Ferðafélagarnir tala aðeins íslensku á ferðalögum sínum til að æfa sig sérstaklega vel.

The travel companions speak only Icelandic on their trips in order to practice especially well.

Breakdown of Ferðafélagarnir tala aðeins íslensku á ferðalögum sínum til að æfa sig sérstaklega vel.

• tala: to speak
• á: on
• vel: well
• ferðalag: the trip

Questions & Answers about Ferðafélagarnir tala aðeins íslensku á ferðalögum sínum til að æfa sig sérstaklega vel.

What exactly does Ferðafélagarnir mean, and how is this word formed?

Ferðafélagarnir means “the travel companions” or “the travelling companions.”

It’s a compound and a declined form:

• ferð = trip, journey
• félagi = companion, mate, member
  → ferðafélagi = travelling companion

Then it’s put into plural and made definite:

• plural: ferðafélagar = travel companions
• definite plural: ferðafélagarnir = the travel companions

So:

• Ferðafélag- = stem of “travel companion”
• -ar = plural ending (masculine)
• -nir = the definite article “the” in plural

Together: Ferðafélagarnir = the travel companions (subject of the sentence).

Why is the verb tala used here, and not something like segja or mæla?