færøysk

Færøysk, or Faroese, is a North Germanic language spoken mainly on the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It belongs to the West Nordic branch, sharing historical roots with Old Norse and exhibiting distinctive phonology, vocabulary, and syntax. The language is closely tied to the island community and its cultural heritage.

There are roughly 70,000 to 80,000 speakers worldwide, with the overwhelming majority residing on the Faroe Islands. Smaller communities can be found in Denmark and in other countries where Faroese people have settled, including parts of Iceland, the United States, and Canada. On the islands, Faroese is used in everyday life, education, media, and public administration, while Danish is widely taught and used as a second language.

The Faroese writing system uses the Latin alphabet supplemented by a set of unique letters, notably æ and ø, and the orthography has its own standardized conventions used in schools and media. The language is marked by inflection in nouns, adjectives, and verbs, a two-gender system, and a tendency to attach definite suffixes to nouns. Word order is mainly subject–verb–object, with typical Nordic syntax patterns.

Dialects are commonly categorized into northern and southern groups, with regional pronunciation differences and some vocabulary variation, though speakers generally understand one another. Faroese has a growing body of literature, journalism, and broadcast media, and plays a central role in cultural identity on the islands. It remains co-official with Danish in certain contexts and is the primary language of instruction and daily life on the Faroe Islands.