Faroese is a member of the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European language group. Like Icelandic and Norwegian, it is descended from Norse. Although written Faroese resembles Icelandic and Norwegian, it is not mutually intelligible with either language in speech.
Having been outlawed by the Danes, Faroese finally replaced Danish in 1937 as the official language for education, in 1938 in church usage, and in 1948 as the national language under the the Home Rule Act of the Faroes. However, Faroese did not become the common language of media and advertising until the 1980s; today, the language has thrived to such an extent that, in education, Danish is considered to be a foreign language.
Today, Faroese is spoken by about 66 000 people, about a third of whom live abroad in Denmark, where it is recognized as a minority language. After Danish, Icelandic and English, the fourth most common language spoken in the Faroe Islands is Filipino, which makes it into the charts with just 100 speakers.
For more information contact us here: Faroese Translation Services.
