Concerns over pupils’ increasing preference for English

About 30 percent of Faroese children speak English with their friends, and one in four consider English their first language.

This estimate comes from teacher Pálin Olsen, who yesterday took part in a panel debate on the future of the Faroese language and its importance to national identity.

When asked whether Faroese pupils have good Faroese language skills, she replied: “Many of my pupils have told me: ‘I choose to speak English and I regard it as my first language’. Many of them consider Faroese more or less as a foreign language.”

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Most of the pupils she mentioned in this context were born in the Faroes to Faroese parents.

“One thing all these children have in common is that their phones dominate their lives, which means a great deal of their information comes from sources such as YouTube, TikTok and games, all of which is delivered in English,” she said.

“It then becomes natural for them to communicate about this information using the language in which it is delivered, and that is a cause for concern regarding the future of the Faroese language.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.