Norse Language and Poetry

Norse Language

The languages of the Scandinavian regions are all closely related. In fact, much of the English language has a history rich in Norse, Scandinavian, and German influences. These all stem from what is called a Proto-Germanic language. As a result of this common origin, many modern English words resemble the Norse original. Below are a few examples:

Old Norse	English
baggi	bag
kalla	call
flatr	flat
frit	dirt

Old Norse Language and Today

The modern descendants of the Old West Norse dialect are the West Scandinavian languages of Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian and the extinct Norn language of the Orkney and the Shetland Islands; the descendants of the Old East Norse dialect are the East Scandinavian languages of Danish and Swedish. Norwegian is descended from Old West Norse, but over the centuries it has been heavily influenced by East Norse, particularly during the Denmark-Norway union.

Among these, Icelandic and the closely related Faroese have changed the least from Old Norse in the last thousand years, although with Danish rule of the Faroe Islands, Faroese has also been influenced by Danish. Old Norse also had an influence on English dialects and Lowland Scots, which contains many Old Norse loanwords. It also influenced the development of the Norman language.

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