Learn about the relationship between spoken and written Norwegian
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: Is spoken Norwegian different from written Norwegian? |
| Annette: And what are the differences? |
| Michael: At NorwegianClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine this situation: Lotte Larsen is reading a book, and she comes across a phrase he doesn't understand. She asks her friend, Silje Soergaard, "What does ‘Eg kjem' mean?" |
| Lotte: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| Dialogue |
| Lotte: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| Silje: Det betyr "Jeg kommer" på Nynorsk. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Lotte: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| Michael: "What does ‘Eg kjem' mean?" |
| Lotte: Det betyr "Jeg kommer" på Nynorsk. |
| Michael: "It means ‘I'm coming' in Nynorsk." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Spoken Norwegian can differ quite a lot from written Norwegian. For one thing, there are a multitude of Norwegian dialects, and some of these dialects are very different from written Norwegian. In fact, the variations are huge in some parts of the country. Many dialects use completely different words and add different endings to words. The dialects also differ greatly from one another in terms of tone and melody. One could say that there is no official, standard form of spoken Norwegian! |
| Annette: There are also two forms of written Norwegian! We have Bokmål, which translates literally to "book tongue" and is the most widely used form of written Norwegian. But, we also have Nynorsk, which translates to "New Norwegian." As a student, you would probably be best advised to study Bokmål because that is the most widely used form. |
| Michael: Let's have a look at three simple examples of differences between Bokmål and Nynorsk. |
| Annette: One common difference between Nynorsk and Bokmål is that the sound hv in Bokmål is pronounced kv in Nynorsk. |
| Michael: So, for instance, if one wanted to say "whale" in Bokmål, the word would be |
| Annette: hval |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Michael: but, in Nynorsk, it is |
| Annette: kval |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Michael: If you wanted to say "What's your name?" in Bokmål, you would say, |
| Annette: Hva heter du? |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Michael: But if you wanted to say the same thing in Nynorsk, you would say, |
| Annette: Kva heiter du? |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Michael: Pretty easy right? |
| Annette: Another common difference between Nynorsk and Bokmål is that the sound |
| vn in Bokmål is mn in Nynorsk. For instance, in Bokmål, the word for ‘name' is pronounced navn, but, in Nynorsk, it is pronounced namn. |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Michael: The word ‘revenge', in Bokmål, is pronounced |
| Annette: hevn |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Michael: and, in Nynorsk, it is pronounced |
| Annette: hemn |
| [PAUSE 3 SECONDS] |
| Michael: Again, not so tough, right? Lastly, let's look at another common phonetic difference between the two forms. This one is a little more challenging, but not by much. In Bokmål, the next example is this sound: |
| Annette: g, which is often combined with an n sound to form gn; such as in the word tegn, which means "sign." In Nynorsk, the word sounds like this—teikn—because the g or gn sound in Bokmål becomes a k or kn in Nynorsk. |
| Michael: So, if I wanted to say, "I see a sign," in Bokmål, I would say, |
| Annette: Jeg ser et tegn |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Annette: but, in Nynorsk, I would say—Eg ser eit teikn |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Michael: And there you have it—three differences between Nynorsk and Bokmål. These are just the tip of the iceberg, of course. There are many more differences that you could have a lot of fun learning about, should you wish to. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we've heard in this lesson. I'll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Norwegian. Annette will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "What does ‘Eg kjem' mean?" |
| [BEEP. PAUSE 5 SECONDS.] |
| Annette: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Annette: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| [BEEP. PAUSE 5 SECONDS.] |
| Annette: Hva betyr "Eg kjem"? |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "It means ‘I'm coming' in Nynorsk?" |
| [BEEP. PAUSE 5 SECONDS.] |
| Annette: Det betyr "Jeg kommer" på Nynorsk. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Annette: Det betyr "Jeg kommer" på Nynorsk. |
| [BEEP. PAUSE 5 SECONDS.] |
| Annette: Det betyr "Jeg kommer" på Nynorsk. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Interestingly, there was at one time, in the first half of the twentieth century, an attempt to combine Nynorsk and Bokmål into one official Norwegian language. |
| Annette: If it had come into existence, this language would have been called Samnorsk! |
| Annette: Did you know that Nynorsk and Bokmål are actually fusions of the Norwegian and Danish languages as they were written and spoken around the year 1850? Nynorsk is closer to Norwegian and Bokmål is closer to Danish. |
| Michael: There is quite an important sociolinguistic difference between the two as well. Bokmål is often seen as the language of the city and of urban culture. It's also the language used most often in the entertainment and commercial industries, such as in advertising, newspapers, pop music, and technology-related publications. It's also associated with youth culture. |
| Annette: Nynorsk, on the other hand, is often associated with more traditional values and with people who emphasize the importance of local culture. There is some crossover of course, but these are the general associations with each of these written forms of Norwegian. |
| Michael: While there are two written forms of Norwegian, there are a lot more dialects. For this reason, many students choose to learn Standard East Norwegian—the dialect that is spoken in Oslo and the surrounding areas. It is the dialect most commonly heard on the radio, on TV, in movies and in other Norwegian media. Learning this will not only mean that you have a good chance of understanding most of the other dialects in Norway, but that you will also have a good understanding of Danish and Swedish too. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Annette: Ha det! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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