Linguistic purism in Icelandic

The effort began in the early 19th century, at the dawn of the Icelandic national movement, aiming at replacing older loanwords, especially from Danish, and it continues today, targeting English words.

Also significant was the Icelandic historiography, which started at an early date with Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók and ranged through the Landnámabók (book of colonization) to Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla.

This inspired him to write the poem Sótt og dauði íslenskunnar, in which he personifies his mother tongue as a woman, who has fallen mortally ill through an infection with too many foreign words.

At the end of the poem he urges his compatriots to defend their language and reminds them of the great esteem in which Icelandic is held abroad and how well it has been preserved by their forefathers.

The influence of the book was considerable, and Ólafur Olavius, originator of the Hrappseyjarprentsmiðja, the first privately owned printing shop in Iceland, followed Eggert's rules to a significant extent.

Eleven years after Eggert's death, the Íslenska lærdómslistafélag (Icelandic Art-Learning Society) was founded in Copenhagen with Jón Eiríksson, administrative director at the Danish Ministry of Finance, as its president.

An important publication was Almenn jarðarfræða og landaskipun eður geographia (1821–27), which contains much new genuine[clarification needed] Icelandic terminology.

The magazine was published in Copenhagen by four young Icelanders: Konráð Gíslason, Jónas Hallgrímsson, Brynjólfur Pétursson and Tómas Sæmundsson.

Many of the neologisms he coined have become an integral part of present-day Icelandic terminology: aðdráttarafl (gravity), hitabelti (tropics), sjónauki (telescope), samhliða (parallel).

In 1951, a Dictionary Committee of the University of Iceland (Orðabókarnefnd Háskólans) began publishing lists of new words, marking the beginning of formal government sponsorship of neologisms.

To remedy this situation, in 1984 the Althing passed legislation which ratified the five person membership and also established a permanently functioning secretariat, the Íslensk málstöð (Icelandic Language Institute).

Occupying a suite of offices on Neshagi, a street near the University, and previously the site of the American Embassy's cultural center, the Institute today is headed by Ari Páll Kristinsson and has only four employees who give advice on language and usage matters to public authorities and the broadcasting service (Ríkisútvarpið) and answer questions from the general population.

In recent years, the government has promoted an interest in technology, including efforts to produce Icelandic language software and other computer interfaces.

[4][5] Similarly, the Icelandic word tækni ("technology", "technique") derives from tæki ("tool") combined with the nominal suffix -ni, but is a phonosemantic match of the Danish (or international) teknik with the same meaning.

[6] Other phonosemantic matches discussed in the article are beygla, bifra – bifrari, brokkál, dapur – dapurleiki – depurð, fjárfesta – fjárfesting, heila, ímynd (image), júgurð, korréttur, Létt og laggott, musl, pallborð – pallborðsumræður, páfagaukur (parrot), ratsjá (radar device), setur, staða, staðall – staðla – stöðlun, toga – togari, uppi and veira (virus).

English is learned as the main international language, especially in view of the internationalization of the economy of Iceland with intensive trade and capital flows to and from the outside world.