Do you speak Viking?
Unless you come from the Scandinavia countries, you might not think that the
language you speak has anything to do with the Vikings. Well, if you speak
English you may be in for a big surprise! Many words in English
are descended directly from words used by the Vikings. In Irish,
German, Dutch, and even French, Viking
words are still in use. Maybe in other languages as well. Check your own
language for Viking words and tell us about them. Even more exciting, you might
find that some of the local words you use (local dialect words) are descended
from Viking words.
The language of the Vikings is very much alive today and has a future!
The Vikings spoke a language very similar to the language spoken in Germany
and the Netherlands at the time. When the Vikings landed their longships
in Britain, they had no problems understanding the language of their cousins the
Anglo-Saxons.
The Vikings settled on several of the islands in the North Atlantic, among
them the Faeroe Islands and Iceland. Here they
still talk the original Viking language almost unchanged!
More about language and placenames
