Icelanders insist on inventing purely Icelandic words for these modern devices. Icelandic linguists do this by drawing upon the language of the Vikings. Of course, the Vikings didn’t have a word for lightbulb, let alone broadband, so the linguists have to get creative. The Icelandic word for television—sjónvarp—for instance, means, literally, “sight caster.” The intercontinental ballistic missile presented a real challenge. Ultimately, the linguists came up with a word that means “long distance fiery flying thing.” Not bad. My favorite, though, is the word for computer: tolva, or “prophet of
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