Editing Faroese language (section)

==History==
[[File:Sheep Letter, p 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Sheep letter]] ({{langx|fo|Seyðabrævið}}) is the oldest surviving document of the Faroe Islands. Written in 1298 in Old Norse, it contains some words and expressions believed to be especially Faroese.<ref name="Medieval sources">{{cite web|url=http://wanthalf.saga.cz/dokumenty/faerstina/zdroje/nejstarsi_pisemnosti/GR_medieval_sources.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305152327/http://wanthalf.saga.cz/dokumenty/faerstina/zdroje/nejstarsi_pisemnosti/GR_medieval_sources.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=live|title=History and Diachronic Variations - Medieval sources|publisher=wanthalf.saga.cz (part of a book)|access-date=22 October 2015}}</ref>]]
{{Old Norse language map}}
[[File:The Famjin Stone a Faroese Runestone.JPG|thumb|The [[Fámjin stone]], a Faroese [[runestone]]|306x306px]]
{{Cladogram |cladogram={{North Germanic clade}}}} <!-- Made the clade a cladogram due to unfortunate text, if the opportunity to incorporate this into the main body ever comes, feel free to remove the {{Cladogram}} and leave just the {{North Germanic clade}} -->

Around 900 AD, the language spoken in the Faroes was [[Old Norse]], which Norse settlers had brought with them during the time of the settlement of Faroe Islands ({{lang|non|landnám}}) that began in 825. However, many of the settlers were not from [[Scandinavia]], but descendants of Norse settlers in the [[Irish Sea]] region. In addition, women from Norse-occupied Ireland, the [[Kingdom of the Isles|Norse–Gaelic Isles]], [[Orkney]], and [[Shetland]] often married native Scandinavian men before settling in the Faroe Islands and Iceland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Letter from the Faroes - Lost History of the Sheep Islands - Archaeology Magazine - March/April 2023 |url=https://archaeology.org/issues/march-april-2023/letters-from/faroe-islands-settlement/ |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Archaeology Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> As a result, the [[Middle Irish]] language has had some influence on both Faroese and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].

There is speculation about Gaelic language place names in the Faroes: for example, the names of [[Mykines, Faroe Islands|Mykines]], [[Stóra Dímun]], [[Lítla Dímun]] and [[Argir]] have been hypothesized to contain Celtic roots.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Faroese Language - Learn about the Faroe Islands language|url=https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/|access-date=2021-09-13|website=faroeislands.fo|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816183723/https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other examples of early-introduced words of Celtic origin are: {{wikt-lang|fo|blak}}/{{lang|fo|blaðak}} ([[buttermilk]]), cf. [[Middle Irish]] {{wikt-lang|mga|bláthach}}; {{lang|fo|drunnur}} (tail-piece of an animal), cf. Middle Irish {{lang|mga|dronn}}; {{wikt-lang|fo|grúkur}} ([[head]], headhair), cf. Middle Irish {{wikt-lang|mga|gruaig}}; {{wikt-lang|fo|lámur}} ([[hand]], [[paw]]), cf. Middle Irish {{wikt-lang|mga|lámh}}; {{wikt-lang|fo|tarvur}} ([[bull]]), cf. Middle Irish {{wikt-lang|mga|tarbh}}; and {{wikt-lang|fo|ærgi}} ([[pasture]] in the [[outfield]]), cf. Middle Irish {{lang|mga|áirge}}.<ref>Chr. Matras. Greinaval – málfrøðigreinir. FØROYA FRÓÐSKAPARFELAG 2000</ref>

Between the 9th and the 15th centuries, a distinct Faroese language evolved, although it was probably still mutually intelligible with [[Old West Norse language|Old West Norse]], and remained similar to the [[Norn language]] of [[Orkney]] and Shetland during Norn's earlier phase.

Faroese ceased to be a written language after the [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein|Danish–Norwegian Reformation]] of the early 16th century, with Danish replacing Faroese as the language of administration and education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uv.es/capelo/thefaroeselanguage.html|title=The Faroese Language |publisher=[[University of Valencia]] |access-date=2017-08-23}}</ref> The islanders continued to use the language in [[ballad]]s, [[folklore|folktales]], and everyday life. This maintained a rich [[oral tradition|spoken tradition]], but for 300 years the language was not used in written form.

In 1823, the Danish Bible Society published a [[diglot]] of the [[Gospel of Matthew]], with Faroese on the left and Danish on the right.

[[Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb]] and the Icelandic grammarian and politician [[Jón Sigurðsson]] published a written standard for Modern Faroese in 1854, which still exists.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faroese-language |title=Faroese language |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=2017-08-23 }}</ref> They set a standard for the [[orthography]] of the language, based on its Old Norse roots and similar to that of Icelandic. The main purpose of this was for the spelling to represent the diverse dialects of Faroese in equal measure. Additionally, it had the advantages of being etymologically clear and keeping the kinship with the Icelandic written language. The actual pronunciation, however, often differs considerably from the written rendering. The letter ''[[ð]]'', for example, has no specific [[phoneme]] attached to it.

[[Jakob Jakobsen]] devised a rival system of orthography, based on his wish for a phonetic spelling, but this system was never taken up by the speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snar.fo/tema-og-tvoergreinalig-evni/skaldskapur-og-midlar/rithoevundar/j/jakobsen-jakob/|website=Snar.fo |title=Jakob Jakobsen (1864-1918)|access-date=2014-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310065447/http://snar.fo/tema-og-tvoergreinalig-evni/skaldskapur-og-midlar/rithoevundar/j/jakobsen-jakob/|archive-date=2014-03-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1908, [[Scripture Gift Mission]] published the [[Gospel of John]] in Faroese.

In 1937, Faroese replaced [[Danish language|Danish]] as the official school language, in 1938, as the church language,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jensen |first=Jan |date=2022-12-01 |title=Reconfiguring Hell: Urgency and Salvation in the Faroe Islands |url=https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/saas/30/4/saas300405.xml |journal=Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale |language=en |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=54–69 |doi=10.3167/saas.2022.300405 |issn=0964-0282|doi-access=free }}</ref> and in 1948, as the national language by the Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands. The first complete translation of the Bible was completed in 1948.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Mitchinson |first=John |date=2012 |title=Danish in the Faroe Islands: a post-colonial perspective |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1348494/ |degree=PhD |chapter= |publisher=University College London |docket= |oclc= |access-date=July 25, 2024}}</ref>

Up until the 1980s, public radio broadcasts were primarily conducted in Norwegian and Danish. This helps to explain why older generations can speak Norwegian in addition to Danish and Faroese. Faroese broadcasts quickly replaced earlier programs and now all radio content is transmitted in the language, alongside all local newspapers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Leonard |first=Stephen Pax |date=March 2016 |title=A "High-Intimacy" Language in the Atlantic: Radio and Purism in the Faroe Islands |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/686174 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Research |language=en |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=58–76 |doi=10.1086/686174 |issn=0091-7710|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Today, Danish is considered a foreign language, although around 5% of residents on the Faroes learn it as a first language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn Faroese - History |url=https://www.101languages.net/faroese/history.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.101languages.net}}</ref> Both Danish and English are obligatory at the primary and secondary school levels, with fluency in English becoming increasingly valued particularly among the younger generations. Films and television are frequently shown in English with Danish subtitles.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Attitudes towards English in Europe. Volume 1: English in Europe |date=2015 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |isbn=978-1-61451-735-1 |editor-last=Linn |editor-first=Andrew Robert |series=Language and social life |location=Berlin ; Boston |editor-last2=Bermel |editor-first2=Neil |editor-last3=Ferguson |editor-first3=Gibson}}</ref>

In 2017, the tourist board Visit Faroe Islands launched a website entitled Faroe Islands Translate. Text can be entered in thirteen languages, including English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Instead of an instant machine translation being given, the text goes to a volunteer who will provide a live video translation, or else a recorded one later. The aim of this project was to get Faroese featured on [[Google Translate]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-41524790|title=Faroe Islands launch live translation service |date=2017-10-06|website=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627145833/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-41524790 |archive-date= Jun 27, 2023 }}</ref>