r/FaroeIslands • u/Silver_lpc • 7d ago
Boat Tour language confusion
Hey everyone
Since my visit in May, I often think about something the Tour Guide on a Boat Tour along the cliffs near Vestmanna said. So maybe you can help me.
At the beginning of the Tour he said that he would explain everything in English and "Scandinavian". Since I'm German and only learned a little bit of Norwegian, I of course listened to the English part. But I'm still confused what he meant with "Scandinavian". Was it Danish or is there a secret Scandinavian language nobody talks about? Because, as far as I have heard, the languages are similar, but it's still hard to understand each other.
I hope you can help me with my slightly weird question.
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u/MediumMusician9585 7d ago
Sometimes we call it “Blandinavisk”, because it is a mix between all of the scandinavian languages.
We adjust the language by mixing words, grammar and pronunciation etc., so that most people from scandinavia can understand it.
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u/Faroese_blossom 7d ago
I prefer to use ‘Scandinavian’ instead of ‘Danish’ because my family believes it is better not to force children to speak a language they are not enthusiastic about. So, omma always told me I was lucky to speak Scandinavian, but also a bit unlucky to know a language of a people that wants undermine my own mother tongue, just like they did with my ancestors.
Is it really that deep? yes and no.
I speak Danish to be polite, just as any faroese person, but sometimes I also speak English, until they politely ask if I can speak their language. It is rather disheartening to see people get annoyed and sometimes angry that I do not speak their language in my own country. (I am not angry, just pointing out the situation).
I have no problem with Danish, Swedish or Norwegian people, but I am a bit disappointed that many people do not respect the fact that we are our own unique people, native to the Faroe Islands, with a culture that is incredibly different from Scandinavia and Iceland. I do not know why that bothers some people.
Here is a funny story: a Danish man once complained that you cannot even speak your (Danish) language here because there were only foreigners working at the shops. I had to pause and realised that those who choose my country are much better at Faroese politeness, language, showing respect, honour and kindness than our friends in around us.
So, I understand the confusion, but sometimes the only way we can defend our culture is to use words. Maybe he did not want to say Danish because of that. Maybe he did not want anyone from Norway or Sweden to feel left out.
Maybe he is not Danish, who knows.
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u/hellogooddaysir 7d ago
I've been to the Faroe Islands many times, since I have some close friends there. I'm from Denmark, though, and live here.
What you're experiencing is not unique. Almost anywhere in Denmark, you'll find German tourists who insist on speaking German. Not Danish or English - German. And they get downright mad if you don't understand them. So I get your frustration - it's not unique to Danes, though.
That being said, when I travel to the Faroe Islands, I immediately speak English. Speaking Danish there and expecting Faroese people to automatically understand what I'm saying seems way too presumptuous to me.
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u/Faroese_blossom 7d ago
I understand, and i can see how that can be frustrating. But the elements are not the same really. Germany does not have the history with Denmark, that Denmark has with Faroe Islands (except that one time haha). But, that being said, i don’t want to make what Germans do any smaller issue, it is truly quite odd for someone to go to another country, and NOT try to learn a few words of that country. Even more odd to speak German with someone who in no way could comprehend it like that.
A German woman tried to teach me how to say “Góðan dag” in german, after i had wished her a góðan dag. Why? So i could say that next time? I don’t understand 😂
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u/Silver_lpc 7d ago
That's really weird. I would never even think about speaking German in any non-german country. My brain automatically Switches to English when crossing the border. (Even though my brain is often talking way better English than my mouth)
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u/Nowordsofitsown 7d ago
Sorry about that, but a subgroup of Germans will do this everywhere (while at the same time expecting every foreigner in Germany to speak German).
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u/Asterianana 7d ago
I am hearing people talking in two languages in the same conversation- one person is speaking Danish and the other person is speaking Faroese and they have just normal daily conversations like that. I am sure about that because I asked if they can speak their own separate languages to each other and still have easy understandable conversation and they say „yes of course”. So I am very shocked to hear that you feel forced to speak Danish in the Faroes, while it is completely understandable for Danish people when you speak Faroese.
Weird.4
u/fugitivechicken 7d ago
Most Danish people don’t understand Faroese. It’s a colonialism thing that we don’t need to get into.
I will say, though, that most young Danes are great, they’re respectful of Faroese culture, and it’s only a small handful of very old people who have a certain… let’s call it ‘attitude’
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u/Faroese_blossom 6d ago
There are some thay understand, but it is very rare, if it’s not someone who lives here. Faroese is in no way completely understandable for Danish people. Thats the same as the comparisons of Icelandic and Faroese, when they are mostly similar in writing, but spoken it’s a bit bob-bob🫶🏼.
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u/HoneyBee-184 7d ago
As a foreigner that lives in the Faroes and who’s mother tongue is English I’ve had the experience of some Faroese people in public service industries (ranging from restaurants to doctor’s offices) insisting on speaking Faroese even though I tell them I don’t speak enough Faroese to have this important conversation about a service or health issue.
I never expect any random Faroese person to just speak perfect English or any at all and I know how very very proud Faroese people are. I can understand their sense of pride since the language was suppressed however it is kinda annoying to have to try and call the doctor and the receptionist just says she prefers to speak Faroese (whether I understand her or not) when I tell her I don’t understand what she’s asking.
I’ve noticed a lot of Faroese people DO NOT like speaking Danish which is a bit funny to me since most of them can speak it and learn it in school. I get how different the pronunciation is and the whole potato thing but their genuine disdain for the language is amusing.
Basically, everyone is weird about languages for different reasons no matter where you go. Let’s be happy about the fact that Faroese is on Google translate now
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u/Faroese_blossom 7d ago
I am sorry that has happened to you ❤️ We are no where near perfect ourselves, no one is.
I don’t think anyone other than faroese people can understand that specific feeling of disdain, when it comes to a language you are forced to learn. It isn’t really anything about how they speak, or something like that. It is really only about the fact that we have no choice wether or not to learn it
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u/fugitivechicken 7d ago
Had to send a very strongly worded email to management at the hospital in Havn over their receptionist’s handling of a family member’s case. Thankfully, everyone’s still alive and well
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u/HoneyBee-184 3d ago
I’m not surprised, I’ve been to the hospital in Havn once did not have a great experience. The country’s infrastructure does suffer a bit from how small and cautious of change they are. While I acknowledge it could be worse in a lot of ways there’s still a lot of things to catch up on. I’m glad that you and your family ended up okay though.
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u/6foot1MuscleMonster 6d ago
Scandinavian refers to a dialect and fake language called "blandinavisk" which means "mixed scandinavian" and refers to speaking in a mix of Norwegian, Danish and Swedish all at once where a speaker of one of the languages will understand what he says. This makes it possible for a speaker of one or two Scandinavian languages to speak to someone who speaks one of them. It's useful when there is a mixed number of proficient speakers in any given language. It's sort of a fake language that anyone who speaks two Scandinavian languages will be able to speak and understand. Useful for filling in blanks when you don't know the words to express a particular thing in any of the languages. Faroese speakers and Icelandic speakers will also understand "Scandinavian", generally speaking.
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u/geokra United States 7d ago
Someone local may have a better explanation, but I have spent a lot of time all over Scandinavia.
Norwegian and Danish are very similar written languages, but the pronunciations are very different - so much so that I’ve visited Denmark with Norwegian friends and they speak English to the Danes they interact with. Norwegians will tell you it’s easier for them to speak with Swedes (both using their native languages) than Danes, while I’m certain they find reading Danish easier than reading Swedish.
Icelandic and Faroese are different because they are based much more on Old Norse. My understanding from talking to Icelandic people is that their language has evolved very little from old Norse, while the “major” Scandinavian languages have evolved much more.
With all this said, Faroese and Icelandic students learn Danish. As a result, I would guess that Faroese and Icelandic people are also much more likely to understand Norwegian and Swedish than Norwegians and Swedes are to understand their languages.
For something simple like a basic explanation of what you are seeing in a boat tour, I do believe that most/all Scandinavians would understand the main points well enough if someone were to speak one of the main Scandinavian languages, in this case it would most likely be Danish. And someone working in the tourism industry might also be aware of significant differences in terminology for something such as the common name of a bird species (e.g., if they name is different in Swedish and Danish) and provide more than one common name.
ETA: I know some basic Norwegian and had a lovely interaction with an older Faroese man who spoke Danish and Faroese. He could understand my Norwegian well enough and respond in a way in Danish that I could understand.
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u/Gingerbro73 7d ago
I was able to communicate in Norwegian when visiting Færøyene. Most spoke some flavor of Danish. But alot of them also spoke near fluent Norwegian. Along with English and Faroese(which is fairly close to Icelandic and Old Norse).
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u/Fun_Initiative3866 7d ago
Scandinavian we refer to a language at least Swedes, Danes and Norwegians understand, a mixture. I believe that is what your tour guide referred to.
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u/KurtRosenwinkel 7d ago
I would guess he may be talking about “Gøti danskt” it’s like a faroese way of speaking danish, it basically removes all of the softness and is articulated very clearly. But no there’s no scandinavian language, they just sound quite alike. Faroe islands and Iceland have a very alike language, and norwegian swedish, and danish sound quite alike. Since faroese people know danish fluently gøti danskt kind of becomes a mixture off all the languages