Faroese is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by about 40,000 people in the
Faroe Islands. It is one of two insular Scandinavian languages (the other is
Icelandic), which have their origins in the
Old Norse language spoken in
Scandinavia in the
Viking Age. Although the written form is very similar to Icelandic, in pronunciation it has been influenced by Norwegian.
Faroese tradition was mostly oral until a standard for written Faroese was established in 1846 by Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb.
- (all languages)
- Indo-European
- Germanic
- North Germanic
- West Scandinavian
- Faroese