The Iceland year-book - 01.01.1926, Page 65

At that time it was the language of all Scandinavia,
and was, moreover, widely spoken in England and
elsewhere in the British Isles. It is closely akin to
Anglo-Saxon, and the acquisition of that language
is therefore an easy matter for an Icelander. As
stands to reason the vocabulary has undergone
considerable changes since those ancient times,
for in the course of centuries thousands of new
words have come into use, while others have be-
come obsolete, or more or less changed their
meaning. Yet, an Icelandic child can still with
ease read the sagas written down in the 12th and
13th centuries, and the grammatical construction
(with some very slight modifications) remains
the same. It has long been a common idea that
Icelandic was a frightfully difficult language for
the foreign student to acquire — an erroneous
notion which no doubt sprang from the fact that
until quite recently suitable text-books and dic-
tionaries were not available. Prof. W. A. Craigie’s
Easy Readings in Old Icelandic*, where the es-
sentials of the grammar are, with marvellous
lucidity, set out in eight pages, ought to be the
final death-blow to this persistent belief. For the
satisfaction of the curious the first and the last
verse of the Icelandic national hymn, together with
an English translation, are given here as a speci-
men of the language :
Eldgamla Isafold, Fire-olden Iceland strand,
astka:ra fosturmold, Heart’s dearest foster-land,
fjallkonan friS, Hill-maiden rare!
* Published in 1924 by I. B. Hutclien, 22 Eildon St.,
Edinburgh.
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