Languages of Iceland
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
| Languages of Iceland | |
|---|---|
| Official | Icelandic 93.2% |
| Immigrant | Polish 2.74% Lithuanian 0.43% English 0.32% German 0.31% Danish 0.31% Portuguese 0.28% Filipino 0.24% Thai 0.17% Latvian 0.14% Other 1.89% |
| Foreign | English (98%) Danish / Norwegian / Swedish French / German / Spanish |
| Signed | Icelandic Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Source | Statistics Iceland (2008) |
Icelandic is not only the national language, but is now “the official language in Iceland” by virtue of Act No 61/2011, adopted by parliament in 2011.[1] Icelandic Sign Language was also officially recognised by law in 2011 as a minority language with constitutional rights and the first language of the Icelandic deaf community. During the time of Danish rule, Danish was a minority language in Iceland.[2]
Studying English and Danish (or another Scandinavian language) is mandatory for students in compulsory schools[3] and also part of many secondary-level study programmes, so knowledge of the two languages is widespread. Other foreign languages frequently studied include German, Spanish and French. A telephone poll in 2011 indicates that 88% of Icelandic people hear English every day, and 65% hear English more than one hour a day.[4]
Temporary
See also
References
- ^ "Act [No 61/2011] on the status of the Icelandic language and Icelandic sign language" (PDF). Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. p. 1. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
Article 1; National language – official language; Icelandic is the national language of the Icelandic people and the official language in Iceland.
- ^ "Iceland And The Rest Of The World" (PDF). The Reykjavík Grapevine. p. 1. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
Icelandic towns were essentially turning Danish; the merchant class was Danish and well off Icelanders started speaking their language.
- ^ The Icelandic National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools (PDF). Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. p. 50.
- ^ "Exposure to English in Iceland : a quantitative and qualitative study" (PDF). Retrieved 26 March 2020.