Kalduroyar

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Current revision as of 14:12, 12 May 2008

Tjóðveldi Kalduroyar
Republic of Kalduroyar

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Við lóg skal land byggjast (With law shall land be built)
Anthem: Mítt land
Capital	Vesturhavnar
Largest city	Vesturhavnar
Official language(s)	Faroese
Demonym	Kalduroyan, Kalduroyans
Government President	Democratic republic Jákup Dahl
Independent from Denmark	1857
Area	7 islands
Population  • 2008 est.  • 2007 census	40.000 – 50.000 (205th) 181,012,876
GDP (PPP)  • Total  • Per capita	2008 estimate $2,2 billion (175th) $45.250 (9th)
GDP (nominal)  • Total  • Per capita	2007 estimate ($1.700 millions) Unknown (?)
Gini
HDI (2003)	0.944 (17th) – High
Currency	Kalduroyan króna (KAK)
Time zone	GMT -1
Internet TLD	.ka
Calling code	+429

Republic of Kalduroyar, Kalduroyar [ kεaltʊɹειaɹ ] in daily speech, is perhaps the smallest member nation of COFR with the tiny population of 40.000. The islands are located north-east of Faroe Islands, and halfway between Norway and Iceland. Between the middle ages and 1857, Kalduroyar was under Danish jurisdiction. The most of the Kalduroyan culture, including the language, is brought from the Faroe Islands. The current president, Jákup Dahl, was elected for the first time in 1996 (and re-elected in 2000 and 2004).

The islands in the archipelago are: Fjørðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy, Nólsoy, Skúvoy, Gøtu, Borðoy and Lítla Dimun. All the islands are inhabited; Fjørðoy has the largest population, Lítla Dimun the smallest.

One of the largest Kalduroyan names in history is Dánial Hoydal.

Geography

Kalduroyar consists of seven different islands, where Fjørðoy is the largest, and Lítla Dimun is the smallest. Most of the Kalduroyans live in small villages (bygðar) around in the archipelago.

Map of Kalduroyar

The islands were created by volcanoes hundreds of thousands of years ago, and there's a lot of wind. The ground consists mainly of volcanic mountains and rocks with a thin layer of dirt upon it. Many places (especially at tall peaks and steeps) there isn't dirt at all. Places like that don't give any basis for human settlement, so therefore, most of the villages are located in small valleys innermost in the numerous fjords. Other villages are located near the sea (to have easier acession to the fish resources off-shore), but these villages are located at places without much wind (often with surrounding mountains).

History

See own article: History of Kalduroyar

Energy

See Wikipedia's article on the subject to read more about geothermal energy in general.

A geothermal station in Brattnes. The "smoke" is water vapor

Most of the energy used in Kalduroyar comes from three energy sources: Wind, solar and geothermal power. Solar power has grown quickly in secluded settlements because the locals then don't need a power station, each house is equiped with a solar panel to gain energy directly from the sunlight. Wind power is gained with windmills all over the country. However, the most used energy source is geothermal power; for instance, Vesturhavnar's only energy source is a single geothermal station. All the energy sources mentioned are renewable energy sources, meaning that they don't pullute or use petroleum at all.

Education

Education is the Kalduroyan government's largest expenditure, but free education for all is worth the cost; Kalduroyar has a well-educated population, and the Human Development Index (HDI) of the country is among one of the world's highest.

Indeed, the majority of the population works in low payed jobs like in the fishing industry or in public service, but the tourist industry grows extremely fast because of the Kalduroyan people's friendlyness and education: As tourist you can speak English with every person you meet, no matter of age; mandatory lessons in English from second grade was introduced in Kalduroyan schools in 1917. Indeed, people's knowlegde of English can vary, but all Kalduroyans know enough English to help you out.

At university and college level, you have to pay for your education yourself, but the education isn't that expensive in Kalduroyar, and there are several ways the government or banks can give you loans with tolerable deduction, and stable interests.

Administrative Divisions

Each island is its own administrative division, which is called a sýsla (plural; sýslar, can be translated to county). The counties are also divided into additional administrative units called kommunar (which can be translated to municipalities). Vindioy, Gøtu and Lítla Dimun were unified into one single county in 1992; Vindioyar. The smallest municipality is Brattbøur kommuna in Fjørðoy sýsla.

These are the administrative divisions of Kalduroyar:

• Fjørðoy sýsla
  • Vágar kommuna
  • Vesturhavnar kommuna
  • Suðurfjall kommuna
  • Sandvágar kommuna
  • Brattnes kommuna
  • Brattbøur kommuna
• Nólsoy sýsla
• Vindioyar sýsla
  • Skálavík kommuna
  • Gøtu kommuna
• Eysturoyar sýsla
  • Norður-Viðoy kommuna
  • Suður-Viðoy kommuna
• Borðoy sýsla

Language

The Kalduroyans speak a dialect of the Faroese language, although they use a different pronunciation. The pronunciation is a bit complexe, and here is a short guide to correct Faroese pronunciation. A tourist in Kalduroyar should have no trouble communicating, as most Kalduroyans know standard English.

The letter ð (capital; Ð), called eth, is very common, but isn't pronounced at all when it's last in a word or after a consonant. Eth must not be confused with the normal D/d. In Windows, eth can be typed like this: Alt + 0240 (at the numeric keyboard).

Basic phrases

Some basic phrases:

Góðan dag — Good day

Farvæl — Goodbye

Ja — Yes

Nei — No

Eg eiti [Jón] — My name is [John]

Eg eri uppvaksin í [Stóra Bretland] — I grew up in [Great Britain]

Orsaka meg — Excuse me

Name of countries

To say where you are from, it's useful to know what your native country's name is in Faroese:

Great Britain — Stóra Bretland

Germany — Týskland

United States (of America) — Sameindu Statirnir (í­ Amerika)

France — Frakland

Japan — Japan

China — Kina

Norway — Noreg

Denmark — Danmark

Sweden — Svørí­ki

Faroe Islands — Føroyar

Other COFR-nations:

Coulla — Kulla [ kʊulla ]

Hiigaria — Hígaria [ hɔʏgɛɹiɛ ]

Orisandt — Órisanðt [ ɔoɹisant ]

Hesland — Hessland [ hesslɛnd ]

Auburn Valley — Auburndalur [ aubøɹndɛloɹ ]

New California — Nýkalifornia [ nɔʏkɛlifornia ]

Names

Some first names are also translated (when they have a local equivalent), but that is optional:

John — Jón [ jɔon ]

George — Jógvan [ ˈjɛɡvan ]

Jacob — Jákup [ jɔakʊp ]

Peter — Petur, Pætur

David — Dávid

Daniel — Dánial

Eric(k) — Eirí­kur [ ɑɪrɔʏkʊɹ ]

Ann(a/e) — Anna

Mary — Maria, Mari

Susan — Súsanna

Christine — Kristina

Elizabeth — Elsebeth, Elisabeth