While most languages around the world evolve significantly over time, Icelandic has remained extremely close to its Old Norse roots. This lack of distortion has been a result of Iceland’s isolation from other nations, which prevented the influence of nearby languages from forcing change. While linguists have long counted Icelandic among languages on the verge of extinction, it still has 315,000 needed speakers and is far from endangered.
Old Norse is a common Scandinavian language that was spoken during the Viking era and up until the 15th century. By that time, Old Norse had evolved into Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and other North Germanic languages. Icelandic remains impressively close to Old Norse, especially in written form. While small differences exist in terms of spelling, semantics, and word order, Icelandic speakers can easily read writing in Old Norse.
Old Norse versus Modern Icelandic: Compare and Contrast
That said, the pronunciation has changed quite a great deal, at least as far as reconstructionists can determine by tracing back phonemic changes. However, the grammar of modern Icelandic is still quite like Old Norse. Both have a deep inflection level that includes noun declension. Icelandic maintains the four-case system of Old Norse and its many irregular declensions.
In addition, the language even preserves some of the Old Norse writing system, the Viking runes. In adopting the Latin alphabet, Icelandic preserved the letters thor, ash, and edh to express sounds not easily represented otherwise.
Historically, Icelandic evolved relatively little because it had limited exchange with other languages. The physical location of Icelandic isolated the language from outside influences. Getting across the North Sea was an incredibly lengthy journey that could only take place at certain times of the year. This means that virtually no foreign visitors came to the island.
However, the situation changed with the advent of new long-distance transportation technologies. Nowadays, people can get from Europe or North America to Iceland in a matter of hours. This means that Icelandic speakers have had to become much more intentional about preserving the language and respecting tradition.
An Intentional Approach to Language Preservation
Icelandic speakers have emphasized the concept of linguistic purism, a policy meant to discourage foreign influence by using Old Norse and Old Icelandic phrases to describe new concepts. Linguistic purism began in the early 19th century, which was the start of the Icelandic national movement. At that point, older loan words were systematically replaced. Most of those loan words were from Danish. The removal of loan words continues to this day and is now primarily focused on English words.
New words can only enter the Icelandic lexicon through the Icelandic Language Institute. Sometimes, words that have fallen out of use get reincorporated. For example, the word for telephone is an old word meaning long thread. Other times, a compound is made using two familiar roots so that the meaning is immediately obvious to speakers.
One of the words that stands out in terms of compounding older terms is tolva, which now means computer. An incredibly important concept, computer can be difficult to translate across languages and thus often becomes a loan word. Icelandic speakers had to get creative. They ended up creating the word tolva from tala, meaning number, and volva, meaning witch or fortune teller. Thus, the word for computer in Icelandic is literally a compound that means “witch of numbers.”
Icelandic Naming Conventions Are Also Preserved
The emphasis on tradition in Icelandic can get much more personal. In 1996, the Personal Names Act was passed. This act requires that the Icelandic Naming Committee approve of all names used in Iceland, which ensures that new names align with linguistic heritage. The main requirement for new names is that they fit into the Icelandic case system.
When parents want to use a name not on the approved list, they must submit a request, including information about the historical, literary, or popular significance of the name. This rule applies to first names. A separate set of regulations maintains the generally patronymic system used for surnames. For some, this regulation may seem unnecessarily rigorous, but it has helped keep the Icelandic language stable over the course of centuries.
The Tension That Comes with Keeping Tradition
At the same time, this emphasis on tradition has created some interesting tensions among Icelandic speakers, especially since the advent of social media. Many people believe deeply in the purity of the Icelandic language to the point that something as simple as an abbreviation sparks controversy. Naturally, younger generations take liberties with the language and conflicts have ensued. Similar conflicts can also arise when people make honest spelling or grammar mistakes.
When it comes to preserving the integrity of the Icelandic language, it is important to remember that it is all about tradition. After all, more than 90 percent of Icelandic speakers are also fluent in English, so there are other options for communication. Maintaining Icelandic helps preserve a common, unifying identity for citizens of this cold, remote island nation.