Bergensk
Encyclopedia
Bergensk, or the Bergen dialect, is a dialect of Norwegian
used in Bergen, Norway. It is easy for Norwegians to recognise, as it, perhaps particularly phonetically
, is more distinguishable from other dialects in Hordaland
than for example the Stavanger
dialect is from the dialects of Rogaland
and the Trondheim
dialect is from Trøndelag
dialects.
, in the 1st millennium BC evolved into Proto-Norse and later Old Norse
. This subsequently developed into Western Norse and finally Old Norwegian
about 1300. From 1350 to 1525, Norwegian went through a Middle Norwegian transition toward Modern Norwegian
, partly fuelled by the devastating impact the Black Death
had on Norway
.
merchants in the period from about 1350 to 1750, has had a profound impact on the Bergen dialect. The Hanseatic merchants spoke variations of Low German
. Also, Bergen being the major Norwegian city during the Dano-Norwegian union from 1536 to 1814, Bergensk absorbed more of the Danish
than other Norwegian dialects. Being the origins of the written language and thus having higher status, Danish continued to have an impact on bergensk into the 20th century, and a Dano-Norwegian koiné sociolect
, resembling Riksmål, is still spoken, although it in recent decades has become much more similar to Bokmål
. Some originally Low German words found their way to the Bergen dialect through Danish. The long history of multi-lingual coexistence in Bergen has made the dialect more susceptible to simplifications, in order to ease communication. The influence of Danish and Low German are apparent in the modern Bergen dialect's phonetics
.
Many, but not all, influences from these languages since spread from Bergen to parts of or the whole of Norway.
, all others have three (excepting sociolect
s in other Norwegian urban areas). The feminine gender disappeared in the 16th century. This was partly fuelled by an influence from Danish, which became the written language and already had abolished the female gender, and as a simplification to ease communication between Norwegians and Germans.
s are always indefinite. In the Bergen dialect, however, proper nouns of persons' given names are often definite, giving a less formal tone. For example, Kåre Willoch
may be called Kåren (or Kåre'n, no written convention exists) or Willochen in bergensk, whereas this wound be considered incorrect elsewhere in Norway, excepting only some rural dialects in the proximity of Bergen. The reason for this emerging in Bergen is thought to be that title
s, which are common nouns, were more or less used the same way as names, as Bergen, formerly Norway's megapolis, inhabited many people with the same given names, but a wide range of titles. For example, "Aleksander Skomaker" (in English "Aleksander Shoemaker"). As titles gradually were perceived as names, and could be in the definite form (as they were common nouns), after some time surnames and eventually given names were also used in the definite form.
s, as in French
. It probably spread to Bergen (and Kristiansand
) some time in the 18th century, overtaking the Rolled r
in the time span of about 2-3 generations. Until recent decades' developments in neighboring rural dialects, this was an easy way of distinguishing them from the Bergen dialect.
. (Nynorsk
, Norway's other written language, was considered rural and thus unprestigeous, and has not had a strong influence on the dialect). Subsequently, large parts of the German-inspired vocabulary unique for Bergen disappeared. Plural endings are used less frequently, for example huser (houses) has become hus, which is correct Bokmål
. Also, pronunciations have shifted slightly towards standard East Norwegian (Standard Østnorsk), probably as a result of the shift of power towards Oslo
. For example, "pære" (pear
), which was formerly pronounced as péræ, is now pronounced pæræ.
or Nynorsk
. While the vocabulary shows traits of both Bokmål
and Nynorsk
, it has characteristics that are not covered by any of these written languages. Also, Bokmål is often associated with Eastern Norwegian Standard Østnorsk pronunciation - although no official affiliation exists. This gives the claim that oral Bergensk "is" partly Bokmål ambiguities.
Although Nynorsk
(Neo-Norwegian) has its stronghold in western Norway and the areas surrounding Bergen, most of the inhabitants of Bergen itself write Bokmål
, and Bergen is genereally considered one of the strongholds of the Bokmål written language.
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
used in Bergen, Norway. It is easy for Norwegians to recognise, as it, perhaps particularly phonetically
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, is more distinguishable from other dialects in Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
than for example the Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
dialect is from the dialects of Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
and the Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
dialect is from Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
dialects.
The development of Modern Norwegian
Proto-Germanic, the common ancestor of all Germanic languagesGermanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, in the 1st millennium BC evolved into Proto-Norse and later Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
. This subsequently developed into Western Norse and finally Old Norwegian
Old Norwegian
Old Norwegian refers to a group of Old Norse dialects spoken and written in Norway in the Middle Ages. They bridged the dialect continuum from Old East Norse to Old West Norse.-Old Norwegian vs Common Norse:...
about 1300. From 1350 to 1525, Norwegian went through a Middle Norwegian transition toward Modern Norwegian
Modern Norwegian
Modern Norwegian is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period . The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway .The Norwegian linguistic term for...
, partly fuelled by the devastating impact the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
had on Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Early influence from Low German and Danish
Bergen's strong foreign influence, such as Hanseatic LeagueHanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
merchants in the period from about 1350 to 1750, has had a profound impact on the Bergen dialect. The Hanseatic merchants spoke variations of Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
. Also, Bergen being the major Norwegian city during the Dano-Norwegian union from 1536 to 1814, Bergensk absorbed more of the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
than other Norwegian dialects. Being the origins of the written language and thus having higher status, Danish continued to have an impact on bergensk into the 20th century, and a Dano-Norwegian koiné sociolect
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
, resembling Riksmål, is still spoken, although it in recent decades has become much more similar to Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
. Some originally Low German words found their way to the Bergen dialect through Danish. The long history of multi-lingual coexistence in Bergen has made the dialect more susceptible to simplifications, in order to ease communication. The influence of Danish and Low German are apparent in the modern Bergen dialect's phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
.
Many, but not all, influences from these languages since spread from Bergen to parts of or the whole of Norway.
Genders
It is one of two dialects in Norway with only two grammatical genders, the other being the dialect spoken in LyngenLyngen
Lyngen is a municipality and a fjord in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lyngseidet.- General information :...
, all others have three (excepting sociolect
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
s in other Norwegian urban areas). The feminine gender disappeared in the 16th century. This was partly fuelled by an influence from Danish, which became the written language and already had abolished the female gender, and as a simplification to ease communication between Norwegians and Germans.
Definite form of given names
In Norwegian, common nouns may be indefinite or definite, while proper nounProper noun
A proper noun or proper name is a noun representing a unique entity , as distinguished from a common noun, which represents a class of entities —for example, city, planet, person or corporation)...
s are always indefinite. In the Bergen dialect, however, proper nouns of persons' given names are often definite, giving a less formal tone. For example, Kåre Willoch
Kåre Willoch
Kåre Isaachsen Willoch is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Trade and Shipping in 1963 and 1965–1970, and as Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986...
may be called Kåren (or Kåre'n, no written convention exists) or Willochen in bergensk, whereas this wound be considered incorrect elsewhere in Norway, excepting only some rural dialects in the proximity of Bergen. The reason for this emerging in Bergen is thought to be that title
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
s, which are common nouns, were more or less used the same way as names, as Bergen, formerly Norway's megapolis, inhabited many people with the same given names, but a wide range of titles. For example, "Aleksander Skomaker" (in English "Aleksander Shoemaker"). As titles gradually were perceived as names, and could be in the definite form (as they were common nouns), after some time surnames and eventually given names were also used in the definite form.
Uvular trills
The "r"s are Uvular trillUvular trill
The uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a small capital R...
s, as in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. It probably spread to Bergen (and Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
) some time in the 18th century, overtaking the Rolled r
Rolled R
*alveolar trill, as in Spanish Roberto or perro.*alveolar tap, as in Spanish Roberto or pero....
in the time span of about 2-3 generations. Until recent decades' developments in neighboring rural dialects, this was an easy way of distinguishing them from the Bergen dialect.
Recent developments
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the literacy rate improved, which gave a strong influence from Riksmål, and later BokmålBokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
. (Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
, Norway's other written language, was considered rural and thus unprestigeous, and has not had a strong influence on the dialect). Subsequently, large parts of the German-inspired vocabulary unique for Bergen disappeared. Plural endings are used less frequently, for example huser (houses) has become hus, which is correct Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
. Also, pronunciations have shifted slightly towards standard East Norwegian (Standard Østnorsk), probably as a result of the shift of power towards Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. For example, "pære" (pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
), which was formerly pronounced as péræ, is now pronounced pæræ.
Modern Bergensk compared to Bokmål and Nynorsk
Like almost all Norwegian dialects, Bergensk cannot be said to be either BokmålBokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
or Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
. While the vocabulary shows traits of both Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
and Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
, it has characteristics that are not covered by any of these written languages. Also, Bokmål is often associated with Eastern Norwegian Standard Østnorsk pronunciation - although no official affiliation exists. This gives the claim that oral Bergensk "is" partly Bokmål ambiguities.
Although Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
(Neo-Norwegian) has its stronghold in western Norway and the areas surrounding Bergen, most of the inhabitants of Bergen itself write Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
, and Bergen is genereally considered one of the strongholds of the Bokmål written language.