The Enigmatic ICELANDIC Language



This video is all about the Icelandic language, an Insular North Germanic language (along with Faroese). It can be also be classified as a member of the Western branch of the North Germanic languages (along with Faroese and Norwegian) because it developed mainly from Western dialects of Old Norse.Icelandic is said to be the closest North Germanic language to Old Norse (meaning Old Icelandic as it appears in old literature like the Icelandic sagas). Icelandic retains much of the inflection that existed in Old Norse. Contrast that with English which has lost most of the inflection that existed in Old English - a language which was very similar to Old Norse. The fascinating result is that Icelandic feels just like a familiar but somewhat distant cousin of English. And for anyone who has studied Old English, the relation will seem much less distant.