Halló, Hvussu hevur tú tað?
Ever wanted to learn a special language that will make you stand out from the crowd and look totally amazing on your CV?
Faroese will be just the language for you.
The tiny archipelago of what is commonly known as The Faroe Islands – 18 islands in the North Atlantic Ocean between The Shetlands, Iceland and Norway, hit headlines last year capturing worldwide interest in their petition to Google to get their version of Street View on the platform called Sheep View.
No, it’s not your baaaaaaaaaaaad eyesight, you read that right. Sheep View. Check out the video below:
Using cameras mounted on the back of their sheep, The Faroe Islands captured Google’s attention and succeeded in their aim to be featured on Google. Pretty impressive, eh?
Well, The Faroe Islands isn’t finished yet.
This year, they have performed another attempt to capture Google’s attention, this time on not on Street View but rather their Google Translate platform.
Let me introduce you to ‘Faroe Islands Translate.’
FaroeIslandsTranslate.com (Speak + Music) from Visit Faroe Islands on Vimeo.
With less than 80,000 people speaking Faroese worldwide and a growing tourism market, the Faroe Islands realise that not being included on Google Translate has frustrated visitors who can’t fully immerse in their unique traditional culture by learning a few phrases in Faroese.
So, enter Faroe Islands Translate.
Creating their very own version of the online translation service, with the help of locals who will translate live by video, this translation tool will provide a free online service for those visiting The Faroe Islands or in fact, anyone around the world curious to learn a little of this fantastic language. Wouldn’t this be a party piece or a good line on your CV?
Onki at takka fyri!
Check out the translation website here: https://www.faroeislandstranslate.com
As I read this, I was so pleased and curiously surprised to see how many locals took this new initiative by storm. From sheep farmers to school teachers, chefs to social workers, this offers a brilliant glimpse of the friendly locals before visiting and to get an insight in how the Faroese live their lives.
Gorgeous local student at the University of the Faroe Islands is Lisa I Dali who volunteered to help. She helps to translate words and phrases sent in by people from all around the world. Her favourite so far is:
‘um taer ikki damar veorio, bioa so bara i 5 minuttir’ which means ‘if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.’
Now, isn’t that an interesting insight? With the weather changeable in the North Atlantic, people may think it’s raining all the time. With this phrase, you can be safe to be assured that you will have a wonderful day out in the Faroe Islands.
By visiting the new website, and typing the words to be translated into The Faroe Islands search box, the translation will be made by a local volunteer like Lisa. A video will be sent back meaning that people will not be able to learn the words in Faroese but also to see and hear a local speaking the language.
Neat, eh?
Now, what’s next? It’s time for the Faroe Islands to ramp up their campaign to Google. The Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands have joined the campaign by delivering a recorded open letter in the form of special video message, to Google, petitioning them to consider his nation’s plight.
So, what are you waiting for? Get learning and pretty soon, on your visit to the Faroe Islands, you’ll get a quick answer to a desperate situation when you ask this question:
Hvar er vesi?
