Skip to content
Icelandic, the language that recycles everything episode artwork

May 15, 2024 20 min

Icelandic, the language that recycles everything

from The World in Words Hosted by The World in Words

Icelanders are protective of their language. When a new piece of tech or a new disease emerges, people debate what to call these things in Icelandic. New words must sound and look Icelandic, otherwise they may not survive. The country's Knitting Words Committee is one of dozens of community panels charged with proposing new words. Typically, they repurpose old words that have fallen out of use. Who doesn't want to revive a word or phrase from Iceland's sagas? In this episode, we take you to Iceland to discover how, seemingly, an entire nation has coalesced around the maxim, "We have a very good old word for that." Music in this episode by Taomito, Silver Maple, pär, Medité, Nathan Welch, and Trabant 33. Photo of Hulda Hákonardóttir and Guðrún Hannele Henttinen of Iceland's Knitting Words Committee by Patrick Cox. Read a transcript of the episode here. And sign up for Subtitle’s newsy, nerdy, fortnightly newsletter here.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Icelandic, the language that recycles everything

0:00 20:06

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Share this episode

Similar podcasts

French Your Way Jessica: Native French teacher founder of French Your Way Boost your French listening skills and test your comprehension with this one of a kind series of podcasts. Get the chance to listen to a real conversation between native speakers talking at normal speed AND customise your learning experience through carefully designed sets of questions (2 levels of difficulty) available for download at www.frenchvoicespodcast.com. All interviews also come with the transcript. French teacher Jessica interviews native speakers of French from around the world who share a bit of their life and passion. Where else would you meet in one same place a French yoga teacher based in Melbourne, a soap manufacturer from Provence, or a couple cycling around the world?

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of The World in Words?

This episode is 20 minutes long.

When was this The World in Words episode published?

This episode was published on May 15, 2024.

Can I download this The World in Words episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.