Iceland
[/wm_text_block][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row bg_color=”#f6f6f6″ disable_container=”1″ padding=”4%”][vc_column width=”1/1″][wm_text_block class=”text-center”]Iceland, (Icelandic: Ísland) is a mountainous island nation in the north Atlantic Ocean, located between Europe and North America. Though not part of the continental mainland, the country is considered Nordic European. The name of the country—Iceland—may not be that appropriate: although 10% of Iceland is covered by glaciers, it has a surprisingly mild climate and countless geothermal hot-spots and hot springs. The native spelling (“Ísland”) is appropriate in English as well.
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[wm_text_block]| Capital | Reykjavík |
| Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK) |
| Population | 327,361 (January 1, 2015 est.) |
| Electricity | 220V/50Hz (European plug) |
| Country code | +354 |
| Time zone | UTC |
| Emergencies | dial 112 |
| Tourism information | visiticeland.com |
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Culture
The culture of Iceland is rich and varied as well as being known for its literary heritage which began in the 12th century. Other Icelandic traditional arts include weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area has several professional theatres, a symphony orchestra, an opera, and a large number of art galleries, bookstores, cinemas, and museums. There are also four active folk dance ensembles in Iceland. Iceland’s literacy rate is among the highest in the world, and a love of literature, art, chess, and other intellectual pursuits is widespread.
[/wm_text_block][/vc_column] [vc_column width=”2/5″][wm_text_block class=”text-center”]Language
The official language of Iceland is Icelandic (íslenska), which remains very similar to, although not quite the same as 13th-century Norse. Icelandic writing uses the Latin alphabet, but with two characters long ago lost from English: eth (Ð, ð), pronounced like the voiced th of “them”, and thorn (Þ, þ), pronounced like the unvoiced th of “thick”. Materials in English often substitute “dh” and “th” respectively, so eg. Fjörður is written Fjordhur and þingvellir is written Thingvellir. Loanwords are shunned, and new words are regularly made for concepts like computers, known as tölva (“number-prophetess”). Icelandic is related to the other Scandinavian languages (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Faroese), and while written forms may be mutually intelligible, this is hardly the case with spoken forms.
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