Whether you’re completely new to Icelandic or just looking to build your skills, this site offers clear lessons, native pronunciation, cultural insights, and printable resources — all designed to take you from beginner (A1) to upper-intermediate (B2), at your own pace. Icelandic is derived from an earlier language Old Norse, which later became Old Icelandic and currently Modern Icelandic. The division between old and modern Icelandic is said to be before and after 1540. Learn the Icelandic alphabet and pronunciation before your trip. This guide covers unique letters, tricky place names, and essential phrases. Explore the Icelandic language – its Old Norse roots, unique grammar, and cultural role – in this guide to Iceland’s living linguistic heritage. A practical introduction to Icelandic: useful phrases, unfamiliar letters, place names to copy, and reliable resources for learning pronunciation. Icelandic is a Northern Germanic language spoken by about 390,000 people mainly in Iceland (Ísland), where it is an official language. There are also speakers of Icelandic in Denmark, the USA and Canada, particularly in Manitoba in an area known as New Iceland (Nýja Ísland). Icelandic language, national language of Iceland, spoken by the entire population, some 330,000 in the early 21st century. It belongs (with Norwegian and Faroese) to the West Scandinavian group of North Germanic languages and developed from the Norse speech brought by settlers from western Norway Iceland has been a very isolated and linguistically homogeneous island historically, but has nevertheless been home to several languages. Although the Icelandic or Norse language prevails, northern trade routes brought German, English, Dutch, French and Basque to Iceland. Learn handy Icelandic language tips, including basic phrases and pronunciation, to make getting around Iceland simple and fun. Iceland’s official language is called íslenska, or “Icelandic” in English, and it’s considered one of the country’s two Indigenous languages (the other is Icelandic Sign Language).