icelandic

Everyday

1. Icelandic means from or to do with Iceland, an island country in the North Atlantic. tree →
2. Icelandic is the language spoken in Iceland. tree →

In the lessons

In geography lessons, Iceland has volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs and geysers, so Icelandic landscapes are a favourite example. The Icelandic language is close to Old Norse, the language of the Vikings, so Icelanders can still read their old sagas. Icelandic horses are small and sturdy. Icelandic names use the father's or mother's name plus -son or -dóttir.

Examples

• Icelandic horses have a special smooth walk. tree →
• The Icelandic sagas tell stories of Viking families. tree →
• Icelandic is spoken by about 350,000 people. tree →
• My Icelandic friend's surname is Jónsdóttir. tree →
• We read about Icelandic volcanoes in geography. tree →
• Icelandic has letters like þ and ð that English lost long ago. tree →
• There are Russian, German, French, Icelandic, Red Indian, and other stories here. tree →

Note

Always with a capital I: Icelandic. Iceland the country, Icelander a person, Icelandic the language and adjective. Despite its name, Iceland is greener than Greenland in summer.