Dimmalætting
Encyclopedia
Dimmalætting is the oldest and largest newspaper of the Faroe Islands
and is based in Tórshavn
.
The first edition of the Dimma, as it is commonly known, appeared (after a test issue on December 8, 1877) on January 5, 1878. Today it has a print run of 8,500 copies (in 1991 it was 13,300) and appears five days weekly. As an answer to competing papers, the Wednesday edition is delivered free of charge to all households. Since April 5, 2005 one issue a week has been distributed to all households in the country free of charge.
Since the founding of the Unionist Party in 1906, Dimma was the party paper, but it has since declared itself independent in 1995.
The name Dimmalætting combines the word dimmi (darkness) and lætting, from the verb lætta (leave). Dimmið lættir means "it is becoming daytime", or literally, "the darkness is dwindling". The paper's name comes from Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb
, the very creator of the modern orthography of Faroese.
The Danish name
for the paper was the Amtstidene for Færøerne (Official paper for the Faroese), and the Faroese name was printed in small letters. In its early years, the paper was only published in the Danish language. Then, from 1910 to 1947, it was printed in both languages, and in the years since 1947, Faroese has dominated. Today the entire paper is written in Faroese language.
Until 1911, when a Wednesday edition began, the paper only appeared on Saturdays. In the 1920s, the paper expanded to six pages from the previous four. After 1970, the page count rose to eight or more. A third edition was added, and from September 1996, it has appeared five times a week from Tuesday to Saturday. In November 2004, the days were changed to Monday to Friday. Since the middle of March 2005, it has appeared in tabloid format.
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
and is based in Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
.
The first edition of the Dimma, as it is commonly known, appeared (after a test issue on December 8, 1877) on January 5, 1878. Today it has a print run of 8,500 copies (in 1991 it was 13,300) and appears five days weekly. As an answer to competing papers, the Wednesday edition is delivered free of charge to all households. Since April 5, 2005 one issue a week has been distributed to all households in the country free of charge.
Since the founding of the Unionist Party in 1906, Dimma was the party paper, but it has since declared itself independent in 1995.
The name Dimmalætting combines the word dimmi (darkness) and lætting, from the verb lætta (leave). Dimmið lættir means "it is becoming daytime", or literally, "the darkness is dwindling". The paper's name comes from Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb
Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb
Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb was a Faroese Lutheran minister who established the modern orthography of Faroese, the language of the Faroe Islands, based on the Icelandic language, which like Faroese derives from Old Norse.-Background:Hammershaimb was born in Sandavágur on the island of Vágar in...
, the very creator of the modern orthography of Faroese.
The Danish name
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
for the paper was the Amtstidene for Færøerne (Official paper for the Faroese), and the Faroese name was printed in small letters. In its early years, the paper was only published in the Danish language. Then, from 1910 to 1947, it was printed in both languages, and in the years since 1947, Faroese has dominated. Today the entire paper is written in Faroese language.
Until 1911, when a Wednesday edition began, the paper only appeared on Saturdays. In the 1920s, the paper expanded to six pages from the previous four. After 1970, the page count rose to eight or more. A third edition was added, and from September 1996, it has appeared five times a week from Tuesday to Saturday. In November 2004, the days were changed to Monday to Friday. Since the middle of March 2005, it has appeared in tabloid format.