Faroese (Føroyskt)

Faroese is a North Germanic language with around 47,000
speakers in the Faroe Islands (Føroyar). Faroese is closely
related to Icelandic and the dialects of western Norway, though as a
result of the isolation, the Faroese language has a distinctive character
of its own.

The Faroe Islands were discovered in 825 AD by Grím Kamban and were
colonialized during the 9th century by Vikings from Norway and from
the Norse colonies in the British Isles. The main language of the
settlers was Old Norse or the Dǫnsk tunga (Danish
tongue). Between 800 and 1050 AD a division began to appear between East
Norse, which developed into Swedish and
Danish, and West Norse, which
developed into Norwegian, Faroese and
Icelandic.

Faroese first appeared in writing during the 14th century mainly in the form
of sagas and fables, which remain popular to this day. A standard written form
for Faroese based on Icelandic was established in 1846 by Venceslaus Ulricus
Hammershaimb (1819-1909). During the late 19th century modern Faroese literature
began to appear and the first Faroese newspaper, Føringatiðindi, appeared
in 1890.