Topic: A european study claims the Icelandic language is at the most risk of dying in a digital age.
Anonymous A started this discussion 12 years ago#38,273
What do you think is to blame/thank for this?
Everyone is blaming smartphones etc.... But this is the exact reason why it is dying out, the inability to register a small amount of blame on ourselves and our policies. For example, right now all the icelandic artists act as if the internet is their worst enemy and this has resulted in everyone being afraid to download icelandic material, its much safer to download english material. Because if you download icelandic stuff, there is a risk that the anti-piracy organizations (that protect icelandic stuff) will choose to make an example of you as a warning for others.
Metæ joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 11 minutes later[^][v]#512,080
I guess cause it's a very strange language, used on a very small island. Wikipedia says there are only 330,000 native speakers, which is smaller than many US cities. In such a global economy, it would make more sense to learn English than Icelandic since so much more media, business, and education is done in English.
I don't think anyone or anything in particular is to blame for it. Languages come and go and evolve and go extinct. In the American state of Louisiana, the regional language of Cajun French is near extinction for largely the same reasons.
I'm surprised the Icelandic anti-piracy organizations take such a hard line on piracy. I always imagined Icelandic people would be more liberal about it.
(Edited 2 minutes later.)
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 12 years ago, 10 minutes later, 21 minutes after the original post[^][v]#512,083
we are more liberal about it, really, but power doesn't exactly side with people who just want free shit. But you many Icelanders support the pirate party.
The biggest election victory in national parliamentary elections of any pirate party was in Iceland where they received 5.1% of the electorate on the 27th of April 2013, gaining 3 seats out of 63
dw !jdTkvovFCQ joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 3 hours later, 4 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,097
It is in factual fact Frisian that is dying.
Anonymous E joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 1 hour later, 5 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,101
Icelandic probably will slowly die. You have a (relatively) small number of people (seriously, Iceland's population is about that of the small American city I live in) who are more interested in speaking a more internationally recognized language. We'll preserve it and there will be records of how it was spoken, but the population of Iceland - in this Internet age - will probably collectively decide to communicate in a language that more than a few hundred-thousand people speak.
HaikerensGuide !dBGi/iH4eY joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 54 minutes later, 6 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,103
I suspect either Danish or English will replace the language. A shame, the Icelandic language is quite lovely, and reeks of Old Norse.
Anonymous G joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 2 hours later, 9 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,107
Well give a couple of 10 years and it will probably die out if things aren't done about it. But i think there is no chance in hell that danish will suddenly become our language.
Anonymous J joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 2 hours later, 18 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,118
There are a lot more of euro languages that are in danger of disappearing, they just don't the PR team of Icelandic.
Most dying languages in Europe are in that state because they are regional languages encroached by bigger, standardized, statist, more "prestigious" languages, like Piedmontese by Italian, Asturian by Spanish, Livonian by Russian and Latvian, the celtic languages, so on. Icelandic, being in island more or isolated from the rest of Europe is an unusual case.
Anonymous K joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 5 hours later, 23 hours after the original post[^][v]#512,151