Wikijunior:Languages/Icelandic

What writing system(s) does Icelandic use?

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Where the Latin Alphabet is used today

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?

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All inhabitants of Iceland (about 300,000) speak Icelandic.

Where is this language spoken?

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In Iceland, some parts of Canada and also some people from Denmark, Sweden, Norway speak the language.

What is the history of this language?

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It descends from Old Norse.

Some famous people who spoke this language

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Björk comes from Iceland.

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

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  • 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

References

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