Icelandic

Iceland is a Nordic island nation located in the North Atlantic Ocean, known for its dramatic landscapes of volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, and lava fields. It was settled in the late 9th century by Norsemen from Scandinavia, primarily Norway, along with some Celtic settlers from the British Isles. The country adopted Christianity around the year 1000 and later came under Norwegian, then Danish rule before gaining independence in 1944. Today, Iceland is a parliamentary republic with a strong emphasis on democracy, human rights, and environmental preservation. Its small population, just over 370,000, is highly educated and enjoys a high standard of living. Icelandic society values literature, music, and storytelling, with roots going back to the medieval sagas. Despite its remote location, Iceland has a vibrant cultural scene and a strong sense of national identity.

íslenska

The Icelandic language, íslenska, is a North Germanic language descended directly from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is part of the West Scandinavian subgroup, alongside Faroese and certain dialects of Norwegian. Icelandic has remained remarkably conservative over the centuries, retaining much of its medieval grammar and vocabulary, which makes ancient texts such as the Eddas and Sagas still accessible to modern speakers with some effort. The language features a complex inflectional system, including four grammatical cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), and strong and weak noun and verb declensions. Vocabulary in Icelandic is often created through compounding and native word formation rather than borrowing from other languages; for example, the word for computer, tölva, is a neologism combining tala (number) and völva (prophetess). The Icelandic Language Council actively oversees linguistic purity and encourages the development of new Icelandic terms. While Icelandic is the official and dominant language, nearly all Icelanders also speak English fluently, especially in urban areas and among younger generations.

Asterix in Iceland

The “Asterix” comic series has been translated into Icelandic by three publishers over the years. Fjölvi HF, based in Reykjavik, initiated the translations in 1974, releasing titles such as “Ástríkur gallvaski” (Asterix the Gaul) and “Ástríkur og Kleópatra” (Asterix and Cleopatra). Subsequently, Gutenberghus Bladene from Copenhagen published additional Icelandic editions in the early 1980s, including “Hrakningasaga Ástríks” (Asterix and the Great Crossing) in 1982 and “Ástríkur og sonur” (Asterix and Son) in 1983. After a hiatus, Froskur Útgáfa, another Reykjavik-based publisher, resumed the series in 2014 with “Ástríkur og Víkingarnir” (Asterix and the Normas (called Vikings)) and has continued to release new translations, such as “Ástríkur í Piktalandi” (Asterix and the Picts) in 2016 and “Ástríkur og Latravíata” (Asterix and the Actress) in 2021. The translators contributing to these editions include Þorsteinn Thorarensen, Petur Rasmussen, Thór Stefánsson for Fjölvi; Sigurlín Sveinbjarnardóttir and Peter Rasmussen for Gutenberghus; and Hildur Bjarnason and Anita K. Jónsson for Froskur Útgáfa.