Orcadians
Ethnic group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orcadians, also known as Orkneymen,[2] are an ethnic group native to the Orkney Islands, who speak an Orcadian dialect of the Scots language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history, culture and ancestry.[3] Speaking Norn, a native North Germanic language into the 19th or 20th century,[4] Orcadians descend significantly from North Germanic peoples, with around a third of their ancestry derived from Scandinavia, including a majority of their patrilineal line.[5] According to anthropological study, the Orcadian ethnic composition is similar to that of Icelandic people; a comparable islander ethnicity of North Germanic origin.[5]
Total population | |
---|---|
21,349 currently resident population of Orkney | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Mainland, Orkney | 17,162[1] |
South Ronaldsay | 909[1] |
Westray | 588[1] |
Languages | |
Insular Scots (Orcadian dialect), Scottish English; historically Norn and Pictish | |
Religion | |
Presbyterianism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Shetlanders, Lowland Scots, Norwegians, Faroese, Icelanders, Greenlandic Norsemen, and Anglo-Metis |
Historically, they are also descended from the Picts,[6][lower-alpha 1] Norse,[8] and Lowland Scots.[9]