Faroese orthography

 

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

• Eth ⟨ð⟩ (Faroese edd) never appears at the beginning of a word, which means its majuscule form ⟨Ð⟩ rarely occurs except in situations where all-capital letters are used, such as on maps.
• ⟨Ø⟩ can also be written ⟨ö⟩ in poetic language, such as Föroyar ('the Faroes'). This has to do with different orthographic traditions (Danish–Norwegian for ⟨ø⟩ and Icelandic for ⟨ö⟩). Originally, both forms were used, depending on the historical form of the word; ⟨ø⟩ was used when the vowel resulted from I-mutation of /o/ while ⟨ö⟩ was used when the vowel resulted from U-mutation of /a/. In handwriting, ⟨ő⟩ is sometimes used.
• While ⟨c⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨w⟩, ⟨x⟩, and ⟨z⟩ are not found in the Faroese language, ⟨x⟩ was known in earlier versions of Hammershaimb's orthography, such as ⟨Saxun⟩ for Saksun.
• While the Faroese keyboard layout allows one to write in Latin, English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, etc., the Old Norse and Modern Icelandic letter ⟨þ⟩ is missing. In related Faroese words, it is written as either ⟨t⟩ or ⟨h⟩. If an Icelandic name has to be transcribed, ⟨th⟩ is common.

This section lists Faroese letters and letter combinations and their phonemic representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.^[1]

 

Faroese vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: the only unstressed vowels (at least in native words) are [a, ɪ, ʊ]. The vowel length is determined by the number of consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant (i.e., CVCV or CVC# syllable structure), the vowel is long; if there are more than one (CVCCV), counting geminates and pre-aspirated stops as CC, the vowel is short.^[2] In addition to long monophthongs, Faroese also has diphthongs, which are always long. There are, however, some exceptions to the vowel length rule:

1. A vowel is long if it precedes a consonant combination ⟨b, d, g, k, p, s, t⟩ + ⟨j, l, r⟩. Examples include akrar, epli, møblar. The situation is however more complex, as seen below:
   • When the second consonant is ⟨j⟩, as in vekja, vitja, and tysja, the combination is treated as one sound (see below), and thus the vowel is long. However, the vowel before ⟨pj⟩ is short.
   • ⟨tl⟩ is not considered to be a consonant cluster, so the vowel preceding it is short.
2. In loanwords before ⟨kv⟩, the vowel is optionally long.
3. The genitive suffix ⟨-s⟩ does not affect the vowel length; e.g., báts, skips.

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/.

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

1. [j]
   • "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 [ˈkvɛaje] (ballad), øði [ˈøːjɪ] (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, o, 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 [j]: 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 [ˈɹɔːa] (to advise), gleða [ˈɡ̊leːa] (to gladden, please), boða [ˈboːa] (to forebode), kvøða [ˈkvøːa] (to chant), røða [ˈɹøːa] (to make a speech)

• Faroese language
• Faroese Braille
• Icelandic orthography
• Danish orthography
• Norwegian orthography