THE LANGUAGE AND THE DANCE
 The Faroese language has its roots in the Old Norse language from the Viking Age. The Vikings, who in the main came from Norway, sailed westwards looking for new land and reached the coasts of Scotland, Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, the Faroes and Iceland. At that time Viking culture was uniform and there were few linguistic differences.
In the course of time, the various countries developed their own culture, and Old Norse split into different dialects. In some places the language died out completely.
The Faroese language survived as an independent language; but was for a long time threatened with extinction. After the Reformation, Danish became the language of the Church; Danish was the written language and in time was used in all official matters. When the first scholarly research into the language was started at the end of the 18th century, its aim was to collect and document what was regarded as the remains of the old language. But research revealed an overwhelming and vivid collection of old words and sayings, established turns of speech, legends, and ballads. The ancient ballads and heroic ballads alone numbered about 70,000 verses, all of which had been handed down orally from generation to generation.
How could this come about in a population that for hundreds of years had only numbered between 4,000 and 5,000 people? An important part of the answer lies in the dance; the renowned Faroese dance, for which it is necessary to learn and remember a long story. This dance is a direct continuation of the medieval ring dance that started in France and spread throughout Europe. The ring dance went out of fashion, or was forbidden by the authorities, but in the Faroes it lived on uninterrupted.
 The special features of the Faroese dance are the song and the story. There is no instrumental accompaniment to the dance; only the voices and the feet are heard. While a single or a very few singers lead the song, the others take part in the story with their dance steps and by singing the refrain after each verse. There is a live bond between the story of the ballad and the mood of the dance. The dance steps are always the same; but if the story is a sad one, the steps are soft; if dramatic, the feet tramp hard; if it is a ballad that makes fun of something, the rhythm becomes springy and light. It is a dance in which many take part, where faces pass by one another, the dance turns inwards and can often be difficult to appreciate when watched from the outside. You have to participate in it, and when it is at its best the chain melts together into a common rhythm, and you feel a part of something vast.
The collection and documentation of the enormous amount of oral material formed the foundation for the preservation of the language. The establishment of a written Faroese language in the middle of the nineteenth century created the basis for the renewal that has since taken place. While we have seen small languages disappear all over the world, the Faroese language is developing and is today the pride of Faroese culture.
Guide to the pronunciation of Faroese
a and æ = /Ea/ or /æ/ as in “hat”, sometimes /a/ shorter than in “car”; á = /Oa/ approx. as in “saw” /sO:/; e = /e/, /e:/ or /@/, i and y = /i:/ or /I/ as in “see” or “sit”; í and ý = /Ui/ approx. as in “ruin” but shorter; j = /j/ as in yes; o = /Å/ as in “long”, ó = “oh”, but preceding “lk” = /´:/ as in “fur” and preceding “gv” = /e/ as in “leg”; u = /U/ as in “put”; ú = /u:/ as in “you”; ø = /´:/ as in “fur”; ei = /aI/ as in “I”; ey = /eI/ as in “page”; oy = /OI/ as in “join”.
ð: btw. open vowel and u = /v/; btw. other vowels = /j/; otherwise silent. ge = /dZe/ as in “jet”; gi and gy = /dZi:/ as in “jeep”; ggj = /dZ/; hv = kv; ke = /tSe/ as in “chess”; key = /tSeI/ as in “chase”; ki and ky = /tSi:/ as in “cheek”; kj = /tS/; ll = dl; ng = /&Mac247;g/ as in “finger”; rn = often dn; rs = /rS/; rt = /rSt/.
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