Old Norse language facts for kids

Quick facts for kidsOld Norse
	Dǫnsk tunga ("Danish tongue"); Norrœnt mál ("Norse speech")
Native to	Scandinavia
Region	Nordic countries, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Normandy, Newfoundland, the Volga and places in-between
Era	developed into the various North Germanic languages by the 14th century
Language family	Indo-European Germanic North Germanic Old Norse; ; ;
Early forms:	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Germanic Proto-Norse Old Norse; ; ;
Writing system	Runic, later Latin (Old Norse alphabet)
	This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.
	This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

The Rök Runestone in Östergötland, Sweden, is the longest surviving source of early Old East Norse. It is inscribed on both sides

Old Norse is a Germanic language that was spoken in Scandinavia, during the Viking Age, until about 1300. It was also spoken in Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Orkney Islands and other places that Scandinavians started settlements (similar to colonies).

Modern Icelandic is the modern language that is the closest to Old Norse when written. Another language that is close to Old Norse, is Elfdalian. Other languages that come from Old Norse are Swedish, Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian.