Languages of the Faroe Islands of tourism. Norwegian is occasionally heard too, due to the islands' geographical proximity to Norway. Languages of the Faroe Islands The official language of the Faroe Islands is Faroese. The Faroese language is a Germanic language which is descended from Old Norse. Faroese is similar in grammar to Icelandic and Old Norse, but closer in pronunciation to Norwegian. In the twentieth century Faroese became the official language and, because the Faroe Islands are a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark, Danish is taught in Faroese schools. The first recorded settlers of the Faroe Islands were Irish monks (papar), so
History of the Faroe Islands Harald Hårfagre, and that other Norse were driven to the Faroe Islands due to his chaotic rule. This mass migration to the Faroe Islands shows a prior knowledge of the Viking settlements' locations, furthering the claim of Grímur Kamban's settlement much earlier. While Kamban is recognized as the first Viking settler of the Faroe Islands, his surname is of Gaelic origin. Writings from the Papar, an order of Irish monks, show that they left the Faroe Islands due to ongoing Viking raids. The name of the islands is first recorded on the Hereford "mappa mundi" (1280), where they are labelled