Norwegian spoken dialects are not to be confused with Bokmål and Nynorsk, the two official written variations of the Norwegian language.

The Norwegian dialects are commonly divided into 5 main groups, North Norwegian (nordnorsk), Trøndelag Norwegian (trøndersk), Midland Norwegian (innlandsmål), West Norwegian (vestnorsk), and East Norwegian (østnorsk). The dialects are generally mutually intelligible, but differ significantly with regards to accent, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. If not accustomed to a particular dialect, even a native Norwegian speaker may have difficulty understanding it. Dialects can be as local as farm clusters, but many linguists note an ongoing regionalization, diminishing or even eliminating local variations. Normalized speech, following the written languages Bokmål and Nynorsk or the more conservative Riksmål and Høgnorsk, is not in common use, except in parts of Finnmark (where the original Sami population learned Norwegian as a second language), in certain social groups in the major urban areas of Norway, in national broadcasting, and in courts and official decrees. Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... BokmÃ¥l (lit. ... Nynorsk (literally New Norwegian) is one of the two officially sanctioned orthographic standards of the Norwegian language, the other being BokmÃ¥l. ... Norwegian (norsk) is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. ... Trøndersk is the Norwegian dialect spoken in the region Trøndelag in Norway. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For the topic in theoretical computer science, see Formal grammar Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... For other uses, see Syntax (disambiguation). ... A vocabulary is a set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language. ... County NO-20 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Vadsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 1 48,618 km² 15. ... The Sami people (also Sámi, Saami, Lapps, sometimes also Laplanders) are the indigenous people of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. ... In sociology, a group is usually defined as a collection consisting of a number of people who share certain aspects, interact with one another, accept rights and obligations as members of the group and share a common identity. ...

Dialect groups

• West and South Norwegian
  • South Norwegian (Aust-Agder, most of Vest-Agder and a small part of Telemark)
  • South-West Norwegian (inner parts of Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland (except the city of Bergen), Rogaland (Stavanger), and western parts of Vest-Agder)
  • Bergen Norwegian or Bergensk (Bergen)
  • North-West Norwegian (Romsdal, Sunnmøre, Nordfjord, Sunnfjord and outer parts of Sogn)
• North Norwegian
  • Helgeland Norwegian (Nordland county south of Saltfjellet, except for Bindal)
  • Nordland Norwegian (Nordland county north of Saltfjellet)
  • Troms Norwegian (Troms county, except for Bardu and Målselv)
  • Finnmark Norwegian Finnmark county, except for Kautokeino, Karasjok, Tana and Nesseby.
• East Norwegian
  • Vikvær Norwegian (Vestfold, Østfold, and adjacent lowland parts of Telemark, Buskerud and Akershus)
  • Middle East Norwegian (Ringerike, Romerike, and Oslo)
  • Oppland Norwegian (southern Hedmark and south-eastern Oppland)
  • Østerdal Norwegian (northern Hedmark)
• Midland Norwegian
  • Gudbrandsdal Norwegian (northern Oppland)
  • Valdres and Hallingdal Norwegian (south-west Oppland and western Buskerud)
  • Western Telemark Norwegian (Vinje, Tokke and Kviteseid)
  • Eastern Telemark Norwegian (Tinn, Hjartdal, and upper Numedal)
• Trøndelag Norwegian
  • Outer Trøndelag Norwegian (Nordmøre, outer Sør-Trøndelag, and Fosen)
  • Inner Trøndelag Norwegian (inner Sør-Trøndelag, Innherad, Lierne, and Snåsa)
  • Namdal Norwegian (Namdalen and surrounding coastal areas)
  • South-eastern Trøndersk (Røros , Selbu, Tydal, Holtålen, Oppdal)

County NO-09 Region Sørlandet Administrative centre Arendal County mayor Oddvar Skaiaa Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 14 9,157 km² 2. ... County NO-10 Region Sørlandet Administrative centre Kristiansand County mayor Thore Westermoen Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 15 7,276 km² 2. ... Telemark is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. ... County NO-14 Region Vestlandet Administrative centre Leikanger County mayor Nils R. Sandal Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 8 18,623 km² 5. ... Hordaland is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. ... County Hordaland District Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ... Rogaland is a county in Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. ... County NO-10 Region Sørlandet Administrative centre Kristiansand County mayor Thore Westermoen Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 15 7,276 km² 2. ... Bergensk is a dialect used in Bergen, Norway. ... County Hordaland District Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ... Romsdal is the name of a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal. ... Sunnmøre (lit. ... Nordfjord is a fjord and a traditional district in the county of Sogn og Fjordane in Western Norway. ... Sunnfjord is a landscape in Norway located in the county of Sogn og Fjordane. ... Sogn is a landscape in the western part of Norway, surrounding Sognefjorden. ... Helgeland is a landscape in Northern Norway. ... // For other uses, see Nordland (disambiguation). ... Cabins on Saltfjellet at BjellÃ¥vasstua Saltfjellet (lit. ... County Nordland District Helgeland Municipality NO-1811 Administrative centre TerrÃ¥k Mayor (2003) Magne Paulsen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 76 1,265 km² 1,193 km² 0. ... County NO-19 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Tromsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 4 25,877 km² 8. ... The municipality Bardu in the county of Troms, Norway, has 3,799 inhabitants as of January 1, 2002. ... County Troms District Municipality NO-1924 Administrative centre Moen Mayor (2003) Viggo Fossum (AP) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 10 3,322 km² 3,208 km² 1. ... County NO-20 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Vadsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 1 48,618 km² 15. ... County Finnmark District Municipality NO-2011 Administrative centre Kautokeino Mayor (2004) Klemet Erland Hætta (Samefolkets liste - Sámi Peoples Party) Official language form BokmÃ¥l and Sami Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 1 9,708 km² 8,964 km² 3. ... County Finnmark Landscape Municipality NO-2021 Administrative centre Karasjok Mayor (2004) Kjell H. Sæther (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l and Sami Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 2 5,453 km² 5,205 km² 1. ... County Finnmark Landscape Municipality NO-2025 Administrative centre Tana Mayor (2003) Ingrid Smuk Rolstad (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l and Northern Sami Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 5 4,049 km² 3,833 km² 1. ... County Finnmark Landscape Municipality NO-2027 Administrative centre Nyborg Mayor (2003) Ann Jorid Henriksen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l and Sami Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 57 1,436 km² 1,367 km² 0. ... Viken (literally the bay) is a landscape defined by Oslofjord in southeastern Norway which terminates at Terra Scania on the coast of West Sweden. ... County NO-07 Region Østlandet Administrative centre Tønsberg County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 18 2,224 km² 0. ... Østfold is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. ... Telemark is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. ... Buskerud is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. ... County NO-02 Region Østlandet Administrative centre Oslo County mayor Hildur Horn Øien (KrF) Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 16 4,918 km² 1. ... County Buskerud District Ringerike Municipality NO-0605 Administrative centre Hønefoss Mayor (2003) Kolbjørn Kværum (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 47 1,552 km² 1,423 km² 0. ... Romerike is a landscape, and traditionally a province, in what is today south-eastern Norway (north-east of Oslo). ... County District Østlandet Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ... Hedmark is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. ... Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. ... Østerdalen is a valley and landscape in the eastern part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, Folldal, Tynset, Tolga and Os in the north, Elverum, Engerdal, Stor-Elvdal, Trysil and Ã…mot in the south. ... Hedmark is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. ... Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian fylke (county) of Oppland. ... Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. ... View over Begnadalen from Lærskogen, with the large woodland ranging all over to Randsfjorden on the left and Hedalsfjella in the right background Valdres is a landscape in central, southern Norway, situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal. ... Hallingdal is a valley and landscape in central, southern Norway, consisting of the municipalities Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. ... Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. ... Buskerud is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. ... County Telemark Landscape Vest-Telemark Municipality NO-0834 Administrative centre Vinje Mayor (2003) Arne Vinje (SV) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 12 3,106 km² 2,732 km² 0. ... County Telemark Landscape Vest-Telemark Municipality NO-0833 Administrative centre Dalen Mayor (2003) Birger NygÃ¥rd (Sp) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 107 984 km² 905 km² 0. ... County Telemark Landscape Municipality NO-0829 Administrative centre Kviteseid Mayor (2003) Torstein Tveito (Sp) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 157 708 km² 624 km² 0. ... County Telemark District Øst-Telemark Municipality NO-0826 Administrative centre Rjukan Mayor (2005) Erik Haatvedt (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 28 2,045 km² 1,854 km² 0. ... The municipality Hjartdal in the county of Telemark, Norway, has 1,635 inhabitants as of January 1, 2004. ... Numedal is the Westernmost valley in South-Eastern Norway. ... Trøndersk is the Norwegian dialect spoken in the region Trøndelag in Norway. ... Nordmøre (lit. ... County NO-16 Region Trøndelag Administrative centre Trondheim County mayor Tore O. Sandvik Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 7 18,848 km² 5. ... Fosen is a peninsula and a traditional district in Sør-Trøndelag in central Norway. ... County NO-16 Region Trøndelag Administrative centre Trondheim County mayor Tore O. Sandvik Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 7 18,848 km² 5. ... Innherred is a landscape in the centre part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Levanger, Steinkjer, Verdal, Inderøy and Verran. ... Lierne is a municipality in the Norwegian county of Nord-Trøndelag. ... County Nord-Trøndelag District Municipality NO-1736 Administrative centre SnÃ¥sa Mayor (2003) Vigdis Hjulstad Belbo (Sp) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 20 2,343 km² 2,151 km² 0. ... Bangsund near Namsos Namdalen is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Fosnes, Nærøy, Høylandet, Namdalseid, Flatanger, Leka, Namsskogan and Vikna, all in Nord-Trøndelag county, and in addition Bindal, which lies in Nordland. ... County Sør-Trøndelag District Municipality NO-1640 Administrative centre Røros Mayor (2003) John Helge Andersen (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 32 1,956 km² 1,758 km² 0. ... County Sør-Trøndelag Landscape Municipality NO-1664 Administrative centre Selbu Mayor (2003) Karin Galaaen (Sp) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 79 1,235 km² 1,141 km² 0. ... The municipality Tydal in the county of Sør-Trøndelag, Norway, has 914 inhabitants as of January 1, 2002. ... County Sør-Trøndelag Landscape Municipality NO-1644 Administrative centre Ã…len Mayor (2003) Ivar P. Volden (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 83 1,209 km² 1,172 km² 0. ... County Sør-Trøndelag District Dovre region Municipality NO-1634 Administrative centre Aune Mayor (2004) Ola Røtvei (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 21 2,274 km² 2,202 km² 0. ...

Evolution of dialects

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 Oppdal, for example, has characteristics in common with coastal dialects to the west, the dialects of northern Gudbrandsdalen to the south, and other dialects in Sør Trøndelag from the north. The linguist Einar Haugen documented the particulars of the Oppdal dialect, and the writer Inge Krokann used it as a literary device. County Sør-Trøndelag District Dovre region Municipality NO-1634 Administrative centre Aune Mayor (2004) Ola Røtvei (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 21 2,274 km² 2,202 km² 0. ... Einar Ingvald Haugen (April 19, 1906 - June 20, 1994) was a linguist and Professor at University of Wisconsin and Harvard University. ... Inge Krokann (born in Oppdal in 1893, died in Gausdal in 1962) was a Norwegian writer whose work was characterized by: Vivid descriptions of the relationships between man and nature in the harsh environment around his birthplace of Oppdal; Effective and innovative use of the Oppdal dialect and nynorsk in...

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 Høyanger, Odda, Tyssedal, Rjukan, Notodden, Sauda, and others show that creolization has effected the formation of new dialects in these areas. County District Municipality NO-1416 Administrative centre Høyanger Mayor (2003) Kjartan Longva (Ap) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 121 908 km² 838 km² 0. ... County Hordaland Landscape Hardanger Municipality NO-1228 Administrative centre Odda Mayor (2003) Toralv Mikkelsen (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 42 1,616 km² 1,478 km² 0. ... Tyssedal is a village in Odda municipality in Norway with about 900 citizens and is situated 6 km north of Odda center. ... Map showing the position of Rjukan between lakes Møsvatn (West, upstream) and Tinnsjø (East) Rjukan is the centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. ... County District Øst-Telemark Municipality NO-0807 Administrative centre Notodden Mayor (2003) Bjarne Bakken (Ap) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 120 914 km² 852 km² 0. ... County Rogaland District Ryfylke Municipality NO-1135 Administrative centre Sauda Mayor (2005) Laura Seltveit (Ap) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 195 546 km² 509 km² 0. ... A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable language that originated from a non-trivial combination of two or more languages, typically with many features that are not inherited from any parent. ...

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 and dialects

See also: Norwegian language struggle

Till the 20th century, rural dialects were considered an attribute of the uneducated provincial class in Norway. Social mobility involved conforming speech to standard Riksmål, a pattern that persists to this day in certain urban areas. Studies show that speakers of dialect tend to change their usage in formal settings to approximate the formal written language. The Norwegian language struggle (sprÃ¥kstriden) is an ongoing controversy within Norwegian culture and politics related to spoken and written Norwegian. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

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.

Distinctions among dialects

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 Stavanger
• Infinitive ending with -e, e.g., å være, å bite, common in Troms, Finnmark, areas of Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal, Southern counties, and a few other areas.
• Apocopic infinitive, where no vowel is added to the infinitive form, common in certain areas of Nordland

Two different endings (eastern dialects) County Hordaland District Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ... County District Jæren Municipality NO-1103 Administrative centre Stavanger Mayor (1995-) Leif Johan Sevland (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 406 71 km² 68 km² 0. ... County NO-19 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Tromsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 4 25,877 km² 8. ... County NO-20 Region Nord-Norge Administrative centre Vadsø County mayor   Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 1 48,618 km² 15. ... County NO-14 Region Vestlandet Administrative centre Leikanger County mayor Nils R. Sandal Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 8 18,623 km² 5. ...   is a county in the northernmost part of the Vestlandet region of Norway, and borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. ... // For other uses, see Nordland (disambiguation). ...

• Split infinitive, in which the verb will end either with -a or -e, common in Eastern Norway
• Split infinitive, with apocope, common in some areas in Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag

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. County NO-16 Region Trøndelag Administrative centre Trondheim County mayor Tore O. Sandvik Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 7 18,848 km² 5. ... County NO-17 Region Trøndelag Administrative centre Steinkjer County mayor Inger Lise Gjørv Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 6 22,412 km² 6. ...

Dative case

The dative case is still in use in dialects north of Oslo, Romsdal, and south and northeast of Trondheim, although the actual forms vary quite a bit. The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ...

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

(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?) (tense is on "the clock"), E a mytti klokka? (Is she much the clock?) (tense on "is")

Accent and pronunciation

Retroflex "L"

The retroflex ("thick") L (IPA /ɭ/) exists only in Norway, a few regions in Sweden, and in completely unrelated languages. The sound is a retroflex sound and coexists with other retroflexions in Norwegian dialects. In some areas it also applies to words that end with "rd," for example with "gard" (farm) being pronounced /ɡɑɭ/. Retroflex consonants are articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up and back so the bottom of the tip touches the roof of the mouth. ...

Diphthongization

Old Norse had the diphthongs /au/, /ei/, and /øy/, but the Norwegian spoken in the area around Setesdal has shifted two of the traditional diphthongs and innovated four more from long vowels. In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds) is a vowel combination in a single syllable involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

/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/ > /eʉ/

Monophthongization

The Old Norse diphthongs /au/, /ei/, and /øy/ have experienced monophthongization in certain dialects of modern Norwegian.

/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, palatalization occurs for the n (IPA /nʲ/), l (/lʲ/), t (/tʲ/) and d (/dʲ/) sounds in varying degrees. Areas just south and southwest of Trondheim palatalize both the main and subordinate syllable in words (e.g, /kɑlːʲɑnʲ/), but other areas only palatalize the main syllable (/bɑlʲ/). Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ...

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 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 /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 /ʎ/.

Vowel shift in irregular 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 Farsund to the border between Troms and Finnmark. Missing image Image:Farsund kart. ...

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 regular feminine nouns, but not in others - one coast area in Nordland.

Alveolar/Uvular R

Most dialects use an alveolar trill (IPA [r]) for "r". However, for the last 200 years the uvular R (IPA [ʁ]) has been gaining ground in Western and Southern Norwegian dialects, with Kristiansand, Stavanger, and Bergen as centers. The uvular R has also been adopted in aspiring patricians in and around Oslo, to the point that it was for some time fashionable to "import" governesses from the Kristiansand area. It has gained less acceptance in eastern regions, and linguists speculate that dialects that use retroflexes have a "natural defense" against uvular R and thus will not adopt it. However, the dialect of Arendal retains the retroflexes, while featuring the uvular R in remaining positions, e.g. rart [ʁɑːʈ] The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... In linguistics, uvular R (also guttural R, throaty R or French R) refers to pronunciation of the phoneme R as a uvular consonant. ... County Aust-Agder District Sørlandet Municipality NO-0906 Administrative centre Arendal Mayor (2004) Torill Rolstad Larsen (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 289 270 km² 255 km² 0. ...

The kj / sj merge

Many people, especially in the younger generation, have lost the differentiation between the kj (IPA /ç/) and sj (IPA /ʃ/) sounds, merging both as sj /ʃ/.

Tonemes and intonation

Main article: Norwegian language#Accent

There are great differences between the intonation systems of different Norwegian dialects. Norwegian (norsk) is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language. ...

Vocabulary

First person, plural

Three variations of first person plural exist in Norwegian dialects:

• Vi, (pronounced /viː/), common in parts of Eastern Norway, most of Northern Norway, coastal areas close to Trondheim, and one sliver of Western Norway
• Me, 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 and Nordmøre.

County District Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2003-) Rita Ottervik (AP) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ...

First person, singular

There is considerable variety in the way the first person singular 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 (Romsdal/Molde) and Snåsa in Nord Trøndelag
• Je, jæ, or jæi, in areas around Oslo, and north along the Swedish border, almost to Trondheim, as well as one region in Troms

Romsdal is the name of a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal. ... County Møre og Romsdal District Romsdal Municipality NO-1502 Administrative centre Molde Mayor (2005) Jan Petter Hammerø (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 254 363 km² 355 km² 0. ... County NO-17 Region Trøndelag Administrative centre Steinkjer County mayor Inger Lise Gjørv Area  - Total  - Percentage Ranked 6 22,412 km² 6. ...

The word "not"

The Norwegian word for the English not exists in five main categories:

• ikke - Oslo, Kristiansand and most of Finnmark, plus some cities in Nordland.
• ikkje - most of the coastal and inland areas in Southern, Northern and Western Norway.
• ittj - Trøndelag
• itte, or ittje - areas north of Oslo, along the Swedish border
• innte, ennte - coastal areas south of Oslo

Asking words

Some common asking words take on forms such as:

External links

• The Norwegian Language council
• measuring the "distance" between the Norwegian dialects
• En norsk dialektprøvedatabase på nettet - A Norwegian database of dialect samples

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