[haukur]

English has become entrenched as the de facto second official language of Iceland. It's a very depressing trend for the conservation of Icelandic, and the ongoing promotion of English will only continue to exacerbate its decline.

[dhosek]

I remember in the 80s when the Nordic TeX Users Group was formed, they did all of their official communications in English so as not to privilege any of the national languages of their membership.

Similarly, English is a standard language in India in part because of the linguistic diversity of the country¹ and being an outsider language means that communications in English don’t privilege any of the indigenous ethnic groups, although it seems that English usage has been dropping in favor of English.

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1. English usage was supposed to have been phased out fifteen years after independence, but the mandated sunset was changed by constitutional amendment in 1963 (apparently a year after the sunset date(!)). India has 22 scheduled languages—i.e., languages receiving constitutional recognition and encouragement—but there are 122 major languages with more than 10,000 speakers. I think India wins the prize for the greatest linguistic diversity among the nations of the world.

[haukur]

Just to be clear, I do see the value in a group like the Nordic TeX Users Group choosing a neutral language for simplicity and fairness. However, it's quite different when a whole nation adopts a new language just because it's the easy option, without considering the repercussions.

This crutch of using English in Iceland not only discourages (and actively prevents) newcomers from learning Icelandic, but it also creates a paradoxical reliance on a language that most immigrants do not speak prior to their arrival. This creates challenges, particularly hindering integration, as Icelandic is (for the time being) still required in most aspects of society. It also threatens the preservation of our language, which is only spoken by around three hundred thousand people.

[jononor]

Would you prefer another second language, or that people refuse fo speak anything but Icelandic?

Jeg snakker norsk, men det er alikevel vanskelig å forstå islandsk!

[haukur]

If it were a matter of choosing another language, Polish might be a more natural choice, as Poles form the largest minority in the country.

But to answer the question, I personally lean towards discouraging English as the default second language and instead focus on strengthening Icelandic. Encouraging everyone to communicate in the native tongue, regardless of proficiency level, can be very effective. That was certainly my experience when my family and I moved to Catalonia.

Norskan er auðlesin, en ég á erfiðara með að skilja talmál!