BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) h p://jou nals.lki.l /bend inekalba ISSN 2351-7204
ARI PÁLL KRISTINSSON
Á ni Magnússon Ins i u e o Icelandic S udies,
Language Planning Depa men , Reykja ik, Iceland
BETWEEN SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS: ON LANGUAGE SITUATION
AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN CONTEMPORARY ICELAND
ABSTRACT
Iceland’s li e a y adi ion, conse a i e linguis ic he i age and ideologies o linguis ic pu ism ha e
been a majo s and in Icelandic na ional iden i y. The p ese a ion o linguis ic and li e a y con inui y
is a p incipal objec i e o o e ly exp essed Icelandic cul u e policies. A he same ime, he ad en o
globalisa ion has en ailed inc eased e e yday p esence o an in e na ional language, along Icelandic, in
impo an sphe es o mode n li e. The e a e conce ns ha his has impac on eading habi s, linguis ic
inpu , and language en i onmen in gene al. Agains his backg ound, he p esen pape o e s a
desc ip ion o p e ailing Icelandic language ideologies, mode n linguis ic p ac ices, language policies,
and he possibili ies and limi a ions o p esen -day language managemen e o s.
KEYWORDS: language managemen , language policies, language ideologies, Icelandic, p es ige
planning.
ANOTACIJA
Islandijos li e a ū inė adicija, konse a y us kalbinis pa eldas i kalbinio pu izmo ideologijos –
s a bi Islandijos nacionalinės apa ybės dalis. Išsaugo i kalbinį i li e a ū inį ęs inumą y a pag indinis
a i osios Islandijos kul ū os poli ikos ikslas. Tačiau dėl globalizacijos s a biose šiuolaikinio gy enimo
s i yse is labiau įsigali a p au inė kalba.
Tai kelia susi ūpinimą, nes kin a skai ymo įp očiai, eikiamas
kalbos a umas i kalbos aplinka apsk i ai. A siž elgian į šį kon eks ą, šiame s aipsnyje ap ašomos
y aujančios islandų kalbos ideologijos, ap a iama šiuolaikinė kalbinė p ak ika, kalbos poli ika i šių
dienų kalbos a kymo galimybės bei ap ibojimai.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: kalbos adyba, kalbos poli ika, kalbos ideologijos, islandų kalba, p es ižo
plana imas.
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1. LANGUAGE SITUATION
1.1. His o ical backg ound
Icelandic is a No h Ge manic (‘No dic’) language. S uc u ally i is close o Mode n
Fa oese, and o some Wes e n No wegian dialec s. Mo e dis an No dic ela i es a e Swedish,
Danish, and Eas e n No wegian / No wegian Bokmål. Mode n Icelandic bea s s ong
esemblance o i s linguis ic ances o , Old No se, which was spoken in he nin h o he hi een h
cen u y in Scandina ia, he Fa oes, and Iceland, in some pa s o B i ain, and in o he places
whe e he Vikings and No dic me chan s a elled in medie al imes. Voluminous ex s in Old
No se / Ea ly Icelandic a e p ese ed, and many o hem a e held in high ega d, such as he so-
called Family Sagas, he Poe ic Edda, Sagas o Kings, e c. These ex s we e mos ly w i en in
he wel h, hi een h and ou een h cen u ies, mainly in Iceland, and pa ly in No way. The
language o he ex s is s ill b oadly accessible oday o he a e age eade o Mode n Icelandic,
wi hou specializa ion in linguis ics o li e a y s udies. This is because Mode n Icelandic e ains
mos Old No se g amma ical ca ego ies and basic ocabula y, while conside able changes ha e
aken place in he phonological sys em.
1.2. Linguis ic cha ac e is ics
Mode n Icelandic nouns, adjec i es, p onouns and he nume als 1–4 ha e ou
g amma ical cases. The e a e h ee g amma ical gende s o nouns, adjec i es, mos p onouns
and he nume als 1–4. Ve bs a e conjuga ed acco ding o ense, pe son, numbe , mood and
oice. Thus, s uc u ally, Icelandic has la gely kep many o he Old No h Ge manic
g amma ical cha ac e is ics.
One ea u e o Mode n Icelandic is also wo h men ioning: he pe sonal name sys em.
Mos Icelande s s ill use pa onymics, o ma onymics, i.e., you can choose be ween using you
a he ’s o you mo he ’s i s name o o m you las name, wi h son ‘son’ o dó i ‘daugh e ’
added. As an example, my a he ’s i s name was K is inn, hus I am K is insson, while my
sis e s’ su name is K is insdó i . While mos Icelande s use hei a he s’ o mo he s’ i s
names o hei su names, some people do use amily names, as is he mos common cus om in
Wes e n Eu ope (e.g., Jóhanna Sch am), o a mix u e o bo h me hods (e.g., Jóhanna
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Adol sdó i Sch am). Ano he in e es ing cha ac e is ic o he Icelandic name cus om is ha
you ne e add ess people by hei su name alone; he de aul is he i s name(s), only op ionally
ollowed by a su name. This holds o all membe s o socie y, ega dless o hei s a us and
posi ion.
Icelandic is i ually wi hou dialec s as such, i.e. in he mos common sense o he e m
‘dialec ’. The e is howe e a pa icula “No he n accen ”, which b oadly means ha a numbe
o people in he cen e o No he n Iceland end o p onounce in e ocalic s ops wi h s onge
pos aspi a ion han mos o he Icelandic speake s no mally do. I is a bi o a mys e y why such
a la ge and spa sely popula ed island as Iceland is no di ided in o clea ly sepa a ed dialec al
egions. Mos a ia ion in Icelandic is de e mined by gen e, by medium o communica ion, by
si ua ion, and closeness o con e sa ion pa icipan s.
Icelandic has a long his o y o coining domes ic neologisms, and he e a e my iads o
such neologisms in e e yday use. Examples: sími ‘ elephone’, öl a ‘compu e ’, íkill ‘addic ’,
dagsk á ‘p og am’, áðs e na ‘con e ence’, and so on and so o h. This en ails ha people who
speak he Scandina ian languages (Danish, No wegian, Swedish) o o he Ge manic languages,
ha e o make an ex a e o in lea ning Mode n Icelandic, as hey can no eadily deciphe he
meaning o e.g. Icelandic newspape ex s, since he p opo ion o so-called in e na ional
ocabula y is ela i ely low (pa icula ly in p in ed ma e ial), while na i e neologisms ha e
been coined as subs i u es.
1.3. Language belie s among membe s o he speech communi y
G amma ical, o hog aphic and lexical pu ism is a cen al heme o Icelandic language
a i udes and ideologies as has been shown epea edly in opinion polls and in es iga ions in o
language discou ses (c ., e.g., O ósson 1990, Á nason 2006, Vikø 2010, Leona d, Á nason
2011, K is insson 2014, Jökulsdó i e al. 2019). Language use is o en discussed by lay people,
and many end o hold s ong opinions, o example when i comes o choosing be ween
di e en sugges ions o new wo ds in he ocabula y. A numbe o speake s egula ly exp ess
hei wo ies o wha hey pe cei e as de e io a ion o p ope Icelandic language, among he
younge gene a ion. While p o ec ionis language ideologies p e ail in Iceland, I hink ha such
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a i udes p ima ily ocus on he o ms o language, while s a us issues, i.e. h ea s o he loss o
domains o use, ha e caused less conce n among he gene al public (c . K is insson 2014).
Due o geog aphy, majo i y o common speake s o Icelandic we e o cen u ies (esp.
in 1400–1800) ha dly e e exposed o long- e m language con ac si ua ions. Con ac si ua ions
wi h Danish, and la e English speaking g oups, became g adually mo e common in he 19 h
and 20 h cen u ies. Iceland was occupied by English speaking Allied o ces in 1940, and a
NATO mili a y base was es ablished and un o many decades a e he wa . Since he mid-
wen ie h cen u y, ea o English in luence on he Icelandic language has uelled discou ses on
domes ic language pu i y. This has no leas conce ned e minology and mode n enewal o
lexicon.
In he 19 h and ea ly 20 h cen u ies, linguis ic pu ism became an impo an , and
in luen ial, ea u e o Icelandic language a i udes and linguis ic p ac ices. Language pu ism
became a signi ican ac o o he sel -iden i y o Icelande s as a na ion. Ea lie , he main a ge
o pu i ica ion we e loanwo ds om Danish, while English loans ha e been he majo conce n
since he la e hal o he 20 h cen u y. This is e iden in na ionalis language poli ical
discou ses. E en he me e exis ence o Icelande s as a sepa a e na ion and hei igh o
independence has been linked wi h he Icelandic language, p e e ably in i s mos ‘pu e’ o m
(i.e., as close as possible o Old No se, he linguis ic s age o he medie al No dic li e a y
Golden Age).
1.4. Cu en language si ua ion
Icelandic is used in all aspec s o daily li e in Iceland: in he go e nmen sys em, in
pa liamen , as medium o ins uc ion in schools (also in e ia y educa ion), in companies,
spo s, mass media, e c. Publica ions in Icelandic a e massi e, o a na ion o only abou
360,000 people; abou 1,000 book i les we e published in Icelandic in 2019, an inc ease
compa ed o p e ious yea s. The e was a 50% inc ease in he publishing o books o you hs
and child en in 2019 compa ed o 2018. Some p in ed adi ional newspape s seem o s uggle
while w i en news po als on he web a e h i ing. The e a e a numbe o adio s a ions and a
hand ul o na ion wide TV s a ions.
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While Icelandic is he o icial language o s a e and municipali ies, he e is only one
ecognized adi ional mino i y language in Iceland, namely Icelandic Sign Language, he i s
language o abou 300 people.
The popula ion o Iceland has ecen ly become much mo e mul i ace ed han be o e. In
abou a qua e o a cen u y, he p opo ion o immig an s has inc eased om less han 2% o
he o al popula ion o abou 14% (S a is ics Iceland 2020). Some ha e acqui ed Icelandic
ci izenship while mos inhabi an s o o eign o igin a e ci izens o o he coun ies, who ha e
( empo a y) esidence pe mi in Iceland. Poles a e by a he la ges single g oup o immig an s,
and he second la ges a e Li huanians. Abou 5% o people li ing in Iceland a e Polish ci izens
(19,000 people in 2019), and abou 1% o he popula ion a e Li huanian ci izens (4,000 people
in 2019; S a is ics Iceland 2020).
In 2016, 12.6% o child en a p e-p ima y school age in Iceland had ano he language
han Icelandic as home language, and he e a e a leas abou 50 di e en home languages in
he coun y (Jónsdó i e al. 2018: 10). Some es ima es ha e igu es as high as 100 di e en
home languages.
While he s a us o Icelandic as o icial language is uncon es ed, and i is he p incipal
language o daily communica ion, some b anches o he Icelandic labou ma ke ha e clea ly
become mul ilingual, such as ou is se ices, main enance, and cons uc ion. Many immig an s
do hei bes o lea n o speak Icelandic. The demog aphic changes ha e en ailed ha Icelandic
spoken wi h a o eign accen is pa o e e yday language p ac ices. The Icelandic na ional
b oadcas media is no excep ion. This si ua ion is new o a la ge sec ion o adi ional Icelandic
speake s.
Fo eign speake s o Icelandic o en complain ha when na i e Icelande s hea hem
speak wi h an accen , Icelande s a e eage o code-swi ch in o English. This o cou se can be a
p oblem, i s ly, as i shows lack o ole ance owa ds o eign accen ed speech, and, secondly,
his beha iou also dep i es he lea ne s o hei chances o p ac ice hei Icelandic in au hen ic
con e sa ions. I is also ue ha many o he o eigne s a e no necessa ily luen speake s o
English.
The ad en o globalisa ion en ails inc eased e e yday p esence o English in (social)
media, comme ce, academia, popula cul u e, digi al echnologies, e c. I is widely pe cei ed

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ha his is bound o ha e e ec on eading habi s, linguis ic inpu in he na i e language, and
alloca ion o domains o language use in socie y a la ge. In a ew domains o Icelandic socie y,
English is commonly used (o en pa allel o Icelandic), o ins ance in he ou ism indus y,
some businesses, in banking, and pa ially as mode o ins uc ion a uni e si ies. Despi e s ong
p esence o English in such domains, Icelandic is wi hou a doub he p incipal daily language,
i is he language o ins uc ion in p ima y and seconda y educa ion, and i is by a he mos
common language o ins uc ion a Icelandic uni e si ies and colleges. As is he case a
uni e si ies in o he No dic coun ies, he na i e language has i s s onghold a he Bachelo
le els, while Mas e p og ams and Doc o al p og ams ha e highe pe cen ages o English
medium cou ses. An in es iga ion in 2014 showed ha abou 10% o uni e si y cou ses we e
augh in English in Bachelo p og ams, and abou 18% in English on a e age o Mas e
p og ams (K is insson, Be nha ðsson 2014). In e es ingly, he e is s ong e idence
(A nbjö nsdó i 2017) ha Icelandic college s uden s end o o e es ima e hei own English
p o iciencies, and ha hey s uggle when hey y o cope wi h academic English in hei
s udies.
2. EVOLVING LANGUAGE ECOLOGY, AND LANGUAGE POLICY CHALLENGES
In la e mode ni y, Icelandic cul u e and socie y is acing choices and challenges as o
language managemen , as conce ns language co pus, language s a us and language acquisi ion
planning (see, e.g., K is insson 2014, 2018). A eam o esea che s has been in es iga ing
linguis ic p ac ices and a i udes in Iceland he pas h ee yea s (c . Sigu jónsdó i 2019). They
a e pa ly a emp ing o p o ide e idence ha could in o m sensible language managemen
e o s o deal wi h and modi y he p esen language si ua ion, and pa ly o p o ide be e
heo e ical insigh in o language acquisi ion, de elopmen and language con ac , in gene al
e ms. The e is hus ongoing esea ch designed o shed u he ligh on he cu en language
si ua ion in Iceland, no leas he s a us o Icelandic is à is English. The o e a ching goal is
o be able o in o m he Icelandic public abou o wha ex en hey should be conce ned o he
p ospec s o Icelandic, and i he inc eased p esence o English is ha ing an in luence on
e e yday Icelandic language use, g amma and seman ics. The e has been a eeling among
some people, eache s o example, ha some hing migh be changing apidly among school
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child en and you hs, in he sys em o g amma , and in ocabula y. These ague conce ns ha
ha e been exp essed o e he pas one o wo decades ha e mainly been based on anecdo es
and such.
An example o such anecdo al e idence: Resea che s had ound ou ha acco ding o
PISA measu ing, he numbe o Icelandic child en unde he age o 15 who had di icul ies in
eading, e alua ing and in e p e ing a ex , had gone om 15% in he yea 2000 o 22% in he
yea 2015. When he news b oke in 2018, he Head o he Icelandic Teache s’ Union, Ragna
Pé u sson, was ci ed in a newspape a icle, as ollows:
“Ragna has c i icised local ins i u ions o assigning oo li le ime o […] Icelandic in
he cu iculum in elemen a y schools. Howe e , wha ’s eally saddening is ha while
Icelandic child en spend a lo o ime using echnological de ices ha a e mos ly in
English, pa en s don’ seem o ake enough ime o alk o hem abou wha hey see and
ead online. “I ha e been a eache o 20 yea s and I can ell you ha child en ha e
ne e li ed in be e condi ions han now,” Ragna says. “Bu we don’ gi e child en
enough o wha eally ma e s— ime”” (Demu as 2018).
O e policies ha ha e been explici ly laid down in w i ing by Pa liamen and
Go e nmen ecen ly, include:
(1) a de ailed o icial language policy, in 2009 (Minis y o Educa ion, Science and
Cul u e 2009; a i ied by Pa liamen ),
(2) a sepa a e language legisla ion on Icelandic and Icelandic Sign Language, in 2011
(Al hingi 2011),
(3) an ambi ious language echnology p og am o 2018–2022 (Nikulásdó i e al.
2017; Rannís 2018). The explici aim o he language echnology unding and
p og amme is
“ o p o ec and suppo he Icelandic language as well as o acili a e he use o
new in o ma ion echnologies in he Icelandic communi y, o he bene i o he
public, ins i u ions and companies” (Rannís 2018).
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(4) In June 2019, a pa liamen a y esolu ion on Icelandic was unanimously passed by
he Icelandic Pa liamen . A na ionwide language awa eness campaign (Á am íslenska
[Go Icelandic!]) is p omo ed in he esolu ion, he need o suppo eache educa ion is
emphasised, as well as he aim o sa egua ding Icelandic in he digi al domains
(Al hingi 2019).
While Icelandic is he i s language o abou 86% o he Icelandic popula ion a p esen ,
comp ehensi e ecen polls show ha majo i y o Icelande s claim o hea and ead some
English on a egula basis, and many o hem also claim o use English egula ly. The
in o ma ion below is sough om some i s esul s o he comp ehensi e in es iga ion ha has
been men ioned ea lie in his chap e : Fo Icelandic 3–5 yea s old child en, abou 60% wa ch
English language p og ammes on channels such as Ne lix and YouTube (Sigu jónsdó i
2019). Fo he age g oup 3–12 yea s old child en, abou 50% play compu e games in Icelandic,
while he igu e o English language compu e games is abou 75%; howe e , he younge
child en a e mo e likely o play he Icelandic games (Nowens ein e al. 2018). As o
adolescen s and you hs, esea ch indica es ha inc eased English language inpu among 16–20
yea s old speake s o Icelandic co ela es posi i ely wi h inc eased insecu i y and non-s anda d
use o subjunc i e and indica i e mood in he Icelandic e bal sys em (Thó sdó i 2018).
As was men ioned ea lie , majo i y o Icelande s claim o hea and ead some English
on a egula basis, and many o hem also claim o use English egula ly. A su ey which was
ca ied ou in 2002, showed ha abou 50% o he esponden s a he ime claimed o use English
almos daily (i.e., ead o w i e o speak English), while 25% o hem answe ed “(almos ) ne e ”
(Á nason 2006). As o o mal o s uc u ed acquisi ion o English, i has been shown
(Jóhannsdó i 2018) ha Icelandic child en in he 4 h g ade, who a e beginning o lea n some
English a school, acqui e mos o hei English ocabula y ou side o he class oom, based on
hei mo i a ion o unde s and English ele ision p og ammes and pop ly ics, and so on, and
h ough compu e s, and h ough hei communica ion wi h people who do no know Icelandic
and communica e in English. In o he wo ds, English lessons a school a e only a seconda y
mode o hei acquisi ion o English.
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I is a possibili y ha he wo codes, Icelandic and English, ha e eached some so o
heal hy balance, i.e. in a s able pa allel language si ua ion, o a a ie y o encoun e s and
domains in Iceland. The ques ion is a he i his si ua ion makes Icelandic “ ulne able” in
Iceland, in e ms o o ms o unc ion, o bo h.
One possibili y is ha pe haps we a e no necessa ily jus p ima ily expe iencing
English in luence as such, on Icelandic o ms and Icelandic domains – a ec ing and changing
how Icelandic is used, and whe e and when i can be used; bu a he ha English is an addi ional
code in he communi y. The e could, in o he wo ds, be signs o eme ging addi i e bilingualism,
English in addi ion o Icelandic, a he han English “conque ing” Icelandic as o domains o
use, and as o p o iciency in use.
As discussed ea lie , English is commonly used in Iceland, and, o some si ua ions and
domains, some imes e en a he han Icelandic. This happens e.g. in a a ie y o Icelandic
cus ome se ices, such as in shops and es au an s, in dis ic s in Reykja ik whe e he e a e
many ou is s and o he o eign isi o s. A he same ime he e is much me alinguis ic discou se
in he Icelandic speech communi y which e eals nega i e a i udes among Icelande s o such
public use o English in Iceland.
A newspape a icle by he Icelandic no elis Ragna Jónasson (2018) is an example o
a a he ypical desc ip ion by na i e Icelande s who a e conce ned o he p ospec s o
Icelandic:
“A es au an s and co ee shops, people a e equen ly g ee ed in English a he han
Icelandic, and o en Icelandic will ge you nowhe e i you wan o o de ood o d ink.
Companies use English names o a e eb anding hemsel es in English. The impo ance
o ou is s o he economy is apidly making English no only a second language in he
se ice indus y, bu almos he i s language.”
Many examples o such o e ly exp essed nega i e a i udes, o wha appea s o be
ele a ed s a us o English in public and social space in Iceland, can be ound in Icelandic social
media. Some imes, social media commen a o s a e e en u ging people o boyco shops and
es au an s ha do no ha e Icelandic speaking s a o ha end o ad e ise hei commodi ies
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BETWEEN SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS: ON LANGUAGE SITUATION
AND LANGUAGE POLICY IN CONTEMPORARY ICELAND
Summa y
In la e mode ni y, Icelandic cul u e and socie y is acing impo an choices and
challenges as o language managemen . The ad en o globalisa ion en ails inc eased e e yday
p esence o English in (social) media, comme ce, academia, popula cul u e, digi al
echnologies, e c., and he e a e conce ns ha his impac s, among o he hings, on eading
habi s, linguis ic inpu , and alloca ion o linguis ic domains in socie y a la ge. While Icelandic
is he i s language o abou 86% o he Icelandic popula ion a p esen , majo i y o Icelande s
claim o hea , o ead and use some English on a egula basis. Abou 60% o Icelandic 3–5
yea s old child en wa ch English language p og ammes on channels such as Ne lix and
YouTube (Sigu jónsdó i 2019). Conce ns ha e been aised ha such ex ensi e English
language en i onmen on a daily basis is bound o ha e nega i e implica ions o adi ional
Icelandic language cul u e, i.e., i s ly, o language a i udes in gene al, as English is
a ou ably iewed, and, secondly, o he na i e g amma and lexicon, since i is suspec ed ha
linguis ic inpu in Icelandic will dec ease p opo ionally as English language inpu inc eases.
In Icelandic language managemen , igno ing he impac o globalisa ion on
con empo a y linguis ic epe oi es is no an op ion, and again, nei he is majo negligence in
p ese ing a ich linguis ic and li e a y adi ion which is pe cei ed o be a unique cul u al
he i age. Thus, he e is need o some balanced analysis o he possibili ies and limi a ions o
p esen -day language managemen e o s. One o he mos impo an ac o s o sa e na iga ion
be ween Scylla and Cha ybdis is he de elopmen o Icelandic language co po a and a o dable
and accessible language echnology in as uc u e, and linguis ic ools and echnical gadge s
based on w i en and spoken mode n Icelandic, as well as compu e games and ilms ca ying
Icelandic con en which can appeal o child en and you hs in hei na i e ongue. O he ways o
suppo ing in e gene a ional ansmission o w i en and spoken Icelandic include socio-
economic e o s ha aim a acili a ing mo e quali y ime o young amilies, p e e ably
esul ing in inc eased linguis ic inpu in adi ional Icelandic.
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Icelandic au ho i ies ha e decided o do hei bes o li e up o his challenge, among
o he hings by alloca ing huge sums o a language echnology p og am in 2018–2022, and
h ough a und ha suppo s he publica ion o in e es ing books o you hs and child en.
Iceland’s pa liamen (Al hingi) unanimously passed a esolu ion in June 2019, on s eng hening
Icelandic as he o icial language in Iceland. The esolu ion highligh s he need o aise
awa eness abou he impo ance o he Icelandic language, i s alue and i s uniqueness; and o
p omo e eaching o Icelandic, paying special a en ion o non-na i e lea ne s, and he p incipal
goal is ha Icelandic be used in all ields and domains in Icelandic socie y.
ARI PÁLL KRISTINSSON
Á ni Magnússon Ins i u e o Icelandic S udies
Lauga egu 13, IS-101 Reykja ik
[email p o ec ed]