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Does Duolingo Have Icelandic in 2023? + Alternatives

If you’re looking to learn Icelandic then you may be wondering if the popular language learning platform Duolingo has an Icelandic course.

Does Duolingo Have An Icelandic Course?

Despite the importance and long history of the Icelandic language, Duolingo doesn’t currently have an Icelandic course. 

Icelandic is a fascinating language with a long and rich history. Today it is spoken by approximately 314,000 people, mainly in Iceland. 

Many people who are looking to learn a new language use Duolingo, a fun language learning platform that features bite-size lessons on various languages. 

Duolingo is known to be a fun, free and easy way to learn a new language. 

Related Post: Is Icelandic Hard To Learn For An English Speaker + How Long Does It Take To Learn?

Why Is Icelandic Not On Duolingo?

It’s hard to say exactly why Duolingo hasn’t yet produced an Icelandic course as Icelandic is a very popular language.

Few Speakers

One reason why Duolingo may not have produced a Duolingo Icelandic course yet is that there are relatively few people who speak the language.

Icelandic currently has around 314,000 speakers around the world. This is quite a small amount compared to other more popular languages and may be a reason why Duolingo has chosen not to produce the course yet.

Having said that, Duolingo has produced courses on much smaller languages (in terms of number of speakers). 

They have courses on small minority languages such as Navajo which only has 171,000 speakers total! 

Additionally they have made a High Valyrian course of which there are no native speakers as this is a fictional language. 

Less Popular Language

Another reason why Duolingo may have not yet produced a Duolingo Icelandic course is that there isn’t enough demand. 

Icelandic isn’t a popular language for native English speakers to learn especially as almost everyone in Iceland speaks fluent English. 

Relatively few people are interested in learning the language compared with other languages and Duolingo produces courses based on demand. 

This is a shame because it’s certain that there is some demand for English speakers wanting to learn Icelandic (you wouldn’t be on this page if there wasn’t!). 

Icelandic is becoming an increasingly popular language to learn especially as Iceland is becoming a big tourist destination. 

Learning Icelandic is a great way to connect with Iceland’s interesting and unique culture.

Duolingo is currently working on other languages which they believe will be more popular with their users. 

When Will Icelandic Be Available On Duolingo?

The Duolingo Incubator is a feature where you can see what languages Duolingo are currently working on producing a course for. 

Duolingo Incubator

The Duolingo courses are created by volunteers. You can contribute to a course on the Duolingo Incubator page if you’re fluent in more than one language. 

This page simply shows which courses are currently being produced so you can apply to help build a course if you want to.

Having checked the Duolingo Incubator, I can see that currently Icelandic isn’t a course they’re working on. This means that Duolingo Icelandic isn’t going to be released any time soon as they’re not even working on producing a course. 

Within the incubator, on their language list they do say ‘more languages will be available for teaching soon’ however it is unclear how long we may be waiting for more courses to be added. 

How Do Duolingo Decide On Which Courses To Create?

Duolingo themselves state that they decide on new courses based on the Duolingo forums. 

They suggest the best way to get them to add a new language is by visiting their forum section and searching for suggestions that have been made in the past. 

You then should add an upvote or comment to these posts. The more upvotes the more likely Duolingo will take notice and build a course. 

If you want to help then you can upvote this Duolingo forum post to show Duolingo that people want an Icelandic course. 

The above forum is already one of the most popular Duolingo forums dedicated to requesting a new language, so hopefully Duolingo takes note and starts producing a course soon.

Alternatives To Duolingo To Learn Icelandic

Whilst Duolingo is a fantastic resource for learning a new language, don’t let their lack of an Icelandic course stop you from learning the language if you want to.

There’s plenty of fantastic courses out there for Icelandic – both free and paid.

Free Alternatives For Learning Icelandic

Memrise

Memrise is an online language learning app that uses fun games to help it’s users learn their chosen language. 

They have tons of free Icelandic courses that will teach you the alphabet, vocabulary and phrases in Icelandic. 

It’s really interactive and gradually introduces new words slowly so you have time to consolidate them all. There’s also plenty of opportunities to practice what you’ve learnt.

Icelandic Online

One of the best free resources out there for learning Icelandic is the website Icelandic Online.

This website was set up by the University of Iceland with the aim to teach Icelandic as a second language.

They have lots of great resources including videos, quizzes and more. The courses on this site go all the way from beginner to advanced level. 

Paid Alternatives For Learning Icelandic

Pimsleur Icelandic

Pimsleur is a fantastic audio course that will get you speaking Icelandic from day 1. 

This course is perfect for anyone who wants to focus on being able to speak the language (rather than reading and writing). 

You can try Pimsleur Icelandic by using the free trial at Pimsleur.

Glossika Icelandic

Glossika is a great resource for building up vocabulary and learning to speak the language fluently. 

The best thing about Glossika is that they help you to acquire the language (rather than memorizing). It’s a fun, easy and effective way to learn Icelandic.

Icelandic Textbook

If you’re looking for a standard textbook to help you with Icelandic then the Teach Yourself Icelandic book is one of the best out there. 

If you also want to be able to read and write in Icelandic then you’ll need a textbook like this one. It’s a great reference point and explains the language in clear, easy to understand terms. 

It’s great to know that it also comes with an accompanying audio CD so you can hear the sounds of the language too. 


Thanks for reading this post on whether Duolingo currently has an Icelandic course. 

Even though Duolingo doesn’t currently have an Icelandic course, there are still lots of other ways that you can learn Icelandic. 

Check our other Icelandic content here.

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