Subtitle

Icelandic, the language that recycles everything


Listen Later

Icelanders are protective of their language. When a new piece of tech or a new disease emerges, people debate what to call these things in Icelandic. New words must sound and look Icelandic, otherwise they may not survive. The country's Knitting Words Committee is one of dozens of community panels charged with proposing new words. Typically, they repurpose old words that have fallen out of use. Who doesn't want to revive a word or phrase from Iceland's sagas? In this episode, we take you to Iceland to discover how, seemingly, an entire nation has coalesced around the maxim, "We have a very good old word for that." 

Music in this episode by Taomito, Silver Maple, pär, Medité, Nathan Welch, and Trabant 33. Photo of Hulda Hákonardóttir and Guðrún Hannele Henttinen of Iceland's Knitting Words Committee by Patrick Cox.

Read a transcript of the episode here. And sign up for Subtitle’s newsy, nerdy, fortnightly newsletter here.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

SubtitleBy Quiet Juice

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

647 ratings


More shows like Subtitle

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,134 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,476 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,763 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,610 Listeners

Live Wire with Luke Burbank by PRX

Live Wire with Luke Burbank

325 Listeners

The World by PRX

The World

927 Listeners

Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Reveal

8,342 Listeners

Living on Earth by World Media Foundation

Living on Earth

466 Listeners

Afropop Worldwide by Afropop Worldwide

Afropop Worldwide

307 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,541 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,639 Listeners

Latino USA by My Cultura, Futuro and iHeartPodcasts

Latino USA

3,780 Listeners

The History of English Podcast by Kevin Stroud

The History of English Podcast

6,459 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,364 Listeners

To The Best Of Our Knowledge by Wisconsin Public Radio

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

931 Listeners

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

2,290 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,172 Listeners

Things That Go Boom by PRX

Things That Go Boom

326 Listeners

The Science of Happiness by PRX and Greater Good Science Center

The Science of Happiness

1,899 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,239 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,183 Listeners

Suave by Futuro Media

Suave

1,545 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,707 Listeners

Lexicon Valley by Lexicon Valley

Lexicon Valley

550 Listeners