Milli mála - 01.06.2014, Page 38

UM DÖNSKUKUNNÁTTU ÍSLENDINGA Á NÍTJÁNDU ÖLD

Milli mála 6/2014

41
til að kenna nemendum að skilja og tala málið. Ætla má að margir
Íslendingar hafi búið yfir góðri lestrarfærni, en að fáir hafi haft
danskt talmál á valdi sínu, síst þeir sem bjuggu til sveita þar sem lítil
samskipti voru við Dani.

Lykilorð: danska á Íslandi, dönsk áhrif, dönskukunnátta, þjóðernis-
vitund, viðhorf til danskrar tungu

Icelanders’ Knowledge of Danish in the 19th Century
Danish influence in its Icelandic colony was considerable in the
19th century. The Danish language was used for communication
with Danes and also played a central role in colonial administration
in Iceland. The implementation of mother tongue instruction in
the Danish educational system made knowledge of the Danish
language necessary for Icelanders seeking an education in Den-
mark. As many Icelanders had difficulties in understanding and
speaking Danish, instruction in the language was increased in the
Latin School.
In the main trading stations, and in Reykjavik in particular,
Danes made their presence felt strongly and Danish culture and the
Danish language featured highly in daily life and all relations. This
provided opportunities for Icelanders to learn Danish. Some people
were in favour of Danish rule and identified with the Danish-
Icelandic elite, demonstrating this by speaking Danish or using
plenty of Danish loan-words in Icelandic. As popular contem-
porary printed works in Icelandic were very scarce, many people
learned Danish on their own initiative to read newspapers, books
and magazines.
Danish was a subject in the Latin School and when new
schools for younger children appeared near the end of the century
Danish was among the subjects taught. Much of the study material
in other subjects was also in Danish. Grammar and translation of
texts was the dominant method of Danish instruction, which suited
well enough for teaching reading and writing, but was less useful in
helping pupils to understand or speak the language. Many Iceland-
ers are likely to have had good reading skills but few would have