Faroese føroyskt
Spoken in:	Faroe Islands, Denmark
Total speakers:	60,000 - 80,000
Language family:	Indo-European  Germanic   North Germanic    West Scandinavian     Faroese
Official status
Official language of:	Faroe Islands
Regulated by:	Føroyska málnevndin
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	fo
ISO 639-2:	fao
ISO 639-3:	fao
Faroese keyboard layout
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Faroese (føroyskt [ˈføːɹɪst] or [ˈføːɹɪʂt]), often also spelled Faeroese, is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 12,000 Faroese in Denmark. It is one of three insular Scandinavian languages descended from the Old Norse language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, the others being Icelandic and the extinct Norn, which is thought to have been mutually intelligible with Faroese. A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... For other uses, see Indo-European. ... The North Germanic languages (also Scandinavian languages or Nordic languages) is a branch of the Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia, parts of Finland and on the Faroe Islands and Iceland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Faroe_Islands. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Image File history File links Keyboard layout Faroese License: GNU FDL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Keyboard layout Faroese License: GNU FDL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A standard Hebrew keyboard showing both Hebrew and English (QWERTY) letters. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... The Unicode Standard, Version 5. ... For other uses, see Island (disambiguation). ... The North Germanic languages (also Scandinavian languages or Nordic languages) is a branch of the Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia, parts of Finland and on the Faroe Islands and Iceland. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe which includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 800 to 1066 in Scandinavian History[1][2][3]. // The Vikings have been much maligned in European history, due in large part to their violent attacks on Christians in the first centuries of their excursions out of Scandinavia. ... Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken on the Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. ... A pair of languages is said to be mutually intelligible if speakers of one language can readily understand the other language. ...

History

The approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century:       Old West Norse dialect       Old East Norse dialect       Old Gutnish dialect       Crimean Gothic       Other Germanic languages with which Old Norse still retained some mutual intelligibility

At one point, the language spoken in the Faroe Islands was Old West Norse, which Norwegian settlers had brought with them during the time of the landnám that began in AD 825. However, many of the settlers weren't really Norwegians, but descendants of Norwegian settlers in the Irish Sea. In addition, native Norwegian settlers often married women from Norse Ireland, the Orkneys, or Shetlands before settling in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. As a result, Celtic languages influenced both Faroese and Icelandic. This may be why, for example, Faroese has two words for duck: dunna (from Gaelic tunnag) for a domestic duck, and ont (from Old Norse ǫnd) for a duck in general. (This example has been criticized, however, by people claiming that the word is derived from Old Norse dunna, from Proto-Germanic *dusnō.) There is also some debatable evidence of Celtic language place names in the Faroes: for example Mykines and Stóra & Lítla Dímun have been hypothesized to contain Celtic roots. Download high resolution version (1235x909, 75 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Old Norse language User:Wiglaf User:Wiglaf/maps ... Download high resolution version (1235x909, 75 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Old Norse language User:Wiglaf User:Wiglaf/maps ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... The approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century:   Old West Norse dialect   Old East Norse dialect   Old Gutnish dialect   Crimean Gothic   Other Germanic languages with which Old Norse still retained some mutual intelligibility Old Gutnish was the dialect of Old Norse that was spoken... Crimean Gothic was a dialect of Gothic that was spoken by the Crimean Goths in some isolated locations in the Crimea (now Ukraine) perhaps until as late as the 18th century. ... The Germanic languages are a group of related languages constituting a branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Old Norse is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until the 13th century. ... Landnám means simply Landfall or simply when people began to settle in the Islands ... Events Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun. ... Relief map of the Irish Sea. ... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. ... The Goidelic languages (also sometimes called, particularly in colloquial situations, the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) have historically been part of a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland, the Isle of Man, to the north of Scotland. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, c. ... There are two place names that have the name Mykines: Mykines, Faroe Islands, an island in the Faroe Islands Mykines, a village on that island. ... Position of Stóra Dímun in the Faroe Islands (in red) Stóra Dímun is an island in the southern Faroe Islands with an area of 2. ... Lítla Dímun Lítla Dímun is a small island between the islands of Suðuroy and Stóra Dímun in the Faroe Islands. ...

Between the 9th and the 15th centuries, a distinct Faroese language evolved, although it was still intelligible with Old West Norse language. As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ...

Until the 15th century, Faroese had a similar orthography to Icelandic and Norwegian, but after the Reformation in 1536, the ruling Danes outlawed its use in schools, churches and official documents. The islanders continued to use the language in ballads, folktales, and everyday life. This maintained a rich spoken tradition, but for 300 years the language was not written down. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Year 1536 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... A ballad is a story in song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Oral history is an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. ...

This changed when Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb published a written standard for Modern Faroese 1854 that exists to this day. Although this would have been an opportunity to create a phonetically true orthography like that of Welsh, he produced an orthography consistent with a continuous written tradition extending back to Old Norse. The letter ð, for example, has no specific phonemes attached to it. Furthermore, although the letter 'm' corresponds to the bilabial nasal as it does in English, it also corresponds to the alveolar nasal in the dative ending -um [ʊn]. Hammershaimb from a Faroese stamp from 1980 Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb (1819 – 1909) is noted for establishing the modern orthography of Faroese, the language of the Faroe Islands, in 1854. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of writing in that language. ... Ð (capital Ð, lower-case ð) (or eth, eð or edh, Faroese: edd) is a letter used in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and present-day Icelandic and Faroese. ... In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... For other uses, see M (disambiguation). ... The bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The alveolar nasal is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ...

Hammershaimb's orthography met with some opposition for its complexity, and a rival system was devised by Jakob Jakobsen. Jakobsen's orthography was closer to the spoken language, but was never taken up by speakers. Dr. Jakob (properly Jákup) Jakobsen (1864-1918), Faroese philologist, is a key figure in Shetlands culture. ...

In 1937, Faroese replaced Danish as the official school language, 1938 as church language, and 1948 as national language by the Home Rule Act of the Faroes. However, Faroese didn't become the common language in the media and advertising until the 1980s. Today, Danish is considered a foreign language, though around 5% of the Faroe Islanders learn it as a first language and it is a required subject for students 3rd grade and up. Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ...

Learning Faroese

It is unusual for Faroese to be taught at universities outside the Faroes (within Scandinavian studies); however University College London has course options in Faroese for students reading Scandinavian Studies. So most students are forced to learn it autodidactically by books, listening to Faroese on the radio (there is an internet live stream) and trying to correspond with Faroese people. A good opportunity for learning Faroese is also visiting the websites of Postverk Føroya and reading their stories about the stamp editions both in Faroese and English (or German, French and Danish). Affiliations University of London Russell Group LERU EUA ACU Golden Triangle G5 Website http://www. ... Postverk Føroya [] is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1st April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. ...

However, the University of the Faroe Islands offers an annual Summer institute over 3 weeks including: The University of the Faroe Islands is a state run university located in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. ...

• 50 lessons of Faroese grammar and language exercises.
• 20 lectures on linguistic subjects, culture, society and nature. The lectures on culture include oral poetry and modern literature.
• 2 excursions to places of historical and geographical interest.

Languages of instruction are Faroese and English. It is said to be very intensive and comprehensive.^{[citation needed]}

Alphabet

Some Faroese isoglosses

The Faroese alphabet consists of 29 letters: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 32 KB) Some isoglosses in the Faroese language Graphics: Arne List Source: This is a scetch of the isoglosses map in the book: Höskuldur Thráinsson, Hjalmar P. Petersen, Jógvan í Lon Jacobsen, Zakaris Svabo Hansen: Tórshavn: F... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 32 KB) Some isoglosses in the Faroese language Graphics: Arne List Source: This is a scetch of the isoglosses map in the book: Höskuldur Thráinsson, Hjalmar P. Petersen, Jógvan í Lon Jacobsen, Zakaris Svabo Hansen: Tórshavn: F... Isoglosses on the Faroe Islands An isogloss is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, e. ... ABCs redirects here, for the Alien Big Cats, see British big cats. ...

A, Á, B, D, Ð, E, F, G, H, I, Í, J, K, L, M, N, O, Ó, P, R, S, T, U, Ú, V, Y, Ý, Æ, Ø

Notes: For other uses of A, see A (disambiguation). ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see D (disambiguation). ... Ð (capital Ð, lower-case ð) (or eth, eð or edh, Faroese: edd) is a letter used in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and present-day Icelandic and Faroese. ... Look up E, e in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up F, f in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see G (disambiguation). ... Look up H, h in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up I, i in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... For other uses, see J (disambiguation). ... Look up K, k in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see L (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see M (disambiguation). ... Look up N, n in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up O, o in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... This article is about the Latin alphabet letter. ... Look up R, r in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up S, s in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see T (disambiguation). ... For other uses of U, see U (disambiguation). ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... Look up V, v in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... n. ... // The Ø (minuscule: ø), is a vowel and a letter used in the Danish, Faroese and Norwegian alphabets. ...

• Ð, ð can never come at the beginning of a word, but can occur in capital letters in logos or on maps, such as SUÐUROY (Southern Isle).
• Ø, ø can also be written Ö, ö in poetic language, such as Föroyar (the Faroes) (cf. Swedish-Icelandic typographic/orthographic tradition vs. Norwegian-Danish). In handwriting these dots might instantiate as short strokes forming a letter looking like Ő, ő.
• Common family names on the Faroes are e.g. Joensen, Johansen, Dam, Dalsgarð or the Christian name Johannis. Even x was known in Hammershaimbs orthography, such as Saxun for Saksun.
• While the Faroese keyboard layout allows one to write in Latin, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, etc., the Old Norse and Modern Icelandic letter þ is missing. In related Faroese words it is written as <t> or as <h>, and if an Icelandic name has to be transcribed, <th> is common.

Ö, or ö, is a character used in several extended Latin alphabets, or the letter O with umlaut or diaeresis. ... Ö, or ö, is a character used in several extended Latin alphabets, or the letter O with umlaut or diaeresis. ... The double acute accent (  Ì‹ ) is a diacritic mark of the latin script used primarily in written Hungarian. ... The double acute accent (  Ì‹ ) is a diacritic mark of the latin script used primarily in written Hungarian. ... For other uses, see X (disambiguation). ... Saksun on Streymoy, Faroe Islands Stamp FR 213 of Postverk Føroya Issued: 3 June 1991 Artist: Ingi Joensen Saksun is a picturesque village near the north-west coast of the Faroese island of Streymoy. ... Þþ The letter Þ (miniscule: þ), which is also known as thorn or þorn is a letter in the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic alphabets. ...

Phonology

Vowels

As in other languages, including English, stressed vowels in Faroese are long when not followed by two or more consonants. Two consonants or a consonant cluster usually indicates a short vowel. Exceptions may be short vowels in particles, pronouns, adverbs, and prepositions in unstressed positions, consisting of just one syllable. In typography, a grapheme is the atomic unit in written language. ... For other uses of A, see A (disambiguation). ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... Look up E, e in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up I, i in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... Look up O, o in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... For other uses of U, see U (disambiguation). ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The acute accent ( Â´ ) is a diacritic mark used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin script. ... n. ... // The Ø (minuscule: ø), is a vowel and a letter used in the Danish, Faroese and Norwegian alphabets. ...

As may be seen on the table to the left, Faroese (like English) has a very atypical pronunciation of its vowels, with odd offglides and other features.

Short vowels in endings

While in other languages a short /e/ is common for inflectional endings, Faroese uses /a, i, u/. This means that there are no unstressed short vowels except for these three. Even if a short unstressed /e/ is seen in writing, it will be pronounced like /i/: áðrenn [ˈɔaːɹɪnː] (before). Very typical are endings like -ur, -ir, -ar. The dative is often indicated by -um which is always pronounced [ʊn].

• [a] - bátar [ˈbɔaːtaɹ] (boats), kallar [ˈkadlaɹ] ((you) call, (he) calls)

• [ɪ] - gestir [ˈʤɛstɪɹ] (guests), dugir [ˈduːjɪɹ] ((you, he) can)
• [ʊ] - bátur [ˈbɔaːtʊɹ] (boat), gentur [ʤɛntʊɹ] (girls), rennur [ˈɹenːʊɹ] ((you) run, (he) runs).

In some dialects, unstressed /ʊ/ is realized as [ø] or is reduced further to [ə]. /ɪ/ goes under a similar reduction pattern so unstressed /ʊ/ and /ɪ/ can rhyme. This can cause spelling mistakes related to these two vowels. The table to the right displays the different realizations in different dialects. Borðoy is an island in the north-east of the Faroe Islands. ... Kunoy is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands between Kalsoy and Bordoy (to which it is linked via a causeway). ... The peninsula Tinganes is seat of the Faroese Government in Tórshavn. ... Viðoy is the northern-most island in the Faroe Islands, located east of Borðoy to which it is linked via a causeway. ... Position of Svínoy island Stamp FR 350 of Postverk Føroya Issued: 25 May 1999 Photo: Per á Hædd Svínoy is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands, to the east of Borðoy and Viðoy. ... Fugloy is the eastern-most island in the Faroe Islands. ... Suðuroy (literally South Island) is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. ...

Glide Insertion

Faroese avoids having a hiatus between two vowels by inserting a glide. Orthographically, this is shown in three ways: Hiatus in linguistics is the separate pronunciation of two adjacent vowels, sometimes with an intervening glottal stop. ... Semivowels (also glides, more rarely: semiconsonants) are non-syllabic vowels that form diphthongs with syllabic vowels. ...

1. vowel + ð + vowel
2. vowel + g + vowel
3. vowel + vowel

Typically, the first vowel is long and in words with two syllables always stressed, while the second vowel is short and unstressed. In Faroese, short and unstressed vowels can only be /a/, /i/, /u/.

Ð and G as glides

<Ð> and <G> are used in Faroese orthography to indicate one of a number of glide rather than any one phoneme. This can be:

1. [j]
   • "I-surrounding, type 1" - after /i, y, í, ý, ei, ey, oy/: bíða [ˈbʊija] (to wait), deyður [ˈdɛijʊɹ] (dead), seyður [ˈsɛijʊɹ] (sheep)
   • "I-surrounding, type 2" - between any vowel (except "u-vowels" /ó, u, ú/) and /i/: kvæði [ˈkvɛajɪ] (ballad), øði [ˈøːjɪ] (rage).
2. [w] "U-surrounding, type 1" - after /ó, u, ú/: Óðin [ˈɔuwɪn] (Odin), góðan morgun! [ˌgɔuwan ˈmɔɹgʊn] (good morning!), suður [ˈsuːwʊɹ] (south), slóða [ˈslɔuwa] (to make a trace).
3. [v]
   • "U-surrounding, type 2" - between /a, á, e, æ, ø/ and /u/: áður [ˈɔavʊɹ] (before), leður [ˈleːvʊɹ] (leather), í klæðum [ɪˈklɛavʊn] (in clothes), í bløðum [ɪˈbløːvʊn] (in newspapers).
   • "A-surrounding, type 2"
     • These are exceptions (there is also a regular pronunciation): æða [ˈɛava] (eider-duck), røða [ˈɹøːva] (speech).
     • The past participles have always [v]: elskaðar [ˈɛlskavaɹ] (beloved, nom., acc. fem. pl.)
4. Silent
   • "A-surrounding, type 1" - between /a, á, e, o/ and /a/ and in some words between <æ, ø> and <a>: ráða [ˈɹɔːa] (to advise), gleða [ˈg̊leːa] (to gladden, please), boða [ˈboːa] (to forbode), kvøða [ˈkvøːa] (to chant), røða [ˈɹøːa] (to make a speech)

For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... In linguistics, a participle is an adjective derived from a verb. ...

Skerping (sharpening)

The so-called "skerping" (Thráinsson et al. use the term "Faroese Verschärfung" - in Faroese, skerping /ʃɛɹpɪŋg/ means "sharpening") is a typical phenomenon of fronting back vowels before [gv] and monophthongizing certain diphthongs before [ʤː]. Skerping is not indicated orthographically. These consonants occur often after /ó, ú/ (ógv, úgv) and /ey, í, ý, ei, oy/ when no other consonant is following.

• [ɛgv]: Jógvan [ˈjɛgvan] (a form of the name John), Gjógv [ʤɛgv] (cleft)
• [ɪgv]: kúgv [kɪgv] (cow), trúgva [ˈtɹɪgva] (believe), but: trúleysur [ˈtɹʉuːlɛisʊɹ] (faithless)
• [ɛʤː]: heyggjur [ˈhɛʤːʊɹ] (high, burial mound), but heygnum [ˈhɛiːnʊn] (dat. sg. with suffix article)
• [ʊʤː]: nýggjur [ˈnʊʤːʊɹ] (new m.), but nýtt [nʊiʰtː] (n.)
• [aʤː]: beiggi [ˈbaʤːɪ] (brother)
• [ɔʤː]: oyggj [ɔʤː] (island), but oynna [ˈɔinːa] (acc. sg. with suffix article)

Population: 53 Postal code (Zip): FO 476 Location: 62° 19′ 30″ N 6° 56′ 28″ W Municipality: Gjáar Gjogv is a charming little village located on the north-east tip of the island Eysturoy. ...

Consonants

There are several phonological processes involved in Faroese, including: Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). ... An apical consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the apex of the tongue (i. ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... Glottal consonants are consonants articulated with the glottis. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... Affricate consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or ) but release as a fricative (such as or or, in a couple of languages, into a fricative trill) rather than directly into the following vowel. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... Phonology (Greek phonē = voice/sound and logos = word/speech), is a subfield of linguistics which studies the sound system of a specific language (or languages). ...

• Voiced stops are devoiced word-finally and before voiceless consonants
• Liquids are devoiced before voiceless consonants
• Nasals generally assume the place of articulation and laryngeal settings of following consonants.
• Velar stops palatalize to postalveolar affricates before /j/ /e/ /ɪ/ /y/ and /ɛi/
• /v/ becomes /f/ before voiceless consonants
• /s/ becomes /ʃ/ after /ɛi, ai, ɔi/ and before /j/ and may assimilate the retroflexion of a preceding /r/ to become [ʂ].

Omissions in consonant clusters

Faroese tends to omit the first or second consonant in clusters of different consonants:

• fjals [fjals] (mountain's gen.) instead of *[fjadls] from [fjadl] (nom.). Other examples for genitives are: barns [ˈbans] (children's), vatns [van̥s] (lake's, water's).
• hjálpti [jɔl̥tɪ] (helped) past sg. instead of *[ˈjɔlpta] from hjálpa [ˈjɔlpa]. Other examples for past forms are: sigldi [ˈsɪldɪ] (sailed), yrkti [ˈɪɹ̥tɪ] (wrote poetry).
• homophone are fylgdi (followed) and fygldi (caught birds with net): [ˈfɪldɪ].
• skt will be:
  1. [st] in words of more than one syllable: føroyskt [ˈføːɹɪst] (Faroese n. sg.; also [ˈføːɹɪʂt]) russiskt [ˈɹʊsːɪst] (Russian n. sg.), íslendskt [ˈʊʃlɛŋ̊st] (Icelandic n. sg.).
  2. [kst] in monosyllables: enskt [ɛŋ̊kst] (English n. sg.), danskt [daŋ̊kst] (Danish n. sg.), franskt [fɹaŋ̊kst] (French n. sg.), spanskt [spaŋ̊kst] (Spanish n. sg.), svenskt [svɛŋ̊kst] (Swedish n. sg.), týskt [tʊkst] (German n. sg.).
     • However [ʂt] in: írskt [ʊʂt] (Irish n. sg.), norskt [nɔʂt] (Norwegian n. sg.)

This article is about the term in linguistics. ...

Grammar

Not surprisingly, Faroese grammar is quite similar to the Icelandic and Old Norse. Below in the literature section, you'll find a comprehensive grammar to download (chapter 3 of the standardwork Faroese by Thráinsson et al. 2004).

Nominal inflection

Below is a representation of three grammatical genders, two numbers and four cases in the nominal inflection. This is just an overview to give a general idea of how the grammar works. Faroese actually has even more declensions. But in modern faroese genitive has a very limited use. In linguistics, grammatical gender is a morphological category associated with the expression of gender through inflection or agreement. ... Inflection of the Spanish lexeme for cat, with blue representing the masculine gender, pink representing the feminine gender, grey representing the form used for mixed-gender, and green representing the plural number. ... In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns and adjectives to indicate such features as number (typically singular vs. ...

Read:

• hvør, hvat? interrogative pronoun "who, what?"
• ein indefinite article "a"
• stórur adjective "big"
• bátur noun "boat"

• ein stórur bátur - a big boat (m.)
• ein vøkur genta - a beautiful girl (f.)
• eitt gott barn - a good child (n.)

In the plural you will see that even the numeral tvey (2) is inflected. An interrogative pronoun (also known simply as an interrogative) is a pronoun used in asking questions. ... An article is a word that is put next to a noun to indicate the type of reference being made to the noun. ... In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjectives subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to. ... In linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... A numeral is a symbol or group of symbols that represents a number. ...

If the noun is definite, the adjective inflects weak, and the noun gets a suffix article as in any Scandinavian language (except for Old Norse).

The interrogative pronoun is the same as above. In the plural, the plural form of the definite article is used.

Read:

• tann stóri báturin - the big boat-the
• tann vakra gentan - the beautiful girl-the
• tað góða barnið - the good child-the

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns of Faroese are: Personal pronouns are pronouns often used as substitutes for proper or common nouns. ...

Singular

• 1st person: eg [eː] - I, meg [meː] - me (acc.), mær [mɛaɹ] - me (dat.), mín [mʊin] - my
• 2nd person: tú [tʉu] - you, teg [teː] - you (acc.), tær [tɛaɹ] - you (dat.), tín [tʊin] - your (gen.)
• 3rd person masculine: hann [hanː] - he, him (nom., acc.), honum [ˈhoːnʊn] - him (dat.), hansara [ˈhansaɹa] - his (gen.)
• 3rd person feminine: hon [hoːn] - she, hana [ˈhɛana] - her (acc.), henni [hɛnːɪ] - her (dat.), hennara [ˈhɛnːaɹa] - her (gen.)
• 3rd person neuter: tað [tɛa] - it (nom., acc.), tí [tʊi] - it (dat.), tess [tɛsː] - its (gen.)

Plural

• 1st person: vit [viːt] - we, okkum [ɔʰkːʊn] - us (acc., dat.), okkara [ˈɔʰkːaɹa] - our (gen.)
• 2nd person: tit [tiːt] - you (pl.), tykkum [ˈtɪʰkːʊn] - you (acc., dat. pl.) tykkara [ˈtɪʰkːaɹa] - your (gen. pl.)
• 3rd person masculine: teir [taiɹ]/[tɔiɹ] - they, them (m. nom., acc.), teimum [ˈtaimʊn]/[ˈtɔimʊn] - them (dat.), teirra [ˈtaiɹːa]/[ˈtɔiɹːa] - their (gen.)
• 3rd person feminine: tær [tɛaɹ] - they, them (f. nom., acc.)
• 3rd person neuter: tey [tɛi] - they, them (n. nom., acc.)

The 3rd person plural neuter tey will be used in all cases when both genders are meant, as in:

• teir eru onglendingar - they are Englishmen (about males)
• tær eru føroyingar - they are Faroese (about females)
• tey eru fólk úr Evropa - they are people from Europe (both sexes)

Verbs

Weak Inflection

There are 4 classes of weak inflection of verbs (with some underclasses). E.g.:

1. stem-final -a, 2-3.pers.sg. -r - kalla! (imperative), tú/hann kalla-r (you/he call(s))
2. 2-3.pers.sg. -ur - tú/hann selur (you/he sell(s))
3. 2-3.pers.sg. -ir - tú/hann dømir (you/he judge(s))
4. 2. pers.sg. -rt - tú rørt (you row). There occurs a Verschärfung in certain surroundings: eg rógvi [eː ɹɛgvɪ], I row; vs. eg róði [eː ɹɔuwɪ], I rowed.

Imperative programming, as opposed to functional programming, is a sort of programming employing side-effect as central execution feature. ... Supine as an adjective generally refers to any upward-facing position. ...

Strong Inflection

These verbs are also referred to as regular. There are 7 classes (with underclasses), distinguished by the variations of the stem-vowel:

1. í - ei - i- i; - at bíta - eg beit - vit bitu - vit hava bitið (bite)
2. ó/ú- ey - u- o; - at bróta - eg breyt - vit brutu - vit hava brotið (break)
3. e/i/ø - a- u- o/u; - at svimja - eg svam - vit svumu - vit hava svomið (swim)
4. e/o - a - ó - o; - at bera - eg bar - vit bóru - vit hava borið (bear)
   • o - o - o - o; - at koma - eg kom - vit komu - vit hava komið (come)
5. e/i - a/á - ó - i; - at liggja - eg lá - vit lógu - vit hava ligið (lie)
6. a - ó - ó - a; - at fara - eg fór - vit fóru - vit hava farið (go)
7. a/á - e - i - i; - at fáa - eg fekk - vit fingu - vit hava fingið (get)

Supine as an adjective generally refers to any upward-facing position. ...

Auxiliary verbs

The auxiliary verbs in Faroese are: In linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, auxiliary verb, or verbal auxiliary) is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it. ...

• at vera - to be
• at hava - to have
• at verða - to be, become
• at blíva - to be, become

Note, that vera and verða are homonyms. Supine as an adjective generally refers to any upward-facing position. ...

Preterite-present verbs

The preterite-present verbs in Faroese are the following: The preterite-present verbs are a small group of anomalous verbs in the Germanic languages. ...

• at kunna - to be able to
• at munna - to want
• at mega - to be allowed to
• at skula - shall
• at vita - to know
• at vilja - to want

Supine as an adjective generally refers to any upward-facing position. ...

Further reading

This is a chronological list of books about Faroese still available. Unfortunately, the English-Faroese and Faroese-English dictionaries are sold out.

• V.U. Hammershaimb: Færøsk Anthologi. Copenhagen 1891 (no ISBN, 2 volumes, 4th printing, Tórshavn 1991) (in Danish)
• M.A. Jacobsen, Chr. Matras: Føroysk - donsk orðabók. Tórshavn, 1961. (no ISBN, 521 pages, Faroese-Danish dictionary)
• W.B. Lockwood: An Introduction to Modern Faroese. Tórshavn, 1977. (no ISBN, 244 pages, 4th printing 2002)
• Eigil Lehmann: Føroysk-norsk orðabók. Tórshavn, 1987 (no ISBN, 388 p.) (Faroese-Norwegian dictionary)
• Tórður Jóansson: English loanwords in Faroese. Tórshavn, 1997. (243 pages) ISBN 99918-49-14-9
• Johan Hendrik W. Poulsen: Føroysk orðabók. Tórshavn, 1998. (1483 pages) ISBN 99918-41-52-0 (in Faroese)
• Annfinnur í Skála: Donsk-føroysk orðabók. Tórshavn 1998. (1369 pages) ISBN 99918-42-22-5 (Danish-Faroese dictionary)
• Michael Barnes: Faroese Language Studies Studia Nordica 5, Supplementum 30. Tórshavn, 2002. (239 pages) ISBN 99918-41-30-X
• Höskuldur Thráinsson (Þráinsson), Hjalmar P. Petersen, Jógvan í Lon Jacobsen, Zakaris Svabo Hansen: Faroese. An Overview and Reference Grammar. Tórshavn, 2004. (500 pages) ISBN 99918-41-85-7
• Richard Kölbl: Färöisch Wort für Wort. Bielefeld 2004 (in German)
• Gianfranco Contri: Dizionario faroese-italiano = Føroysk-italsk orðabók. Tórshavn, 2004. (627 p.) ISBN 99918-41-58-X (Faroese-Italian dictionary)
• Hjalmar Petersen, Marius Staksberg: Donsk-Føroysk orðabók. Tórshavn, 2005. (879 p.) ISBN 99918-41-51-2 (Danish-Faroese dictionary)

External links

Faroese language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Faroese language edition of Wiktionary, the free dictionary/thesaurus

• OBG.fo - Føroysk orðabók (the Faroese-Faroese dictionary of 1998 online)
• FMN.fo - Faroese Language Committee (Official site with further links)
• Faeroese - English Dictionary from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition.
• Ethnologue report on Faroese
• Free Faroese Tutorial at ielanguages.com
• A short English - Faroese - Japanese phrasebook incl. sound file