The Icelandic language

• has approximately

  1

  321,000
   speakers

• has a

  2

  vocabulary
   that is still growing

• has not changed a lot over the last thousand years

• has its own words for computer-based concepts, such as web browser and

  3

  podcast
  



Young speakers

• are big users of digital technology, such as

  4

  smartphones
  

• are becoming

  5

  bilingual
   very quickly

• are having discussions using only English while they are in the

  6

  playground
   at school

• are better able to identify the content of a

  7

  picture
   in English than Icelandic



Technology and internet companies

• write very little in Icelandic because of the small number of speakers and because of how complicated its

  8

  grammar
   is



The Icelandic government

• has set up a fund to support the production of more digital content in the language

• believes that Icelandic has a secure future

• is worried that young Icelanders may lose their

  9

  identity
   as Icelanders

• is worried about the consequences of children not being

  10

  fluent
   in either Icelandic or English