Locale Is Is

Reference data for the Icelandic (Iceland) locale — endonym Íslenska (Ísland), written in the Latin script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: is-IS
• ISO 639-1: is
• ISO 639-3: isl
• Script: Latn (Latin)
• Region: IS (Iceland)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 314,000
• L2 (additional): 50,000
• L1+L2 (total): 364,000

Base locale

This is a regional variant of Locale Is 001 (Icelandic), the base/macro locale for this language.

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — t = 0 and i % 10 = 1 and i % 100 != 11 or t % 10 = 1 and t % 100 != 11 (e.g. 1, 21, 31, 41, …)
• other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Apply Locale Is 001 with the conventions of Iceland.

• Formats: Icelandic króna (ISK), "12,50 kr."; day.month.year; 24-hour clock; decimal comma.
• Names: Icelanders use patronymics or matronymics (for example Jón Sigurðsson) rather than family names; address people by first name in all settings, and sort lists by first name.
• Institutions: use official Icelandic names for authorities and keep the Icelandic letters in all names.

Common pitfalls

• Treating the patronymic as a family name or addressing by last name.
• Using English terms where the Icelandic name is official.
• The general pitfalls in Locale Is 001 also apply.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• Icelandic Language Council (Íslensk málnefnd) and Árni Magnússon Institute (https://arnastofnun.is)