Trøndersk
Encyclopedia
Trøndersk is the Norwegian dialect
spoken in the region Trøndelag
, the district Nordmøre
and the municipality Bindal
in Norway
as well as in Frostviken in northern Jämtland
, Sweden
, which was colonized in the 18th century by settlers from Nord-Trøndelag
and transferred to Sweden as late as 1751. The dialect is among other things perhaps mostly characterized by the use of apocope
, palatalization
and the use of retroflex flaps (thick L). Historically it also applied to contiguous regions of Jämtland and Härjedalen
(which sometimes but rarely are referred to as "Øst-Trøndelag
" by locals and Norwegians) in Sweden as well.
The word trøndersk is an adjective
describing a Trønder (a person
from Trøndelag) or anything coming from or relating to Trøndelag (including the dialect).
There is no standard ortography for trøndersk. The dialect includes several more or less distinct sub-dialects. Some might consider it more accurate to describe trøndersk as a language than as a dialect (cf. Jamtlandic
), but this is not common among linguists, for both linguistic and political reasons.
Some of the more conspicuous variations of these dialects of Norwegian, in addition to the aforementioned apocope and palatalization, are that most of the personal pronouns are pronounced differently than in Standard Norwegian, e.g. Trondheim dialect: 1st person singular nominative /æ:/ (Standard Norwegian "eg" (Nynorsk) / "jeg" (Bokmål)) or 2nd person plural accusative /dåkk/ or /dåkker/, commonly spelled "dokker" or "dåkker" (Standard Norwegian "dykk" (Nynorsk) / "dere" (Bokmål)). Variation among personal pronouns are common in most Norwegian dialects.
The sub-dialects of trøndersk which are the furthest from Standard Norwegian are found in the region Innherred.; notably in Verdal
and Skogn
. Here the everyday language bears some resemblance to both Swedish
, Icelandic
and Old Norse
. However, the urbanisation, globalisation, immigration and americanisation is a serious threat to trøndersk with sub-dialects, as well as to other languages/dialects/sub-dialects (and generally to local and regional culture all over the world). Many people (among them locals) are concerned that this leads to less diversity and makes it steadily harder to decide where people come from based on their discourse. A side effect of this degradation of dialects is that one might guess the speaker's age from his or her dialect.
Norwegian dialects
The Norwegian dialects are commonly divided into 4 main groups, North Norwegian , Trøndelag Norwegian , West Norwegian , and East Norwegian...
spoken in the region 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...
, the district Nordmøre
Nordmøre
Nordmøre is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Rindal, Aure, Halsa, Eide, Sunndal, Gjemnes, and Smøla...
and the municipality Bindal
Bindal
Bindal is a municipality in the Helgeland region in the extreme southwest part of Nordland county, Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Terråk...
in 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...
as well as in Frostviken in northern Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, which was colonized in the 18th century by settlers from Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
and transferred to Sweden as late as 1751. The dialect is among other things perhaps mostly characterized by the use of apocope
Apocope
In phonology, apocope is the loss of one or more sounds from the end of a word, and especially the loss of an unstressed vowel.-Historical sound change:...
, palatalization
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
and the use of retroflex flaps (thick L). Historically it also applied to contiguous regions of Jämtland and Härjedalen
Härjedalen
' is a historical province or landskap in the centre of Sweden. It borders the country of Norway as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland...
(which sometimes but rarely are referred to as "Øst-Trøndelag
Øst-Trøndelag
Øst-Trøndelag is an unofficial and polemic name for the Swedish regions of Jämtland and Härjedalen which until 1645 belonged to Norway. As the name suggests, the region lies to the east of the Norwegian region of Trøndelag....
" by locals and Norwegians) in Sweden as well.
The word trøndersk is an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
describing a Trønder (a person
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
from Trøndelag) or anything coming from or relating to Trøndelag (including the dialect).
There is no standard ortography for trøndersk. The dialect includes several more or less distinct sub-dialects. Some might consider it more accurate to describe trøndersk as a language than as a dialect (cf. Jamtlandic
Jamtlandic
Jamtlandic or Jamtish is a well-defined group of dialects of Scandinavia. It is spoken in the [Swedish] province of Jämtland...
), but this is not common among linguists, for both linguistic and political reasons.
Some of the more conspicuous variations of these dialects of Norwegian, in addition to the aforementioned apocope and palatalization, are that most of the personal pronouns are pronounced differently than in Standard Norwegian, e.g. Trondheim dialect: 1st person singular nominative /æ:/ (Standard Norwegian "eg" (Nynorsk) / "jeg" (Bokmål)) or 2nd person plural accusative /dåkk/ or /dåkker/, commonly spelled "dokker" or "dåkker" (Standard Norwegian "dykk" (Nynorsk) / "dere" (Bokmål)). Variation among personal pronouns are common in most Norwegian dialects.
The sub-dialects of trøndersk which are the furthest from Standard Norwegian are found in the region Innherred.; notably in Verdal
Verdal
Verdal is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra...
and Skogn
Skogn
Skogn is a village and former municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the present-day municipality of Levanger. It is home to the Fiborgtangen industrial area.The village of Skogn is located about southwest of the town of Levanger...
. Here the everyday language bears some resemblance to both Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and 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....
. However, the urbanisation, globalisation, immigration and americanisation is a serious threat to trøndersk with sub-dialects, as well as to other languages/dialects/sub-dialects (and generally to local and regional culture all over the world). Many people (among them locals) are concerned that this leads to less diversity and makes it steadily harder to decide where people come from based on their discourse. A side effect of this degradation of dialects is that one might guess the speaker's age from his or her dialect.