FAROESE LANGUAGE

'Faroese' (''føroyskt'' [] or []), often also spelled 'Faeroese', is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 12,000 Faroese in Denmark. It is one of three insular Scandinavian languages descended from the Old Norse language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, the others being Icelandic and the extinct Norn, which is thought to have been mutually intelligible with Faroese.

History

At one point, the language spoken in the Faroe Islands was Old West Norse, which Norwegian settlers had brought with them during the time of the ''landnám'' that began in AD 825. However, many of the settlers weren't really Norwegians, but descendants of Norwegian settlers in the Irish Sea. In addition, native Norwegian settlers often married women from Norse Ireland, the Orkneys, or Shetlands before settling in the Faroe Islands and Iceland. As a result, Celtic languages influenced both Faroese and Icelandic. This may be why, for example, Faroese has two words for duck: ''dunna'' (from Gaelic ''tunnag'') for a domestic duck, and ''ont'' (from Old Norse '') for a duck in general. (This example has been criticized, however, by people claiming that the word is derived from Old Norse ''dunna'', from Proto-Germanic ''
★ dusnō''.) There is also some debatable evidence of Celtic language place names in the Faroes: for example Mykines and Stóra & Lítla Dímun have been hypothesized to contain Celtic roots.
Between the 9th and the 15th centuries, a distinct Faroese language evolved, although it was still intelligible with Old West Norse language.
Until the 15th century, Faroese had a similar orthography to Icelandic and Norwegian, but after the Reformation in 1536, the ruling Danes outlawed its use in schools, churches and official documents. The islanders continued to use the language in ballads, folktales, and everyday life. This maintained a rich spoken tradition, but for 300 years the language was not written down.
This changed when Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb published a written standard for Modern Faroese 1854 that exists to this day. Although this would have been an opportunity to create a phonetically true orthography like that of Welsh, he produced an orthography consistent with a continuous written tradition extending back to Old Norse. The letter ð, for example, has no specific phonemes attached to it. Furthermore, although the letter 'm' corresponds to the bilabial nasal as it does in English, it also corresponds to the alveolar nasal in the dative ending ''-um'' .
Hammershaimb's orthography met with some opposition for its complexity, and a rival system was devised by Jakob Jakobsen. Jakobsen's orthography was closer to the spoken language, but was never taken up by speakers.
In 1937, Faroese replaced Danish as the official school language, 1938 as church language, and 1948 as national language by the Home Rule Act of the Faroes. However, Faroese didn't become the common language in the media and advertising until the 1980s. Today, Danish is considered a foreign language, though around 5% of the Faroe Islanders learn it as a first language and it is a required subject for students 3rd grade and up.

Learning Faroese

It is unusual for Faroese to be taught at universities outside the Faroes (within Scandinavian studies); however University College London has course options in Faroese for students reading Scandinavian Studies. So most students are forced to learn it autodidactically by books, listening to Faroese on the radio (there is an internet live stream) and trying to correspond with Faroese people. A good opportunity for learning Faroese is also visiting the websites of Postverk Føroya and reading their stories about the stamp editions both in Faroese and English (or German, French and Danish).
However, the University of the Faroe Islands offers an annual ''Summer institute'' over 3 weeks including:

★ 50 lessons of Faroese grammar and language exercises.

★ 20 lectures on linguistic subjects, culture, society and nature. The lectures on culture include oral poetry and modern literature.

★ 2 excursions to places of historical and geographical interest.
Languages of instruction are Faroese and English. It is said to be very intensive and comprehensive.

Alphabet

Some Faroese isoglosses

The 'Faroese alphabet' consists of 29 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
Notes:

★ Ð, ð can never come at the beginning of a word, but can occur in capital letters in logos or on maps, such as SUÐUROY (Southern Isle).

★ Ø, ø can also be written Ö, ö in poetic language, such as ''Föroyar'' (the Faroes) (cf. Swedish-Icelandic typographic/orthographic tradition vs. Norwegian-Danish). In handwriting these dots might instantiate as short strokes forming a letter looking like Ő, ő.

★ Common family names on the Faroes are e.g. Joensen, Johansen, Dam, Dalsgarð or the Christian name Johannis. Even x was known in Hammershaimbs 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 <t> or as <h>, and if an Icelandic name has to be transcribed, <th> is common.

Phonology

Vowels

Grapheme	Name	Short	Long
A, a	''fyrra a'' ("leading a")
Á, á	''á''
E, e	''e''
I, i	''fyrra i'' ("leading i")
Í, í	''fyrra í'' ("leading í")
O, o	''o''
Ó, ó	''ó''
U, u	''u''
Ú, ú	''ú''
Y, y	''seinna i'' ] ("rear i")
Ý, ý	''seinna í'' ("rear í")
Æ, æ	''seinna a'' ("rear a")
Ø, ø	''ø''
Other vowels
ei	-
ey	-
oy	-

As in other languages, including English, stressed vowels in Faroese are long when not followed by two or more consonants. Two consonants or a consonant cluster usually indicates a short vowel. Exceptions may be short vowels in particles, pronouns, adverbs, and prepositions in unstressed positions, consisting of just one syllable.
As may be seen on the table to the left, Faroese (like English) has a very atypical pronunciation of its vowels, with odd offglides and other features.

Short vowels in endings

While in other languages a short /e/ is common for inflectional endings, Faroese uses /a, i, u/. This means that there are no unstressed short vowels except for these three. Even if a short unstressed /e/ is seen in writing, it will be pronounced like /i/: ''áðrenn'' (before). Very typical are endings like ''-ur'', ''-ir'', ''-ar''. The dative is often indicated by ''-um'' which is always pronounced .

★ - ''bát'ar''' (boats), ''kall'ar''' ((you) call, (he) calls)

Unstressed /i/ and /u/ in dialects
	Borðoy, Kunoy, Tórshavn	Viðoy, Svínoy, Fugloy	Suðuroy	Elsewhere (''standard'')
''gulur'' (yellow)	[]	[]	[]	[]
''gulir'' (yellow ''pl.'')	[]	[]	[]	[]
''bygdin'' (the town)	[]	[]	[]	[]
''bygdum'' (the towns ''dat. pl.'')	[]	[]	[]	[]
Source: ''Faroese: An Overview and Reference Grammar'', 2004 (page 350)

★ - ''gest'ir''' (guests), ''dug'ir''' ((you, he) can)

★ - ''bát'ur''' (boat), ''gent'ur''' (girls), ''renn'ur''' ((you) run, (he) runs).
In some dialects, unstressed is realized as or is reduced further to . goes under a similar reduction pattern so unstressed and can rhyme. This can cause spelling mistakes related to these two vowels. The table to the right displays the different realizations in different dialects.

Glide Insertion

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

Ð and G as glides

Glide insertion
'First vowel'		'Second vowel'			'Examples'
'First vowel'		i []	u []	a []
Grapheme	Phoneme	'Glide'
I-surrounding 1 + 2
i, y	[]	[]	[]	[]	''sigið, siður, siga''
í, ý	[]	[]	[]	[]	''mígi, mígur, míga''
ey	[]	[]	[]	[]	''reyði, reyður, reyða''
ei	[]	[]	[]	[]	''reiði, reiður, reiða''
oy	[]	[]	[]	[]	''noyði, royður, royða''
U-surrounding 2
u	[]	[]	[]	[]	''suði, mugu, suða''
ó	[]	[]	[]	[]	''róði, róðu, Nóa''
ú	[]	[]	[]	[]	''búði, búðu, túa''
I-surrounding 2, U-surrounding 2, A-surrounding 1 (''regular'')
a, æ	[]	[]	[]	-	''ræði, æðu, glaða''
á	[]	[]	[]	-	''ráði, fáur, ráða''
e	[]	[]	[]	-	''gleði, legu, gleða''
o	[]	[]	[]	-	''togið, smogu, roða''
ø	[]	[]	[]	-	''løgin, røðu, høgan''
Source: ''Faroese: An Overview and Reference Grammar'', 2004 (page 38)

<Ð> and are used in Faroese orthography to indicate one of a number of glide rather than any one phoneme. This can be:
#[]
#
★ "I-surrounding, type 1" - after /i, y, í, ý, ei, ey, oy/: ''bíða'' [] (to wait), ''deyður'' [] (dead), ''seyður'' [] (sheep)
#
★ "I-surrounding, type 2" - between any vowel (except "u-vowels" /ó, u, ú/) and /i/: ''kvæði'' [] (ballad), ''øði'' [] (rage).
#[] "U-surrounding, type 1" - after /ó, u, ú/: ''Óðin'' [] (Odin), ''góðan morgun!'' [] (good morning!), ''suður'' [] (south), ''slóða'' [] (to make a trace).
#[]
#
★ "U-surrounding, type 2" - between /a, á, e, æ, ø/ and /u/: ''áður'' [] (before), ''leður'' [] (leather), ''í klæðum'' [] (in clothes), ''í bløðum'' [] (in newspapers).
#
★ "A-surrounding, type 2"
#
★
★ These are exceptions (''there is also a regular pronunciation''): ''æða'' [] (eider-duck), ''røða'' [] (speech).
#
★
★ The past participles have always []: ''elskaðar'' [] (beloved, ''nom., acc. fem. pl.'')
#''Silent''
#
★ "A-surrounding, type 1" - between /a, á, e, o/ and /a/ and in some words between <æ, ø> and : ''ráða'' [] (to advise), ''gleða'' [] (to gladden, please), ''boða'' [] (to forbode), ''kvøða'' [] (to chant), ''røða'' [] (to make a speech)

Skerping (sharpening)

Skerping
Written	Pronunciation	instead of
-ógv-	[]	★ []
-úgv-	[]	★ []
-eyggj-	[]	★ []
-íggj-, -ýggj-	[]	★ []
-eiggj-	[]	★ []
-oyggj-	[]	★ []

The so-called "skerping" (Thráinsson et al. use the term "Faroese Verschärfung" - in Faroese, ''skerping'' means "sharpening") is a typical phenomenon of fronting back vowels before and monophthongizing certain diphthongs before . Skerping is not indicated orthographically. These consonants occur often after /ó, ú/ (ógv, úgv) and /ey, í, ý, ei, oy/ when no other consonant is following.

★ []: ''Jógvan'' [] (a form of the name John), ''Gjógv'' [] (cleft)

★ []: ''kúgv'' [] (cow), ''trúgva'' [] (believe), but: ''trúleysur'' [] (faithless)

★ []: ''heyggjur'' [] (high, burial mound), but ''heygnum'' [] (''dat. sg. with suffix article'')

★ []: ''nýggjur'' [] (new ''m.''), but ''nýtt'' [] (''n.'')

★ []: ''beiggi'' [] (brother)

★ []: ''oyggj'' [] (island), but ''oynna'' [] (''acc. sg. with suffix article'')

Consonants

	Labial	Apical	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive
Affricate
Fricative
Nasal
Approximant

There are several phonological processes involved in Faroese, including:

★ Voiced stops are devoiced word-finally and before voiceless consonants

★ Liquids are devoiced before voiceless consonants

★ Nasals generally assume the place of articulation and laryngeal settings of following consonants.

★ Velar stops palatalize to postalveolar affricates before and

★ becomes before voiceless consonants

★ becomes after and before and may assimilate the retroflexion of a preceding to become .

Omissions in consonant clusters

Faroese tends to omit the first or second consonant in clusters of different consonants:

★ ''fjals'' [] (mountain's ''gen.'') instead of
★ [] from [] (''nom.''). Other examples for genitives are: ''barns'' [] (children's), ''vatns'' [] (lake's, water's).

★ ''hjálpti'' [] (helped) ''past sg.'' instead of
★ [] from ''hjálpa'' []. Other examples for past forms are: ''sigldi'' [] (sailed), ''yrkti'' [] (wrote poetry).

★ homophone are ''fylgdi'' (followed) and ''fygldi'' (caught birds with net): [].

★ 'skt' will be:

★ #[] in words of more than one syllable: ''føroyskt'' [] (Faroese ''n. sg.''; also []) ''russiskt'' [] (Russian ''n. sg.''), ''íslendskt'' [] (Icelandic ''n. sg.'').

★ #[] in monosyllables: ''enskt'' [] (English ''n. sg.''), ''danskt'' [] (Danish ''n. sg.''), ''franskt'' [] (French ''n. sg.''), ''spanskt'' [] (Spanish ''n. sg.''), ''svenskt'' [] (Swedish ''n. sg.''), ''týskt'' [] (German ''n. sg.'').

★ #
★ However [] in: ''írskt'' [] (Irish ''n. sg.''), ''norskt'' [] (Norwegian ''n. sg.)

Grammar

Not surprisingly, Faroese grammar is quite similar to the Icelandic and Old Norse. Below in the literature section, you'll find a comprehensive grammar to download (chapter 3 of the standardwork ''Faroese'' by Thráinsson et al. 2004).

Nominal inflection

Below is a representation of three grammatical genders, two numbers and four cases in the nominal inflection. This is just an overview to give a general idea of how the grammar works. Faroese actually has even more declensions. But in modern faroese genitive has a very limited use.
Read:

★ ''hvør, hvat?'' interrogative pronoun "who, what?"

★ ''ein'' indefinite article "a"

★ ''stórur'' adjective "big"

★ ''bátur'' noun "boat"

★ ein stórur bátur - a big boat (''m.'')

★ ein vøkur genta - a beautiful girl (''f.'')

★ eitt gott barn - a good child (''n.'')
In the plural you will see that even the numeral ''tvey'' (2) is inflected.

Indefinite phrases
'Singular'	?	Masculine	?	Feminine	?	Neuter
Nominative	hvør?	ein stór'ur' bát'ur'	hvør?	ein vøkur gent'a'	hvat?	eitt gott barn
Accusative	hvønn?	ein stór'an' bát	hvørja?	eina vakr'a' gent'u'	hvat?	eitt gott barn
Dative	hvørjum?	einum stór'um' bát'i'	hvørj(ar)i?	einari vak'ari' gent'u'	hvørjum?	einum góð'um' barn'i'
Genitive	hvørs?	eins stór's' bát's'	hvørjar?	einar vakr'ar' gent'u'	hvørs?	eins góð's' barn's'

'Plural'	?	Masculine	?	Feminine	?	Neuter
Nominative	hvørjir?	tveir stór'ir' bát'ar'	hvørjar?	tvær vakr'ar' gent'ur'	hvørji?	tvey góð børn
Accusative	hvørjar?	tveir stór'ar' bát'ar'	hvørjar?	tvær vakr'ar' gent'ur'	hvørji?	tvey góð børn
Dative	hvørjum?	tveimum stór'um' bát'um'	hvørjum?	tveimum vøkr'um' gent'um'	hvørjum?	tveimum góð'um' børn'um'
Genitive	hvørja?	tveggja stór'a' bát'a'	hvørja?	tveggja vakr'a' gent'a'	hvørja?	tveggja góð'a' barn'a'

If the noun is definite, the adjective inflects ''weak'', and the noun gets a suffix article as in any Scandinavian language (except for Old Norse).
The interrogative pronoun is the same as above. In the plural, the plural form of the definite article is used.
Read:

★ tann stóri báturin - the big boat-the

★ tann vakra gentan - the beautiful girl-the

★ tað góða barnið - the good child-the

Definite phrases
'Singular'	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	tann stór'i' bátur'in'	tann vakr'a' gent'an'	tað góð'a' barn'ið'
Accusative	tann stór'a' bát'in'	ta vøkr'u' gentu'na'	tað góð'a' barn'ið'
Dative	tí stór'a' báti'num'	tí vøkr'u' gentu'ni'	tí góð'a' barni'num'
Genitive	tess stór'a' báts'ins'	teirrar vøkr'u' gentu'nnar'	tess góð'a' barns'ins'

'Plural'	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	teir stór'u' bátar'nir'	tær vøkr'u' gentur'nar'	tey góð'u' børn'ini'
Accusative	teir stór'u' bátar'nar'	tær vøkr'u' gentur'nar'	tey góð'u' børn'ini'
Dative	teimum stór'u' bátu'num'	teimum vøkr'u' gentu'num'	teimum góð'u' børnu'num'
Genitive	teirra stór'u' báta'nna'	teirra vøkr'u' gentu'nna'	teirra góð'u' barna'nna'

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns of Faroese are:

Personal pronouns
'Singular'	1.	2.	3. ''m''	3. ''f''	3. ''n''
Nominative	'eg'	'tú'	'hann'	'hon'	'tað'
Accusative	meg	teg	'hann'	hana	'tað'
Dative	mær	tær	honum	henni	tí
Genitive	mín	tín	hansara	hennara	tess

'Plural'	1.	2.	3. ''m''	3. ''f''	3. ''n''
Nominative	'vit'	'tit'	'teir'	'tær'	'tey'
Accusative	okkum	tykkum	'teir'	'tær'	'tey'
Dative	okkum	tykkum	teimum
Genitive	okkara	tykkara	teirra

'Singular'

★ 1st person: ''eg'' [] - I, ''meg'' [] - me (''acc.''), ''mær'' [] - me (''dat.''), ''mín'' [] - my

★ 2nd person: ''tú'' [] - you, ''teg'' [] - you (''acc.''), ''tær'' [] - you (''dat.''), ''tín'' [] - your (''gen.'')

★ 3rd person masculine: ''hann'' [] - he, him (''nom., acc.''), ''honum'' [] - him (''dat.''), ''hansara'' [] - his (''gen.'')

★ 3rd person feminine: ''hon'' [] - she, ''hana'' [] - her (''acc.''), ''henni'' [] - her (''dat.''), ''hennara'' [] - her (''gen.'')

★ 3rd person neuter: ''tað'' [] - it (''nom., acc.''), ''tí'' [] - it (''dat.''), ''tess'' [] - its (''gen.'')
'Plural'

★ 1st person: ''vit'' [] - we, ''okkum'' [] - us (''acc., dat.''), ''okkara'' [] - our (''gen.'')

★ 2nd person: ''tit'' [] - you (''pl.''), ''tykkum'' [] - you (''acc., dat. pl.'') ''tykkara'' [] - your (''gen. pl.'')

★ 3rd person masculine: ''teir'' []/[] - they, them (''m. nom., acc.''), ''teimum'' []/[] - them (''dat.''), ''teirra'' []/[] - their (''gen.'')

★ 3rd person feminine: ''tær'' [] - they, them (''f. nom., acc.'')

★ 3rd person neuter: ''tey'' [] - they, them (''n. nom., acc.'')
The 3rd person plural neuter ''tey'' will be used in all cases when both genders are meant, as in:

★ teir eru onglendingar - they are Englishmen (''about males'')

★ tær eru føroyingar - they are Faroese (''about females'')

★ tey eru fólk úr Evropa - they are people from Europe (''both sexes'')

Verbs

Weak Inflection

There are 4 classes of weak inflection of verbs (with some underclasses). E.g.:
#stem-final '-a', 2-3.pers.sg. '-r' - kall'a!' (imperative), tú/hann kalla-r (you/he call(s))
#2-3.pers.sg. '-ur' - tú/hann sel'ur' (you/he sell(s))
#2-3.pers.sg. '-ir' - tú/hann døm'ir' (you/he judge(s))
#2. pers.sg. '-rt' - tú rø'rt' (you row). There occurs a Verschärfung in certain surroundings: ''eg rógvi'' [], I row; vs. ''eg róði'' [], I rowed.

Weak Inflection
Infinitive	1. 'kalla'		2. 'selja'		3. 'døma'		4. 'rógva'

'Singular'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st pers.	kall'i'	kalla'ði'	selj'i'	sel'di'	døm'i'	døm'di'	rógv'i'	ró'ði'
2nd pers.	kalla'r'	kalla'ði'	sel'ur'	sel'di'	døm'ir'	døm'di'	rø'rt'	ró'ði'
3rd pers.	kalla'r'	kalla'ði'	sel'ur'	sel'di'	døm'ir'	døm'di'	rø'r'	ró'ði'

'Plural'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st, 2nd, 3rd pers.	kall'a'	kalla'ðu'	selj'a'	sel'du'	døm'a'	døm'du'	rógv'a'	ró'ðu'

Supine	kalla'ð'		sel't'		døm't'		ró'ð'

Strong Inflection

These verbs are also referred to as regular. There are 7 classes (with underclasses), distinguished by the variations of the stem-vowel:
#'í - ei - i- i;' - at b'í'ta - eg b'ei't - vit b'i'tu - vit hava b'i'tið (bite)
#'ó/ú- ey - u- o;' - at br'ó'ta - eg br'ey't - vit br'u'tu - vit hava br'o'tið (break)
#'e/i/ø - a- u- o/u;' - at sv'i'mja - eg sv'a'm - vit sv'u'mu - vit hava sv'o'mið (swim)
#'e/o - a - ó - o;' - at b'e'ra - eg b'a'r - vit b'ó'ru - vit hava b'o'rið (bear)
#
★ 'o - o - o - o;' - at k'o'ma - eg k'o'm - vit k'o'mu - vit hava k'o'mið (come)
#'e/i - a/á - ó - i;' - at l'i'ggja - eg l'á' - vit l'ó'gu - vit hava l'i'gið (lie)
#'a - ó - ó - a;' - at f'a'ra - eg f'ó'r - vit f'ó'ru - vit hava f'a'rið (go)
#'a/á - e - i - i;' - at f'á'a - eg f'e'kk - vit f'i'ngu - vit hava f'i'ngið (get)

Strong Inflection
Infinitive	1. 'bíta'		2. 'bróta'		3. 'svimja'		4. 'bera'		5. 'koma'		6. 'fara'		7. 'fáa'

'Singular'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st pers.	bít'i'	beit	brót'i'	breyt	svimj'i'	svam	kom'i'	kom	ligg'i'	lá	far'i'	fór	fá'i'	fekk
2nd pers.	bít'ur'	beit'st'	brýt'ur'	breyt'st'	svim'ur'	svam'st'	kem'ur'	kom'st'	ligg'ur'	lá'st'	fer't'	fór't'	fær't'	fek'st'
3rd pers.	bít'ur'	beit	brýt'ur'	breyt	svim'ur'	svam	kem'ur'	kom	ligg'ur'	lá	fer	fór	fær	fekk

'Plural'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st, 2nd, 3rd pers.	bít'a'	bit'u'	brót'a'	brut'u'	svimj'a'	svum'u'	kom'a'	kom'u'	liggj'a'	lóg'u'	far'a'	fór'u'	fá'a'	fingu

Supine	bit'ið'		brot'ið'		svom'ið'		kom'ið'		lig'ið'		far'ið'		fing'ið'

Auxiliary verbs

The auxiliary verbs in Faroese are:

★ at vera - to be

★ at hava - to have

★ at verða - to be, become

★ at blíva - to be, become

Auxiliary verbs
Infinitive	1. 'vera'		2. 'hava'		3. 'verða'		4. 'blíva'

'Singular'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st pers.	er'i'	var	hav'i'	hev'ði'	verð'i'	varð	blív'i'	bleiv
2nd pers.	er't'	var't'	hev'ur'	hev'ði'	verð'ur'	varð'st'	blív'ur'	bleiv'st'
3rd pers.	er	var	hev'ur'	hev'ði'	verð'ur'	varð	blív'ur'	bleiv

'Plural'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st, 2nd, 3rd pers.	er'u'	vór'u'	hav'a'	høv'du'	verð'a'	vórð'u'	blív'a'	bliv'u'

Supine	ver'ið'		hav't'		verð'ið'		bliv'ið'

Note, that ''vera'' and ''verða'' are homonyms.

Preterite-present verbs

The preterite-present verbs in Faroese are the following:

★ at kunna - to be able to

★ at munna - to want

★ at mega - to be allowed to

★ at skula - shall

★ at vita - to know

★ at vilja - to want

Preterite-present verbs
Infinitive	1. 'kunna'		2. 'munna'		3. 'mega'		4. 'skula'		5. 'vita'		6. 'vilja'

'Singular'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st pers.	kann	kun'di'	man	mun'di'	má	má'tti'	skal	skul'di'	veit	vis'ti'	vil	vil'di'
2nd pers.	kan'st'	kun'di'	man'st'	mun'di'	má'st'	má'tti'	skal't'	skul'di'	veit'st'	vis'ti'	vil't'	vil'di'
3rd pers.	kann	kun'di'	man	mun'di'	má	má'tti'	skal	skul'di'	veit	vis'ti'	vil	vil'di'

'Plural'	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past	Present	Past
1st, 2nd, 3rd pers.	kunn'u'/ kunn'a'	kund'u'	munn'u'/ munn'a'	mund'u'	mug'u'/ meg'a'	má'ttu'	skul'u'/ skul'a'	skul'du'	vit'a'	vist'u'	vilj'a'	vil'du'

Supine	kunn'að'		munn'að'		meg'að'		skul'að'		vit'að'		vilj'að'

External links

★ OBG.fo - Føroysk orðabók (the Faroese-Faroese dictionary of 1998 online)

★ FMN.fo - Faroese Language Committee (Official site with further links)

★ Faeroese - English Dictionary from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition.

★ Ethnologue report on Faroese

★ Free Faroese Tutorial at ielanguages.com

★ A short English - Faroese - Japanese phrasebook incl. sound file

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