What is a Dalvíkingur

Dalvík is a small village in the north of Iceland. It,s population is around 1500 people. People from Dalvík are called Dalvíkingar.  Because of how few they are it is statistically unlikely that you will run into one, especially if you stick to the beaten path of the Golden Circle and the South Coast, which are the most popular day tours routes for tourists visiting Iceland. 

 

If you have a keen ear you will nevertheless often hear Icelandic tour guides and coach drivers talk about "Dalvíkingur" (singular) and "Dalvíkinga"(plural). 

 

You can catch them on the radio and on the phone often in a quite agitated voice, refer to Dalvíkingur in connection to  people being late or not understanding instructions very well.

 

But they are not talking about people from Dalvík. The term is used to talk about people of Asian descent, mostly Japanese and Chinese,  to avoid them and others realizing that they are being talked about. 

 

Although it probably started out as a joke the term has highly derogatory connotations as it is almost always used to refer to people in a negative way. 

 

I dont think that the real Dalvíkingar appreciate this much. Neither should anyone really.