Faroese orthography

Faroese orthography is the method employed to write the Faroese language, using a 29-letter Latin alphabet.

Alphabet

An example of Faroese ő. The usual orthography would be Fuglafjørður.

The Faroese alphabet consists of 29 letters derived from the Latin script:

Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters)
A Á B D Ð E F G H I Í J K L M N O Ó P R S T U Ú V Y Ý Æ Ø
Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters)
a á b d ð e f g h i í j k l m n o ó p r s t u ú v y ý æ ø

Spelling system

Vowels
Grapheme Name Short Long
A, a fyrra a [ˈfɪʐːa ɛaː] ("leading a") /a/ /ɛaː/
Á, á á [ɔaː] /ɔ/ /ɔaː/
E, e e [eː] /ɛ/ /eː/
I, i fyrra i [ˈfɪʐːa iː] ("leading i") /ɪ/ /iː/
Í, í fyrra í [ˈfɪʐːa ʊiː] ("leading í") /ʊi/ /ʊiː/
O, o o [oː] /ɔ/ /oː/
Ó, ó ó [ɔuː] /œ/ /ɔuː/
U, u u [uː] /ʊ/ /uː/
Ú, ú ú [ʉuː] /ʏ/ /ʉuː/
Y, y seinna i [ˈsaiːdna iː] ("latter i") /ɪ/ /iː/
Ý, ý seinna í [ˈsaiːdna ʊiː] ("latter í") /ʊi/ /ʊiː/
Æ, æ seinna a [ˈsaiːdna ɛaː] ("latter a") /a/ /ɛaː/
Ø, ø ø [øː] /œ/ /øː/
EI, ei ei [aiː] /ai/ /aiː/
EY, ey ey [eɪː] /ɛ/ /ɛiː/
OY, oy oy [oɪː] /ɔi/ /ɔiː/
Consonants
Grapheme Name IPA
B, b be /p/
D, d de /t/
>dj /tʃ/
Ð, ð /j/, /w/, /v/, Ø
F, f eff /f/
G, g ge /k/, /tʃ/, /j/, /w/, /v/, Ø
>gj /tʃ/
H, h /h/
>hj /tʃ/, /j/
>hv /kv/
J, j joð /ɪ/
K, k /kʰ/, /tʃʰ/
>kj /tʃʰ/
>kk /kː/ [ʰk]
L, l ell /l/, [l], [ɬ]
>ll /tl/ [tɬ], /lː/
M, m emm /m/
N, n enn /n/
>ng /nk/ [ŋk], /ntʃ/ [ɲtʃ]
>nk /nkʰ/ [ŋkʰ], /ntʃʰ/ [ɲtʃʰ]
>nj /ɲ/, /nj/
>nn /tn/, /nː/
P, p pe /pʰ/
>pp /pː/ [ʰp]
R, r err /ʐ/, /ɹ/ [ɹ], [ɻ]
S, s ess /s/, /ʃ/
>sj /ʃ/
>sk /sk/, /ʃ/
>skj /ʃ/
>stj /ʃ/
T, t te /tʰ/
>tj /tʃʰ/
>tt /tː/ [ʰt]
V, v ve /v/ [v], [ʋ], [f]

Glide insertion

Faroese avoids having a hiatus between two vowels by inserting a glide. Orthographically, this is shown in three ways:

  1. vowel + ð + vowel
  2. vowel + g + vowel
  3. vowel + vowel

Typically, the first vowel is long and in words with two syllables always stressed, while the second vowel is short and unstressed. In Faroese, short and unstressed vowels can only be /a/, /i/, /u/.

Glide insertion[1]
First vowel Second vowel Examples
i [ɪ] u [ʊ] a [a]
i, y [iː] [ɪ] [ɪ] [ɪ] sigið, siður, siga
í, ý [ʊiː] [ɪ] [ɪ] [ɪ] mígi, mígur, míga
ey [ɛiː] [ɪ] [ɪ] [ɪ] reyði, reyður, reyða
ei [aiː] [ɪ] [ɪ] [ɪ] reiði, reiður, reiða
oy [ɔiː] [ɪ] [ɪ] [ɪ] noyði, royður, royða
u [uː] [w] [w] [w] suði, mugu, suða
ó [ɔuː] [w] [w] [w] róði, róðu, Nóa
ú [ʉuː] [w] [w] [w] búði, búðu, túa
a, æ [ɛaː] [ɪ] [v] ræði, æðu, glaða
á [ɔaː] [ɪ] [v] ráði, fáur, ráða
e [eː] [ɪ] [v] gleði, legu, gleða
o [oː] [ɪ] [v] togið, smogu, roða
ø [øː] [ɪ] [v] løgin, røðu, høgan

The value of the glide is determined by the surrounding vowels:

  1. [ɪ]
    • "I-surrounding, type 1" – after i, y, í, ý, ei, ey, oy: bíða [ˈbʊija] (to wait), deyður [ˈdɛijʊɹ] (dead), seyður [ˈsɛijʊɹ] (sheep)
    • "I-surrounding, type 2" – between any vowel (except "u-vowels" ó, u, ú) and i: kvæði [ˈkvɛajɛ] (ballad), øði [ˈøːjɛ] (rage).
  2. [w] "U-surrounding, type 1" – after ó, u, ú: Óðin [ˈɔʊwɪn] (Odin), góðan morgun! [ˌɡɔʊwan ˈmɔɹɡʊn] (good morning!), suður [ˈsuːwʊɹ] (south), slóða [ˈslɔʊwa] (to make a trace).
  3. [v]
    • "U-surrounding, type 2" – between a, á, e, æ, ø and u: áður [ˈɔavʊɹ] (before), leður [ˈleːvʊɹ] (leather), í klæðum [ʊɪˈklɛavʊn] (in clothes), í bløðum [ʊɪˈbløːvʊn] (in newspapers).
    • "A-surrounding, type 2"
      • These are exceptions (there is also a regular pronunciation): æða [ˈɛava] (eider-duck).
      • The past participles always have [ɪ]: elskaðar [ˈɛlskajaɹ] (beloved, nom., acc. fem. pl.)
  4. Silent
    • "A-surrounding, type 1" – between a, á, e, o and a and in some words between æ, ø and a: ráða [ˈʐɔːa] (to advise), gleða [ˈɡ̊leːa] (to gladden, please), boða [ˈboːa] (to forebode), kvøða [ˈkvøːa] (to chant), røða [ˈʐøːa] (to make a speech)

See also

References

  1. Faroese: An Overview and Reference Grammar, 2004 (page 38)
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