Iceland

Legal framework

1. Law on the Icelandic language

Icelandic is the official language of Iceland, spoken by around 320,000 people. Linguistic purism has a long tradition (at least from the 16th century) and the public is conscious of its importance. A law concerning the state of the Icelandic language and the Icelandic sign language was passed in 2011 (Lög um stöðu íslenskrar tungu og íslensks táknmáls Nr. 61)(www.althingi.is).  

The first article says:
"Icelandic is the national language of the Icelanders and an official language in Iceland"

and the second article:
"The national language is the common language of the population. The state shall guarantee that it can be used in all areas of daily life in Iceland. Every resident of the country shall have the possibility to learn and use Icelandic in order to be able to participate in the daily life in Iceland."

The third article concerns the sign language:
"The Icelandic sign language is the first language of those who have to use it for expression and interaction, as well as for their children. The state shall care for it and support it. Whoever needs the Icelandic sign language shall have the possibility to learn and use it as soon as his/her language acquisition starts, or from the time that the person has been recognized as deaf, hard of hearing or deaf and dumb. The same applies to their closest family members."
     
    1.1 The Icelandic Language Council

The Icelandic Language Council [Íslensk málnefnd] was established in 1964. For four decades it had a multitude of duties, but its mandate was altered in 2006 by a new law which created the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. The tasks of the Council are listed in Article 9 of this law:

The role of The Icelandic Language Council is to provide scholarly advice to the government on matters concerning the Icelandic language and make proposals to the Minister of Culture and Education about language policy, besides presenting yearly a report on the status of the Icelandic language. The Language Council can on its own initiative point out what has been done well and what could be improved in the public use of the Icelandic language. The Council determines the spelling of Icelandic used in schools which is announced by the Minister. Major changes need the approval of the Minister.

Since the law on the Icelandic language passed in 2011 the Icelandic Language Council has been accountable to the Ministry of Culture and Education. Its tasks are the same as in the law of 2006.

      1.2 Teaching

      1.2.1 Elementary schools

Article 16 of the law on elementary schools No 91, 2008 [Lög um grunnskóla] (www.althingi.is) concerns the language of instruction:

Teaching in elementary schools shall be in Icelandic.  It is permissible to use other languages than Icelandic in teaching when it is justified by the nature of the course or with reference to The Icelandic National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools.

The Ministry of Culture and Educations has recently (2012) contacted all principals of elementary schools in Iceland with the request that user interfaces in computers employed in the schools shall be in Icelandic.

      1.2.2 Secondary schools

Article 35 of the law on secondary schools No 92, 2008 [Lög um framhaldsskóla] (www.althingi.is) is analogous to the article concerning elementary schools quoted above, but with an additional passage:

Teaching in secondary schools shall be in Icelandic. It is permissible to use other languages than Icelandic in teaching when a) it is justified by the nature of the course or with reference to The Icelandic National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools, and b) in courses of study specially intended for students without command of Icelandic or who must study or have taken part of their studies abroad.

      1.2.3 Teaching of immigrant children

Students with a mother tongue other than Icelandic have the right to learn Icelandic as a second language. The same applies to students who have lived abroad for a long time and have little knowledge of Icelandic.

      1.2.4 Universities

Icelandic has until fairly recently been the exclusive language used in teaching at universities (except in departments of foreign languages), but for several years now an increasing number of courses are taught in English out of consideration for foreign students, many of whom come to Iceland through exchange programmes like ERASMUS. Two of the largest universities, Háskóli Íslands [The University of Iceland] and Háskólinn á Akureyri [The University in Akureyri] have their own language policy. In most faculties it is now compulsory that doctoral theses should be in English. The exceptions are the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Iceland. Neologistics is practised in most fields of study with the intention that everyone should be able to write and talk about his/her subject in Icelandic.

      1.3 Audiovisual media

The law on public radio and television services passed on 23 March 2013 requires that the public media should care for the Icelandic language. Television broadcast in a foreign language must either be dubbed or subtitled. Since 2010 the National Radio and Television (RÚV) has had a language policy under which it is committed to the Icelandic language and culture and has an important role in education. Language usage should be exemplary and all broadcasting in faultless Icelandic. Foreign words that cannot be avoided must be adapted to the Icelandic language structure as far as possible.

Television programmes specially intended for children and teenagers must be in Icelandic whenever possible. The needs of those who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf and dumb and of those who do not have Icelandic as their first language should be respected by offering them translations in sign language and subtitles of domestic programmes (usually on separate channels) as far as possible.

A language consultant or another expert shall assist employees in all departments, for example by reading manuscripts before broadcasting whenever possible.

There are no legal provisions of this nature in Iceland. Almost all important texts concerning the European Union and the European Economic Area are translated into Icelandic. The Foreign Ministry’s Centre of Translation is responsible for this task. Hundreds of Icelandic neologisms have been created since the centre was founded in 1990, and a list of terms used in its translations is publicly available on the Ministry’s homepage (http://www.hugtakasafn.utn.stjr.is/).
   
The national government agreed upon a language policy for the Ministry Offices on 16 November 2012 (the Day of the Icelandic Language).  In Chapter 2 it is required that all major speeches of Icelandic ministers, ambassadors and other representatives of the Icelandic government that are presented in a foreign language and made public on the Ministry Office’s web site should also be accessible in Icelandic. This applies to speeches given for example by representatives at meetings of the Nordic Council, the United Nations, EU and NATO.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has the principal responsibility for legislation concerning the Icelandic language. It is also responsible for the Icelandic language policy which the Icelandic parliament agreed upon in 2009. The Icelandic Language Council cooperates with the Ministry in carrying out the language policy. 

Legal provisions concerning the linguistic integration of migrants and public linguistic training facilities available to them

In the Aliens Law No 96 from May 2002 [Lög um útlendinga] it is stated in Article 15 that a foreigner who applies for a residence authorisation in Iceland should have attended a course in Icelandic. A language test is a prerequisite for the granting of Icelandic citizenship. Several public and private institutions offer courses in Icelandic for immigrants.
       

There are no legal provisions of this nature in Iceland.
 

      Primary school (ages 6 to 16)
L1: English is compulsory from age 9.
L2: Danish is compulsory from age 12.
L3: German, French or Spanish (not compulsory) from age 15.

      Secondary school (age 16-20)
L1: English is compulsory in all departments.
L2: Danish is compulsory in all departments until age 17.
L3: Other languages are elective subjects. Their minimal number depends on the department: in language departments at least two are compulsory (in addition to English and Danish), in mathematics departments and departments of sociology at least one.
 

No special projects are planned at the moment by the authorities.
 

Each year the Icelandic Language Commission presents a report on the status of the language in the public media. This report is also available on the internet (www.islenskan.is, www.mrn.is) and has in the past been well received.  

(2017)