In the ethnic or cultural sense the term "Scandinavian" traditionally refers to speakers of Scandinavian languages, who are mainly descendants of the peoples historically known as Norsemen, but also to some extent of immigrants and others who have been assimilated into that culture and language. In this sense the term refers primarily to native Danes, Norwegians and Swedes as well as descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelanders and the Faroese. The term is frequently used in this ethnic sense, as synonymous with the modern descendants of the Norse, in studies of linguistics and culture.