The national language of the Faroe Islands is Faroese. Danish is the official second language taught in schools at an early age. English is also taught in schools and is spoken by most people.

HISTORY OF THE FAROESE LANGUAGE

Faroese derives from Old Norse and is closely related to Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. Speakers of the abovementioned Nordic languages will notice familiar words and grammatical structures in the Faroese language.

Venceslaus Ulricus Hammersheimb, a Faroese Lutheran minister, created a spelling system for the Faroese language in 1846. Until 1938, schools and churches were generally only permitted to use the Danish language. Anyone wishing to use Faroese for church services had to ask for permission. Schools generally used Danish, but the Faroese language was allowed in some educational instances, especially when dealing with young children. In 1938, schools and churches made the Faroese and Danish languages equal. The Faroese language became the primary language of the Faroe Islands in 1948.

LEARN FAROESE

When Google wouldn’t listen to our request to include the Faroese language on Google Translate, we created our version and called Faroe Islands Translate.

People could type a word or phrase into our translation tool and receive a video translation from a random Faroese volunteer within a few seconds.

With over 1.4 million requested translations from over 190 countries, we have built a large database of translations.

Want to learn how to say “I love you”, “Do you think I’m hot?” or “I want a beer” in Faroese? We have you covered.

TRANSLATION TOOL

Need to translate a word into Faroese? Use this free translation service provided by Sprotin.