The North Germanic language group, often referred to as the Scandinavian languages, consists of five languages and is a subgroup of Germanic languages.
In addition to Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic, Faroese also belongs to this language group and is spoken by around 20 million people.
North Germanic gradually diverged from West Germanic, and the five dialects then developed in very different ways to become the languages we use today. Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian have absorbed many European influences, while Faroese and Icelandic remain much closer to the original Old Icelandic.
Therefore, for simplicity, Scandinavian languages can be divided into two.
Comparison of Scandinavian languages Swedish, Danish and Norwegian
Below are some facts about the Scandinavian languages Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian.
Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians can understand each other better if they choose not to stick to their national written language. In particular, Norwegian and Danish have very similar vocabulary but very different sounds. The opposite is true for Norwegian and Swedish. These two languages sound similar but have different vocabulary. Danish often sounds different to Norwegians because words are pronounced in contractions and endings are omitted. Therefore, Norwegians and Danes often rely on English when deeper conversations are needed.
By the way, Finland is considered a Scandinavian country by definition, but the Finnish language is related to Hungarian, Sami, and Estonian, and is not even in the Indo-European language family.
Icelandic and Faroese are close to the original languages
In contrast to Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian, Faroese and Icelandic were less developed, and each language developed separately and in isolation.
A notable difference is the words borrowed from other languages. While Icelanders prefer to create their own language, Faroese people are happy to borrow words and are less concerned with preserving the pure, original national language.
Icelandic can be compared to the Norwegian language of 1,000 years ago, and Icelanders still use the same Norwegian grammar. This, as well as the difference in pronunciation, is what distinguishes Icelandic from other Scandinavian languages.
The Faroese alphabet is similar to Icelandic, but the pronunciation is completely different. The gap between written and spoken language is so large that it is difficult for untrained speakers to understand each other.
Language services for Scandinavian languages
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Frequently asked questions about Scandinavian languages
Scandinavian languages (also known as Nordic or North Germanic languages) include Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, as well as Icelandic and Faroese.
It is estimated that Scandinavian languages are currently spoken by a total of approximately 20 million people.
Although the written languages of Danish and Norwegian are very similar despite differences in vocabulary, there are differences in pronunciation.
Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are most similar to English. Icelandic and Faroese are languages with even more differences.
Swedish and Norwegian are the easiest for non-Scandinavian speakers to learn, as they have many words similar to English words, such as winter and summer, for example.
