Norwegian dialects
The Norwegian dialects are commonly divided into 5 main groups, "North Norwegian" (nordnorsk), "Trøndelag Norwegian" (
Dialect groups
* West and South Norwegian
** South Norwegian (
** South-West Norwegian (inner parts of
** Bergen Norwegian or
** North-West Norwegian (
* North Norwegian
**
** Nordland Norwegian (Nordland county north of Saltfjellet)
** Troms Norwegian (
** Finnmark Norwegian
* East Norwegian
** Vikvær Norwegian (
** Middle East Norwegian (
** Oppland Norwegian (southern
** Østerdal Norwegian (northern
* Midland Norwegian
**
**
** Western Telemark Norwegian (
** Eastern Telemark Norwegian (
* Trøndelag Norwegian
** Outer Trøndelag Norwegian (
** Inner Trøndelag Norwegian (inner
** Namdal Norwegian (
** South-eastern Trøndersk (
Evolution
Owing to geography and climate, Norwegian communities were often isolated from each other till the early 20th century. As a result, local dialects had a tendency to be influenced by each other in singular ways while developing their own idiosyncrasies. The community of
On the other hand, newly industrialized communities near sources of hydroelectric power have developed dialects consistent with the region but in many ways unique. Studies in such places as
Similarly, in the early 20th century a dialect closely approximating standard Bokmål arose in and around railway stations. This was known as "stasjonsspråk" ("station language") and may have contributed to changes in dialect around these centers.
Social dynamics
Till the 20th century, rural dialects were considered an attribute of the uneducated provincial class in Norway. Social mobility involved conforming speech to standard
This has led to various countercultural movements ranging from the adoption of radical forms of Oslo dialects among political radicals to movements preserving local dialects. There is widespread and growing acceptance that Norwegian linguistic diversity is worth preserving.
The trend today is a regionalisation of the dialects causing smaller dialectal traits to disappear and rural dialects to merge with their nearest larger dialectal variety.
In most Norwegian chat rooms and similar today, people write in something resembling their regional dialects with pride.
Distinctions
There are many ways to distinguish among Norwegian dialects. These criteria are drawn from the work Johnsen, Egil Børre (ed.) (1987) "Vårt Eget Språk/Talemålet". H. Aschehoug & Co. ISBN 82-03-17092-7. These criteria generally provide the analytical means for identifying most dialects, though most Norwegians rely on experience to tell them apart.
Grammars and syntax
Infinitive forms
One of the most important differences among dialects is in the form the verb takes in infinitive forms. There are five varieties in Norwegian dialects, constituting two groups:
One ending (western dialects)
* Infinitive ending with -a, e.g., "å vera", "å bita", common in southwestern Norway, including areas around Bergen and
* Infinitive ending with -e, e.g., "å være", "å bite", common in
* Apocopic infinitive, where no vowel is added to the infinitive form, e.g., "å vær", "å bit", common in certain areas of
Two different endings (eastern dialects)
* Split infinitive, in which the verb will end either with -a or -e, e.g., "å væra", "å bite", common in Eastern Norway
* Split infinitive, with apocope, e.g., "å væra" ("værra"/"vårrå"/"varra"), "å bit", common in some areas in
The split distribution of endings is related to the syllable length of the verb in Old Norse. "Short-syllable" ("kortstava") verbs in Norse kept their endings, as the ending was stressed. The "long-syllable" ("langstava") verbs lost their (unstressed) endings or had them converted to -e.
Dative case
The
Usage of dative case is rapidly disappearing even in the regions where it is still used. Most people aged less than 30 do not use the dative, whereas their parents or grandparents still do.
Future tense
There are regional variations in the use of future tense.
* Han kommer/kjem til å reise
* Han blir å reise
* Han blir reisan
* Han skal reis(In English: He (is) going away)
Syntax
Syntax can vary greatly between dialects, and the tense is important for the listener to get the meaning. For instance, a question can be formed without the traditional "asking-words" (how, where, what, who..)
ex. the sentence "Hvor mye er klokken?" (literally: "How much is the clock?") i.e. "What time is it" can be put in the following forms: "E klokka mykje?" (Is the clock much?) (stress is on "the clock"), "E a mytti klokka?" (Is she much the clock?) (stress on "is"), "Ka e klokken?" (literally: "What is the clock?")
Accent and pronunciation
Retroflex "R"
The retroflex R (generally called "thick L") (IPA IPA|/ɽ/) exists only in Norway, a few regions in Sweden, and in completely unrelated languages. The sound is a
Old Norse had the
/ei/ > /ai/
/øy/ > /oy/
/iː/ > /ei/
/yː/ > /uy/
/uː/ > /eu/
/oː/ > /ou/
West Norwegian dialects have also innovated new diphthongs. In Midtre you can find the following.
/aː/ > /au/
/oː/ > /ou/
/uː/ > IPA|/eʉ/
Monophthongization
The Old Norse diphthongs /au/, /ei/, and /øy/ have experienced
/ei/ > /e/
/øy/ > /ø/
/au/ > /ø/
This shift originated in Old East Norse, which is reflected in the fact that Swedish and Danish overwhelmingly exhibit this change. Monphthongization in Norway ends on the coast west of Trondheim and extends southeast in a triangle into central Sweden. Some Norwegian dialects, east of Molde, for example, have only lost /ei/ and /øy/.
Palatalization
In areas north of an imaginary line drawn between Oslo and Bergen,
Leveling
("Jamning"/"Jevning" in Norwegian) This is a phenomenon in which the root vowel and end vowel in a word approximate each other. For example, the old Norse "viku" has become "våkkå" or "vukku" in certain dialects. There are two varieties in Norwegian dialects - one in which the two vowels become identical, the other where they are only similar. Leveling exists only in inland areas in Southern Norway, and areas around Trondheim.
Voicing
Voiceless stops (/p/, /t/, /k/) have become voiced (/b/, /d/, /g/) on the extreme southern coast of Norway, including Kristiansand, Mandal and Stavanger. The same phenomenon appears in Sør-Trøndelag and one area in Nordland.
Segmentation
The geminate /ll/ in southwestern Norway has become /dl/, while just east in southcentral Norwegian the final /l/ is lost, leaving /d/. The same sequence has been palatized in Northern Norway, leaving the palatal lateral IPA|/ʎ/.
Assimilation
The second consonant in the consonant clusters /nd/, /ld/, and /ng/ has assimilated to the first across most of Norway, leaving /n/, /l/, and /ŋ/ respectively. Western Norway, though not in Bergen, retains the /ld/ cluster. In Northern Norway this same cluster is realized as the palatal lateral IPA|/ʎ/.
Vowel shift in strong verbs
In all but Oslo and coastal areas just south of the capital, the present tense of certain verbs take on a new vowel (umlaut), e.g., "å fare" becomes "fer" (in Oslo, it becomes "farer").
Consonant shift in conjugation of masculine nouns
Although used less frequently, a subtle shift takes place in conjugating a masculine noun from indefinitive to definitive, e.g., from "bekk" to "bekkjen" (/becːen/, /becçen/ or /beç:en/. This is found in rural dialects along the coast from
Eliminating "r" in the plural indefinite form
In some areas, the "r" is not pronounced in all or some words in their plural indefinite form. There are four categories:
* The "r" is retained - most of Eastern Norway, the South-Eastern coast, and across to areas north and east of Stavanger.
* The "r" disappears altogether - Southern tip of Norway, coastal areas north of Bergen, and inland almost to Trondheim.
* The "r" is retained in certain words but not in others - coastal areas around Trondheim, and most of Northern Norway
* The "r" is retained in certain words and in weak feminine nouns, but not in others - one coast area in Nordland.
Alveolar/uvular "r"
Most dialects use an
The "kj" / "sj" merge
Many people, especially in the younger generation, have lost the differentiation between the "kj" (IPA /ç/) and "sj" (IPA IPA|/ʃ/) sounds, merging both as "sj" IPA|/ʃ/. This is considered a speech deficit, and varies between regions.
Tonemes and intonation
There are great differences between the intonation systems of different Norwegian dialects.
Vocabulary
First person pronoun, nominative plural
Three variations of the first person plural nominative pronoun exist in Norwegian dialects:
* "Vi", (pronounced /viː/), common in parts of Eastern Norway, most of Northern Norway, coastal areas close to
* "Me", "mø" or "mi", in Southern and most of Western Norway, areas inland of Trondheim, and a few smaller areas
* "Oss", common in areas of Sør Trøndelag, the Gudbrandsdal and Nordmøre.
First person pronoun, nominative singular
There is considerable variety in the way the first person singular nominative pronoun is pronounced in Norwegian dialects. They appear to fall into three groups, within which there are also variations:
* E(g), æ(g), and æi(g), in which the hard 'g' may or may not be included. This is common in most of Southern and Western Norway, Trøndelag, and most of Northern Norway. Some places in Western Norway, it's common to say "Ej".
* I (pronounced /iː/), in a few areas in Western Norway (
* Je, jæ, or jæi, in areas around Oslo, and north along the Swedish border, almost to Trondheim, as well as one region in Troms
Person pronoun
External links
* [http://www.sprakrad.no/templates/Page.aspx?id=6811 Norwegian Language Council]
* [http://www.let.rug.nl/~heeringa/dialectology/papers/lvc04.pdf Measuring the "distance" between the Norwegian dialects]
* [http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/nos/nos_kart.html "En norsk dialektprøvedatabase på nettet"] , a Norwegian database of dialect samples.