Is Icelandic A Dying Language?

Currently around 2,900 of the world’s 7,000 languages are at risk of dying out. Is Icelandic one of them?

This post will cover if Icelandic is a dying language and how many people currently speak it.

Table of Contents

Is Icelandic A Dying Language?

No, Icelandic is not a dying language.

UNESCO regularly publishes a list of endangered languages – Icelandic does not feature on the list.

An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use because there is little transmission of the language to younger generations. If a language loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language.

Languages can be considered endangered or dying out for many different reasons. I’ve summarised the main characteristics of a dying language below.

The language is not widely spoken
Other more dominant languages are being spoken instead
Children are not learning the language

Icelandic doesn’t fit any of the above criteria of a dying language.

How Widely Spoken Is Icelandic?

There are currently roughly 314,000 speakers of Icelandic, most of which live in Iceland.

There are also small Icelandic speaking minority communities in other countries including Denmark and the US.

Almost everyone in Iceland speaks Icelandic where it is the official language making it very widely spoken there. The language is used at home, at school and also in most business settings.

Icelandic is the most widely spoken language in Iceland so is not at risk of dying out at the moment.

Are There Any Other Dominant Languages In Iceland?

This is a common reason why languages tend to die out.

Often another language may be spoken within a country and over time people start using it more and more and stop learning their mother tongue e.g. in Hawaii, very few Hawaiians speak Hawaiian, instead they speak English.

Both English and Danish are compulsory school subjects in Iceland. English is widely understood and spoken in Iceland whereas Danish is only known to a basic or moderate level and often only understood by older generations.

English is a popular language in Iceland mainly used for tourism purposes and on the internet however it is not currently preventing people from learning and speaking Icelandic.

Icelandic is used at home, at school and in most business settings so is still the most dominant language used in Iceland despite the increase in English use.

English use is mainly restricted to tourism jobs and most digital platforms.

Are Children Learning The Language?

Another reason why languages often die out is that children grow up speaking another language and don’t learn their mother tongue. Languages die out when they’re not passed to the next generation.

Children do grow up speaking Icelandic, it’s not just the older generation that speak it.

They are taught in Icelandic at school and grow up speaking Icelandic in the home. This means there’s no risk that the language will not be passed on to the next generation.

As Icelandic is very widely spoken in Iceland and is being learnt by Icelandic children, there is currently no risk of the Icelandic language dying out.

The Future Of Icelandic

Despite currently not being a dying language this doesn’t mean Icelandic is safe.

Experts do have concerns about the future of Icelandic mainly due to new technology and social media.

English is becoming increasingly popular in Iceland for tourism purposes and new technology often only recognises English and not Icelandic. Popular tech like Siri and Alexa don’t recognise the Icelandic language.

In addition, young people spend a huge amount of time online. The digital world is almost entirely in English which worries many language experts that future generations will learn more English and less Icelandic.

Young Icelandic people spend hours a day on the internet. In 2015, Wired reported that more than half of the world’s most popular websites are presented in English.

Additionally, tech companies are not interested in making their technology available in Icelandic due to cost.

It would cost just as much money to make their tech available in Icelandic as it would to make it available in English, French, Spanish etc and as Icelandic is only spoken by 314,000 people, the cost isn’t worth it for them.

There is worry that Icelandic could eventually become a secondary language to English due to increased use of technology and digital platforms. If this happens, the language could eventually die out completely.

How Can I Learn Icelandic?

Icelandic is not a dead language so it’s worth learning as there’s thousands of people out there to practice with.

By learning Icelandic you would be able to communicate with 314,000 people and enjoy their vibrant and interesting culture. This can range from movies, TV shows, music, comics, books and much more.

Unfortunately, even popular language learning platforms don’t have an Icelandic course. For example, Duolingo doesn’t have an Icelandic course.

My top recommendation for learning Icelandic is the Pimsleur Icelandic course. This fantastic audio course will get you speaking from day 1 and is great for absolute beginners.

This course is perfect for anyone who wants to focus on being able to speak the language (rather than just reading and writing). You can try Pimsleur Icelandic to see if you like it.

Another recommendation is Glossika which 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.

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.

How Many People Speak Icelandic?

Icelandic currently has about 314,000 speakers around the world.

The majority of these speakers live in Iceland but there are small minority communities spread around the world.

Below I’ve listed the number of Icelandic speakers and where they live.

Iceland – 300,000
Denmark – 8,000
United States – 5,000
Canada – 1,400

Thanks for reading this post on if Icelandic is a dying language.

If you’re interested in learning Icelandic then check out our Icelandic posts here.

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