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The Language Family

The Language Family. Swedish Danish. Eastern-Nordic. Northern Germanic. Western-Nordic. Icelandic Faroese Norwegian. Eastern Germanic. Germanic. Gothic. English German Dutch Etc. Western Germanic.

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The Language Family

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  1. The Language Family Swedish Danish Eastern-Nordic Northern Germanic Western-Nordic Icelandic Faroese Norwegian Eastern Germanic Germanic Gothic English German Dutch Etc. Western Germanic

  2. Sveær egho konong at taka ok sva vrækæ. Han skal mæþ gislum ovan fara ok i østrægøtland. Þa skal han sændi mæn hingæt (gæræ) til aldragöta þings. (Eldri lög Vesturgauta – 13th century) Svíar eiga konung að taka og svo reka. Hann skal með gíslum ofan fara og í Eystragautland. Þá skal hann sendimenn hingað gera til allra Gauta þings. (Modern Icelandic) Old Swedish and Modern Icelandic

  3. The Origins of Icelanders • Age of Settlement: 874 – 930 • The male settlers: Mostly Norwegians • The women: Mostly from the British Isles (Scotland, Ireland, England, Orkney Isles and the Western Isles / Hebrides) • Sources: The Sagas and modern genetic research • Tracing ancestors is a popular hobby – see http://www.fva.is/harpa/

  4. Icelandic • Almost solely based on Old Nordic (which was spoken all over Scandinavia in the Age of the Settlement); • A few names of Irish origin, Njall and Kjartan being the most common ones. • Almost no dialects (a tiny difference of pronounciation of some words can be found)

  5. Icelandic: What has not changed • Structure of the language: • Syntax (word order, sentences ...) • Grammar (inflections ...) => “archaic language”

  6. Icelandic: What has changed • Pronounciation (radical changes) • Vocabulary: • New words for new things (tölva = computer, sjónvarp= TV, þyrla = helicopter) • Old words get a new meaning (sími = telephone, gemsi = GSM / cell phone) • Old words get lost when there’s no need for them anymore

  7. The official language policy • Very much stress on keeping Icelandic static (unchanged) so that the people will not loose contact to their roots (i.e. the medieval literature, sagas, poems etc.) => Emphasis on “keeping the Icelandic language clean”

  8. The Cultural Heritage • Sagas, King’s sagas, Poems, mostly dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, some poems much older • Regarded as a treasure • Modern Icelanders can read the Sagas published in modern spelling, without difficulties.

  9. Good or bad? • The importance of being one nation, speaking one language, sharing a common cultural heritage to be proud of ... • The danger of extreme nationalism ...

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