Could Icelandic disappear within the next 100 years?
Ari Páll Kristinsson, professor at the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies mbl.is/Arnaldur Halldórsson
Prime Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson made the annual televised New Year's speech and voiced concern that the Icelandic language could face extinction.
"It has been said that there is a real danger of the language disappearing within the next 100 years," said Jóhannsson.
Professor Ari Páll Kristinsson at the Árni Magnússon Institute of Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík is happy that the Prime Minister brought the subject to public attention. "It is of course difficult to make any declarations on the matter but there are signs that the state of the Icelandic language is rapidly worsening and that developmment could become so fast that we won't be able to control it."
Professor Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson two years ago made the same point, saying that the Icelandic language could face extinction within the next 100 years due to English being used in all computer operated devices.
He referred to a report made on the state of languages in Europe, where Icelandic was second on a list of European languages that could face extinction because of the lack of digital support.
