referred to here. This system is still used today, although with slight modifications, e.g. the original had x, while the modern hasn’t.
An interesting fact about Faroese and the Nordic language Norn, which used to be spoken in the Shetlands, is the fact that they were mutually intelligible. But sadly, the English language has replaced Norn.
Faroese is classified in the Western Norse sub-family of the North Germanic branch of Indo-European, which means, that languages like Danish, Swedish, German, English, Romanian, Ukrainian and Farsi are more or less related to Faroese. The closest relatives, however, are Icelandic, Norwegian and the now extinct Norn. The Eastern Norse languages are Danish and Swedish and these are also closely related to Faroese.
Today, Faroese is spoken by approx. 70-80,000. 48,000 of these live in the Faroe Islands and the rest are pretty much scattered around the Northern part of Europe. Due to the financial crisis in the early 1990’s, many Faroese moved to Denmark, and many haven’t returned (yet).
The Faroe Islands themselves are a small group of islands located between Iceland, Scotland and Norway. There are 18 islands, 17 of which are inhabited. The largest cities are the capital Tórshavn (17.000), Klaksvík (6.000), Runavík (2.000), Tvøroyri (2.000) and Fuglafjørður (1.600).
Faroese is a language derived from the Old Norse language of the Scandinavian and Jutland-peninsulas. Norwegian Vikings, who spoke Old Norse, colonised the Faroe Islands in approx. 825. In the 11th century, Old Norse was divided into two languages, Western and Eastern Norse. Eastern Norse was spoken in modern-day Sweden and Denmark, while Western Norse was spoken in Norway, the Shetlands, the Orkneys, northern Scotland, especially the Outer Hebrides, the Dublin region of Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and southern Greenland.
In the 15th century Faroese separated from Western Norse, but clear dialectal difference can be found already in 1298 in the so-called “Seyðabrævið”. A Shetlandic “Seyðabrævið” was also written in 1299. This dialect of Faroese is usually called Medieval Faroese. Certain things were written in Medieval Faroese, but after the Reformation in 1538, Danish became the school, church, court and literary language.
Following the Revolutions in the early 19th century, a spelling system was developed in 1846 by the priest, Vencelaus Ulricus Hammershaimb, or V.U. Hammershaimb, as he’s referred to here. This system is still used today, although with slight modifications, e.g. the original had x, while the modern hasn’t.
An interesting fact about Faroese and the Nordic language Norn, which used to be spoken in the Shetlands, is the fact that they were mutually intelligible. But sadly, the English language has replaced Norn.
Faroese is classified in the Western Norse sub-family of the North Germanic branch of Indo-European, which means, that languages like Danish, Swedish, German, English, Romanian, Ukrainian and Farsi are more or less related to Faroese. The closest relatives, however, are Icelandic, Norwegian and the now extinct Norn. The Eastern Norse languages are Danish and Swedish and these are also closely related to Faroese.
Today, Faroese is spoken by approx. 70-80,000. 48,000 of these live in the Faroe Islands and the rest are pretty much scattered around the Northern part of Europe. Due to the financial crisis in the early 1990’s, many Faroese moved to Denmark, and many haven’t returned (yet).
The Faroe Islands themselves are a small group of islands located between Iceland, Scotland and Norway. There are 18 islands, 17 of which are inhabited. The largest cities are the capital Tórshavn (17.000), Klaksvík (6.000), Runavík (2.000), Tvøroyri (2.000) and Fuglafjørður (1.600).