Language in Iceland

Act No. 61/2011 establishes íslenska as Iceland’s national and official language and requires its use and development across society. Alþingi, courts, state and municipal administration, schools and public services operate primarily in Icelandic. Public bodies should use language that is clear, simple and understandable. Municipalities set their own language policies and rules for communication in other languages, so practical access can differ between institutions. The Íslensk málnefnd advises the state on language policy. Its official spelling rules, Ritreglur Íslenskrar málnefndar, apply to school teaching and state publications; the current rules were issued in 2016 and 2018. Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum supports terminology development, dictionaries, language corpora and language technology. Icelandic is closely connected with the sagas, literature, national terminology and cultural heritage. RÚV has a legal duty to support Icelandic, Icelandic history and cultural heritage, and media providers are expected to promote Icelandic. Foreign-language audiovisual content generally receives Icelandic subtitles or dubbing. Iceland has regional differences in pronunciation and also differences in vocabulary, inflection and sentence structure. Examples include speech associated with Reykjavík and Akureyri, the Westfjords and Hornafjörður. These differences do not amount to regional official languages; the national standard remains Icelandic everywhere. Íslenskt táknmál is the traditional minority language of people who depend on it, including children. Research from Árnastofnun estimates approximately 200 to 300 native speakers. The state and municipalities must support its preservation, development, use and access. Málnefnd um íslenskt táknmál has five members with four-year terms. Icelandic Sign Language is an equal form of expression in interpersonal use, and public bodies must provide needed sign-language services. Icelandic Braille is the first written language for people who rely on it. Polish, Spanish, Arabic, English and other languages are used as migration and family languages. In 2025, Iceland had 73,795 immigrants, representing 18.9% of the population; people of the first and second generation together represented 21%. Polish was the largest origin-language group, with 22,925 immigrants or 31.1% of all immigrants. In the 2024 school year, 7,661 pupils, or 16.2%, had another mother tongue; the most common were Polish with more than 2,200 pupils, Spanish with more than 600, Arabic with just under 600 and English slightly below that level. These figures describe mother or family language, not all languages spoken by the population. Schools provide Icelandic as a second language and support pupils with another first language. They may also support continued use of a family language where possible. Icelandic competence is linked in the National Curriculum to active democratic participation. The concrete support available depends on the school, municipality and local implementation. People who do not speak Icelandic should be able to handle important matters and understand relevant documents, but English or another language does not have the same legal status as Icelandic. Courts must provide interpretation or sign-language interpretation where required by procedural law. The 2024–2027 policy for Icelandic Sign Language covers language acquisition, research and preservation, positive attitudes, expansion of areas of use, the legal framework and language technology. Act No. 61/2011 does not set a general user fee or a general processing deadline for language access. Sign-language services are a state and municipal responsibility, and the law does not set a general user fee for them. Local courses, translation and other support depend on the provider or municipality, and no single nationwide price or processing time is established by the available evidence.