The vocabulary
of Insular Scandinavian:
Lexical purism,
neologisms and language contact in Icelandic and Faroese
Written: 2004; Last updated: 2 Dec
2023
Author: Edward Smith
Language colours:
red = Early Modern &
Modern Icelandic;
blue = Modern Faroese;
green = Modern Danish;
maroon = Old Norse;
violet = Middle Low German
“hreintungustefna Íslendinga...forðað tungu okkar frá því
að drukkna í flóði erlendra áhrifa.” (Jakob Benediktsson,
“Þættir úr sögu íslenzks orðaforða.” In Þættir um íslenzkt mál eftir nokkra
íslenzka málfræðinga, ed. H. Halldórsson, Reykjavík, 1964; p.109).
Icelandic
and Faroese are both West Scandinavian languages and both are descended from
West Norse dialects related to the Old Norse now so familiar from the Icelandic
literature of the Middle Ages. Icelandic is spoken almost entirely in the
Faroese
is very closely related to Icelandic, as well as certain west Norwegian
dialects. Just as in the case of Icelandic, the arveord or native word-stock of
Faroese is of West Norse origin, and almost all the core vocabulary and all the
words relating to peculiarly Faroese objects and customs descend from the Old
Norse spoken by the original settlers. A small number of words can only be
found in Faroese and no corresponding words have been traced in Icelandic, Old
Norse or in the more distant Norwegian. Although its core vocabulary is of West
Norse origin (and closest to some West Norwegian dialects), a not
inconsiderable number of Faroese words are of international origin, as we shall
see below. The Faroe Isle group comprises about 18 islands in the north
Atlantic, lying about half-way between
Clearly
in terms of native speakers these two insular West Norse languages are, even in
Scandinavian terms, of a rather minor stature. Yet both have a unique role in
shedding much light on the earlier development of the now much mightier
Mainland Nordic languages. Without Faroese, and especially, Icelandic, we would
have to rely on Old Norwegian, Danish and Swedish literature which are poorly
represented on the whole. Our knowledge of the historical development of
Scandinavian literature, language and culture would be patchy to say the least.
The nature and position of Icelandic is almost unique in international
linguistics. Icelandic is a linguistic time capsule. I cannot think of another
case in which a small medieval society populated a remote land whose culture
and language remained very static for centuries, while the country which
originally populated it, and those neighbouring it, changed almost beyond
recognition.
Faroese
and Icelandic are apparently mutually intelligble. This probably means in
reality that a certain amount can be orally communicated at a simple level with
slow articulation. When we come to the written languages the situation is very
different. Icelanders and Faroe Islanders have, generally speaking, very little
difficulty in reading each others' languages. Orthographically and lexically
speaking the two languages probably differ little more than Danish and
Norwegian bokmål - if that. Certainly one simple explanation for this is that
Faroese and Icelandic share a common West Norse word-stock which has remained
very much intact down the centuries. Icelandic and Faroese are dominated by
indigenous lexical elements even for everyday concepts, while the Mainland
Scandinavian languages have tended to accept international words. Likewise the
modes of expression, idiom, syntax and grammatical systems of the two languages
differ very little, although Icelandic grammar is marginally more complex. It
has been said that the vocabulary of Faroese is closest to Nynorsk, while its
form system is closest to Icelandic. However this situation is in part
deceptive. The orthography of Faroese is artifical, little resembling the
phonetic realities of the language, and masking greatly the sometimes very
different sounds of spoken Icelandic and Faroese. It is these differences in
pronunciation, which have grown up over time and are unfortunately hidden by
the orthography, that constitute the difficulties Icelanders and Faroe Islanders
find in understanding each other.
This
article, however, will consider some of the lexical differences between the
two. I have decided to concentrate on the respective vocabularies because
firstly I personally find them most interesting, second, they are quite simple
to compare and contrast due to many greater or lesser differences and third,
information for this linguistic area is easiest to obtain. Most of the
vocabulary differences can be explained by interference from other languages,
and the humbler Faroese is certainly more marked by this process. Danish has
unquestionably been the most influential outsider on both these languages -
often the outcome of politcal wrangling between the greater Scandinavian
nations. However, Danish has left its mark much more noticeably on Faroese,
thanks to a conscious policy among Icelanders of political independence and
linguistic purism, as explained below.
This
modest survey will proceed in the following manner:
i) A brief overview of the
main developments in Icelandic and Faroese language history, including foreign
interference, with condensed background to the policies of lexical purism
pursued in both countries. For much fuller discussion than can be given here,
interested readers are referred especially to Ottósson, Clausén and West,
detailed in the booklist below.
ii) A section considering the
differences in the vocabulary between Faroese and Icelandic, a situation to a
great extent explained by the more vehement policy of purism pursued in Iceland
(but see also iii) below). This section will consider in more detail and
with reference to examples, the foreign influence exerted on both languages.
iii) A examination of the main
resources open to Icelandic and Faroese when coining new words from the native
stock, with examples. The varying methods open to each language help explain to
a small extent some of the lexical differences between the two. This section
concludes with extensive comparative wordlists.
[ Top ]
Icelandic language history and the málhreinsunarstefna
This
is not the place to give an account of Icelandic literary and linguistic
history, which has been admirably done several times elsewhere and this article
is mainly concerned with the period after the Renaissance (Faroese is given
more historical background information, however, because it is assumed that
most readers will be less familiar with its development). Suffice to say that
Icelandic was the main language of literature and poetry - and not Latin, as
was the case in most medieval European socities. Iceland's geographical
situtation, combined with limited sailing periods, strong folk-traditions and
beliefs inherited from Norway, an early native literary tradition, lack of
major dialectal variation (to have one language was an important element
in the battle for Icelandic political and national independence), an agrarian-
and fishing-based society until into the 1900s, native schooling, a democratic
policy towards education and entertainment, the popularity of Icelandic scalds
in foreign courts and a considerable amount of cultural conservatism and
inherent pride all served to maintain Icelandic as the preferred language of
literature and official documents. We can also note that there were no
foreign-based trading centres in
Of
course with the earlier coming of Christianity (officially adopted by
resolution of the Alþing in 1000 AD) words of Greek and Latin origin entered
into the language - mainly via Old English and Old Saxon. But the position of
Icelandic remained safe for several centuries until 1262, when Iceland was
annexed to Norway and then to Denmark in 1380. During the late 1200s, the whole
of the 1300s and well into the 1400s, Icelandic came under a new threat to its
status from outside - the Middle Low German of the Hanseatic League (often
mediated through Danish). The Icelandic literary language was moving further
away from the classic language of the Sagas, Landnámabók, Hávamál and the other great works
of medieval Iceland and becoming an increasingly hybrid language (somewhat akin
to the development of Old English after the Norman Conquest). However, the
spoken, everyday language was less affected by this outside influence. By the
eve of the Renaissance, the Icelandic literary vocabulary was larded with
abstract and specialist terms loaned in from Middle Low German, Danish, French
and Latin, and was in danger of becoming an endangered language. It was during
this period of cultural reawakening, antiquarianism and the re-birth of
learning, the Renaissance, that some leading Icelandic scholars and clergy
first began to take an interest in restoring their language back to its former
purity - or at the very least, stop it from corrupting further.
Although
not yet given a name, a policy of conscious purism can be said to have began
with the work of Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson (1542-1627). His publication of
an Icelandic bible in 1584 had a great influence on the preservation of
Icelandic at the very time it was most threatened by Danish and High German.
Icelandic remained the language of the church and was not suppressed by the
Danish authorities (one wonders what the fate of the Icelandic language would
have been had the Protestant faith been preached in Danish – as it was in
“Die altskandinavischen Sprachen hatten genügend
Ausdrucksmittel, um die Bibel adäquat zu übersetzen. Die
isländische Übersetzung setzte ihre Tradition fort...” (p.407).
Despite
these efforts, Danish continued its influence over Icelandic for the next two
centuries.
The
learned Arngrímur Jónsson (1568-1648) supported Guðbrandur and became the first
man to actively express in print a policy known as málhreinsunarstefna (“policy of linguistic
purification”), with which (strongly influenced by the dominant spirit of
Humanism) he opposed the imitation in Icelandic of Danish and German models. In
1609 he published his book “Crymogæa” in which urged his compatriots to
preserve the purity and strength of their native language by using the sagas as
a model and reject foreign imports:
“En
ég vildi að landar mínir nú á dögum bættu við hinu þriðja, það er að þeir öpuðu
ekki eftir Dönum eða Þjóðverjum í ræðu og riti, heldur leituðu sér fyrirmynda í
auðlegð og snilld móðurmáls síns....”. (quoted from Guðrún Kvaran, p. 41).
Arngrímur’s view may have been a reaction to the German- and Danish-influenced
translations of Protestant literature being published at the time. Against a
wider background, this was going on during a time when the Danish political
influence on Icelandic was reaching its peak with a Danish trade monopoly from
1602 and the absolute monarchy of the Danish king from 1662.
The
first dictionary involving Icelandic was published in 1683 by Guðmundur
Andrésson and entitled Lexicon Islandicum.
By
the 1700s there were many scholars who defended purism. The stress was put on
fashioning new words from native resources rather than borrowing foreign ones
(the so-called nýyrðastefna
“policy of new words”). Even prior to 1750 learned Icelanders in
The
establishment of Hið íslenzka Lærdómslistafélag (“Society of the Icelandic learned
artists”) in 1779, however, gave new impetus to this kind of work within
Icelandic. Stated objectives of the Society were published in 1780 to defend
and preserve the language and to cleanse foreign words and alien expressions
from it:
“5.
Einninn skal félagið geyma og varðveita norræna tungu sem eitt fagurt
aðalmál...og viðleitast að hreinsa hina sömu frá útlendum orðum og tálsháttum,
er nú taka henni að spilla. Skal því ei í félagsritum brúka útlend orð um
íþróttir, verkfæri og annað, svo fremi menn finni önnur gömul eður miðaldra
norræn hetiti.
6. Því má og í stað slíkra útlendra orð smíða ný orð, samansett af öðrum
norrænum, er vel útskýri náttúru hlutar þess, er þau þýða eigu....”
(the policy goes on to state that foreign imports already in use in the 13th
and 14th centuries are acceptible when more common or better West Norse forms
do not exist; quoted from Halldórsson, 1971, p.223).
Substantial
quantities of neologisms were devised, sanctioned and published by the Lærdómslistafélag with the express aim of
replacing the banished foreign academic loans with terms wholly native (i.e.
West Norse) in idiom and thus be transparent in meaning to the general
public. This democratic principle – a product of the Enlightenment – of
making scholarship and learning available to the ordinary people was a key aim
of the society and enshrined in its statutes. There was a strongly-held belief
that loanwords excluded most ordinary people from the learned world. What was
needed was words that could be easily analyzed (and therefore transparent) to
the average speaker. The guiding ideal for the language purists was, as their
policy states, the classical Old Icelandic of the sagas, although they also
encouraged people to speak the rural speech of the common folk which had
remained largely unchanged since the Middle Ages and drew upon it themselves.
This policy became known as the hreintungustefna (“policy of a pure language”) and
continued throughout the 1800s. Guðrún Kvaran in her article “Þættir úr
sögu orðaforðans”
notes:
“Í
ritum félagsins mátti ekki nota erlend orð, nema þau væru orðin gömul í málinu,
en reyna í stað þess að finna orð í fornu máli eða búa annars til ný. Þangað er
t.d. að rekja orðin farfugl,
fellibylur,
gróðurhús
og steinolía”.
(p. 43)
The
policy was aided by the fact that there were no real dialect differences in
Icelandic and nor was there any class-based speech.
Some
of the topics taken up by members of the Lærdómslistafélag had never been
tackled in Icelandic before and there was a clear need for new native terms.
Published items by the Lærdómslistafélag (appearing during the years 1781-98)
clearly show that the scholars and scientists affiliated with it did their best
to live up to its ideals - for their works heave with neologisms, of which,
some are inspired by foreign forms and some are entirely new. However, only a
small number of such words have survived into the modern language. Of these,
the following were noted in university dissertations within the natural
sciences: blásteinn
“bluestone” (copper sulphate), brjóskfiskur
“cartilaginous fish”, mannapi
“anthropoid ape” and svartþröstur
“blackbird”, as well as those mentioned in the quotation from Kvaran directly
above which mean “migratory bird”, “hurricane”, “greenhouse” and “paraffin”
respectively.
Jón
Sigurðsson, who advised Hammershaimb on his new Faroese orthography, was one
such writer who expressly adhered to this policy in his works. The hreintungustefna has undoubtedly done a
great deal to protect the Icelandic language from the forces that so threatened
it in the past. The policy seeks to maintain Icelandic's strength and purity by
stressing its link with Old Norse - the language's golden age. Even in this
century when so many English loans have been imported (especially in slang),
the aim is still to find or devise purely Icelandic equivalents.
The
struggle against Danish, German, French and Latin loan-words in the educated
Icelandic urban dialects began in the mid-1700s with the Icelandic poet Eggert
Ólafsson. He travelled around Iceland in order to gauge the actual speech
patterns and lexis used by unlettered rural folk and the common people. Many
learned Icelanders felt it was a mark of erudition that their writings were
littered with scholarly foreign imports. The average man, however, used an
Icelandic far less tainted by borrowings from abroad and Ólafsson regarded this
Icelandic as much closer to the pure Icelandic of the sagas. Loans entered into
the language mainly as a result of the Danish supremacy in the island. The
Danes enjoyed a trade monopoly and legal and public documents were written in
Danish.
No
doubt influenced by the seminal work of Ólafsson, who, among other things,
produced a spelling book for Icelandic, Hið Íslenska
Landsuppfræðingarfélag
(“The Icelandic Society for National Education”) was founded in 1794 with the
aim of disseminating knowledge to ordinary Icelanders and teaching them to
read. Such measures appeared to have had widespread success, for by the early
1800s Icelandic literary and scholarly works were noticeably more native in
lexis and idiom.
In
1800 Reykjavík only had around 300 inhabitants – almost the entire population
was resident in the rural areas. It is on the speech of these ordinary people,
including those that later moved to the capital, that the model of a pure
Icelandic language was based. This version of Icelandic had the advantage of
being purer and less “tainted” by Danish loans. Although at no time were the
population officially required to learn Danish, many did so of their own
accord, since the only literature of that time was in Danish, and those who
wanted to have higher education were required to go to Copenhagen. Obligatory
teaching of Danish in schools did not actually begin until 1946. Despite this,
Danish was unquestionably the foreign language with which most Icelanders were
familiar until well after the Second World War.
The
great Danish linguist Rasmus Kristian Rask on a visit to Reykjavík in 1813 was
horrified by the Danish-Icelandic admixture used by local merchants, but found,
much to his comfort, that the older speech was still preserved in the rural
districts. Rask nevertheless predicted the demise of the Icelandic language in
the capital within 100 years - a prediction which thankfully did not come to
pass. He founded Hið Íslenska Bókmenntafélag (“The Literary Society of Iceland”)
in order to help preserve Icelandic language and literary activity. Icelandic
gained prestige following the publication of Rask's Vejledning til
det Islandske eller gamle Nordiske Sprog (1811) and the language became a model
for Romantic and purist users of Faroese and Norwegian. At the same time, new
edited and printed editions of some Icelandic sagas were published (before then
Icelanders had to read them from manuscripts) and an improved Bible appeared,
translated directly from the Hebrew. These undertakings served to reinforce the
position of Icelandic in both writing and speech.
Fjölnir,
a literary periodical which was published off and on in the period through
1835-47, was used as a medium to attack what was criticised by Icelandic
purists as the Danish-coloured lexis, syntax and morphology of certain
prominent Icelanders' publications. As such, Fjölnir had quite an important
role to play in Icelandic linguistic conservatism. In the second half of that
century, the Icelandic literary and general written language as we know it
began to be formed.
Indeed,
language conservation played a major role in
Jónas
Hallgrímsson proved to be a master within the creative sphere of neologisms.
This ability can be best appreciated in his translation of 1842 titled Stjörnufræði
Ursins
(“The Astronomy of (G.F.) Ursin”). Neologisms which were first promoted in that
work and are still current today are for example aðdráttarafl, hitabelti, ljósvaki and sporbaugur (these are glossed later
on).
By
the close of the 1800s much was being translated into Icelandic within such
natural sciences as astronomy, zoology, physics and botany. The authors of
these books and articles coined new words to refer to the things and concepts
they were describing. The policy of creating and promoting neologisms has
continued in these sciences up to the present day.
An
important lexicographical work Nýdönsk orðabók með íslenzkum þýðingum was published in Reykjavík
in 1896 with Jónas Jónasson as chief author. This dictionary was much used,
even by those writing on scientific and technological topics, as it was the
only Danish-Icelandic dictionary at the time. The work includes many neologisms
and Jónasson also appears to add some of his own making. Verified for the first
time are for example sími
“telephone” and smásjá
“microscope”. From this dictionary words were spread through books and
teaching, eventually filtering down into the everyday speech. The orðabók was a
small milestone of linguistic purism in
Icelanders
took to prose once more with the result that religious, legal, educational and
commercial texts were all produced increasingly in the native language.
Gradually Icelandic became the preferred language in all areas. It had never
been officially ruled that Icelanders should speak or understand Danish – not
even when the Danish king had supreme sovereignty over the island. The policy
of purism and the need to create a modern cultural language able to express all
facets of modern existence meant that the native word-stock had to perform the
role often previously taken by loanwords, so it is especially during the
present century that språkvård has become an issue of increasing
importance. Iceland is no longer a purely rural-agricultural society and this
must be reflected in Icelandic vocabulary. Changes in society, greater
scientific and academic knowledge among Icelanders, in addition to the
widespread uptake of modern technology has, since the turn of the century,
required even greater numbers of neologisms be admitted into the language more
quickly than ever before. The role of the authorities has also been significant
(e.g. reading and writing Icelandic became obligatory subjects in schools in
1907 and official spelling rules were passed in 1918) but success ultimately
depends upon the acceptance and use of new terms by the general population. Språkvård
in
While
the conscious programme of purism is difficult to exercise consistently in
practice, with especially foreign words for modern cultural phenomena being
difficult to replace in the spoken language, the efforts of the language
purists have largely met with success. In certain areas such as the fields of
aviation, medicine and IT the development of terminology is so rapid that even
the very pro-active Icelandic language planning has had a tough task keeping
pace. It should be clear from the above that the main focus of Icelandic
language planning is not spelling, syntax or pronunciation but vocabulary. It
has the aim of making Icelandic a better, more effective, pliant means of
expression without changing its structure or switching to another language. Icelandic
purism is general – it counteracts loans from all languages, no matter what the
source.
Lars.
S. Vikør provides a useful summary of the reasons for Icelandic purism.
Purism uses indigenous words:
·
For
reasons of purity
·
Because
it is more democratic – indigenous elements are easier for users to comprehend for
reasons of structure – foreign words which do not easily assimilate may
threaten the very structure of the
language
To
these I would add:
·
To
maintain an unbroken link with Icelandic cultural heritage and maintain a
feeling of nationhood
Halldórsson
provides a useful summary of the principles of such purism, namely to:
·
Follow
the patterns of speech used by ordinary people, especially those from rural
areas or those who have moved into urban areas (intellectuals are more
influenced by foreign languages than ordinary people!)
·
Follow
the style used in classical Old Icelandic literature
·
Follow
the style used by the best writers much read by the ordinary people avoid
loans, unless they can be easily adopted into the linguistic system (e.g. bíll, gír, jeppi)
In
general it can be said that drastic changes to structure and/or vocabulary
would estrange Icelanders from their cultural heritage and weaken their sense
of being a unique people. The most important premise for Icelandic purism is
that Icelanders consider modern Icelandic and Old Icelandic as one and the same
language, Old Icelandic being, arguably, the vehicle of the finest literature
of the Middle Ages. Purism has become a part of the Icelandic identity – indeed
perhaps the largest part – and many consider Icelandic a more noble
language than others by virtue of it being more pure.
The
influence of purism remains strong, at least in the written language. Purism is
supported by both left- and right-wing political parties.
The
effect of loanwords on Icelandic and the methods used by Icelanders to coin new
native words will be considered in the section on word-formation and neologisms
below.
Faroese language history and purism
There
are no substantial undisputed Faroese texts written before the early 1800s. Two
medieval runestones dating from approximately (even these dates are debated)
the 1000s and 1200 are to be found at Kirkjubø and Sandvág on the islands. A
few examples of medieval legal documents written on the islands are still
extant, but these seem to have been written by Norwegians (or at any rate
Faroemen imitating Norwegian) and are of limited value in determining how far
Faroese had deviated from the classical Old West Norse of the sagas. The scanty
evidence suggests it had changed rather little, although there are certain
idiosyncrasies and forms which appear characteristic of Faroese. As might be
expected this earlier language resembles the western Norwegian dialects
comtemporary with it. During the late medieval period Norway ruled the Faroes
as a crown possession and with a few exceptions the written language used there
must have been Norwegian or Latin. Control later passed to Denmark in 1380 and
Danish became the language of the courts, the government, the school-house, and
the church - especially after the Reformation. Danish indeed remained the
primary language of the state until well into this century.
Færeyingasaga is written in Icelandic, and not Faroese, but it
describes the background surrounding the settlement of the islands from the
time of Grím Kamban (c.825) until the death of Trond the Geat in about
The
period from the late 1200s until the late 1400s have handed down a few legal
documents in a Faroese-coloured Norwegian to us. The so-called Seyðabrævið is by far the most
important of these. It is dated about 1298 and is both the most extensive and
earliest document extant concerning the Faroe Isles. As the name suggests the
document deals with the regulation of animal husbandry in the Faroes, in addition
to a few other specially Faroese issues. A few later legal documents exist but
none are very illuminating when trying to determine the nature of the Faroese
language in those days. One has to wait more than five centuries until anything
resembling a continous literary tradition appeared in the native language.
After
about 1540 Danish influence on Faroese life becomes enormous. As in
A
consequence of the Danish language dominance was that the Faroese lexicon did
not develop much in fields outside of traditional areas such as farming and
fishing. All new impulses from outside came in through Danish, and the Danish
influence became so great that it threatened to destroy Faroese.
Despite
all this, Faroese still largely remained the spoken language of the
common people and to a large extent kept its West Norse character intact. This
continuing use among the common folk alone allowed it to survive. Although
Faroese has not had any noteworthy literary tradition like Icelandic, its
survival relatively intact can probably be mainly explained by the Faroe
Islanders’ strong tradition of oral literature, folk-songs and kvæði, which acted as a brake on
too rapid lexical change. Thus Faroese survived without a standard written norm
for 400 years of Danish domination. The folk-songs may have had an
especially pivotal role, as Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen suggests: “At sproget
dog stort set beholdt sit arkaiske norrøn præg både med hensyn til bøjning og
ordforråd kan muligvis tilskrives en bevarende indflydelse fra den store skat
af folkeviser (kvæði) og anden
mundtlig tradition, der blev overleveret ned gennem tiderne” (Språkene i Norden, p.127). This oral literary tradition was the most precious
cultural heritage of the Faroese people and one which distinguised them from
other European nations.
The
earliest work about Faroese was written by Jens Christian Svabo (1746-1824) -
the Faroe Islanders' first major folklorist. Svabo produced a justly famous
account of the economic resources and physical characteristics of the Faroe
island group. But it is for his philological enquiries that he will be most
remembered. He prepared a magnificent Faroese-Danish-Latin dictionary which
strangely enough has only seen publication within the last 30 years as Dictionarium
Færoense ed. Ch. Matras, 1966-70.
Svabo
recorded Faroese words in his own dialect of the island of Vágar, and did so,
he said, because he did not expect the Faroese language to survive for long. He
abandoned his earlier plans of recovering what had been lost from Faroese from
Old Norse as unrealistic and not likely to be accepted by everyday users of the
language. His efforts in the sphere of literature helped preserve Faroese. In
his lifetime Svabo collected a manuscript of 52 traditional Faroese ballads
(some of medieval descent) as handed down in oral tradition. Unfortunately,
only one of them was ever printed while he lived and thus, in 1814, became the
first Faroese text ever printed. Svabo's Faroese orthography however had the
unfortunate drawback of being almost impenetrable for Old Norse scholars and
readers of Scandinavian languages to understand - however faithfully it
represented the phonology of his local dialect. This was a problem to be
resolved by the later language enthusiasts and conservationists.
Svabo's
well-intentioned and pioneering work may well have sparked off the passion in
ballad collection that now began in earnest. A collection of kvæði (traditional songs) was
compiled by Dane H.C. Lyngbye during a botanical investigation on the islands.
Professor P. Müller recognised a Faroese version of the Völsunga Saga among Lyngbye's collection
and he commissioned two local clergymen to begin collecting oral poetry. The
material was collected with great zeal, with the upshot that Lyngbye was soon
able to publish his Færøiske Quæder om Sigurd Fofnersbane og hans Æt, which was the first
complete book using Faroese as the primary language.
Faroese
as an independent language with a literary history (albeit in oral form) was
now brought to the attention of Nordic scholars, and not long after this two
important publications appeared in Faroese: The Gospel of St. Matthew
and the Icelandic Færingasaga.
A
native Faroeman Johannes Klemensen collected the most voluminous anthology of
ballads ever seen - some 900 pages - which was duly acquired by the great
Danish philologist and theologian Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig. Grundtvig
named Klemensen's collection the Sandoyarbók and it has begun to appear
in printed form within the last 30 years. Another Danish scholar Jørgen Bloch
and Grundtvig managed to compile and edit between them almost the entire corpus
of traditional Faroese poetry. This was given the title Føroyja Kvæði:
Corpus Carminum Færoesium and was completed by 1905.
Among
other important conservationists of traditional Faroese oral literature were
inventor of the conventional orthography, Vencelaus Hammershaimb (1819-1909),
and linguist Jakob Jakobsen (1864-1918). During the 1850s texts were collected
by Hammershaimb, who travelled the isles collecting dialect information.
Hammershaimb was a Romantic like the Norwegian language purist Ivar Aasen and
had the same natural ideals. His orthography of 1846 is a product of its age:
the age of Romanticism and Scandinavianism. Some of the prose Hammershaimb
collected appeared in his noted Færøsk Anthologi, published between 1886-91
and became the beginning of the Faroese prose tradition. The language in it was
free of Danicisms which characterised the spoken language (most Faroese
writers, it can be said, have kept to this style, while some like Heðin Brú
have introduced many regionalisms into normal prose). His Færøsk
Sproglære
(the first Faroese grammar) appeared in 1846 and paved the way for later developments
within written Faroese, the production of descriptive grammars of the language
and a new independent national literature. Jakobsen, however, was to become the
single most important enthusiast regarding the recording of traditional prose.
Between the years 1898 and 1901 he published his Færøske folkesagn og
æventyr
which comprised the typical stuff of folk-tales and romantic and magical
adventure.
The
recording and editing of Faroese ballads and prose literature required the
formation of a stable orthography, and that of Svabo, being local and near
phonetic, was not suited to this task. Many Danes regarded Faroese as a corrupt
dialectal admixture of Danish and Icelandic and not suitable as a medium of
instruction in schools or as a viable language of government. Rask was one such
eminent scholar who believed this, a belief he stated when including a small
grammar of Faroese in his grammar of Icelandic. Orthographies based on
etymological principles had been tried before, e.g. by Jacob Nolsøe, but it was
the writing system devised by Hammershaimb, with advice from Icelandic friend
Jón Sigurðsson, that finally gained acceptance. This new orthography took into
account the historical source of the words and had the advantages of being
suitable for the representation of all Faroese dialects, providing a stable and
dignified written tradition and preserving a link with historical West Norse.
Until this time there was no written or prestige language which could act as a
unifying force on the various dialects. Now any oral text could be recorded for
posterity and be readily comprehensible to Old Norse and Scandinavian scholars.
Hammershaimb’s orthography was in part an attempt to embrace all dialects
without preferring one over the other. It represents a reconstruction of a past
stage in the history of Faroese, as it conceals significant sound changes. A
disadvantage still felt are the barriers such an etymologically derived
spelling system creates for children learning the language. But this is a price
felt worth paying for a system which preserves the historical links and
tradition between Faroese, Old Norse, Icelandic and certain western Norwegian
dialects. This problem has been partly alleviated by the linguistic suggestions
of Jakob Jakobsen, who argued that Hammershaimb's unphonetic orthography would
be a stumbling block to learners of the language. The system Hammershaimb
actually came up with may well represent the Faroese of some centuries ago,
which, had it been written down, would have more closely resembled its Old
Norse ancestor, rather than being the bearer of various dipthongised long and
short vowels, lost medial ð and g and other phenomena.
A
prerequistite for the growth of Faroese language usage was Hammershaimb’s
written standard. It proved a pliant tool for the young Faroese poets and a
worthy form for their patriotic songs. Most prominent among the Faroese
students resident in
In
the 1930s the Føroya málfelag
(“Faroese language society”) was active in publishing wordlists under the
leadership of Christian Matras. In 1952 the Fróðskaparfelag Føroya (“Faroese Society for
Higher Learning”) was founded, and it has since then published an annual
journal (Fróðskaparrit)
including articles on such diverse subjects as philology, geology, folklore and
medicine. The Málstovnur Føroya Fróðskaparfelags (“Language Secretariat to the Faroese
Society for Higher Learning”) was established in 1959 as its linguistic
division, with the role of providing linguistic advice and producing
dictionaries, among others the acclaimed Føroysk-donsk orðabók by M.A. Jacobsen and
Christian Matras (1961) and the Donsk-føroysk orðabók by Jóhannes av Skarði
(1967). The Secretariat has assumed the management of the Faroese language
cultivation programme.
With
the development of a Faroese literature and the growing use of written Faroese
in private life, it gradually became accepted in public life as well. However,
not until the Home Rule Act of 1948 did Faroese achieve legal recognition as
the primary language of the islands. Bilinguialism in the Faroes is now
enshrined in the Education Act.
A
complete, official Faroese Bible appeared in 1961. Another landmark on the way
to linguistic independence.
Today,
the lower grades are fairly well supplied with books in Faroese, but secondary
education fares less well, which may affect the quality of the teaching
provided. Foreign languages in general need to be studied with the aid of
Danish dictionaries, although this situation is gradually improving.
The
Faroese language movement has always had two primary aims: 1) combat Danish
domination, 2) make Faroese the language of the schools, church and central
administration (the two overlap to a large degree). In an ideal world the
Faroese would like to dispense with Danish altogether. But this would
necessitate the switching to another (major) language of culture, which
considering their political and economic situation would have to be English.
Danish continues to play a crucial role in Faroese society as an essential
connection to the outside world. 40,000 speakers is too small a linguistic
community to provide the social and economic diversification to allow at least
some speakers to remain monoglots. Another factor is the Faroe Isles’ total
financial dependence on
Most
Faroe Islanders seem to agree that one should avoid using superfluous
international words or Danicisms. In general, most seem to look positively on
Faroese language planning and cultivation. The main issues to be dealt with in
the modern language planning are how to resist Danish influence (especially in
the spoken language) and how best to develop a lexicon to cover the needs of
modern international culture.
In
summary, it can be said that the policy of purism has not met with the same
success as in
In
the Faroe Islanders’ struggle for cultural independence, the Faroese language
was seen as the key symbol which unified all Faroese people, representing their
distinct nationhood, and linguistic patriotism was combined in this struggle
with political claims for self-rule.
[ Top ]
Loanwords and insular Norse lexical differences
Having briefly surveyed the history and background of puristic trends in
Icelandic and Faroese it is time to examine what foreign loanwords both
languages aimed to replace and the sources from which these loans came.
Firstly,
to put the uptake of loanwords into a linguistic context, some remarks about
the relation of Icelandic to Old Norse are appropriate. Much about Modern
Icelandic is the same as in Old Norse times. The basis of Modern Icelandic is
still very much rooted in Old Norse and the formal grammatical system has
changed little since the time of the sagas. There are nevertheless quite a few
loanwords, but those from elder times are now fully naturalised. The majority
of these earlier loanwords are common to all the Nordic languages. The great
majority of the Old Norse wordstock is alive in modern Icelandic. Guðrún Kvaran
puts it succinctly when she asserts: “Ef dregið er saman það sem fram hefur
komið er kjarni orðaforðans í dag hinn norræni stofn sem landnámsmenn fluttu
með sér til landsins.” (p. 46).
Baldur Jónsson (1983) comments further on this theme and refers to a
word frequency study conducted some years ago:
“Omkring 1940 utfördes en frekvensundersökning av
olika moderna texter på ca. 100 000 löpande ord. Knappt 1000 av de mest
frekventa ordformerna (drygt 75 procent av hela korpusen) tillhör 520 olika
ord. Därav finns 500 belagda i fornisländska källor och endast hälften av
återstoden, dvs. 10 ord, kan beläggas först efter
Pétersson (p.141) also remarks on the conservative nature
of the Icelandic basic wordstock: “Von insgesamt 2201 bekannten
indogermanischen Wurzeln hat das Isländische 1264 bewahrt.” He notes that ¾ of an
Icelandic text consists of the most common words (and therefore native), the
great majority of which stem from the Indo-European Ursprache or more
especially, Germanic roots. Many of these common words have remained unchanged
since the oldest extant Icelandic texts.
Also commenting on this theme, Elias Wessén, on page 40
of De Nordiska Språken says: “Bättre än i de andra nordiska språken
ha de ursprungliga ordbildningssuffixen förblivit levende och produktiva. Det
är därför lättare att skapa nya ord av inhemsk virke.” Wessén is correct in this,
but when he argues that the main reason for Icelandic lexical purism is the
difficulty of assimilating loans into the native inflectional system, the
evidence of several centuries of borrowing does this not fully support this statement.
The purism is rather a conscious policy which has only existed for a few
centuries. It may be that the complex Icelandic inflectional system both of the
past and the present acted as a filter and allowed only a small number of loans
into the language (Halldórsson, 1971, p.215 writes: “Það er alkunn
staðreynd, að tökuorð eiga ekki eins greiðan aðgang í mál, sem hafa flókið
beyginga- og orðmyndunarkerfi...”), while Ottósson is of the view that the
route from donor language to full integration in the Icelandic language system
is longer and more complex than in other Western European languages (sometimes
requiring, among other things, a change in main stress), but I think this is
only part of the answer. I would argue that the relatively small impact made by
Danish and Norwegian has more to do with i) the natural independent spirit of
the Icelanders (the original settlers were after all pioneers); ii)
geographical distance and most importantly; iii) a unbroken literary tradition
in the native language (remember that the scalds had early on established a
tradition of forming new words through heiti and kenningar) - a fact that does not
apply to Faroese of course (Jakob Benediktsson argues the case for Icelandic
though when he asserts: “...er hægt að fullyrða að þjóðsögurnar staðfesta
það sem hefur varðveitzt ótrúlega lítið blandaður erlendum áhrifum fram á 19.
öld.” (p.107)). Nevertheless the comments made above about continuing
proximity to Old Norse and conservative inflexional system apply to a large measure
to Faroese. Most proposed loans do not readily fit into the grammatical and
phonetical system of either language. We may summarise a few of the main
similarities both share with Old Norse:
*3
genders, 4 cases and multiple declensions for each gender
*concord is required between nouns, articles and adjectival endings
*strong and weak verbs are distinguished, with 3 persons each in the singular
and the plural
*extensive use of the subjunctive
*no indefinite article
For
Icelanders grammatical (and lexical) conservatism is a source of pride and has
been consistently raised as a symbol of national resistance to Danish
supremacy. The inflectional nature of Icelandic is one reason why the creation
of new words – derivatives and compounds – is fairly easy (compared to, say,
the Mainland Scandinavian languages). Halldórsson (1979) takes this view a step
further and claims that in general inflectional languages are more suited to
the formation of new words than non-inflectional ones.
We
can in summary state that the causes behind insular Norse lexical purism are
several and although important, the affinity of both to the grammatical
complexities of Old Norse is only one. After all, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian
once had formal grammar as complex of that of Icelandic and proved themselves
nonetheless able to important many words through their contact with Middle Low
German, language contact which had the effect of simplifying their grammatical
systems at the same time as their vocabulary was significantly enriched. The
interest in Iceland for using native terms has more to do with politics and
culture than the grammatical complexities of the language. Such factors as
geographical situation, natural cultural conservatism of the people (a key
factor), slow industrial and social development, and, in the case of Icelandic,
an unbroken literary tradition may have as much responsibility for it. Indeed,
I believe the last of these is the most significant, and can explain why
Faroese allowed, and still allows, more loanwords. Conscious policies of
lexical purism are a relatively recent phenomenon and do not explain the
earlier conservatism. However they are now far more effective than the more
natural circumstances which kept loans to a minimum in the past. The aim now is
not to restrict loanwords so much but rather to purge them from the language
and replace them.
Despite
the numerous examples of loanwords given in this article and discussion of
Danish domination for centuries of the island's trade and cultural life,
Now
a brief survey of the major periods for loans in Icelandic and Faroese will be
presented, along with their major contributors.
Loanwords in Icelandic
The
earliest periods of Icelandic language history (i.e. the landnámsöld from c. 870-930, the
so-called “Saga Age” c. 930-1030 and down until early medieval times c. 1100)
do not concern us much here. However, we can mention the dozen or so early
loans into Icelandic from Gaelic, probably a result of the Irish slaves brought
in numbers to Iceland. Of these, Guðrún Kvaran mentions a few (p. 36):
“Af
tökuorðum úr keltnesku má nefna orðin bagall, brekán, kross, slafak, sem haft er um grænt slý
á tjörnum og í mýrum, arfa og æta þörunga, hugsanlega papi, sem haft var um írskan
munk, og fuglsheitið jaðrakan
(Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon, 1989).”
The
Celtic loans quoted mean “crozier”, “blanket, quilt”, “cross”, “pond algae”,
“Irish munk” and “black-tailed godwit” respectively. Baldur Jónsson in his
article Isländska språket (see the booklist) lists a couple more: bjannak “blessing” and tarfur “bull”. (p.165) Icelandic
shows a clearly stronger influence from Celtic than does sister language
Norwegian, but the overall influence is still very small. There are also a
handful of Celtic-derived personal names such as Njáll and Kjartan.
The
early Icelandic church was established by Germans and Englishmen and heralded
the first major borrowing period in Icelandic. Old English and Old Saxon had
some native derived input, but this was small and most loans were Germanic
renderings of Latin or Greek ecclesiastical words. A list of some of these
words is given by Guðrún Kvaran (p. 40):
“Talsvert
er um tökuorð frá þessum tíma sem löguð hafa verið að hljóð- og beygingarkerfi
málsins. Sum þeirra má rekja til grísku, önnur til látinu, en flest hafa þau
komist inn í íslensku um önnur germönsk mál. Dæmi um orð af þessi tagi eru
stöðuheitin biskup,
djákni,
klerkur,
munkur,
prestur
úr fornensku, og páfi
úr fornsaxnesku. Tökuorð úr fornensku eru ennig talin orðin engill, guðspjall, kirkja, klaustur, þolinmóður og þolinmæði og lýsingarorðið kristinn, úr fornsaxnesku altari, djöfull, offur, offra, páskar, pína og synd...”.
Respectively,
these loanwords denote “bishop”, “deacon”, “clergyman” (or “scholar”), “monk”,
“priest”, “pope”, “angel”, “gospell”, “church”, “cloister”, “patient”,
“patience”, “christian”, “altar”, “devil”, “offering”, “(to) sacrifice”,
“Easter”, “torment” and “sin”. A few more are supplied by Baldur Jónsson in his
article (p.165-6): abbadís
“abbess”, ábóti
“abbot”, messa
“mass” and nunna
“nun”. Samviska
“conscience” was loan-translated from Latin conscientia. Native
Anglo-Saxon and not from the classical languages are the calques bókstafur “letter, character” (OE bôcstæf),
hátíð “festival” (OE hêahtîd)
and guðspjall “gospel” (OE godspell).
In agreement with my definition of “neologism” given below, we can mention
terms from pagan culture which took on new Christian meanings (“loanshifts”): freista “tempt” and noun
derivative freistni
“temptation” came to stand in relation to sin, sæll “happy, fortunate” came to mean
“blessed”, fjandi
“enemy” (cf. OE fêond) became “(the) Devil”, jól “Yule” (a heathen midwinter feast)
became “Christmas”, guð
“heathen deity” became “God”, while dygð “manly deed” (cf. OE duguð “strength, power;
host, army”) shifted to a Christian meaning of “virtue, good quality,
faithfulness”. In hvítaváðir
“(white) baptismal dress” and lagasöngr
(part of the Catholic mass) we have couple of early ecclesiastical neologisms.
Not so immediately Christian but nonetheless connected to the culture of
learning fostered by the church and the new religion were the words lesa and skrifa, whose former meanings
were “gather, pick” and “paint” but now came to mean “read” and “write”
respectively (Jónsson,
1983, p.116). The names for the days of the week that recalled the former
veneration of heathen gods also came to be changed through the influence of the
church at the beginning of the 1100s. Thus týsdagr (“Týr’s day”, cf. Tuesday,
German Dienstag) became þriðjudagr
(lit. “the third day”), óðinsdagr
(“Òðinn’s day”, cf. Wednesday, Mainland Scandinavian onsdag)
became miðvikudagr
(lit. “mid-week day”, cf. German Mittwoch), þórsdagr (“Þór’s day”, cf. Thursday,
German Donnerstag) became fimmtudagr (lit. “the fifth day”) and friádagr (“Freyja’s day”, cf. Friday,
German Freitag) became föstudagur
(lit. “day of fasting”) (Jónsson,
1983, p.116). Note that Faroese, however, did not change its days of the week
in this way: mánadagur,
týsdagur, ónsdagur, hósdagur (< ON Þórsdagr), fríggjadagur (< ON Frjádagr).
Christian
terms were early coined or calqued within the written language and helped
established a tradition of native word-formation in Icelandic that was
maintained in later secular writings and translations. Icelanders travelled all
over Europe for study, pilgrimmage or commerce, and this is reflected in many
of the loans brought back during the late medieval period, such as silki “silk”, pell “pelt, hide”, buklari “shield” and panzari “armour”.
Old
Icelandic and Old Norwegian differed but little until about 1200, when changes
such as Norwegian ð to t or d became the norm, while
appreciable discrepancies in the vocabularies do not begin to appear until the
1300s. The Mainland Scandinavian languages felt much more strongly the
influence of the Middle Low German loanwords that now began to arrive in
numbers. Middle Low German not only altered both everyday and specialised
vocabulary in the Mainland languages greatly, but also helped cause the
inflexional levelling that so distinguishes insular Nordic from its continental
relatives.
Guðrún
Kvaran notes the modest but nevertheless significant number of loans during the
late Middle Ages into Icelandic from Old French and Old/Middle High German. At
this time Icelanders were translating and becoming acquainted with the
chivalric literature so popular in southern Europe, which was brought to
Iceland by Norwegians and Danes. Later the Nordic nations composed their own
examples of this genre, and the Icelanders loaned words which expressed the
rather foreign sounding courtly life of the European nobility:
“En
Íslendingar kynntust ennig snemma riddarabókmenntum sem Norðmenn fóru að þýða á
öndverðri 13. öld...Þannig komust inn í málið ýmis orð, sem enn eru notuð,
flest úr fornháþýsku eða fornfrönsku en sum ennig úr fornensku. Sem dæmi mætti
nefna: barón,
riddari,
knapi,
lávarður,
júngfrú,
herra
og frú,
en ennig burtreið,
fantur,
ribbaldi
og púta
í merkingunni “gleðikona”.
Til þessara bókmennta er ennig að rekja orðin kurteisi, sem talið er tökuorð úr
fornfrönsku “cortois”, og hæverska úr miðlágþýsku hövesch (Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon,
1989).”
(p. 39)
The
loans mentioned above mean “baron”, “knight” (cf. Low German Ridder,
German Ritter), “varlet”, “lord” (cf. Old English hlâford),
“lady” or “princess”, “lord”, “lady”, “tilt-riding”, “footman”, “savage”,
“harlot”, “courtesy” and “courtesy”. To these we could add skvíari “squire”, stívarðr “steward”, burtstöng “tilting lance” and hæverskr “courteous”. Most of these
courtly words were merely fashionable (and then in clearly defined circles) and
quickly fell out of use when the social fashions changed.
The
source of the last mentioned loan leads us nicely on to the next major
borrowing period. Icelandic during the late medieval and early modern period
was subjected to the huge economic, political and cultural influence of the
Hanseatic League. Owing to its remoteness and trade monopolies forced on it by
Norway and later Denmark, Iceland escaped most of the loanwords that found
their way into the Mainland Nordic languages but it too adopted some of the Low
German items that were current at the time. Icelanders were reading Middle Low
German books before the Reformation in the late 1400s and the Hanseatic
commercial power was first making its presence felt in Iceland around this
time. Examples of MLG loans, most of which are still viable today, are: greifi “earl”, hertogi “duke”, jungherra “master, nobleman”, jungfrú “lady”, fursti “prince”, riddari “knight”, lén “fife”, kurteis “courtesy”, handla “act; trade”, smakka “taste”, sykur “sugar”, kokkur “cook”, kokka “cook, boil”, diktur “poem”, forma “form”, klókur “clever, cunning” and mekt “might”. The adoption of
Christianity rather earlier also ushered in many loans (and not merely in
religious contexts) or else demanded that native words undergo a change in
meaning.
Most
loans during this period came in from Danish, either directly or as a loaning
agent, owing to Danish domination of Icelandic trade and life. Of the loans
that came in during this period, however, it is sometimes hard to determine
whether the source was MLG coloured Danish or MLG itself, which was still an
influential source for loans. (Of the examples of MLG loans below, most are
from Christian Westergaard-Nielsen, who provides many examples). Some examples
of earlier Danish loans are: ske
“happen” (late 1300s, MLG schên; this loan in particular has been the subject of much
vitriol from Icelandic language purists), ráðhús “town hall” (cf. Low
German Raadhuus, German Rathaus), blífa “become”, brúka “(to) use”, brúk “use”, þenkja “think”, makt “might” (competed with
native máttur),
selskapur “society, party,
association”, skikka
“send” (1494, MLG schicken),
slekt “kin, lineage” (1499, MLG slechte), undirvísa “educate” (1480, MLG underwîsen) pakki “pack, packet”, þéna (“serve” - MLG thênen). Of these, only þenkja and pakki survive, while þéna now has another meaning.
During the mid-1500s, around the time of the Reformation, many ecclesiastical
works were translated from Danish and German and with these came many
loanwords. Nouns such as böðull “hangman”,
doktor, hýena, jómfrú “virgin” and mínúta appear around this time.
Loans
from MLG – either directly or, most commonly, via Danish or Norwegian –
represent the largest foreign element in the modern Icelandic vocabulary
(although it is clear they existed in greater numbers than they do today). To
anyone familiar with Nordic language history, the influence exerted by MLG
comes as no surprise. These words entered the language over a long period and
belong in the main to the everyday vocabulary. They are conspicuous and an
everyday conversation will probably not progress too long without one or more
of these words being used.
Several
alien prefixes were introduced from Danish and Middle Low German first
appearing in the late 1300s and compounded partly with native words and partly
with loaned elements. The prefix MLG be- is a lexical item which can be seen as typical of the
language of the Hansa (which appears as bí- as a rule in Icelandic). The oldest
example is of bífala “to command” (MLG bevalen) from 1370 and bíhalda “keep,
retain” from 1389 (MLG beholden). Bíhaga “please” appears first in 1434. Only twenty or so
words appear of this type in the 1400s, including those just given above. Among
these can be mentioned bídrifa “commit, do” (MLG bedrîven), bífalning “order,
command” (MLG bevalinge), bífela “command” (MLG bevelen), bíhjálpligur “helpful”
(MLG behelpelik), bíkenna “confess” (MLG bekennen), bískatta “tax”
(MLG beschatten), bítala “to pay” (MLG betalen),
bítaling “payment” (MLG betalinge), bívara “preserve” (MLG bevaren), bívísa “to
prove” (MLG bewîsen), bívísing “proof, evidence” (MLG bewîsinge). Such words
become more common in the 1500s. Worthy of mention are: bífalningsmaður “commander”, bígáfa “endue”
(MLG
begâven), bígera “desire,
covet” (MLG begeren), bíginna “begin, start” (MLG beginnen), bígrípa “comprehend”
(MLG
begrîpen), bíhrópa “appeal
to, plead” (MLG berôpen), bíkvæmiligur “comfortable” (MLG beqûemelik), bíretta “refer,
report” (MLG berichten), bískermelsi “protection” (MLG beskermelse), bísluta “decide” (MLG beslûten), bívísan “evidence,
proof”, bívísligur “provable”. The number of such words grew in the coming
centuries, but they never put down roots in Icelandic and bí- never
(as it did in the Mainland languages) became a productive word-forming element
based on native resources. The latter is a very important point. Among other
words to be still found in the dictionary are bestikk
“cutlery”, bígerð, bílífi, bílæti “picture; ticket”and bínafn
“nickname”.
Of
the words from this period in for-
(MLG vor-)
could be mentioned forblífa
“remain”, fordæma
“condemn”, formega
“be able”, forþéna
“deserve”, ofurgefa
“leave”, forhindra
“forestall, prevent”, forlengja
“demand, require”, formeta
“evaluate”, fornema
“feel, perceive”“, forbetra
“improve”, forgleyma
“forget” and forkasta
“reject, decline”. Only a small amount of these words and those in bí- have been used in spoken
language and many were gradually made obsolete. The same applies to the verbal
loans in -era
derived ultimately from Latin, e.g. emendera, fundera, konfirmera and nótera that were especially
common in the Icelandic literature of the 1500s. Although some such words survive,
most still feel foreign to Icelandic speakers and many have never been more
words in the dictionary. Danish and German influence during this time also
affected Icelandic at the levels of syntax and morphology, which suggests just
how powerful their effects were. All of the above words have current forms in
Modern Danish, but many were purged from Icelandic by the hreintungustefna. Middle Low German words
mediated through Danish are also in great evidence in learned written documents
from the Icelandic renaissance and later Reformation period. Many Icelandic
translations from the Reformation period were poorly done, slavishly imitated
German and Danish models and merely disguised foreign loans in Icelandic garb.
A great number of the loans taken in by the Icelandic scholars of the
Reformation never progressed further than the ecclesiastical register,
including most of the verbs formed in their hundreds with various affixes and
suffixes (see above), agent nouns formed with -arí (e.g. kettarí “heresy”, snikkarí “joiner”), -erí (e.g. hórerí “prostitution”) and the
abstract noun suffix from MLG -sel
(e.g. bískermelsi
“protection”; cf. the many nouns in the mainland languages with the ending -else).
The vocabulary of the everyday people remained much the same as centuries
before and a medieval and rural mode of life was still the reality for most
Icelanders at the dawn of the early modern period.
Among
later loans from MLG could be mentioned: barti “sideburns” (1800s, MLG bart), bómull “cotton” (1656, MLG bômwulle; neologism baðmull has not caught on as a
native replacement), flinkur
“deft, adept” (1833, MLG flink),
gikt “gout” (1800s, MLG gicht), gikkur “fool” (1584, MLG geck), innvortis “inwardly” (1600s, MLG inwordes), keðja “chain” (1584, MLG kede), lukt “light” (1500s, MLG lüchte), munstur “pattern, model” (1584,
MLG munster), nettur “nice, fine” (c.1700, MLG nett (from French)), plás “place” (1594, MLG plas
(from
Latin)).
Of
the following, all are still current in Danish, although Icelandic has since
purged almost all of them - some survive though, e.g. fordæma “condemn”, glas “glass”, spegill “mirror”, slæmur “bad, poor”, spaug “joke, jest” and orsök “cause” (Modern Danish
forms are given in brackets): ráðhús
(rådhus) “town hall”, blífa (blive) “become”, brúka (bruge) “to use”, þenkja (tænke) “think”, makt (magt) “power”, selskapur (selskab) “party, society”, pakki (pakke) “pack, packet”, þéna (tjene) “serve”, forblífa (forblive) “remain”, fordæma (fordømme), bígríba (begribe) “comprehend”, bífala (befale) “to command”, bítala (betale) “to pay”, slæmur (slem), spaug (spøg), brennivín “spirit” (brændevin), sápa “soap” (sæbe), glas (glas), spegill (spejl), orsök (årsag) and forkasta (forkaste) “to reject”. Kartöflur “potato” appears to have
come in a little later either directly from High German or via Danish. Words
which are still current in Icelandic and were probably loaned from Early Modern
Dutch are rúff
“cabin” and dekk
“deck” (of a ship).
Danish
continued to contribute numerous loans to Icelandic until well into the last
century. Some of these are actually Danish in origin (or else had been well
naturalised): akkúrat
“just, exactly”, altso
“thus”, billegur
“cheap”, deprimeður
“dejected, downcast”, falskur
“wrong, false”, fantastískur
“fantastic”, fúnkera
“function” - these forms are now obsolete in written Icelandic but some lexical
items of clear Danish origin are still used in Icelandic speech. However, in
many cases Danish provided a medium through which words of international usage
could find their way into Icelandic - just as it had earlier provided a medium
for Low German loans. Examples are: bíll “car”, bensín
“petroleum”, bíó
“cinema”, appelsína
“orange” (Dan. appelsin;
competes with native glóaldinglóaldin (lit. “glowing-fruit”)), doktor, pólítík, tékki “cheque”, kaffi, alkóhol, mínúta, nóta, stúdent, prent, prófessor, hótel, púður “powder”, mótor, vírus, nælon “nylon”, punta “point”, súkkulaði “chocolate”, banki. Further examples of international
loans which have come in via Danish during the present and last centuries are: albúm, dívan, klósett “toilet”, banani “banana” (competes with native bjúgaldin (lit. “bowed-fruit”)
which is almost never used), krem “cream”, melóna, nikótin, númer “number”, ópera, píanó and vítamín (but native fjörefni is dominant). The use of jú in certain constructions
as an affirmative adverb may well be down to Danish influence and mirrors to
some extent the use of jo
for this purpose in Danish itself. Many words mediated via Danish still exist
in everyday Icelandic speech and especially slang but are unacceptable in
written composition.
The
influence of English upon Icelandic, although still relatively small, has been
a growing factor since World War Two which involved English-speaking occupation
of the island and the subsequent Cold War, which involved US military bases
stationed on Iceland. Add these factors to growing economic, political and
cultural influence on Iceland from English-speaking nations (especially the US)
and there is potential for an increasing pressure from English on the Icelandic
language in the future. English has thus far mainly affected Icelandic at the
level of lexis - especially in slang and jargon - but it has also exerted a
mild pressure on Icelandic syntax. English loanwords are quite common in the spoken
language, but strongly prohibited in writing. Some examples of English loans
which are reasonably certain (i.e. very unlikely to be from Danish) are: absúrd, beibí “baby”, bissness, bjúti “beauty”, boddí, bömmer “bummer” (i.e. a
depression), fiftí-fiftí,
fixa, flippa, gæi “guy”, geim “game”, gír “gear”, hippi, kikk, kjút “cute”, næs “nice”, meika “make”, pönkari “punk”, séns “sense”, sjoppa “shop”, skáti “scout”, smart and vá “vow”. To these we could
add some Amercianisms popular in young people’s speech: prítti, reddy, smókur and monningur “money” (whose formal native
equivalents would be falleg,
tilbúin, reykur and peningar).
It
is also interesting to note as an aside a few English words and forms in
“Western Icelandic” (i.e. the form of the language still spoken by emmigrants
to North America): beisment,
tóstari “toaster”, dröggbúð “chemist” (=
The
import of a relatively small number of international words has meant that
native synonyms are often forced into competition with them. This is also the
case with Faroese - but on a larger scale in that language (see the notes and
lists below). Some well-known examples of this phenomenon are (it is important
to bear in mind in most cases the native words are preferred, and are the only
option in some cases in writing): baktería - gerill; spítali - sjúkrahús (hospital); apótek - lyfjabúð (chemist); bíll - bifreið (car); bakarí - brauðgerð (bakery); sígaretta - vindlingur; kíkir - sjónauki (binoculars) and passi - vegabréf (passport); ímeil – tölvapóstur (e-mail, lit. “computer
post”).
Icelandic
has shown to some extent an ability to adapt international words into the
Icelandic sound and inflectional system. Veturliði Óskarsson makes the point
that there are more loans and international words in Icelandic than is commonly
believed, e.g. te,
kaffi, kakó, diskur “plate”, kornflex, beikon, gafall “fork”, bíll “car”, mótorhjól “motorbike”, sjoppa “to shop”, pakki, sígarettur, súkkalaði “chocolate”, pólitík (successfully competes
with neologism stjórnmál),
rokkmúsík, kassetta, sinfónía, stimpla “to stamp”, penni “pen”, firma, arkitekt, klósett “toilet” (cf. German Klo).
Efforts have been made to replace some of the above words, especially the more
recent arrivals. But this has not always met with success and proposed
replacements bifreið,
kornflögur, söluturn, vélhjól and vindlingur for car, cornflakes,
kiosk, motorbike and cigarette respectively are mainly
confined to writing or formal occasions. To the above could be added gír “gear”, skáti “scout”, ál “aluminium”, banki, tékki “cheque”, hotel, jógúrt, alkóhól, vítamín. Some years ago the íslensk málnefnd accepted skvass as an acceptable form of
international squash.
Taking
Óskarsson’s point into account, it is nevertheless true to say that the upshot
of the hreintungustefna is that the vast majority of the obvious loans have been
cleansed from Icelandic - at least from the written language, and as a rule,
only terms of international currency are loaned and then only under the
conditions stated below.
[ Top ]
Loanwords in Faroese
As
in the case of Iceland, some of the original settlers of the Faroes would have
included speakers of Gaelic languages or persons who had lived in those Norse
colonies where these languages were spoken. Ties with Ireland and Gaelic
Scotland were no doubt maintained and this may have also facilitated the small
but not insignificant number of early Celtic loanwords in Faroese. Some
examples are given by Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen (1983, p.132): blak “buttermilk”, lámur “paw, large hand; left
hand”, slavak
“green algae” (cf. Icelandic slafak
from the same Gaelic word).
Among
the earliest loans are those which entered the language with the introduction
of Christianity into Scandinavia (Iceland became officially
Middle
Low German and Danish-mediated MLG had a similar influence on the Faroese
lexicon as they had on the Icelandic. From Middle Low German we can assign handil “trade; shop”, bakari “baker”, blíva “become”, mekt “power”, trakt “funnel“ and arbeiði “work” (only bakari is still in Icelandic), as
well as many others which have been loaned in via Danish. In this latter
category we can place betala
“pay” (from betale;
obsolete in Icelandic), toy
“cloth” (Danish tøj)
and vitskapur “science” (Danish videnskab), as well as begynna “begin” (begynde), bevara “preserve” (bevare), forderva “spoil, corrupt” (fordærve), forráða “betray” (forråde) and gemeinur “public, common” (gemen is now not especially
favoured in Danish). Danish is also the source of some Faroese abstract nouns
terminating in -heit
and -ilsi
(the Danish endings are themselves derived from Middle Low German) e.g. in
words like sannheit
“truth” (sandhed)
and følilsi “feeling, sensation” (følelse). Some older loans that
appear to be purely Danish are forelska “fall in love with” (forelske), melda “report” (melde), treffa “meet” (træffe), vælsigna “bless” (velsigne), bedrøviligur “sad,
miserable” (bedrøvelig),
herligur
“splendid”
(herlig), ringur “poor,
inferior” (ringe).
A calque derived from a (more recent) purely native Danish construction is orðaskifti “debate” (ordskifte), while Hagström mentions
the fairly recent calques skaðastova
“emergency room” (skadestue)
and vøggustova “daycare” (vuggstue), claiming that a Faroese
speaker seeing/hearing them for the first time would likely immediately understand
them.
During
the Reformation and in the post-Reformation period Danish religious language
became so much the norm (e.g. helligond
“Holy Ghost”, herligheit
“glory, splendour”, kerligheit
“love”, trefoldigheit
“trinity”, fortapilsi
“damnation “), that the Faroese Pater Noster had to be retranslated at the
close of the 1800s because it had fallen from folk-memory. Many loans from this
period were High German words mediated via Danish which was now the language of
the church.
However,
in more recent times Faroese has developed its own alternatives to the words
listed above, either from its own resources or in imitation of Icelandic or Old
Norse (or occassionally Norwegian). So begynna “begin” became byrja, betala “pay” became gjalda, bevara “preserve” became varðveita, forderva “spoil” became spilla, forráða “betray” became svíkja, gemeinur “common, public” became vanligur, sannheit “truth” became sannleiki, følilsi “feeling” became kensla, fortapilsi “damnation” became glatan, herligheit “glory, splendour” became dýrd, helligond became heilagur andi, kerligheit became kærleiki and trefoldigheit became tríeind (Poulsen,
1983, p.133).
Concerning international words that have been replaced by native terms we could
mention debattur
> orðaskifti
“debate” (modeled on Danish ordskifte),
demonstration > kravgonga “demonstration” (modeled
on Ice. kröfuganga),
and musikkur > tónleikur “music”. Diskil “diskette” is a Faroese
neologism, as is ljómfløga
“(music) CD” (lit. “sound-disk”; CD-ROM is teldufløga (lit.
“data/computer-disk”)).
As
can be seen from the examples just given, compound nouns ending in -heit and -ilsi were perceived as being
foreign (from MLG via Danish) and native alternatives were sought either by
replacing foreign elements with native ones (sannheit to sannleiki, kerligheit to kærleiki) or where that was not
feasible, replacement by a completely different word (gemeinur to vanligur, følilsi to kensla). The revival of a dead
word is less commonly seen, but begynna > byrja above is an example of
this (cf. Nynorsk børje, Swedish börja).
Some
loans, usual in writing, have been taken directly from Danish and are native to
that language (i.e. non- international terms), e.g. stavilsi “syllable” (stavelse), skapilsi “creation”
(skabelse), fortelja “tell, narrate” (fortælle), lóg “law” (lov), and fairly recent loans møblar “furniture”, súltutoy “jam”, innviklaður “intricate”. This occurs especially
when there is no traditional native synonym. But native synonyms are preferred
to foreign-derived ones, so broyta
“(to) change” is used in preference to competing loanword forandra. Among older loans from
Danish we could mention bangheit “fear” (banghed),
góðheit
“goodness”
(godhed), bangilsi “anxiety”, stivilsi “starch” (stivelse), rimpilsi “nymphomania”
(?), ørilsi “dizziness”
(?), stóragtigur “haughty”
(storagtig). Among other more recent
words for which Danish has obviously provided the inspiration we could mention pósthús (posthus) “post office”, fortov (fortov) “pavement”, sparikassi (sparekasse) “savings bank”, polistur (politi, politimand) “policeman” and frisødáma (frisørinde) “(female) hairdresser”.
It has been proposed that drukkin,
fullur replace Danish-derived berúsaður “drunk,
intoxicated” (beruset),
tosa (a regionalism meaning
“buzz, hum”) replaces Danish-derived snakka, and í stundini, alt í einum replace Danish-derived eygablikkliga “at once,
immediately” (øjeblikkelig).
Danish
has also contributed many words which are used more or less internationally: moturur (as well
as the Scandinavian bilur from bil),
doktari, lektari “lecturer”, persónur, atom, plast “plastic” (plast), politistoð “police station”, turistur, pensjón, rekord, konservatisma, literaturur, kulturur, opera, kursur “cursor” (competes
with native gangvirði)
and journalistur. Faroese tends to be more
tolerant of these. In Icelandic native words or loan-translations are almost
always used in preference: bíll (actually a Danish loan), læknir, fyrirlesari, maður, frumeind, plast (from Danish plast), lögreglustöð, ferðamaður, eftirlaun, hljómplata, íhald, bókmenntir, menning, söngleikur, bendill and blaðamaður.
Danicisms
are often used as synonyms for common Faroese words in everyday speech. Many of
these in fact never appear in print. Almost any Danish word may be used and
pronunced as Faroese, according to Hagström. So instead of syrgin, óneyðugur, øki, vanliga one may hear bedrøvaður, yfirflødigur, umráði and í almindeligheit (< bedrøvet, overflødig, område, i almindelighed – these are all common
Danish words/expressions).
Some
of the loans in the field of the sciences also illustrate greater tolerance on
the part of Faroese in accepting words current on the international scene.
Compare for example vitamin,
proton, atom, neutron, elektron and moturur with their direct
Icelandic equivalents fjörefni
(life-stuff), róteind,
frumeind (elementary particle), nifteind, rafeind (amber-particle) and hreyfill (something which turns).
On the whole it can be said that Faroese is more willing to accept
international terms than Icelandic, and many such words are found, especially
in the spoken/everyday language, e.g. telefon, politi, atom, tomat, system, postur, banki, professari, elekrisitet, veirur “wire” and musikkur. (An Icelandic contact,
however, informs me that tómatur
is now generally used in Icelandic).
Faroese
has also been more affected by English than Icelandic. This is to be expected
since the policy of purism in Faroese is less developed, the Faroes are a
smaller linguistic community, and finally, their closer proximity to the UK has
to be a factor. Early loans from English are húkur and pokari. British seamen are
thought to be the donor of the Faroese loan smílur (smell). Occupation by
English troops during the Second World War introduced some English words into
Faroese such as fittur
“nice” (fit) and fokkaður
“knackered” (fucked) but most of these were only fashionable for a short period
of time. Other older loans are beli,
stumbla and trupul. Notable words in Faroese
which have come in from English are filmur, smart and hobby. In agreement with
Icelandic, Faroese has probably loaned ruff and dekk from Early Modern Dutch.
(An Icelandic friend, however, tells me that filmur, smart and hobby are found in Icelandic
slang, but only filmur
is acceptable in writing). Harðdiskur/harðdiskur “hard disk” has been a successful
international loan in both languages (English harddisk perhaps mediated
via Danish harddisk).
English has also contributed such modern loans as rufla, svinga, keis, fjús, kjokkfullur. More recent loans include
bulldosari, sprinkla, skjansur, klips, babysittari, bodybuildari, image, ketsjupp, outsidari, tape and weekendur.
Finally,
Icelandic itself has been a major contributor to the Faroese word-stock, either
with direct loans, or otherwise providing the necessary lexical and semantic
inspiration. This is not simply because of the close geographical proximity of
the two island nations nor owing to their historical ties. Neither does Faroese
borrow simply because Icelandic is the nearest related language (although this
is part of the answer) - after all English does not borrow from the
historically close West Frisian. Iceland has managed a successful policy of
lexical purism for over a century and formed numerous new coinages from the
native word-stock. As such Icelandic provides the ideal source for tried and
tested words formed from roots which are historically West Scandinavian in
derivation. Icelandic, as a closely related language in structure and lexis, has
taken much of the effort away from Faroese linguists and academic bodies
requiring the formation of abstract and technical words from native word
elements.
Efforts
have been made in written Faroese to follow the Icelansdic language example and
eschew all Danish loanwords, e.g. mynd instead of bílæti (Ice. mynd), siglingarfrøði instead of navigation (Ice. siglingafræði), halastjørna instead of komet (Ice. halastjarna). Most of what works in
Icelandic also works in Faroese – and there are many new words in Faroese based
on Icelandic models – but such efforts are not always successful. A parallel
might be drawn in some of the American words which sound strange in British
English. Sometimes Faroese prefers to alter the loaned elements to more
idiomatically or semantically Faroese elements. Faroese might use a Danish loan
synomymously or instead, or as in the scientific examples above, it might
accept international terms. For example, the Icelandic heimspeki “philosophy” (lit.
world-wisdom) has been borrowed directly, but -speki, which is used both as a
stand-alone word and as a productive element elsewhere in Icelandic, does not
exist in Faroese. So some Faroe Islanders might not understand the meaning of heimspeki although they will
doubtless recognise it as an Icelandicism. Similarly fólkaræði is a loan-translation of lýðræði “democracy”, because the
element lýð
“people, nation” (cf. Low German Lüd, German Leute, Old English lêod)
is not much used in Faroese. As mentioned above, Faroese sometimes provides
alternative words, one from Icelandic or native stock and the other a Danish or
international loan. So we find verkamaður
“labourer” (Ice. verkamaður)
competing with arbeiðari
(Dan. arbejder),
løgregla “police” (Ice. lögregla) competes with politi (Dan. politi), landafrøði “geography” (Ice. landafræði) competes with geografi (Dan. geografi), stjørnufrøði “astronomy” (Ice. stjörnufræði) competes with astronomi (Dan. astronomi), skaldsøga “novel” (Ice. skáldsaga) competes with roman (Dan. roman) and ravmagn “electricity” (Ice. rafmagn) competes with el(ektrisitet) (Dan. elektricitet). There are many other
examples of this duality, some of which will be detailed in the wordlists that
follow.
Despite
some competing lexical items, Icelandic has still been the source for many new
and accepted words into Faroese, although not everyone is happy about it.
Indeed some purists have encouraged a backlash against the perceived
“Icelandicisms” just as many earlier did against the then offensive
“Danicisms”. A fascinating example of the kind of difficulties faced when
loan-translating Icelandic words (and creating neologisms) is reported in p.206
of Haugen, Scandinavian Language Structures. Describing Ella
Clausén's investigations into spoken and written Faroese vocabulary (see
booklist), he remarks:
“Of
the 580 “new” words she selected from Fa newspapers 1974-75, 55 proved to be
wholly Faroese, 330 were loanwords or loan-translations of Danish terms, 17
were of international origin, and 178 were calqued on Icelandic. The most
controversial of these were the Icelandic words, which to Faroese purists
represented the best model, while others resented the fact they were novel and
almost as foreign as the Danish”.
Haugen
goes on to mention that lýðveldi,
a calque from Icelandic (discussed above), when broadcast on Faroese radio, was
only known to 18 out of 70 randomly questioned Faroese speakers.
From
the many examples of Icelandic to Faroese loans that could be cited I will
confine myself to the following (Danish words in brackets): frummaður “primitive man” (urmenneske), frumrit “original text” (urtekst), mentan “education” (Ice. menntun) (uddanelse), sjónvarp “television” (although
this still competes with fjernsyn
from Danish fjernsyn),
útvarp “radio” (radio), kervi “system” (system), meginreglu “principle, maxim” (grundsætning), krabbamein “cancer” (lit.
crab-tumour) (kræft),
vistfrøði “ecology” (økologi), løgfrøði “law” (lov), framleiða “produce, manufacture” (frembringe), framleiðsla “production, manufacturing”
(produktion, frembringelse), skjalasavn “archive” (arkiv), bókasafn “library” (bibliotek), bókavørður “librarian” (book-ward) (bibliotekar), fjølmiðil “mass-medium” (medie), tøkni “technology” (Ice. tækni) (teknologi), trygging “insurance” (forsikring), sáttmáli “contract” (kontrakt, aftale), umhvørvi “environment” (omgivelser, miljø), tyrla “helicopter” (Ice. þyrla) (helikopter), verkfrøði “engineering” (Ice. verkfræði) (ingeniørvidenskab), verkfrøðingur “engineer” (ingeniør), bókmentir “literature” (literatur), einahandil “monopoly” (monopol), ravmagn “electricity” (Ice. rafmagn) (elektricitet), skrá “programme” (køreplan), telda “computer” (Ice. tölva has no doubt been
influential) (datamaskine),
-virki “factory” (-fabrik), -savn “archive, collection” (-samling), -stova “office” (-kontor), -frøði “-ology, -science” (-videnskab, -ologi). More examples can be
found in the word-lists below.
Words
of Danish origin are used more liberally in writing than in Icelandic. This is
even more the case in speech, in which Danish forms are also more acceptable
than in Icelandic. Even so, most Danicisms have been eradicated from the formal
written language. A good deal depends upon the nature of the speech made or the
article written - formal prose and speeches usually require a native vocabulary
and idiom which closely resembles the Icelandic. Written Faroese tends to
either be associated with traditional culture or high culture. Neologisms,
loan-translations and “neo-archaisms” are often used for more literary and
higher registers. As in the case of Icelandic, the main driving principle of
the lexically puristic policy pursued has been to eradicate obvious Danicisms.
It does not help that the most popular and widespread reading matter – such as
weekly magazines and illustrated papers – is nearly all in Danish. The printed
word remains a very important contact interface Danish > Faroese. Similarly,
films are usually shown with Danish subtitles. Despite some concerns that
television would harm traditional Faroese culture, TV programmes are
transmitted in the Faroes and most, as we would expect, are imported from
In
other words, “popular culture” has not been conquered by Faroese. Faroese
scholar Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen notes that he is so accustomed to Danish that,
when writing Faroese texts outside the scope of everyday life, Danish often
first springs to his mind. On the plus side, compared to population size, book
production is now abundant in Faroese and covers all literary genres and many
branches of science and knowledge. Perhaps one day popular culture will be
become a Faroese domain, too.
As
indicated by the discussion above, Faroese adults are bilingual, with their
reading competency in Danish often being rather better than their spoken
skills. Indeed, not a few people have a wider reading vocabulary in Danish than
in Faroese in some areas! A constant case of language interference is the fact
that a Faroeman has the entire Danish lexicon at his disposal. Being bilingual,
the speaker can fill in the gaps from his knowledge of Danish if no suitable
Faroese terms exist. Danish is also used when Faroese speakers wish to
communicate with Norwegians and Swedes. Danes can expect to be addressed in
Danish, so placing the full burden of bilingualism on the shoulders of the
Faroese.
In
general it can be said that Faroese embraces a greater number of loans than
Icelandic, and many are an accepted part of the language. It is fruitless to
try to replace them.
The
task of developing a language to meet the needs of modern life is not a simple
one; Faroese has a rich vocabulary in the fields of nature, daily life and
traditional work, but is less sufficient in abstract, philosophical and modern
technical terms. It is the role of the national language council to come up
with such terms.
[ Top ]
The following table shows some loan-translations into Faroese from Icelandic
and any Danish or internationally derived lexical alternatives in Faroese that
compete with them:
<div
align="center">
|
Faroese |
Icelandic model |
Danish-derived rival |
International rival |
Meaning |
|
afturhald |
afturhald |
|
konservatisma |
conservatism |
|
ágóði |
ágóði |
|
profittur |
profit |
|
alisfrøði |
eðlisfræði |
|
fysikk |
physics |
|
atgongumerki |
aðgöngumiði |
|
bilett |
ticket |
|
bilstjóri |
bílstjóri |
|
sjaufførur |
chauffeur |
|
bókmentir |
bókmenntir |
|
literaturur |
literature |
|
eftirløn |
eftirlaun |
|
pensjón |
pension |
|
einaræði |
einræði |
|
diktatur |
dictator |
|
einkasøla |
einkasala |
|
monopol |
monopoly |
|
ferðamaður |
ferðamaður |
|
turistur |
tourist |
|
fjølritari |
ljósritunarvél (older fjölritari) |
|
duplikator |
photocopier |
|
forngripagoymsla |
forngripasafn |
|
museum |
museum |
|
forseti |
forseti |
|
presidentur |
president |
|
frásøgn |
frásögn |
|
reportasja |
report |
|
gangvirði |
bendill |
kursur |
cursor |
cursor |
|
hitamátari |
hitamælir |
|
termometur |
thermometer |
|
íbúð |
íbúð |
leyligheit |
|
apartment |
|
íhald |
íhald |
|
konservatisma |
conservatism |
|
innflutningur |
innflutningur |
|
importur |
import |
|
kervi |
kerfi |
|
system |
system |
|
krabbamein |
krabbamein |
kreft |
|
cancer |
|
kykmynd |
kvikmynd |
|
filmur |
film |
|
landalæra |
landafræði |
|
geografi |
geography |
|
løgregla |
lögregla |
politi
|
|
police |
|
meginregla |
meginregla |
|
principp |
principle,
maxim |
|
met |
met |
|
rekord |
record |
|
myndatól |
myndavél |
|
fotografiapparat |
camera |
|
próvdómari |
prófdómari |
|
sensor |
external marker |
|
ravmagn |
rafmagn |
|
elektricitet |
electricity |
|
serfrøðingur |
sérfræðingur |
|
ekspertur |
expert |
|
siðmenning |
siðmenning |
|
kulturur |
culture |
|
sjúklingavognur |
sjúkrabíll, sjúkrabifreið |
|
ambulsansi |
ambulance |
|
skaldsøga |
skáldsaga |
|
roman |
novel |
|
skjalasavn |
skjalasafn |
|
arkiv |
archive |
|
skrivstova |
skrifstofa |
|
kantór |
office |
|
skurðlækni |
skurðlæknir |
|
kirurgur |
surgeon |
|
songleikur |
söngleikur |
|
opera |
opera |
|
sorgarleikur |
sorgarleikur |
|
tragedia |
tragedy |
|
súrevni |
súrefni |
|
oxygenium |
oxygen |
|
talva |
tafla |
|
tabell |
table |
|
tónlist |
tónlist |
|
musikkur |
music |
|
uppalingarfrøði |
uppeldisfræði |
|
pedagogikkur |
pedagogy |
|
urtagarðsmaður |
garðyrkjumaður |
|
gartnari |
gardener |
|
útflutningur |
útflutningur |
|
eksportur |
export |
|
vatnsevni |
vetni |
|
hydrogenium |
hydrogen |
|
verkamaður |
verkamaður |
arbeiðari |
|
labourer, workman |
|
verkfall |
verkfall |
|
streika |
strike |
|
vísindi |
vísindi |
vitskapur |
|
science |
</div>
It
is not easy to determine in some cases whether the international terms have
been loaned via Danish or have come in directly. In the case where the two
insular languages and Danish concord on the form of a word - either fully or in
part - Danish has usually been the donor language.
The following list of examples shows either some Icelandic or Faroese words (or occassionally both) obviously derived from or influenced by Danish:
<div
align="center">
|
Faroese |
Danish model |
Icelandic rival |
International rival |
Meaning |
|
arbeiðari |
arbejder |
verkamaður |
|
labourer |
|
ástarlyrikk |
kærlighedslyrik |
ástarljóð |
|
love poem |
|
atomkraft |
atomkraft |
frumafl |
|
atomic power |
|
blaðmaður |
bladmand |
blaðamaður |
journalistur |
journalist |
|
blóðflutningur |
blodoverføring |
blóðfærsla |
|
blood transfusion |
|
blóðroynd |
blodprøve |
blóðrannsókn |
|
blood test |
|
bókaforlag |
bogforlag |
bókaútgafa, forlag |
|
publisher |
|
brennievni |
brændstof |
brenni |
|
fuel |
|
dataviðgerð |
databehandling |
gagnavinnsla |
|
data processing |
|
dráttarlisti |
tegnekunst |
teikning |
|
draftsmanship |
|
fakmaður |
fagmand |
sérfræðingur |
|
expert,
specialist |
|
ferðsludráp |
færdselsdrab |
umferðarslys |
|
fatal traffic accident |
|
fótgangari |
fodgænger |
fótgangandi |
|
pedestrian |
|
framsýningarhøli |
udstillingshal |
sýningarhöll |
|
exhibition hall |
|
gjaldevni |
betalingsmiddel |
gjaldmiðill |
|
means of payment |
|
gróðurhús |
væksthus |
gróðurhús |
|
greenhouse |
|
heimsbardagi |
verdenskrig |
heimsstyröld |
|
world war |
|
ísbrótari |
isbryder |
ísbrjótur |
|
ice-breaker |
|
keypiorka |
købekraft |
kaupmáttur |
|
purchasing power |
|
koyrikort |
kørekort |
ökuskírteini |
|
driving license |
|
krígsbrotverk |
krigsforbrydelse |
stríðsglæpur |
|
war crime |
|
krossorð |
krydsord |
krossgáta |
|
crossword |
|
málverji |
målmand |
markvörður |
|
goalkeeper |
|
mannarættindi |
menneskerettigheder |
mannréttindi |
|
human rights |
|
orðaskifti |
ordskifte |
umræða |
debattur |
debate |
|
orðførari |
ordfører |
formælandi |
|
spokesman |
|
politistøð |
politistation |
lögreglustöð |
|
police
station |
|
ráevni |
råstof |
hráefni |
|
raw material |
|
rúmdarfar |
rumfarer |
geimfar |
|
spacecraft |
|
sjálvtøka |
selvbetjening |
sjálfsafgreiðsla |
|
self-service |
|
sólarskipan |
solsystem |
sólkerfi |
|
solar system |
|
spreingievni |
sprængstof |
sprengiefni |
|
explosive |
|
stórveldi |
stormagt |
stórveldi |
|
empire |
|
summarfrítíð |
sommerferie |
sumarfrí |
|
summer
holiday |
|
talsmaður |
talsmand |
frummælandi |
|
spokesman |
|
tannbust |
tandbørste |
tannbursti |
|
tooth brush |
|
tíðarrit |
tidsskrift |
tímarit |
|
periodical |
|
trygdarráð |
sikkerhedsråd |
öryggisráð |
|
security council |
|
tvørmál |
tværmål |
þvermál |
diametur |
diameter |
|
útbúgving |
uddannelse |
menntun |
|
education |
|
vektlyftari |
vægtløfter |
lyftingarmaður |
|
weight lifter |
|
vitskapur |
videnskab |
vísindi |
|
science |
</div>
[ Top ]
Word-formation and Neologisms in Insular West Norse
Having
surveyed the various sources for loans in the two languages, the advent of movements
to purge them and why these policies might have arisen, it is time to examine
what methods Icelandic and Faroese use to replace these ejected words.
Firstly,
a quick explanation of what neologisms are. By neologism we simply mean:
a)
all new words formed from stems or base words which are already, or have been,
present in the lexicon. Such therefore includes derivatives, compounds of all
types as well as the root form itself when b) applies. An example of modern
derivative is the verb toga
“trawl, fish the sea bed” (glossed by Halldórsson as “fiska með botnvörpu”),
which was formed from the agent noun togari “trawler”.
b)
obsolete, archaic, dialectal or extinct words which have been revived, acquired
a change of meaning in their revival, or else simply current words which have
acquired a change of meaning (those of the last type which occur in order to
signify the meaning of a word from an exterior foreign source are called
“loanshifts”). The first of these therefore applies to Modern Icelandic mengi, which has been revived
from ON mengi
with the same meaning of “crowd, multitude”, while ON sími “thread” has been revived as
“telephone” into Modern Icelandic and ON þulr “sage” has become Modern
Icelandic þulur
“announcer”. A contemporary word which has undergone a change of meaning is,
for example, vél
“motor, engine” (older meaning “trick, deception”) - more examples of this
semantic change are given below. Some writers have preferred to call this
category of neologisms “neo-archaisms” since they are not in the truest sense
pure neologisms.
c)
words created by specialists or professionals within their respective fields
and which function as technical terms or jargon. Some of these are clearly
based on foreign forms (although of course they are not loan-translations) e.g.
bíll “car” (cf. Scandinavian bil), gír “gear” and jeppi “jeep, offroad vehicle”.
The medical neologism berklar
has as its inspiration the international medical term tubercolosis.
The
policy in both languages, but especially in Icelandic, to purge the vocabulary
as far as possible of foreign (usually Danish) matter has required the
formation of new replacement words formed from native elements. Various methods
of neologism creation have been current in Icelandic for over a century now but
in Faroese the tradition is weaker and more recent. However in Faroese too
progress in this direction has been made, especially recently. As mentioned
above, an Icelandic dictionary from the last century, Nýdönsk orðabók
með íslenskum þýðingum
(1896) provided many neologisms, among them sími and smásjá, the first of these later
combining with other productive elements to make new compounds such as símstöð “telephone exchange”, símtæki “telephone apparatus”, bréfsími “fax-machine”, símsvari “telephone answering
machine”, símamaður
“telephonist” and many others, and the latter creating by analogy ratsjá “radar” and fisksjá (echo location device for
fishing). Uncountable numbers of new Icelandic words have been coined with this
method of simple combination of meaningful productive elements. Despite the
general acceptance of the puristic policy in Iceland, not all are happy about
what they argue is uneccessary extremism, and writers such as Kristján Albertsson
have complained that the newly coined native words are clumsy, opaque and just
as objectionable as the unwanted foreign loans.
The
systematic and organised collection of neologisms in Icelandic can be said to
really begin with the formation of Orðanefndar Verkfræðingafélags Íslands (“Lexical Advisory Council
for the Icelandic Society of Engineers”) in 1919. It worked with great industry
in the years 1919-27 and coined words in various areas such as ship-building,
engineering, commerce and electrics and had a significant on Icelandic lexical
development.
In
Iceland, and now to a lesser extent in the Faroes, when new words are required
- especially for science, technology or media - they are created by experts who
work within the field in which the word is needed. So physicists may create new
native terms for physics which are lacking in the vocabulary, doctors will
create new terms in medicine, lawyers in law, printers in print technology,
editors in journalese and so on. In Iceland the major sciences and other
professional bodies have a dedicated panel of expert consultants who work
within the field and coin new words as and when these are required, which are
then published as wordlists. About 45 committees are registered with the Íslensk málstöð which have the role of
creating and managing new terminology within their specialist or professional
occupations. The aim is to find a native alternative for an international or
English term before it can take root in the language as permanent loanword. For
example Nýyrði I
(1953) suggested offical Icelandic terms for quite a few international
scientific words such as for fjörefni
for “vitamin”, róteind
for “proton”, frumeind
for “atom”, nifteind
for “neutron” and rafeind
for “electron”, among others. Native terms given in this way are meant for
official and permanent use, as far as possible replacing international words.
It has to be said though that the lists of words published by these bodies
carry no force of law and are meant to be proposals. Nevertheless, the activity
of these engineers and techologists has been crucial. Many of their coinages
have become part of the vocabulary; for example, almost every word in use
concerning electricity is native in origin.
Guðmundur
Björnsson
- doctor - created gerill
“germ”, iðjuhöldur
“industrialist”, orkuver
“power plant”, met
“record, measurement”, lífrænn
“organic”, verb toga
“trawl” from noun togari
“trawler” influenced by trollari
or botnvörpungur (earlier terms for
“trawler”), smitta
(now smita)
“infect” and smitt
(now smit)
“infection” (cf. Danish smitte,
English smite, smitten).
Arnljótur
Ólafsson -
pastor - made vindill
“cigar”, kennd
“sentiment” and hugtak
“concept”.
Guðmundur
Kamban -
author - made hljómleikar
“concert” and tjáning
“expression” and both have spawned numerous derivatives or compounds.
Hallbjörn
Halldórsson
- printer - made stæði
“standard class ticket”, vígorð
“slogan” (to replace slagorð
from Danish slagord)
and þjóðnýting “nationalisation”.
Helgi
Hjörvar -
author - made sjónvarp
“television” which has given rise to many derivatives and gave the old word þulur “announcer” a new meaning
(in Old Norse mythology it meant “sage, wise man, one who tells”).
Jón
Ólafsson -
editor - made málgagn
“organ, journal” and skilgreina
“define”.
Sigurður
L. Jónasson
- secretary in Danish Foreign Office - devised landhelgi “territorial waters,
fishing limits” which has also resulted in several compounds and served as a
model for the neologism lofthelgi
“(national) airspace”.
Guðmundur
Magnússon
first used the word berklar
“tubercolosis” in an article of 1895 and it has since formed several compounds.
Bjarni
Sæmundsson
created svif
for “plankton” and smásjá
for “microscope”.
Björn
Bjarnason frá Viðfirði
devised tækni
“technology” and using the Old Norse úð “sense, attitude” samúð “sympathy, compassion”
(which provided the model for antonym andúð “antipathy”).
Guðmundur
Finnbogason
- professor - coined the verb sefja
“hypnotise” and noun derivative sefjan (now sefjun)
“hypnotism, suggestion”, bannhelgi
for “taboo” and tíðni
“frequency”.
Sigurður
Guðmundsson
- teacher - has formed a small number of words which are still current, e.g. háttvís “tactful, discreet”, háttvísi “tact, discretion”, róttækur “radical” and andúð “antipathy”.
Sigurður
Nordal -
professor - has shown himself to have good taste and a high level of
productivity concerning the formation of new Icelandic words. Some of his
creations are einbeiting
“concentration”, dróttkvæði
“court poetry” (an ON poetic metre), snyrting “bathroom, toilet” (has formed
several compounds), tölva
“computer” and útvarp
“radio”.
Nobel
Prize winning author Halldór Kiljan Laxness has also had his influence
in this area. We can mention drengjukollur
“bobbed hair”, samyrkjubú
“collective farm” and stéttvís
“class-conscious”.
Vilmundur
Jónsson -
former doctor - formed among other terms sýni “specimen”, fúkalyf “antibiotic”, hvotsótt “Bornholm disease” and visna “atrophy”.
Alexander
Jóhannesson
created the verb hanna
“design” and noun derivative hönn
“design”.
Jónas
Hallgrímsson
– poet - coined, among other words, aðdráttarafl “(gravitational) pull”
(to-drawing-force), hitabelti
“tropics” (heat-belt), ljósvaki
“ether” and sporbaugur
“(orbital) ellipse”. These are still used in daily speech. He is also credited
with having radically changed the dominant poetic style in Icelandic to one
closer to the medieval literature.
Konráð
Gíslason –
professor of Nordic Philiology at the
Regarding Faroese, these men have made some notable contributions:
Christian
Matras
(1900-1988) - linguist, author - one of the most important innovators and
inventors in the Faroese language. His numerous neologisms are now an accepted
part of the Faroese lexicon and feel as if they always have been.
Jóannes
Patursson
(1866-1946) - farmer, politician and a journalist for the Føringatíðindi newspaper, the first paper
in Faroese (published 1890-1906). Patursson was a keen creator of new words.
Rasmus
Rasmussen
(1871-1962) - teacher, botanist - created a complete Faroese terminology for
botany and contributed to the development of academic Faroese.
Rasmus
Effersøe
(1857-1916) - agricultural consultant, author and poet - a fine stylist in
Faroese. Uttered the now famous words that he could not have a thought that he
could not fully express in Faroese.
Jákup
Dahl
(1878-1944) - priest and linguist - wrote Føroysk Mállæra (Faroese Grammar) in 1907
and created a Faroese grammatical terminology. He is the father of the Faroese
liturgical language, and in the 20s and 30s he translated most of the holy
scriptures, and also the order of service and general prayer-book. Dahl translated
the Nýggja testamenti (1937) into Faroese. He also composed and translated
many hymns.
Hans
Debes Joensen
(1913-95) - physicist and anatomist - wrote the greatest single contribution to
Faroese neologisms to date in the form of Alisfrøði (1969), a 640-page
textbook of physics. He created new words and expanded the meanings of existing
ones. Joensen also contributed new words for anatomy and contributed to the
development of academic Faroese.
Jakob
Jakobsen (1864-1918)
- linguist - founded the Faroese academic language (together with Poul Nolsøe)
with the publication in 1907 of his Diplomatarium Færoense.
Jakobsen (and Nolsøe) developed many new Faroese words for concepts which were
previously lacking in Faroese, e.g. kollvelting “revolution” – a purely native
neologism and now a well-established word. Further now well-established words
created by Jakobsen are einahandil
“monopoly”, mentir
“culture” and skjalasavn
“archive”. Christian Matras later continued the work of Jakobsen and Nolsøe.
Mikkjal
Dánjalsson á Ryggi
(1879-1956) - scientist - made important contributions in the fields of zoology
and geography, and contributed to the development of academic Faroese.
Jóannes
Rasmussen
(1912-1992) - geologist - devised terms within geology - an essential branch of
studies in the Faroe Isles.
Bjarni
Niclasen
(1918-80) - chemist - developed the terminology of chemistry during this
century and contributed to the development of academic Faroese.
It
is sometimes the case that a new concept or object will be represented by more
than one word before one lexical form becomes the accepted norm and this can
often be an interesting situation. The current word for “telephone” sími was not the first word to
denote this new technology and neither did it gain universal acceptance. The
first word to denote “telephone” alone (and not cover “telegraph” as well) was hljómþráður (“sound-thread”) coined in
1877, followed by the competing terms hljóðberi (“sound-bearer”) in 1878, hljóðþráður (“sound-thread”) in 1889
and talþráður (“speech-thread”) that
same year. Sími
was taken from Old Norse at the end of the 1800s by college teacher Pálmi
Pálsson and over the following 10-15 years, sími gradually edged out its competition
and become the standard accepted term, forming numerous compound derivatives.
The current word for radio útvarp
(“out-caster”) is another case in point. Coined by Sigurður Nordal, útvarp ousted early competator víðboð (“wide-message”) and the
later more potent competition from víðvarp (“wide-casting”, which corresponds
perfectly with English “broadcasting”). Finally, there is for example þota “jet plane”, which was
coined in 1956 by journalist Högni Torfason and completely ousted the previous
inelegant compound term þrýstiloftsflugvél
(“compressed air flight-machine”). Torfason derived his noun from the verb þjóta “dart, rush” and many
words have since been formed from this stem, e.g. þotaflugmaður “jet pilot” (which
replaced the earlier cumbersome þrýstiloftsflugvélarmaður). As can be seen from the
last example the users of the language typically favour simple, transparent
solutions.
Often
several alternatives are devised for a foreign word. One usually becomes
dominant while the others disappear. For example, AIDS has been called aðnæmi, alnæmi, eisuveki, eyðni, eyðsli, fjölnæmi, ínæming, næma, næming, ónæmistæring, ónæmivisna, ótsýki, ótveiki, óvar, varnarkröm. A study in 1987 showed
that almost 60% of respondents used eyðni, 35% alnæmi
and 1% ónæmistæring.
The word eyðni
has become dominant.
An
interesting case is afforded by the neologism created by Dr. Björn Bjarnason in
1912, tækni,
which denotes “technology” (in general). This new word partially draws on
Modern Icelandic tæki
“tool, implement, device” and partially on Danish (and ultimately
international) teknik.
Bjarnason's word can therefore be seen as a kind of agglutinating compromise
which merges the form and meaning of native and foreign (using native suffix -ni).
It
must be borne in mind that neologisms are unlike most linguistic phenomena in
that they generally have their origins in the written language,
especially that of the learned or literary variety. As neologisms are mainly
coined by authors, scholars, scientists or journalists, many of the older terms
will live on in the mouths of the everyday people, even if the new words often
- but not always - eventually become the norm for society as a whole. Since
many who are faced with the need to create a new word for a new concept usually
prefer to coin a term rather than borrow one, this serves to increase the time
it takes for a newly constructed word to become dominant. The examples given
above and elsewhere in this article show that it may take some time for native
neologisms to become accepted and even then a foreign loan may still exist in
the colloquial language. A good example of this is hreyfill which competes with
non-native mótor
in several different contexts. Hreyfill
has now the more widespread general usage, but seamen still use mótor (or indeed vél) when referring to boats -
e.g. as in mótorbátur
“motor boat”. Furthermore, hreyfill
is never used in reference to car engines, where vél is the preferred term (although mótor is also used). Similarly,
it is worth noting that despite ratsjá having been coined just after the last World War
(modelled on smásjá),
the international term radar
is still used in Icelandic (especially speech) and has not been defeated by the
neologism. Vindlingur
“cigarette” is sometimes found in print but not at all in the less formal,
spoken language. Many farmers report that they prefer the loan traktor in speech to the coined dráttarvél (“pulling-machine”) or
even the neater post-war neologism dragi (“something that draws, pulls”). However in print, dráttarvél is the prestige term. The
neologisms glóaldin
“orange” and bjúgaldin
“banana” were ridiculed by some when they first appeared in the 1920s. They
have failed to oust borrowed appelsína and banani, although they sometimes appear in print. As so many times before,
we see here a clear disparity between the uptake and acceptance of neologisms
in spoken and written Icelandic. It has in some cases not proven possible to
replace commonly used words with neologisms and in other cases, e.g. in the
international world of ideas, abstract words have often fared well against
their proposed native replacements: pólitík, kommúnismi, symfónia, barokk.
In
other cases, however, the neologism has succeeded in driving the Danish-derived
or international term from the common language. Ottósson notes that in the
early decades of last century the words kókkhús “kitchen” and fortó “pavement”
(cf. Danish fortov) were
used in speech, but one now no longer hears them – they have been entirely
displaced by native eldhús
and gangstétt. Similarly, kompás was in general use as late
as the 1960s, but those born after 1950 almost only use neologism áttaviti. In textbooks in schools
children now learn the Icelandic new words for things for which their parents
or grandparents may have used old loanwords.
Sometimes
it happens that no immediate native equivalent can be created to cover a
foreign word. So, for example, Birgitta Lindgren notes that no fewer than 5
Icelandic words have been proposed to cover the meaning of the (admittedly
complex) English word project.
Icelandic has a more or less fixed policy on the issue of neologisms:
i) Create new words or
revive/adapt old ones (“neo-archaisms”) as soon as new concepts come into the
language before foreign words can take root
ii) If no native words can be made or adapted, loan-translate the word
preferably from Danish or less ideally from an international source or
reproduce its literal meaning
iii) As a last resort loan the word more or less directly from Danish,
or from elsewhere, but adapt its form to the Icelandic sound and inflexional
system.
Concerning
i) examples are given below in the section on word-forming. The creation
of entirely new words from indigenous resources is often the most interesting
aspect of the Icelandic puristic policy. The ideal is to find a
self-explanatory term for the object or concept being denoted, e.g. the
neologism gervihnöttur
“satellite” (lit. artificial heavenly body).
With
regard to iii) we could give the examples of berkill, kofti and bíll (from German Tuberkel,
English helicopter and Danish (automo)-bil)
Many,
many words have coming into being via route ii) above and this can be
seen in the examples given throughout this article. It has often been necessary
to loan-translate the elements of an international term or else reproduce its
literal meaning if no other expedient word can be created through compounding,
derivation or revival, e.g. hitaeining
“calorie” (heat-unit), bætiefni
“vitamin” (extra-substance), dulspeki
“mysticism, occultism” (secret-wisdom), hljóðvarp “umlaut” (sound-cast), hljóðfall “accent” (sound-fall), háskóli “university, college” (cf.
German Hochschule), stýrikerfi
“operating system” (steering-system), lesminni “ROM” (a calque on
read-(only)-memory; Faroese also has lesiminni probably in imitation
of the Icelandic).
It is also a much quicker and easier method than i) and for this reason
is a better safeguard against the ever-increasing stream of international
technological terms and concepts that demand Icelandic words. However, as words
such as tolvä,
sími, þota, sjónvarp, rafmagn, bréfsími “fax”, geisladiskur “CD” and many others show,
Icelandic is quite capable of going its own way and forming words that differ
entirely both in construction and concept from their international equivalents.
Allowing
for such differences as Latin and Middle Low German being in earlier periods
the main influences rather than Danish and international words mediated from
English, it can be safely said that the three principles just stated have
always formed the unconscious policy of the Icelandic language towards the
expansion of the vocabulary and the admission of loanwords. As Wessén
puts it (p.49) “Den gamla ordbildningen är i den nutida isländskan levande
och produktiv på ett helt annat sätt än i de andra nordiska språken.”
The great
Danish linguist Rasmus Rask thought that Icelandic had in place a better
linguistic environment for the creation of new words than any other modern
language. This was especially due to the systematic vowel changes and the many
suffixes available to users.
Faroese has much the same policy
albeit more relaxed and less efficient. Faroese is more willing to accept
international loans than Icelandic, as we have already seen. It also is more
tolerant of Danish loans. However to the above three points we could amend ii)
to read thus for Faroese:
ii) If no native words can be
made or adapted, loan directly or loan-translate a word from Icelandic. In
default of this, loan-translate the word preferably from Danish and less
ideally from an international source or reproduce its literal meaning
Faroese
has loaned directly or else loan-translated many such words for abstract or
scientific concepts from Icelandic. This makes the burden on the official
bodies lighter and means that neologism activity is not as well developed or
urgent in the Faroes - they can in many cases simply borrow or adapt an
Icelandic creation which has already proven its worth. Faroese neologisms, just
like loan-translations from Icelandic, will have to compete with already
established terms from other sources. Good examples of Faroese neologisms which
have failed to oust international rivals are fjarrøðil “telephone” and ravmagn “electricity”, competing
against international telefon
and elektrisitet, both borrowed from Danish
(computari has yielded to telda though). The
ever-present and growing external pressure of the foreign media has proved a
problem, as has devising a Faroese alternative before a foreign word can
establish itself. Poulsen (1983, p.133-4) mentions a few more independent
Faroese neologisms: hentleiki
“convenience”, kollvelting
“revolution”, snyril
“spiral”, mýl
“molecule”, fjarrit
“telegram”, almannamál
“social matters”, almannastova
“social services”, búskapur
“economy”, flogbóltur
“volleyball” and the suffix -virki
to form compounds meaning “-factory”.
Points
ii) and iii) will be illustrated in more detail by the
comparative wordlists that follow, but we ought now to examine i) to see how
Icelandic and Faroese construct their new words (literal translations to show
constructional idiom are given in parentheses).
We
should note at this point that Faroese is more liberal in its use of
(originally) foreign affixes than is Icelandic. Faroese has adapted the
following for its own uses, be-,
for-, as well as the suffixes
-arí and -ilsi which it shares with
Icelandic. For example, forferdiligur,
bakarí, bangilsi. Of these words, only bakarí is permissible in
Icelandic.
In
general, though, the Faroese case system is resistant to Danish influence, and
foreign suffixes are as a rule transformed or substituted if they fail to fit
into the language structure. Thus Danish -er appears as -er, -ar, -
Methods
of native new word-formation in Faroese and Icelandic
1) Old words are revived and renewed:
Icelandic: sími “telephone” (Old Norse “thread”); þulur “announcer” (ON “sage”); skrá “catalogue, register” (ON
“parchment skin”); vél
“motor” (used to mean “trick”); gögn “data” (used to mean “tools”); skjár “TV/computer screen”
(archaic word once meaning “window-frame”); háseti “sailor” (ON “oarsman“); lyf “medicament, drug” (meant “potent
substance” (poison or medicine) in ON); list “art” (meant “art, craft”); mótald “modem” (mót- meant “against”).
Faroese: byrja “begin”.
2) Current words acquire more or
new meanings or form new derivatives:
Icelandic: kerfi
“system” (previous meaning “sheaf”); tölva “computer” (from tala “number” and völva “prophetess” (the earliest
computers were held to have magical powers)); hjól “bicycle” (previously only meant
“wheel“); flokkur
“political party” (previously only meant “group”); bylting “revolution” (previously
meant “overturning“); sjóður
“cash; fund” (previously meant “treasure“); erindreki “agent” (previously
meaning “envoy“); deild
“faculty” (from deild
“division”); vetni
“hydrogen” (from vatn
“water”); gjörvi “processor/CPU” (from gera “do”).
Faroese: telda “computer” (from derived
from tal
“number”); góðska
“quality”; ítriv
“hobby”; básur
“showcase”; horn
“telephone receiver”.
3) Compound existing lexical elements:
a) Noun + Noun
Icelandic: flugvél “plane” (fly-machine); ritvél “typewriter”
(write-machine); dráttarvél
“tractor” (pulling-machine); sjónvarp
“television” (vision-caster); myndvarpi
“overhead projector” (image-caster); ferðamaður “tourist” (journey-man); krabbamein “cancer” (crab-tumour); myndvél “camera” (image-machine); skurðlæknir “surgeon”
(incision-doctor); bílstjóri
“driver, chauffeur” (car-steerer); skáldsaga “novel” (poet-story); verkfall “strike” (work-drop); tónlist “music” (tone-craft); fjörefni “vitamin” (life-stuff); eimreið “locomotive” (steam-ride);
hárskeri “hairdresser, barber”
(hair-cutter, cf. klæðskeri
“tailor”); hitageymir
“thermos” (heat-storer); hitamælir
“thermometer” (heat-measurer); efnishyggja
“materialism” (material-thinking); efnafræði “chemistry” (substance-science); hugbúnaður “software”
(thought-equipment); símaskrá
“telephone directory”; gagnvinnsla
“data processing”; stýrikerfi
“operating system”; vegabréf
“passport”; leikhús
“theatre”, jarðfræði
“geology” (cf. German Erdkunde); fjárfesting “investment”; myndband “video”.
Faroese: fótbóltur “soccer” (foot-ball); landavegur “highway” (national-road);
fuglasongur “birdsong” (bird-song); skriviborð “desk” (writing-table); berghol “tunnel” (rock-hole); ritmynd “diagram” (written-image);
orðaskifti “discussion; debate”
(word-exchange); flogfar
“aeroplane” (flight-craft); flogberi
“aircraft-carrier” (flight(-craft)-bearer); almannastova “social services”
(public-office); eyðkvæmi
“AIDS”.
b) Adjective + Noun
Icelandic: rafmagn “electricity” (amber-power
(Greek elektron means amber)); smásjá “microscope” (small-sight); hráefni “raw material”
(raw-stuff); svartþröstur
“blackbird” (swarthy-thrush); smásaga
“novella, short-story” (small-story); fornsaga “antiquity” (ancient-history); margföldun “multiplication”
(many-increase); fjölmiðill
“media” (many-medium); bjartsyni
“optimism” (bright-view).
Faroese: hálvleikur
“half-time” (half-play); frummaður
“primitive man” (elemental-man); fjarrit “telegram” (far-writing); stuttsøga “novella, short-story”
(short-story); meginregla
“maxim” (main-rule); fjølritari
“photocopier” (multi-writer); súrevni
“oxygen” (sour-stuff); stórveldi
“empire” (great-power).
c) Adjective + Adjective
Icelandic: gildvaxinn “stout, robust”
(thick-grown); sjálfmenntaður
“self-taught” (self-instructed).
Faroese: bikasvartur
“pitch darkness” (pitch-black); stjørnklárur “radiant” (star-clear).
d) Noun + Verb
Icelandic: arfleiða “bequeath”
(inheritance-lead); skilgreina
“define” (division-discern); vélrita
“typewrite” (machine-write); dagsetja
“date” (day-set).
Faroese: hálshøgga
“behead” (neck-hew); skráseta
“record, register” (list-set).
e) Adjective + Verb
Icelandic: snöggsjóða “parboil” (quick-seethe); rangfæra “distort, pervert”
(wrong-lead).
Faroese: hámeta
“value, esteem” (high-measure); stórgráta “weep, lament” (great-cry).
f) Adverb/Preposition + Noun
Icelandic: útvarp “radio” (out-caster); eftirlaun “pension” (after-payment);
framleiðsla “manufacturing”
(forward-leading); íhald
“conservatism” (on-holding); frásögn
“report, account” (about-tale); útflutningur “export” (out-transport); íbúi “resident” (in-dweller); þvermál “diameter”
(cross-measurement); niðurstaða
“outcome, conclusion” (down-situation).
Faroese: undirskrivning
“signature” (under-writing); andstøða
“opposition” (against-standing); frásøgn “report” (about-tale); afturhald “conservatism”
(back-holding); tvørmál
“diameter” (cross-measurement); útvarpan “broadcasting” (out-casting); uppvørpa “overhead projector”
(up-thrower); samkoma
“conference” (together-coming).
g) Adverb/Preposition + Verb
Icelandic: aðstoða “support” (against-back); mótmæla “deny, refute, speak
against” (against-speak); yfirvega
“consider, think on, reflect” (over-weigh); ummynda “transform” (about-shape);
endurþekkja “recognise” (re-know).
Faroese: undirskriva
“sign” (under-write); undirvísa
“teach” (under-show); útleggja
“translate, explain” (lay-out); andstøða “oppose, resist” (against-stand).
4) Use of Suffixes
A Nouns
a) -un/-an
Icelandic: skoðun “opinion”; gölvun “electro-plating”; endurholdgun “reincarnation”; þornun “dehydration”; tvímyndun “dimorphism”; æxlun “generation,
reproduction”; tilvitnun
“quotation, citation”; ákvörðun
“decision, resolution”; herskipan
“military planning”; stjórnun
“administration, management”; þéttun
“condensation”; mengun
“pollution”.
Faroese: granskan “research”; útvarpan “broadcasting”; reinskan “cleansing”; vitan “knowledge”; dyrkan “cultivation; worship”; skapan “creation”; betran “improvement”; remban “exertion, effort”; líðan “suffering”; kannan “examination, inspection”.
b) -ing/-ning
Icelandic: tjáning “expression”; þjóðnýting “nationalisation”; menning “culture”; greining “distinction, separation”;
litasamsetning “colouring,
colourisation”; kveiking
“ignition”; ísetning
“installation”; eiming
“distillation”; smurning
“lubrication”; skilning
“understanding”; aukning
“increase”; játning
“consent”; samning
“composition, written piece”.
Faroese: bygging
“building, structure”; gransking
“research”; skriving
“writing”; geisling
“radiation”; orðing
“expression, formulation”; tendring
“lighting, ignition”; lodding
“soldering”; fastsetning
“provision, stipulation”; siðing
“civilisation”; tiðarmerking
“dating”; rokning
“account; calculation”; evnasambinding
“chemical compound”.
c) -ill/-il
(derivation morpheme)
Icelandic: berkill “tubercolosis”, hreyfill “motor”; vindill “cigar”; gerill “bacteria”; tengill “connection”; bendill “cursor”; sendill “errand boy, messenger”; hefill “plane”; ristill “colon”; þinill “dilator”; víxill “bill of exchange”; þyrill “helicopter rotor”; fetill “strap, baldric”; slagþrýstill “pulse-jet”; sníkill “bacterium, parasite”; smyrill “lubricant”; snertill “(electrical) contact”, biðill “suitor”.
Faroese: geril
“bacteria”; hitil
“calorie”; snyril
“spiral”; brigdil
“variable”; teyggil
“connection”; vøðil
“muscle(?)”; diskil
“diskette”; mýl
“molecule”; tvingsil
“compulsion, coercion”; stongsil
“bar, bolt, barrier”; kyndil
“torch”.
d) -sla
Icelandic: eyðsla “consumption”; leiðsla “guidance, leading”; uppfræðsla “teaching, instruction”; brennsla “incineration,
combustion”; innleiðsla
“introduction”; yfirheyrsla
“interrogation”; aflfærsla
“power transmission”; sýnikennsla
“demonstration”; skírsla
“ablution”; víglsa
“consecration”; guðhræðsla
“piety”; herzla
“hardening”.
Faroese: goymsla
“keeping, care”; ferðsla
“traffic”; rørsla
“movement, current”; heimanýtsla
“domestic comsumption”; føðsla
“food, nourishment”; kensla
“feeling, sensation; instruction”; veitsla “gift; help; feast, good food”; nýtsla “use, consumption,
application”; greiðsla
“payment; dissemtanglement”; breiðsla
“fertilizer”.
e) -ingur
Icelandic: spekingur “sage”; innflutningur “import”; fræðingur “scholar”; hugspekingur “speculative philosopher”;
samningur “agreement, contract”; ágreiningur “difference,
disagreement”; snillingur
“genius, virtuoso”; gáningur
“heed, attention”; dulspekingur
“mystic”, disklingur
“diskette”.
Faroese: føroyingur
“Faroe Islander”; pollendingur
“Pole”; finningur
“find, discovery”; ávinningur
“profit, gain”; degningur
“dawn, daybreak”; arvingur
“heir, inheritor”; skilningur
“understanding, comprehension”; klædningur “suit; covering, boarding”; redningur “rescue”.
f)
-leiki/-leikur
Icelandic: sjúkleiki “illness”; veruleiki “reality”; myndugleiki “authority”; möguleiki “possibility”; örðugleiki “difficulty”; eiginleiki “quality, characteristic”;
næmleiki “sensitivity”; seljanleiki “vendibility”; nýtileiki “adaption”; tærleiki “transparency”; mjúkleikur ”softness”; skjótleikur ”quickness”.
Faroese: beturleiki
“improvement”; strangleiki
“hardness, austerity”; einleiki
“unit(y)”; dugileiki
“fitness, capability”; ævinleiki
“eternity”; dapurleiki
“grief, sorrow”; skuldugleiki
“duty”; svakleiki
“insanity, madness”; samleiki
“identity”; fjarleiki
“distance”.
g)
-ari
Icelandic: skipuleggjari “planner”; borgari “citizen”; nefnari “denominator”; leikari “actor, player”; bakari “baker”; teljari “numerator”; falsari “forger, falsifier”; sjálfmiðlari “automatic direction
finder”; endurnýjari
“regenerator”; kviðdómari
“juror”; myndhöggari
“sculptor”.
Faroese: fjarritari
“telegramist”; málari
“painter”; droymari
“dreamer”; grannskoðari
“auditor”; freistari
“tempter”; vekslari
“stockbroker”; deilari
“divisor”; klagari
“prosecutor”; svikari
“fraudster, swindler”; sigrari
“conquerer, victor”; granskari
“investigator, researcher”; tónleikari
“musician”.
h) -ni, -i (Ice.), -i (Far.)
Icelandic: eyðni “AIDS”
(incorporates the phonology of the international term but is also partly based
on a derivation from the verb eyðna “deplete” (cf. eyðsla “consumption”, eyðing
“destruction”, Norwegian øyde ”desolate”)); tvístirni “binary
star system”; tækni “technology”; tíðni
“frequency”; hlýðni “obedience”; fælni
“phobia”; einkvæni “monogamy”; þjálni
“plasticity”; glettni “humour”; virkni
“activity”; beiðni “request, petition”; nýtni “economy, thrift”; sjálfvirkni
“automation”; einbúi “hermit”; landnemi
“colonist”; farþegi “passenger”.
Faroese: ráðgevi “advisor”; geri
“generator”; málverji “goalkeeper”; kveiki
“enzyme”; roykilsi “incense”; landi
“compatriot”; dølski “dullness, lethargy”; ovasti “commander-in-chief”; snøri “line,
cord”; spurni “question, matter, issue”; vandi
“difficulty”; eyðkenni “characteristic; symptom”; iðri “remorse, contrition”; treiski
“obstinacy; defiance”; vøddi “muscle”; høvi
“opportunity”; rættvísi “justice”; fimleiki
“gymnastics”.
i) -skapur
Icelandic: boðskapur
“announcement”; fláttskapur “duplicity”; kveðskapur “poetry”; drengskapur “honour”; aumingjaskapur “weakness”; dónaskapur
“lowness, rudeness, churlishness”; afskræmiskapur
“monstrosity, hideousness”; höfðingskapur “magnificence,
generosity”; klókskapur “wisdom”.
Faroese: vitskapur “science”; búskapur “husbandry; economy”; feginskapur
“pleasure, joy”; fyllskapur “drunkeness,
inebriation”; errinskapur “conceit,
self-aggrandizement”; ørskapur “madness, insanity”; heiðinskapur “heathendom, paganism”; bóndaskapur
“agricultural industry”; villskapur “wildness,
savagery”; søluskapur “merchandise”; tvørskapur “obstinacy”.
To
those noun forming elements discussed by Clausén I would append:
j) -naður (sometimes
shortened to -ni in Faroese)
Icelandic: hagnaður “profit, benefit”; þrifnaður “cleanliness, purity”; fagnaður “rejoicing, jubilation”; fráskilnaður “detachment,
disconnection”; fatnaður
“clothing, clothes”; iðnaður
“industry, manufacture; handicraft”; skapnaður “creation, form”; getnaður “conception, procreation”;
vefnaður “fabric, textile”; kostnaður “cost, expense”; batnaður “improvement”.
Faroese: trivni “vigorous development,
growth; industry”; dugni
“ability, capability”; búni
“dress, attire”; lýdni
“obedience”; spurni
“question, issue, matter”; lesnaður
“reading”; trúnaður
“faith, confidence, trust”; hugnaður
“pleasure, satisfaction”; marknaður
“market”; skilnaður
“separation, divorce”; sparnaður
“economy, thrift”; javnaður
“likeness, resemblance”; søknaður
“application, petition”; hernaður
“war; anger, fury”.
k) -domúr
Icelandic: manndómur “bravery”; vesaldómur “misery; feebleness”; læknisdómur “medicine”; biskupsdómur “episcopate”; ekkjudómur “widowhood”; leyndardómur “mystery”; kennidómur “priesthood”; helgidómur “sanctuary, temple”.
Faroese: loynidómur “secret”; spádómur “prophecy”; lærdómur “learning, scholarship”; moydómur “virginity, maidenhead”; hordómur “adultery”; trældómur “servitude, bondage”; trølldómur “witchcraft, sorcery,
magic”.
l) -semd, -semi
(from adjectives in -samur)
Icelandic: meinsemd “tumour, disease”; röksemd “logic”; framkvæmdarsemi “enterprise”; samsemd “sameness”; spurulsemi “inquisitiveness”; regulsemi “orderliness, regularity”;
athugasemd “remark, note,
annotation”; vegsemd
“honour, glory”; einsemd
“loneliness, solitude”; nægjusemi
“contentment”; gagnsemi
“usefulness, profitibility”; friðsemd
“peacefulness”; liðsemi
“assistance, aid”; ástsemd
“affection”; hlutsemi
“meddling, interference”; íhaldssemi
“conservatism”; umhyggjusemi
“caution, care”.
Faroese: hjálpsemi “helpfulness”; beinasemi “willingness,
co-operativeness”; nøgdsemi
“frugality, moderation”; reinsemi
“cleanliness”; varsemi
“care, caution, alertness”; arbeiðssemi
“industry”; leiðisemi
“boredom”; starvsemi
“industry, activity”; góðsemi
“agreement, concord, harmony”; tolsemi
“toleration, patience”.
m) -leysa (Ice.), -loysi
(Far.)
(from
adjectives in -laus, -loys)
Icelandic: staðleysi “absurdity”; tilfinningarleysi “insensitivity”; aðgerðaleysi “inactivity, idleness”; siðleysi “immorality, barbarism”; meðvitundarleysi “unconciousness”; kunnáttuleysi “ignorance”; nafnleysi “anonymity”; guðleysi “atheism; impiety”; þróunarleysi “stagnation, lack of
progression”.
Faroese: mótloysi “depression”; miskunnarloysi “ruthlessness”; mannloysi “labour shortage”; æruloysi “infamy”; ansaloysi “indifference”; ráðaloysi “perplexity; despondancy”;
endaloysi “infinity, endlessness”; ampaloysi “freedom, liberty”; tarvloysi “superfluosity”; friðloysi “outlawry”.
n) -læti (from
adjectives in -látur)
Icelandic: hreinlæti “cleanliness, neatness”; þakklæti “gratitude”; meinlæti “penance”; örlæti “generosity, munificence”;
stórlæti “pride”; vandlæti “zeal”; ranglæti “injustice”.
Faroese: eftirlæti “compliancy, compliance”; góðlæti “good disposition”; fagurlæti “friendly remark, kind
comment”; yvirlæti
“simulation, pretence”; lítillæti
“humility”.
o) -lyndi (often
denotes mentality, diposition, temperament)
Icelandic: léttlyndi “buoyancy,
lightheartedness”; umburðarlyndi
“forbearance, tolerance”; þrællyndi
“servility”; stríðlyndi
“obstinacy”; þjóðlyndi
“patriotism”; félagslyndi
“sociability”; frómlyndi
“honesty”.
Faroese: manslyndi “masculinity, virility”; huglyndi “temper, disposition”; spaklyndi “mildness, gentleness”; tunglyndi “depression, melacholy”; trúlyndi “faithfulness, loyalty”; bráðlyndi “violence, vehemence”; skaplyndi “mind, disposition,
character”.
p) -andi (often the present
participle of strong verbs)
Icelandic: eigandi “owner” (eiga); leikandi “actor” (leika); þiggjandi “recipient” (þiggja); áheyrandi “listener” (heyra á); stofnandi “founder” (stofna); lesandi “reader” (lesa).
Faroese: lesandi “student” (lesa “read”).
q) -ska and -mennska
(from nouns in -maður or -menni) - both often form abstracts from
adjectives or or simplex nouns
Icelandic: dirfska “daring, boldness,
bravery” (djarfur
“brave”); fyrnska
“antiquity” (forn
“ancient”); bernska
“childhood” (barn
“child”); blaðamennska
“journalism” (blaðamaður
“journalist”); lítilmennska
“meanness” (lítillmenni
“ignoble, mean-spirited character”); sjómennska “seamanship” (sjómaður “sailor, seaman”).
Faroese: fámenska “sparse population” (fámentur
“few
in number”); ilska “anger” (illur “angry”).
r) nouns in -i formed from
adjectives
Icelandic: ergi “annoyance, vexation” (argur “angry, vexed”); feiti ”fat, grease” (feitur ”fat”); fimi ”agility” (fimur ”agile, nimble”); fræði ”knowledge, learning” (fróður “learned”); gremi “anger, vexation” (gramur “angry, vexed”); mildi “mildness, gentleness” (mildur “mild, gentle”).
Faroese: frøði ”knowledge, learning” (fróður “learned”); gleði
“pleasure,
joy” (glaður “happy,
pleased”).
s) nouns in -ð, -d and -t
from adjectives
Icelandic: depurð “depression” (dapur “depressed”); fegurð “beauty” (fagur “beautiful, fair”); frægð “fame, renown” (frægur “famous”); heild “wholeness, unity” (heill “whole”); spekt “restfulness, peace” (spakur “quiet”); stærð “size” (stór “large”); sæld “bliss, happiness” (sæll “blessed, happy”).
Faroese: spekt
“quietness, mildness” (spakur “quiet”).
t) nouns in -ingi
Icelandic: aumingi “wretch”; erfingi “heir, inheritor”; fresingi “freeman”; greifingi “badger”; kunningi “acquaintance”; morðingi ”murderer, assassin”; ræningi ”robber, plunderer”.
Faroese: armingi “poor creature” (armur “poor”); letingi
“idler”
(latur “lazy, idle”).
B
Adjectives
a) -legur/-ligur
Icelandic: eðilegur “natural”; nytsamlegur “useful”; faglegur “professional”; mánaðarlegur “monthly”; kynlegur “odd”; hugsanlegur “conceivable”; sorglegur “sorrowful”; ókennilegur “unrecognisible”; fræðslulegur “pedagogic”; draugalegur “ghostly, ethereal”; uppbyggilegur “edifying”; stjórnfræðilegur “astronomical”; greinilegur “plain, distinct,
well-conceived”; ættfræðilegur
“geneological”.
Faroese: mansligur
“masculine”; brotsligur
“criminal”; kirkjuligur
“ecclesiastical”; søguligur
“historical”; deyðsamligur
“lethargic, apathetic”; fáfeingiligur
“vain”; týðuligur
“clear, distinct; obvious”; eiriligur
“sociable, companionable”; ordiligur
“orderly, correct”; ítøkiligur
“palpable, concrete”; inniligur
“cordial, sincere, heartfelt”; evnafrøðilgur
“chemical”; eiturligur
“poisonous, venomous”; skaldsligur
“poetical”.
b) -ugur
Icelandic: kyndugur “peculiar”; rykugur “dusty”; auðugur “rich, wealthy”; heiftugur “violent, vehement”; skítugur “filthy, dirty”; voldugur “powerful, mighty”.
Faroese: syndugur
“sinful”; liðugur
“finished, complete”; hurtugur
“lively, animated”; óverdugur
“unworthy”; vitugur
“wise, intelligent”; viljugur
“willing, ready”.
c) -samur
Icelandic: erilsamur “troublesome”; kappsamur “energetic”; nytsamur “useful”; líknsamur “merciful”; framtakssamur “enterprising”; ráðdeildarsamur “sagacious, provident”; eyðslusamur “extravagant, profligate”;
auðnasamur “lucky, fortunate”; yfirgangssamur “encroaching, usurping”; friðsamur “peaceful”.
Faroese: hugsanarsamur
“thoughtful”; møðsamur
“tiring, exhausting”; hevnisamur
“vindictive, vengeful”; undursamur
“wonderful, marvellous”; samvitskusamur
“conscientious”; arbeiðssamur
“industrious”; loynisamur
“mysterious”.
d) -látur
Icelandic: vorkunnlátur “compassionate”; rembilátur “arrogant, haughty”; hóflátur “moderate”; siðlátur “moral, well-behaved”; lítillátur “humble”; drjúglátur “self-important”; stýrilátur “controllable, managable”;
mjúklátur “gentle”; hreinlátur “pure”.
Faroese: dramblátur “arrogant”;
fagurlátur
“kind,
friendly”; lítillátur “humble”.
e) -lyndur
(adjectival suffix derived from lyndi [see above]
Icelandic: drenglyndur “noble-minded”; þýðlyndur “gentle, kind, amiable”; snögglyndur “quick-tempered, hasty”; þverlyndur “bloody-minded”.
Faroese: frílyndur “liberal, broad-minded”; góðlyndur “good natured, well
disposed”; harðlyndur
“harsh, severe disposition”; glaðlyndur
“cheerful, merry”.
f) -lægur
Icelandic: huglægur “abstract”; fjarlægur “distant”; hlutlægur“objective”.
Faroese: N/A
g) -inn (common –
often has meaning “inclined, disposed”)
Icelandic: fyndinn “witty, funny” (finna “find”, fundur “discovery”)
Faroese: N/A
h) -rænn
Icelandic: norræn “Scandinavian”; suðrænn “southern”; dulrænn “mystical”; hugrænn “subjective”; listrænn “artistic”; ljóðrænn “poetic”; táknrænn “symbolic”; einrænn ”odd, singular”; vélrænn “mechanical”.
Faroese: N/A
i) -sær
Icelandic: gagnsær “transparent”;
Faroese: N/A
C Nouns from inchoative verbs
Icelandic: sorti “blackness” - sortna “blacken”; rauð “red” - roðna “blush, redden”; rot “putrefaction, corruption”
- rotna “decompose, putrify”; þrot “lack, want” - þrotna “cease, run short, want”; betnaður, bötnun “improvement, change for
the better” - batna
“improve, recover”; neitun
“refusal, denial; negation” - neita
“refuse, deny”.
Faroese: hvítur
“white” - hvítna
“whiten, grow pale”; myrkur
“gloom” - myrkna
“darken”; ljósur
“light, brightness” - lýsna
“lighten”; veikur
“weakness” - vikna
“grow weak”; søtur
“sweet” - søtna
“become sweeter, sweeten”; brot
“fragment; crime” - brotna
“shatter, break asunder”.
D
Verbs in -ka and -ga (mainly from adjectives)
Icelandic: blóðga “make bleed”; fjölga “increase, propagate”; auðga “enrich”; lifga “revive, invigorate”; dýpka “deepen”; ljótka “make uglier”; greiðka “hasten, quicken”.
Faroese: breiðka “broaden”; fríðka
“make
more beautiful”; blóðga “make
bleed”.
E
Nouns from pure verbal stems
Icelandic: bölv “cursing, swearing” - bölva “swear, curse”; gort “boasting” - gorta “boast”; reið “riding” - ríða “ride”; rek “driftage” - reka “drift; drive, run”.
Faroese: rák “driftage” – reka “drift; drive, run”.
5) Prefixes
Icelandic
and Faroese both make liberal use of a number of common prefixes, as listed
below:
al-
(“all, general”)
all-
(“all, general”)
and-
(“contrary, against”)
endur- (”re-”)
fyrir-
(limited usage)
for-
(limited usage)
jafn- (”even, equal”)
mis- (“mis-, un-”)
ó- (“un-“)
sam-
(“together”)
sí-
(“ever”)
úr-
(“proto-”)
There
are also a number of common intensifying prefixes, e.g.:
Bráð-,
geipi-, geysi-, gjör-, afar-.
It
is fitting to end this brief survey of Icelandic word-formation with a mention
of two noun-forming patterns that have taken on a particularly prominent place
in the language. These are nouns in -maður (“man, person” – therefore forming nomen agentis)
and -fræði
(from fræði
“knowledge, learning”). The latter is especially used to form nouns
corresponding to international -ology and -graphy). Using -maður, there is almost an
unlimited scope for forming agent nouns, as the following list will show (maður refers to both genders –
Icelandic lacks a specifically feminine suffix as found in German and Swedish,
for example. If a specifically female agent or a female role is being referred
to, nouns will often being suffixed with -kona or -frú: þvottakona “washerwoman”; vinkona “female friend”; greifafrú “countess”; barónsfrú “baroness”; lauslætiskona “harlot”). Likewise, -fræði has proven to be equally
flexible, able to cover almost anything ending in, or meaning, “-ology”,
“-graphy”, “-ics”, “the science of X” or “the study of
X, X studies”.
Selection
of nomen agentis formed from -maður:
kommumaður “stranger,
guest”;
tamningarmaður “horse-breaker”
ökumaður “driver”
göngumaður
“pedestrian”
matsmaður
“valuator”
hvatamaður
“encourager, incitor”
drykkjumaður
“drunkard”
blekkingamaður
“deceiver”
flugumsjónarmaður
“flight operation officer”
kennimaður “cleric, priest”
There are many, many possible words in -maður.
Selection
of words for abstract scientific disciplines and humanities formed from -fræði:
aðferðafræði
methodology
ættfræði
genealogy
ættgengisfræði
genetics
ásatrú
Old Norse heathen religion
atómvísindi atomic research
bergfræði petrography
beygingarfræði morphology, accidence
bókfræði
bibliography
bókmenntafræði
literary studies
bragfræði prosody, metrics
byggingarverkfræði civil engineering
dýrafræði zoology
dýrasálfræði animal psychology
eðlisfræði
physics
efnafræði
chemistry
efnaverkfræði
chemical engineering
eldfjallfræði volcanology
erfðafræði genetics
fagurfræði aesthetics
fiskifræði
icthyology
flugveðurfræði
aviation
meteorology
flugvélaverkfræði
aeronautical
engineering
formfræði
morphology
fornfræði archaeology
fornleiðafræði
archaeology
fornlífsfræði palaeontology
fræði learning, science, -ology
fuglafræði ornithology
geimvísindi space
research
gerlafræði bacteriology
goðafræði mythology
grasafræði
botany
guðfræði
theology
haffræði oceanography
haflíffræði marine biology
hagfræði
economics
hagkerfi economic system
heilsufræði hygiene, sanitation
heimsfræði
cosmology
heimspeki philosophy
hernaðarfræði military science
hjátrú
superstition
hljóðfræði phonetics
hljómfræði acoustics
hornafræði trigonometry
hugvísindi
humanities
iðnfræði technology
jarðeðlisfræði
geophysics
jarðefnafræði mineralogy
jarðfræði
geology
jarðræktarfræði
agricultural science
jarðvegsfræði soil science
jarðyrkjufræði agrononomy
jarmyndunarfræði
geogony
jöklafræði
glaciology
kennslufræði educational theory
kerfisfræði
system analysis
kerfun
systemisation
kerlingabók
superstition
kjarneðlisfræði nuclear
physics
kjarnfræði
nuclear physics
læknavísindi
medicine, medical sciences
læknisfræði
medicine
lækningafræði therapeutics
landafræði
geography
líffærafræði
anatomy
líffræði
biology
ljósfræði
optics
loftsiglingafræði
aeronautics
loftslagsfræði climatology
lögfræði
law
lyfjafræði
pharmacology
málfræði
grammar
mállýzkafræði dialectology
málmfræði metallurgy
málmyndafræði etymology
málmyndunarfræði transformational grammar
málvísindi
linguistics
manneldisfræði
dietetics
mannfræði
anthropology
mannkynsfræði
world history
mannvísindi anthropology
myntfræði numisastics
náttúrfræði natural history
náttúrvísindi natural sciences
orðbókafræði
lexicography
orðfræði
lexicology
orðmyndunarfræði etymology
orðsifjafræði etymology
orðskipanunarfræði syntax
orðtækjafræði phraseology
ónæmisfræði immunology
rafefnafræði electrochemistry
rafeindafræði electronics
rafmagnsfræði electrical science
rafmagnsverkfræði electrical engineering
rithandafræði graphology
rökfræði
logic
rökþróunarfræði dialectics
röntgenfræði
x-rayology
rúmfræði geometry
rúnafræði runology
sagnfræði
history
sálfræði
psychology
sálgreining psychoanalysis
sálkönnun psychoanalysis
samanburðarmálfræði comparative linguistics
samfélagsfræði sociology
setningafræði
syntax
siðfræði
ethics
siglingafræði navigation
sjónfræði optics
sjukdómafræði
pathology
sjúkrafæðisfræði dietics
skáldskaparfræði
poetics
skordýrafræði entomology
staðfræði topography
stærðfræði
mathematics
staffræði orthography
steinafræði
minerology
steinatrú stone-worship
steingervingarfræði palaeography
stjarneðlisfræði astrophysics
stjarnvísindi astronomy
stjórnarskrá constitution
stjórnmál
politics
stjörnspeki astrology
stjörnufræði astronomy
tæknifræði
technology
tannleiknisfræði dentistry
töfrafræði magic, conjuring
tölfræði statistics
tölvafræði computer science
tölvunarfræði computer problem-solving
tónfræði musicology
uppeldisfræði pedagogy
vatnfræði hydrography
vatnsaflsfræði hydraulics
veðurfræði meteorology
vélaverkfræði
mechanical engineering
vélfræði
engineering, mechanics
verkfræði engineering
vísindi
science
vistfræði ecology
þekkingarfræði
theory of knowledge
þjóðfélagsfræði
sociology
þjóðfélagsvísindi
social sciences
þjóðfræði
ethnology
þjóðhagfræði
national economics
þjóðhagfræði national economy
þjóðháttafræði
folklore studies
þjóðkynjafræði ethnology
þjóðmenningurfræði ethnology
þjóðréttarfræði
international law
þjóðtrú folk belief; state religion
þýðingarfræði translation science
There
are also some words in -vísindi “science”, -trú “belief” and -speki “wisdom” in the above list.
******
A
random selection of 72 words from all the Icelandic words given above have been
taken and looked up in Svavar Sigmundsson's (ed.) Íslensk
samheitaorðabók.
This revealed the following information:
Icelandic words with formal
synonyms derived from international sources:
námsmaður - stúdent; kvikmyndahús - bío (cinema); áfengi - alkóhol; gistihús - hótel (cf. English guesthouse);
peningastofnun - banki; salerni - klósett (toilet, WC); söngleikur - ópera; fjörefni - vítamin; ferðamaður - túristi; hreyfill - mótor, maskína; rauðaldin - tómatur (rauðaldin is a neologism fighting a
losing battle against the international word); frumeind - atóm; tónlist - músík; tækni - tekník; þyrla - kopti; bifreiði - kar (car); bjúgaldin
- banani (banana); veira - vírus; dráttarvél - traktor.
Icelandic words with formal
synonyms derived from Danish (or MLG via Danish) sources:
glóaldin - appelsína (orange;
< Danish appelsin); hugsa
- þenkja
(think); ódyr,
verðlítill - billegur (cheap); bifreiði - bíll (car); skáldsaga - róman (novel); sérfræðingur - fagmaður (expert; < Danish fagmand); súrefni - ildi (oxygen; < Danish ilt); formælandi - talsmaður (spokesman; < Danish talsmand); fræðsla - undervísun (teaching, instruction;
< Danish undervisning).
Icelandic words with formal
synonyms only of foreign origin:
tékki - ávísun (cheque).
Formally
competing synonyms of foreign origin are certainly a minor element of the
Icelandic lexicon and are less conspicuous than in Faroese. Of the 72 words
sampled for synonyms, most had several, while some of the words checked had
many synonyms. But in the great majority of cases, the synonyms were native
only. For example, the word ávinningur
“profit, gain” has 26 synonyms listed in the samheitaorðabók but not one has a direct
equivalent with this meaning in any European language. Or take the example of hræðsla “fear, fright, dread”
which has 29 entries beside it. Of these, only one is of foreign origin, i.e. angist, and that from older
Danish angest!
In the cases where neologisms and foreign loans live side by side the choice of
word is really a matter for the individual user and may depend on the medium of
communication (letter, conversation etc.) and the way the user wishes to
express himself.
While,
like Faroese, Icelandic does have lexical items of international or
Scandinavian origin and these formally compete with synonymous native words,
they are rather fewer in number and very few make it into the formal written
language or ritmál
of Icelanders. Such words tend to be more used in the spoken language and so a
stylistic gap may open between native-based neologisms in the written language
and foreign loaned synonyms in the spoken language. However, the most fervent
puristic tendencies in Icelandic have cooled off somewhat in recent years.
Foreign words are being imported into Icelandic having been adapted to a
greater or lesser degree. As Baldur Jónsson (1983. p. 117) points out, the Icelandic vocabulary still
grows and is affected in the same ways as in the past: “När allt kommer
omkring växer ordförrådet och påverkas enligt samma principer som det i stort
sett alltid har gjort”.
In
summary of Faroese it may be said that Faroese language cultivation is still
largely a matter of whether to follow a puristic route and model policy on
Icelandic, or to face up to the reality of the everyday billinguialism and
freely draw on Danish sources. The actual route taken appears to be a middle
way – readily replace Danicisms with suitable neologisms based on ON or
Icelandic sources, but also incorporate Danish words into the Faroese language
system as the need arises.
December
2023 update!
The table below illustrates how Icelandic and Faroese respectively have handled
some terms that have appeared in English largely within the last 20 years or
so.
|
English |
Icelandic |
[ICE] not approved but well known |
Faroese |
[FA] not approved but well known |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
artificial intelligence (AI) |
gervigreind |
|
vitlíki |
|
|
bestie |
|
bestí |
besti vinmaður |
|
|
binge-watch (verb) |
hámhorfa |
|
|
tráhyggja |
|
bling |
|
bling |
|
bling |
|
blogging |
blogga |
|
blogging |
|
|
broadband |
breiðband |
|
breiðband |
|
|
bromance (film/TV) |
|
brómans |
brómansa |
|
|
chillax |
|
tjilla |
slappa av |
|
|
contactless payment |
snertilaus greiðsla |
|
nándgjald |
|
|
crowdfunding |
hópsöfnun, hópfjármögnun |
|
hópfígging |
|
|
cruise control (cars) |
sjálfvirk hraðastjórnun |
|
fartpilotur |
|
|
cruise missile |
fjarstýrð sprengiflaug |
|
krússararakett |
|
|
cryptocurrency |
rafmynt |
|
talgilt gjaldoyra |
|
|
driverless train |
ökumannslaus lest |
|
føraraleyst tok |
|
|
drone |
dróni |
|
drona |
|
|
earworm (music) |
að fá á heilann, "eyrnaormur" |
|
N/A |
|
|
e-bike |
rafmagnshjól |
|
elektrisk súkkla |
|
|
e-book |
rafbók |
|
ravbók |
|
|
electric car |
rafmagnsbíll |
|
elbilur |
|
|
emoji |
tjákn |
|
kenslutekn |
|
|
Eurocentric |
Evrópumiðaður |
|
Evropasinnaður |
|
|
facepalm |
N/A |
|
|
fjala andlitið í ráðaloysi |
|
flat-screen TV |
flatskjár |
|
flatskíggi |
|
|
fracking |
hellað |
|
N/A |
|
|
gaslighting (psychology) |
gaslýsing |
|
|
hvørving |
|
gaydar |
|
gaydar |
|
gaydari |
|
geek |
nörd/nördi |
|
nørdur |
|
|
ghosting (relationships/social media) |
gaslýsa |
|
|
hvørva uttan at
boða frá |
|
hacking |
hakka |
|
hakka |
|
|
hashtag |
myllumerki |
|
tvíkrossur |
|
|
infotainment |
upplýsinga- og afþreyingarkerfi |
|
|
upplýsinga- og stutttleikakervi |
|
Internet of Things |
Internet hlutanna |
|
tólnet |
|
|
Internet radio |
vefútvarp |
|
netvarp |
|
|
laptop computer |
fartölva |
|
fartelda |
|
|
MILF |
|
milf |
milf |
|
|
mobile phone |
farsími |
|
fartelefon |
|
|
modem |
módem |
|
modem |
|
|
noob |
nýliði |
núbb |
byrjari |
|
|
photobomb |
fótóbomba |
|
|
|
|
podcast |
hlaðvarp |
|
poddvarp |
|
|
power steering |
vökvastýri |
|
servostýring |
|
|
QR-code |
QR-kóði |
|
QR-kota |
|
|
router |
beinir, ráter |
|
beinari |
|
|
search engine |
leitarvél |
|
leitil |
|
|
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) |
leitarvélabestun |
|
|
leitilabøting |
|
self-driving car |
sjálfkeyrandi bíll |
|
sjálvkoyrandi bilur |
|
|
selfie |
sjálfa |
|
sjálvmynd |
|
|
self-service checkout |
sjálfsafgreiðsla |
|
sjálvavgreiðsla |
|
|
social distancing (COVID) |
félagsforðun |
|
frástøða |
|
|
social media |
samfélagsmiðlar |
|
sosialir miðlar |
|
|
solid state memory |
fastefnisminni |
|
|
fastevnisminni |
|
streaming (media/TV) |
streyma |
|
stroyma |
|
|
SUV |
smájeppi, jepplingur |
|
býarjeppur |
|
|
textspeak |
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
transgender/transsexual |
trans |
|
tvørkynd |
|
|
twerk |
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
unfriend (social media) |
enda vinskap |
|
enda vinskap |
|
|
vaping |
veipa |
|
|
vaping |
|
virtual reality (VR) |
sýndarveruleiki |
|
tykisveruleiki |
|
|
wireless |
þráðlaus |
|
tráðleysur |
|
|
smartwatch |
snjallúr |
|
snildur |
|
|
smartphone |
snjallsími |
|
snildfon |
|
[ Top ]
*sources:
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The Germanic Languages. London: Routledge, 1994. pp. 190-218;
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**
[ Top ]
A NOTE ON THE COMPARATIVE WORD-LISTS:
The
following word-lists are meant to illustrate the points covered in the discussion
above. Comparisions and contrasts between Danish and Faroese on one hand and
Icelandic and Faroese on the other can quickly be made to demonstate evidence
of borrowing and influence (or lack thereof), or in the case of Icelandic
influence upon Faroese, the loan-translation of neologisms. These lists can
also make one aware of just how great the lexical influence of Danish has been
on Faroese and how successful 150 years of Icelandic lexical purism has been at
flushing out evidence of that very same language contact.
<div
align="center">
|
Icelandic |
Faroese |
English |
Danish |
|
aðgangur |
atgongd |
admission, admittance |
adgang |
|
aðstoð, hjálp |
hjálp, stuðul |
assistance, help |
hjælp, bistand |
|
afkoma |
útkoma |
profit, earnings; |
fortjeneste, udkomme, afkast |
|
afl |
megi, máttur, orka |
force, power, strength |
kraft, magt |
|
afmæli |
føðingardagur, ársdagur |
birthday |
fødselsdag |
|
alþýða |
almúga, almenningur |
general
public |
offentligheden |
|
andrúmsloft |
lofthav, luft |
atmosphere |
atmosfære |
|
andskoti, djöfull, fjandi |
djevul, fani |
devil, fiend |
djævel, fanden |
|
andstæða |
mótsetningur |
opposite, contrast |
modsætning |
|
atriði |
mál, spurningur; liður |
point, item; scene |
punkt |
|
atvik |
hending, tilburður, viðburður |
event, occurence |
hændelse, begivenhed |
|
atvinna |
arbeiði, starv |
work, job, employment |
arbejde, stilling |
|
auglýsing |
lýsing, kunngerð |
advertisement, promotion |
reklame |
|
áhrif |
ávirkan |
influence |
påvirkning, indflydelse |
|
álit |
áskoðan, meting, hugsan |
opinion, regard |
mening |
|
ánægja |
gleði, frøi |
joy, pleasure, contentment |
glæde; tilfredshed |
|
ástæða |
orsøk |
reason, cause |
årsag, grund |
|
áætlun |
ætlan |
schedule, programme |
tidsplan, program |
|
barátta |
stríð, bardagi |
battle, struggle |
strid, kamp |
|
beiðni |
umbøn |
request, petition |
anmodning, opfordring |
|
bernska |
barndómur |
childhood |
barndom |
|
blekking |
svik |
deceit, fraud, treachery |
svig, falskhed |
|
borg |
býur |
city, town |
storby |
|
bragð |
smakkur |
taste |
smag |
|
búskapur |
húshald; landbúnaður |
agriculture, farming |
landbrug |
|
bylting |
kollvelting |
revolution |
revolution |
|
bær |
bóndagarður; býur |
farm; town |
bondegård; by |
|
böggull |
pakki |
package, parcel |
pakke |
|
óhapp, óheppni |
vanlagna, mótburður |
misfortune, calamity |
ulykke, uheld |
|
diskur |
borðiskur |
plate, dish |
tallerken |
|
draugur |
dreygur, spøkilsi |
ghost, ghoul, re-walker |
genfærd, genganger, spøgelse |
|
dráttarvél |
traktorur |
tractor |
traktor |
|
Drottinn |
Harrin, Guð |
the
Lord, God |
Herren, Gud |
|
duft, ryk |
dust, støv |
dust, powder |
støv; pulver |
|
dæmi |
dømi |
example, instance |
eksempel |
|
dögun |
lýsing, dimmalætting |
dawn, daybreak |
daggry |
|
eðli |
náttúra, ali |
nature, character |
beskaffenhed, karakter; natur |
|
eðlisfar |
sinnalag |
nature,
constitution |
natur; forfatning |
|
eðlisfræði |
alisfrøði |
physics |
fysik |
|
efnahagur |
búskapur |
economy, finances |
økonomi; pengesager |
|
eftirvænting |
vón |
expectation, hope |
forventning |
|
eiginkona |
kona |
woman; wife |
kvinde; kone |
|
eiginmaður |
maður |
man; husband |
mand |
|
eilífð |
ævinleiki |
eternity, evermore |
evighed |
|
einkenni |
eyðkenni |
hallmark, characteristic |
kendetegn |
|
eldhús |
køkur |
kitchen |
køkken |
|
eymd |
neyð, fátækt |
poverty, penury |
armod, fattigdom |
|
faraldur |
farsótt, landplága |
epidemic |
epidemi, sot |
|
farþegi |
ferðamaður |
passenger |
medrejsende |
|
fatnaður |
klæði |
item
of clothing, apparel |
påklædning |
|
fegurð |
vakurleiki |
beauty |
skønhed |
|
ferill |
leið, slóð, breyt |
path, traces, steps |
sti; bane |
|
fé |
seyður; peningur, fæ |
sheep; money, property |
får, penge, ejendom |
|
félagi |
limur, lagsbróðir |
companion, fellow |
ledsager; fælle, medlem |
|
fimmtudagur |
hósdagur |
Thursday |
torsdag |
|
fjarlægð |
fjarleiki |
distance |
afstand |
|
fjarski |
fjarleiki |
distance |
afstand |
|
fjárhús |
seyðahús |
sheep-shed |
|
|
fjölskylda |
húski, familja |
family |
familie |
|
fjör |
lív |
life, spirit |
liv |
|
fljót |
stórá |
river |
å, elv |
|
flugvél |
flogfar |
aeroplane, jet |
fly, flyvemaskine |
|
fregn |
tíðindi |
news, tidings |
tidende, nyhed |
|
frumvarp |
uppskot |
government
bill |
|
|
fulltrúi |
umboð |
representative, delegate |
repræsentant, repræsentation, ombudsmand |
|
undur, furða |
undur |
wonder, marvel; amazement |
under, mirakel; forbavselse |
|
föstudagur |
fríggjadagur |
Friday |
fredag |
|
föt |
klæði |
clothes, apparel |
påklædning, klæde |
|
galdramaður |
gandakallur |
magician, conjurer |
tryllekunstner |
|
garðyrkja |
urtagarðsrøkt |
gardening,
horticulture |
havebrug |
|
geð |
sinni, hugur |
mind, mood |
sind, ånd |
|
geðveiki |
sinnissjúka |
mental
illness |
sindssygdom |
|
gervitungl |
fylgisveinur |
satellite |
satellit, følgesvend |
|
gjöf |
gáva |
gift, present |
gave, skænk |
|
gler |
glas |
glass |
glas |
|
gleraugu |
brillur |
glasses, spectacles |
briller |
|
gróði |
vinningur, ágoði |
profit, gain |
gavn, vinding, gode |
|
hamingja |
eydna, lukka |
luck, good
fortune |
lykke, held |
|
handleggur |
armur |
arm |
arm |
|
hádegi |
middagur |
midday, high noon |
middag |
|
hátterni |
atburður |
conduct, behaviour |
adfærd, opførsel |
|
hávaði |
óljóð, hávi |
noise, din, tumult |
klang, larm |
|
hegðun |
atburður |
conduct, behaviour |
adfærd, opførsel |
|
heimili |
heim, heimbýli |
home, household |
hjem |
|
heimskingi |
býttlingur |
fool, dolt, idiot |
nar, tosse, idiot |
|
heimsókn |
vitjan |
visit |
besøg |
|
helgi |
hátíð, halgidagur |
holiday |
ferie |
|
herbergi |
rúm, kamar |
room |
kammer, værelse |
|
hljómsveit |
ljómlið, orkestur |
orchestra, band |
orkester |
|
hlutverk |
uppgáva |
task, role |
opgave, rolle |
|
hneigð |
lyndi, hugur |
inclination, tendency |
tendens |
|
hné |
knæ |
knee |
knæ |
|
hrafn |
ravnur |
raven |
ravn |
|
hraun |
gosgrýti |
lava |
lava |
|
hríð |
kavaódn |
snowstorm, blizzard |
snestorm |
|
hæfileiki |
gávur, evni |
talent, gift, ability |
anlæg, evne, kunst |
|
hörund |
húð, hold |
skin, flesh |
hud, skind |
|
inntak |
innihald |
contents |
indhold |
|
jarðvegur |
mold, lendi |
earth, soil, humus, dirt |
jord, muld |
|
kafli |
brot, partur |
chapter, section |
kapitel, part |
|
karl |
maður |
man, male adult; old chap |
mand, karl; olding |
|
karlmennska |
manndómur |
masculinity, manhood, prowess |
manddom, mandighed |
|
kaup |
løn |
wages, salary |
løn |
|
kennsla |
undirvísning, frálæra |
teaching, instruction |
undervisning, opdragelse |
|
kerling |
gomul kona |
old woman; shrew |
gammel kone; kælling |
|
kind |
seyður |
sheep |
får |
|
kjæftæði |
tvætl, møsn |
saliva |
mundvand |
|
kjáni |
býttlingur, tápulingur |
fool, idiot |
nar, tosse, idiot |
|
kjörskrá |
vallisti |
list of
electoral candidates |
valgliste |
|
kollur |
høvd, kollur |
head |
hoved |
|
kosning |
val |
election |
valg |
|
krakki |
barn |
kid, child |
barn |
|
kringumstaður |
umstøður |
circumstances |
omstændigheder |
|
kunnátta |
kunnleiki |
knowledge; skill |
kundskab, kendskab |
|
kveðskapur |
skaldskapur, yrking |
poetry, composition |
sammensætning; poesi |
|
kvenmaður |
konufólk, kvinna |
woman |
kvinde, kone |
|
kvikmynd |
filmur, kykmynd |
film, movie |
film, biografforestilling |
|
kynning |
kunning |
information, announcement |
bekendtgørelse, meddelse; oplysning |
|
kynslóð |
ættarlið |
generation |
slægt |
|
landi |
landsmaður |
compatriot |
landsmand |
|
laun |
løn, endurgjald |
recompense, damages |
erstatning, godtgørelse |
|
lausn |
loysn |
liberation, release |
frihed |
|
lát |
missur, tap; deyði |
loss, lack; death |
død; tab |
|
leyti |
partur, munur |
part, section |
part, del |
|
ljúfur |
kærur |
dear, beloved |
kære |
|
lygi |
lygn |
lie, untruth |
løgn, falskhed |
|
lýðræði |
fólkaræði, demokrati |
democracy; republic |
demokrati |
|
maður |
menniskja |
man, male adult |
mand, karl |
|
mannorð |
heiður, mannvirðing |
reputation, honour |
ære, anseelse, omdømme |
|
mat |
meting |
food, foodstuffs |
mad, føde, næringmidler |
|
markmið |
endamál |
aim, objective |
mål, formål, hensigt |
|
matvæli |
matvørur, føði |
foodstuffs, provisions |
mad, føde, næringmidler |
|
meðferð |
viðferð |
handling, treatment |
behandling |
|
menning |
mentan |
culture, civilisation |
kultur, civilisation |
|
menntun |
útbúgving, lærdómur |
education |
undervisning, opdragelse |
|
miði |
seðil, atgongumerki |
ticket, pass; note |
billet |
|
mót |
samkoma, fundur |
meeting, conference |
møde, sammenkomst |
|
myndband |
sjónband |
video tape |
videobånd |
|
mælikvarði |
mát, alment virðismet |
scale, standard, measure |
målestok |
|
nágranni |
granni |
neighbour |
nabo, naboerske |
|
nágrenni |
grannalag |
neighbourhood, vicinity |
naboskab, nabolag, nærhed |
|
nálægð |
nánd, hjávera |
neighbourhood, vicinity |
naboskab, nabolag, nærhed |
|
náungi |
næsti, medmenniskja; fýrur |
neighbour; fellow, chap |
nabo; fyr |
|
nef |
nøs |
nose |
næse |
|
nemandi |
næmingur |
pupil, student |
elev |
|
notkun |
nýtsla, brúk |
use |
nytte, brug |
|
nærföt |
undirklæði |
underclothes |
undertøj |
|
ofbeldi |
harðskapur, yvirgangur |
violence, force |
vold, voldsomhed |
|
óbyggð |
óbygt |
desert, uninhabited land |
øde, ødemark, ørken |
|
ógn |
hóttan, vandi |
fear |
frygt, rædsel, angst |
|
ósk |
ynski |
wish, desire |
ønske, håb |
|
próf |
prógv, roynd |
proof, evidence; exam |
prøve |
|
púður |
krút |
powder |
pudder, pulver |
|
pöntun |
umbiðing |
order, consignment |
bestilling |
|
ranglæti |
órættvísi |
wrong, injustice |
uret, uretfærdighed |
|
raun |
veruleiki, roynd |
reality, fact |
kendsgerning, virkelighed |
|
ráðuneyti |
stjórnardeild |
ministry |
ministerium |
|
reikningur |
rokning, roknskapur |
calculation; bill, account |
regning; regnskab |
|
rettlæti |
rættvísi |
justice, right |
ret, retfærdighed |
|
rúm |
song |
bed |
seng |
|
rökfræði |
skilvísi, rekfrøði |
logic, logistics |
logik |
|
sagnfræði |
søga, søgufrøði |
history |
historie |
|
samkomulag |
semja |
agreement, arrangement |
enighed; aftale, ordning, kontrakt |
|
samningur |
sáttmáli |
contract, pact, treaty |
kontrakt, aftale |
|
samræmi |
samsvar |
harmony, accordance |
overensstemmelse, harmoni |
|
sími |
telefon |
telephone |
telefon |
|
símtal |
telefonsumrøða |
telephone call |
telefonsamtale |
|
sjóndeildarhringur |
sjónarringur |
horizon |
horisont |
|
skap |
sinnalag, lyndi, hugur |
mood, temper |
sind, ånd, sindelag |
|
skapgerð |
lyndi |
character, disposition |
sindelag |
|
skák |
talv |
chess |
skak |
|
skelfing |
ræðsla, ótti |
fear, terror |
frygt, rædsel, angst |
|
skoðun |
áskoðun, hugsan |
opinion, view, judgement |
mening, dom |
|
skratti |
djevul, fani |
devil, fiend |
djævel, fanden |
|
skyn |
vitan, ansur |
knowledge;
intelligence |
kundskab, viden |
|
skýring |
útgreining, lýsing |
description; account |
beskrivelse; beretning |
|
skýrsla |
frágreiðing |
report, account |
beretning |
|
sköpun |
skapan |
creation, making |
skabelse |
|
slys |
óhapp, vanlukka |
accident, disaster |
ulykke, uheld |
|
smámunir |
smáputl, smáting |
trifle, small detail |
småting |
|
snillingur |
flogvit |
genius, master, polymath |
geni, genius |
|
staðreynd |
sannroynd, veruleiki |
fact, truism |
kendsgerning |
|
stelpa |
genta |
girl |
pige |
|
stígvél |
stivli |
walking boot |
støvle |
|
stríð |
kríggj |
war, conflict |
krig, strid, kamp |
|
strætisvagn |
býarbussur |
bus |
bus |
|
stúlka |
genta |
girl |
pige |
|
styrjöld |
kríggj |
war, conflict |
krig, strid, kamp |
|
stærð |
stødd |
size, dimensions |
størrelse |
|
stærðfræði |
støddfrøði |
mathematics |
matematik |
|
sundlaug |
svimjihylur |
swimming
pool |
svømmepøl, svømmehal |
|
sveit |
landsbygd, bygdarlag |
country district; village |
landkommune; landsby |
|
svipmót |
yvirbragd |
look, glance; appearance; |
blik, udseende |
|
svipur |
andlitsdrag, yvirbragd |
expression, features |
udtryk, ansigtsudtryk |
|
svæði |
øki, pláss |
area, zone |
område |
|
sælgæti |
góðgæti |
sweet, confectionery
item |
slik, konfekt, sukkertøj |
|
sök |
ákæra; skuld, misbrot; mál |
charge, accusation; |
anklage; forbrydelse; sag |
|
takmark |
endamál |
aim, objective |
mål, formål, hensigt |
|
tákn |
tekn |
sign, token, mark; |
tegn |
|
tegund |
slag |
type, make, species |
slag, art |
|
telpa |
genta |
girl |
pige |
|
tengsl |
samband |
union; connection, contact |
forbindelse, tilknytning |
|
tilefni |
høvi |
cause |
årsag |
|
tilfinning |
kensla |
feeling, mood |
følelse, stemning |
|
tilgangur |
endamál |
aim, goal; intent |
mål, formål, hensigt |
|
tilit |
eygnabrá |
glance, look; view |
blik; udsyn |
|
tilraun |
roynd |
try, attempt, effort |
forsøg, bestræbelse |
|
tjón |
skaði |
harm, damage |
skade |
|
tún |
bøur |
field, cultivated
area; |
ager; bondegård |
|
tæki |
tól, amboð |
tool, implement, device |
værktøj, redskab |
|
tækifæri |
høvi |
chance, opportunity |
anledning, lejlighed |
|
tækni |
tøkni |
technology |
teknologi |
|
tölva |
telda |
personal
computer |
datamaskine |
|
umferð |
ferðsla |
road traffic |
trafik, færdsel |
|
umræða |
kjak, orðaskifti |
discussion, chat |
samtale |
|
uppspretta |
uppruni |
origin, source |
ophav, oprindelse |
|
upptök |
upphav, byrjan |
origin, gensis, beginning |
ophav, oprindelse |
|
útgerð |
reiðaravirki |
shipping
company |
rederi |
|
útkoma |
úrslit |
outcome, result |
resultat, udgang, følge |
|
vafi |
ivi |
doubt, uncertainty |
tvivl |
|
veiðarfæri |
fiskireiðskapur |
fishing
tackle |
fiskeredskaber |
|
veitingahús |
matstova, vertshús |
restaurant, food-hall |
restaurant |
|
venja |
siður |
custom, habit |
vane; skik; sæd |
|
verð |
prísur |
price, cost, value |
pris, værd |
|
verðlaun |
løn, virðisløn |
prize, award |
prise, belønning |
|
verslun |
handil |
trade, business |
handel |
|
vettvangur |
staður |
place, scene |
plads, sted |
|
vél |
maskina, tól |
machine, motor |
maskine |
|
viðhorf |
hugburður, áskoðan |
opinion, view; attitude |
mening; holdning, indstilling |
|
viðskipti |
handilsskapur, viðskifti |
business, trade, dealings |
handel, forretning |
|
vinátta |
vinskapur, vinalag |
friendship |
venskab |
|
vinnsla |
virking |
processing, manufacture |
fabrikation, fremstilling |
|
vígbúnaður |
herdubbing |
armaments, war-gear |
armering |
|
vísbending |
ábending |
hint, tip; advice |
antydning, vink, tips |
|
vofa |
andi, spøkilsi |
ghost, spectre, apparition |
spøgelse, genganger, genfærd |
|
vor |
vár |
Spring |
vår |
|
yfirborð |
yvirflati, vatnskorpa |
surface |
overflade |
|
þakklæti |
takksemi |
gratitude, thanks |
taknemlighed |
|
þekking |
kunnleiki, vitan |
knowledge |
kundskab |
|
þéttbýli |
fjølbygt, øki, býur |
population
centre |
|
|
þjáning |
líðing |
suffering, pain |
lidelse; pine, smerte |
|
þjóðerni |
tjóðskapur |
nationality |
nationalitet |
|
þjóðvegur |
landsvegur |
highway, main road |
landevej |
|
þjónn |
tænari |
servant; waiter |
tjener |
|
þjórfé |
drykkjupengar |
tip |
drikkepenge |
|
þolinmæði |
tol, tolni |
patience |
tålmodighed |
|
þorp |
bygd |
village |
landsby |
|
þruma |
tora |
thunder |
torden |
|
þulur |
upplesari, frásøgumaður |
narrator; announcer |
beretter |
|
þvottur |
vask, tváttur |
washing, laundry |
vask |
|
æfing |
venjing |
training, practice |
øvelse |
|
æska |
ungdómur |
youth, childhood |
ungdom, barndom |
|
öldungur |
ellismaður, gamelmenni |
old man, old chap |
karl, gammel mand, olding |
|
önd |
ond, andi |
breath; mind, soul |
ånde; sind; sjæl |
|
örlæti |
gávumildi |
generosity |
gavmildhed |
|
örlog |
lagna, forløg |
fate, destiny, lot |
skæbne |
|
örnefni |
staðarnavn |
place-name |
stednavn |
|
öryggi |
trygd, tryggleiki |
safety, security, reliability |
sikkerhed, tryghed; ufarlighed |
</div>
*sources: Axelsen, J.: Dansk-engelsk ordbog. Gyldendals
røde ordbøger: Gyldendals, København, 1994;
Clausén, Ella: Nyord i Färöiskan. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell,
1978;
Hólmarsson, S., Sanders, C. & Tucker, J. (eds.): Íslensk-ensk orðabók:
Concise Icelandic-English Dictionary. Iðunn, Reykjavík, 1989;
Magnússon, Haraldur: Íslensk-dönsk Orðabók. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík,
1997;
Mikkelsen, Jonhard & Davidsen, Kári: Ein ferð inn í føroyskt. Føroya
Skúlabókagrunnur, Tórshavn, 1993;
Nordisk Språksekretariat: Íslendskur-føroyskur orðalisti. Oslo, 1995;
Young, G.V.C./Clewer, C.R.: Føroysk - Ensk orðabók. Mansk-Svenska Publishing
Company, Peel, 1985.
[ Top ]
<div align="center">
|
Icelandic |
Faroese |
English |
Danish |
|
algengur |
vanligur, algongdur |
common, usual, general |
vanlig, almindelig |
|
almennilegur |
rættiligur, hampiligur |
correct, proper; good, kind |
rigtig |
|
ágætur |
góður, frálíkur |
good, excellent, first-rate |
god, fin, udmærket, flot |
|
ánægður |
nøgdur, glaður |
satisfied, content |
tilfreds, glad, fornøjet |
|
vondur, slæmur |
tortørur, meinur |
difficult; bad |
vanskelig; dårlig, slem |
|
beittur |
hvassur |
sharp, bitter |
bitter, hvas |
|
blautur |
vátur |
wet, damp |
våd |
|
búinn |
liðugur |
finished, done, ready |
færdig, klar |
|
dauður |
deyður, lívleysur |
dead, lifeless |
død, livløs |
|
dásamlegur |
eiggiligur, frálíkur |
wonderful, admirable |
underfuld, vidunderlig |
|
drungalegur |
dapur, myrkur og tungur |
sad, dejected |
bedrøvelig, trist |
|
eðlilegur |
natúrligur, vanligur |
natural; normal |
naturlig; vanlig |
|
efnaður |
ríkur, múgvandi |
prosperous, well-off |
rig, velhavende |
|
eigingjarn |
sjálusøkin |
selfish, egotistical |
selvisk, egocentrisk |
|
einhlíða |
einvísur, einsíðaður |
partial, one-sided |
ensidig, partiel |
|
einlægur |
ærligur, falsleysur |
sincere, honest, frank; loyal |
ærlig, oprigtig |
|
eintómur |
berur
og blektaður |
empty; naked |
tom; nøgen |
|
erfiður |
tortørur |
difficult |
vanskelig |
|
erlendur |
útlendskur |
foreign, alien; strange |
fremmed, udenlandsk; ukendt, underlig |
|
fallegur |
vakur, fríður |
pretty, beautiful |
skøn, vakker |
|
farsæll |
lukkuligur |
happy, blithe |
lykkelig |
|
félagslegur |
samfelagsligur |
social |
samfundsmæssig |
|
framandi |
fremmandur |
foreign, alien, strange |
fremmed; ukendt |
|
frábær |
frálíkur |
excellent, fine, superb |
udmærket, fin |
|
frjáls |
frælsur |
free, at liberty |
fri |
|
frægur |
viðgitin, frægur |
famous, renowned |
berømt |
|
fullorðinn |
vaskin, tilkomin |
adult, grown |
voksen |
|
furðulegur |
undarligur |
strange, peculiar |
underlig |
|
gagnkvæmur |
sínamillum |
mutual, reciprocal |
gensidig |
|
gagnsær |
gjøgnumskygdur |
tranparent |
gennemsigtig |
|
gífurlegur |
ógvuligur, øgiligur |
huge, enormous, vast |
stor, enorm |
|
gjöfull |
gávumildur |
generous |
gavmild |
|
gramur |
ilskur, illur |
angry, wroth, irrate |
vred |
|
greindur |
vitugur, gløggur, skilagóður |
clear,
well-conceived |
tydelig, klar |
|
gríðarstór |
ovurstórur |
huge, enormous |
stor, enorm |
|
harkalegur |
harðligur |
hard, harsh; violent |
hård, anstrengende, voldsom |
|
hreinskilinn |
ærligur, opin, bersøgin |
honest, candid, open |
ærlig, oprigtig |
|
hryggur |
dapur |
sad, downcast |
bedrøvet |
|
ítarlegur |
gjølligur |
thorough, detailed |
grundig, dybtgående |
|
jákvæður |
positivur, jasøgin |
positive,
constructive |
positiv |
|
klár |
gløggur, vitugur; reinur |
clear, pure; bright, clever |
klar, ren; flink, dygtig |
|
leiðinlegur |
keðiligur, leiðiligur |
boring, tiresome, tedious |
kedelig |
|
lélegur |
vánaligur |
poor, inferior |
dårlig, underlegen |
|
líklegur |
rímilgur |
probable; reasonable |
sandsynlig; rimelig |
|
magur |
rak, soltin |
thin, lean, emaciated |
mager |
|
margbreytilegur |
fjølbroyttur |
multifarious, manifold |
mangeartet, mangfoldig |
|
mikilvægur |
umráðandi, týðandi |
important, meaningful |
vigtig |
|
mismunandi |
ójavnur, ólíkur, ymiskur |
different, various, disparate |
forskellige |
|
myndarlegur |
vakur, prúður |
handsome, splendid |
vakker, pæn |
|
nákvæmur |
nágreiniligur |
exact, precise |
nøjagtig, præcis |
|
nýr |
nýggjur |
new, fresh |
ny, frisk |
|
nægilegur |
nógur |
enough, sufficient |
nok, tilstrækkelig |
|
opinber |
almennur |
public, open, official |
almen, offentlig |
|
ólestur |
óskil, órøkt |
disorder, disarray |
uorden, forvirring |
|
óljós |
ógreiður |
unclear, undistinct, vague |
utydelig, uklar |
|
óþverri |
óreinska, skittur |
unclean, impure, dirty |
uren, snavset, beskidt |
|
raunhæfur |
møguligur, gjørligur |
possible; practical |
mulig; gørlig |
|
raunverulegur |
veruligur |
real, actual |
virkelig, egentlig |
|
röskur |
kvikur, raskur |
quick, swift, fast |
rask, hurtig |
|
sameiginlegur |
felags |
common, mutual |
gensidig |
|
sammála |
á
einum máli |
agreed, consented |
enig, aftalt |
|
sennilegur |
sinniligur |
probable, likely |
sandsynlig |
|
sérkennilegur |
sermerktur |
individual; peculiar |
enkelt; mærkværdig |
|
sígildur |
klassiskur |
classic |
klassisk |
|
skyndilegur |
knappligur |
sudden, abrupt |
pludselig |
|
slæmur |
ringur, vánaligur |
poor, bad, inferior |
slem, dårlig |
|
snjall |
gløggur, klókur |
clever, intelligent, wise |
flink, klog, dygtig |
|
spakur |
vísur, fróður |
wise, sage |
klog, viis |
|
stórkostlegur |
stórfinginn |
great, large, imposing |
stor, stormægtig, fortræfflig |
|
tilbúinn |
liðugur, klárur |
ready, done, finished |
færdig, klar |
|
traustur |
sterkur, fastur |
faithful; firm, secure |
tro; sikker, tryg, standhæftig |
|
vandasamur |
tortørur |
difficult, complex |
vanskelig |
|
voldugur |
máttmikil, veldigur |
powerful, mighty |
stormægtig, kraftig |
|
vondur |
óndur, illur |
bad, evil, wicked |
ond |
|
þægilegur |
hugfarsligur, lagaligur |
comfortable |
bekvem, behagelig |
|
þögull |
tigandi |
silent, taciturn |
tavs, stille |
|
ölvaður |
drukkin, fullur |
drunk, inebriated |
fuld, beruset |
|
öruggur |
tryggur, vissur |
safe, secure; certain |
tryg, sikker |
</div>
*sources: Axelsen, J.: Dansk-engelsk ordbog. Gyldendals
røde ordbøger: Gyldendals, København, 1994;
Clausén, Ella: Nyord i Färöiskan. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell,
1978;
Hólmarsson, S., Sanders, C. & Tucker, J. (eds.): Íslensk-ensk orðabók:
Concise Icelandic-English Dictionary. Iðunn, Reykjavík, 1989;
Magnússon, Haraldur: Íslensk-dönsk Orðabók. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík,
1997;
Mikkelsen, Jonhard & Davidsen, Kári: Ein ferð inn í føroyskt. Føroya
Skúlabókagrunnur, Tórshavn, 1993;
Nordisk Språksekretariat: Íslendskur-føroyskur orðalisti. Oslo, 1995;
Young, G.V.C./Clewer, C.R.: Føroysk - Ensk orðabók. Mansk-Svenska Publishing
Company, Peel, 1985.
[ Top ]
3 - ADVERBS,
CONJUNCTIONS and PREPOSITIONS
<div
align="center">
|
Icelandic |
Faroese |
English |
Danish |
|
aðeins |
bara, bert |
only |
bare |
|
afskaplega |
óguvliga, øgiliga |
extremely, very, awfully |
vældig, forfærdelig; overmåde |
|
alltaf |
alltíð |
always, ever |
altid |
|
alveg |
heilt, fullkomiliga |
quite; entirely, very |
ganske, meget; helt |
|
án |
uttan |
without, except |
uden; undtagen |
|
ásamt |
saman (við) |
plus, and also, as well as |
samt |
|
bráðum |
skjótt |
soon, shortly |
snart |
|
dálítið |
eitt
sindur |
a little |
lidt |
|
eða |
ella |
or |
eller |
|
ef |
um |
if, whether |
om, dersom |
|
eigi |
ikki |
not, no |
ikke |
|
einkum |
serliga |
especially |
særlig |
|
einmitt |
júst |
exactly, just |
akkurat |
|
einnig |
eisini |
also, too |
også |
|
einungis |
bara |
only |
bare |
|
ekkert |
einki |
nothing |
ikke
noget, ingenting, intet |
|
ella |
annars |
otherwise, else |
ellers |
|
fremur |
heldur |
rather, sooner |
hellere |
|
gagnvart |
mótvegis |
opposite, facing; against |
modsat; imod |
|
gegn |
ígjøgum |
through |
gennem |
|
handa |
til |
for |
til, for |
|
héðan |
hiðani |
hence |
heraf |
|
hingað |
higar |
hither |
hid |
|
hve |
hvussa |
how |
hvordan, hvor |
|
hvenær |
nær |
when |
når, hvornår |
|
hvergi |
ongastaðni |
nowhere |
intetsteds |
|
jafnframt |
samtíðis |
at the same
time, |
samtidigt |
|
líka |
eisini |
also |
også |
|
líklega |
óivað, helst, |
probably, likely |
sandsynligvis |
|
loks |
at enda, loksins |
finally, at last |
endeligt |
|
mjög |
sera, øgiliga |
very, awfully |
vældig, ganske |
|
nema |
uttan |
except, unless |
uden, undtagen |
|
núna |
nú |
now |
nu |
|
oft |
ofta |
often, frequently |
ofte |
|
sakir |
vegna |
because of, due to, |
fordi, på grund af |
|
sennilega |
helst, trúliga |
probably, very likely |
sandsynligvis |
|
svo |
so, soleiðis |
so, thus |
så, således; altså |
|
sökum |
orsakað
av, vegna |
because of, caused by |
på
grund af |
|
tæplega |
neyvan, valla, illa |
hardly, scarcely, barely; |
næppe, knap |
|
uns, unz |
inntil |
until, up to |
indtil |
|
yfirleitt |
sum heild, yvirhøvur |
generally, as a rule |
vanligvis |
|
þaðan |
haðan |
thence |
deraf |
|
þangað |
hagar |
there, thither |
der, did |
|
þannig |
soleiðis |
thus, so |
så, altså |
|
þarna |
har |
there |
der |
|
þegar |
tá ið; beinanvegin, |
when; at once |
da; strax |
|
þver |
tvørur |
transverse, athwart; |
på tværs |
|
því |
tí |
because, since, as, for; |
fordi, thi; for;
derfor; hvorfor |
|
ætíð |
altíð |
always, ever |
altid |
</div>
*sources: Axelsen, J.: Dansk-engelsk ordbog. Gyldendals røde
ordbøger: Gyldendals, København, 1994;
Clausén, Ella: Nyord i Färöiskan. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell,
1978;
Hólmarsson, S., Sanders, C. & Tucker, J. (eds.): Íslensk-ensk orðabók:
Concise Icelandic-English Dictionary. Iðunn, Reykjavík, 1989;
Magnússon, Haraldur: Íslensk-dönsk Orðabók. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík,
1997;
Mikkelsen, Jonhard & Davidsen, Kári: Ein ferð inn í føroyskt. Føroya
Skúlabókagrunnur, Tórshavn, 1993;
Nordisk Språksekretariat: Íslendskur-føroyskur orðalisti. Oslo, 1995;
Young, G.V.C./Clewer, C.R.: Føroysk - Ensk orðabók. Mansk-Svenska Publishing
Company, Peel, 1985.
[ Top ]
<div align="center">
|
Icelandic |
Faroese |
English |
Danish |
|
aðstoða, hjálpa |
hjálpa, styðja |
help, aid, support |
hjælpe, støtte, assistere |
|
athuga |
hyggja
at, kanna |
observe, notice |
bemærke |
|
atvikast |
henda |
happen, occur |
hænde, forgå, ske |
|
auðga |
ríka |
enrich |
berige |
|
auka |
økja |
increase, augment |
øge |
|
ákveða |
gera
av |
decide |
afgøre, bestemme, beslutte |
|
álita |
halda, hugsa, meina |
hold, think, be of the
opinion |
mene, tro |
|
birta |
lýsa; gera kunnugan |
reveal, show; publish |
oplyse, vise, kundgøre; udgive |
|
blessa |
vælsigna |
bless |
velsigne |
|
borða |
eta |
eat, dine |
spise |
|
borga |
rinda, gjalda |
pay |
betale |
|
bölva |
banna, blóta |
curse, damn |
bande |
|
dá |
hámeta?? |
admire, adore |
beundre, tilbede |
|
dreifa |
spreiða |
spread, scatter, disseminate |
brede, sprede |
|
etja |
eggja |
whet, incite, egg on |
tilskynde, ægge |
|
fjalla |
viðgera |
handle, deal with, treat |
handle
om, behandle, dreje sig om |
|
forða |
bjarga |
save, rescue |
bjærge, redde |
|
fórna |
ofra |
sacrifice, offer |
ofre |
|
fullnægja |
nøkta, lúka |
satisfy, content; conclude |
nøjes
med; fuldføre, slutte |
|
gagnrýna |
finnast at, seta at |
criticise, take to
task |
kritisere |
|
hefja |
lyfta
upp |
lift, raise |
løfte, hæve |
|
heimsækja |
vitja |
visit |
besøge |
|
hlaða |
ferma, løða |
load |
lade |
|
hlusta |
lurta |
listen, hear |
høre, lytte |
|
horfa |
hyggja |
see, glance, look |
se
(på), kigge |
|
hreyfa |
røra, flyta |
move, stir |
røre; flytte |
|
hvetja |
eggja |
whet, incite |
tilskynde, ægge |
|
kveða |
siga, yrkja, syngja |
say; chant; compose
poetry |
sige; messe; sammensætte |
|
látast |
doyggja, andast |
die, pass away |
dø |
|
menga |
dálka |
pollute |
forurene |
|
muna |
minnast |
remember, call to
mind |
mindes, huske |
|
nota |
nýta, brúka |
use, utilise, apply |
bruge, benytte |
|
orka |
kunna, evna |
be able; affect |
kunne, evne, orke; påvirke |
|
óska |
ynska |
wish, desire |
ønske, ville |
|
ryðja |
tøma, rudda |
clear, clean, tidy up |
rydde, tømme |
|
rýna |
kanna, granska |
scrutinise |
granske |
|
semja |
seta
saman, smíða |
compose, make |
forfatte, sammensætte; gøre |
|
sjá |
síggja |
see, look |
se
(på), kigge |
|
skemma |
spilla |
damage, spoil, corrupt |
skade, ødelægge |
|
skilgreina |
skilmarka, avmarka |
define, classify; delimit |
definere; afgrænse |
|
skipa |
geva boð |
order, command |
byde, befale |
|
skipuleggja |
leggja
til rættis, fyrirskipa |
organise, arrange; edit |
ordne, organisere |
|
spjalla |
práta, tosa |
chat, talk, converse |
tale, snakke |
|
stunda |
fáast við, røkja |
study, pursue; cultivate |
studere; dyrke |
|
stöðva |
steðga |
stop, cease |
stoppe, standse, holde op |
|
synda |
svimja |
swim |
svømme |
|
tala |
røða, tala |
speak, talk |
tale, sige |
|
tengja |
binda, knýta saman |
join, unite, bind |
sammenknytte, binde |
|
tilkynna |
kunngera |
reveal, make known |
kundgøre, åbenbare |
|
tjá |
málbera
seg |
express |
udtryke |
|
töfra |
ganda |
conjure, perform
magic |
trylle |
|
ugga |
óttast |
fear, be afraid |
frygte |
|
undirbúa |
fyrireika |
prepare |
forberede |
|
unna |
elska |
love |
elske |
|
uppgötva |
varnast, uppdaga |
discover, find, hit on |
opdage |
|
velta |
rulla, bólta |
turn, roll |
vende, vælte |
|
versla |
keypa
og selja, handla |
shop, trade |
handle, købe ind |
|
yfirgefa |
fara
frá |
leave, forsake, abandon |
forlade, opgive |
|
þiggja |
fáa, taka við, tiggja |
receive, get, accept |
få, tage imod |
|
þjást |
pínast, plágast, líða |
suffer, endure |
lide, gennemgå |
|
þjóna |
tæna |
serve |
tjene |
|
þróa |
menna; lata vaksa |
evolve, grow; propagate |
vokse |
|
þurfa |
tørva |
need |
behøve, trænge |
|
öðlast |
fáa |
obtain, procure |
få, opnå |
</div>
*sources:
Axelsen, J.: Dansk-engelsk ordbog. Gyldendals røde ordbøger: Gyldendals,
København, 1994;
Clausén, Ella: Nyord i Färöiskan. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell,
1978;
Hólmarsson, S., Sanders, C. & Tucker, J. (eds.): Íslensk-ensk orðabók:
Concise Icelandic-English Dictionary. Iðunn, Reykjavík, 1989;
Magnússon, Haraldur: Íslensk-dönsk Orðabók. Mál og Menning, Reykjavík,
1997;
Mikkelsen, Jonhard & Davidsen, Kári: Ein ferð inn í føroyskt. Føroya
Skúlabókagrunnur, Tórshavn, 1993;
Nordisk Språksekretariat: Íslendskur-føroyskur orðalisti. Oslo, 1995;
Young, G.V.C./Clewer, C.R.: Føroysk - Ensk orðabók. Mansk-Svenska Publishing
Company, Peel, 1985.
©