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Languages of the Nordic countries – language families Indo-European Uralic Eskimo-

Maastricht 16 April 2010 Professor Arne Torp Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies University of Oslo English versus Scandinavian languages in Internordic Relations.

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Languages of the Nordic countries – language families Indo-European Uralic Eskimo-

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  1. Maastricht 16 April 2010 Professor Arne TorpDepartment of Linguistics and Scandinavian StudiesUniversity of OsloEnglish versus Scandinavian languages in Internordic Relations

  2. Som crucial background facts about the Nordic countries, the languages of the Nordic countries and the Nordic languages

  3. Languages of the Nordic countries – language families Indo-EuropeanUralic Eskimo- Aleutic Germanic Finno-Ugric Nordic (= North Germ.) Saami Baltic Finnic Sw. Da. No. Far. Icel.(North FinnishGreenlandic Saami, Ume Saami, South Saami…)

  4. Declaration on a Nordic Language Policy (signed by the Nordic Council of Ministers 2006) • There are six languages in the Nordic countries that are both complete and essential to society: Danish, Finnish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian (in both written forms: Bokmål and Nynorsk), and Swedish. • Goals • A Nordic language policy should therefore aim: • that all Nordic residents being able to read and write the language or languages that are essential to society in the area where they live • that all Nordic residents being able to communicate with one another, preferably in a Scandinavian language, • that all Nordic residents having a basic knowledge of linguistic rights in the Nordic countries and the language situation in the Nordic countries • that all Nordic residents having very good skills in at least one language of international importanceand good skills in another foreign language • that all Nordic residents having a general knowledge of what language is and how it works

  5. Official languges in the Nordic countries and two areas with home rule • Denmark, Norway, Sweden • Finland • Iceland • Faroes Isles • Greenland • Danish, Norwegian, Swedish • Finnish (91,5 %), Swedish (5,5 %) • Icelandic • Faroese, Danish • Inuit, Danish

  6. Nordic Insular NordicScandinavian North Scandinavian South Scand. Icelandic Faroese Norw. Swed. Danish Classification of modern Nordic lang. (in spoken form) on the basis of similarity 7

  7. The main reason why Insular Nordic and Scandinavian langages are mutually incomprehensible: The Hansetic merchants came to Scandinavia, but never to Iceland! • Tailor-the thought that jacket-the fit splendidly, but customer-the complained and meant that garment-the was short and material-the unsophisticated and coarse. • Skredderen tenkte at trøya passet fortreffelig, men kunden klaget og mente at plagget var kort og tøyet simpelt og grovt. • De schrâder dachte dat die trôie vortreffelik paste, men de kunde klâgde und mênde dat die plagge kort was und dat tüg simpel und grof. • Klæðskerinn hélt að skyrtan passaði fullkomlega, en viðskiptavinurinn kvartaði og taldi að flíkin væri stutt og efnið einfalt og gróft.

  8. The notion ”neighbor languages” • General definition: • Varieties that normally are regarded as different languages (for national and/or political reasons), but nevertheless are (to a certain degree) mutually intelligible. • Neighbor language communication:The trickle of messages through a rather high level of ‘code noise’. • Haugen, Einar. 1966. “Semicommunication: The Language Gap in Scandinavia.” Sociological Inquiry 36:280-297

  9. What is the negative definition of ” neighbor languages”? • If varieties are not mutually intelligible, they are called ”languages by distance” (Abstandsprachen, Heinz Kloss ) • The borderline between the two notions may vary over time and between individuals within the same language community. • The alternative if neighbor language communication is impossible, is a lingua franca (i.e. in our part of the world normally English)

  10. English version of a the text on a toothpaste tube Daily use of Aquafresh gives a triple protection for strong teeth, healthy tooth flesh and fresh breath. The new improved formula gives your mouth a fresh feeling.

  11. The same text in ”Scandinavian” DK/NO/SE Daglig brug av Aquafresh ger ett 3-dobbelt beskyttelse/skydd for stærke tænder/tänder, friskt tandkød/tandkött og frisk ånde/pust/andedräkt. Den nye forbedrete/förbättrade formulan ger deres/din mun en frisk følelse/känsla.

  12. - and here marked with ”national” color symbols DK/NO/SE Dagligbrugav Aquafresh ger ett3-dobbeltbeskyttelse/skyddforstærketænder/tänder, friskt tandkød/tandköttog frisk ånde/pust/andedräkt. Den nyeforbedrete/förbättradeformulan gerderes/din mun en frisk følelse/känsla.

  13. A short specimen of Scandinavian languages

  14. Why Bokmål and Nynorsk? The reason why there are two language varieties in Norway, whereas one variety of both Danish and Swedish is sufficient, is both historical and political. Bokmål is historically seen a “norwegianized” version of the Danish written language which was used in Norway since the time when the country was in political union with Denmark (from about 1450 to 1814). Translated from Nordens språk med røtter og føtter, p. 44

  15. Specimen 1 Varför bokmål och nynorska? Orsaken till att man har två norska språkformer i Norge, medan man klarar sig med bara en form av både danska och svenska, är både historisk och politisk. Bokmål är historiskt sett en »förnorskad« utgåva av det danska skriftspråket som användes i Norge sedan den tiden då landet var i politisk union med Danmark (från ca 1400 till 1814). From Nordens språk med rötter och fötter s. 44

  16. Specimen 2 • Hvorfor bokmål og nynorsk? • Grunden til at man har to norske målformer i Norge, mens man klarer sig med én form af både dansk og svensk, er både historisk og politisk. Bokmål er historisk set en »fornorsket« udgave af det danske skriftsprog der har været i brug i Norge siden landet var i politisk union med Danmark (fra ca. 1400 til 1814). • From Nordens sprog med rødder og fødder s. 44

  17. Specimen 3 • Hvorfor bokmål og nynorsk? • Grunnen til at man har to norske målformer i Norge, mens man klarer seg med én form av både dansk og svensk, er både historisk og politisk. Bokmål er historisk sett en »fornorsket« utgave av det danske skriftspråketsom har vært i bruk i Norge siden landet var i politisk union med Danmark (fra ca. 1400 til 1814). • From Nordens språk med røtter og føtter s. 44

  18. What are the main differences between the Scandinavian languages? • The differences between South Scand. (Danish) and North Scand. (Norw. and Swed.) lie in the pronunciation. This implies that Norw. and Swed. are very similar in their spoken form, whereas Danish is very different. • The differences within North Scand. (i.e. between Norw. and Swed.) lie in the vocabulary. This means that Danish and Norw. (particularly Bokmål) are very similar in writing (written Danish looks almost like Bokmål!), whereas Swed. is clearly different from both Danish and Norw. in writing.

  19. Einar Haugen about the relationship between Danish, Norw. and Swedish: When Norwegians and Swedes communicate orally, they can tell what word is being spoken, though they may be uncertain of its meaning [affär – affære]. When Norwegians and Danes communicate, they have to listen hard to be sure what word the other is using, but once they get that, they usually know what it means [meget – meget]. Or as one wit has put it: Norwegian is Danish spoken in Swedish. Haugen: ”Danish, Norwegian and Swedish” (1990)

  20. INS Internordisk språkförståelse i en tid med ökad internationalisering 2003-2004 Internordic language comprehension in a time of increasing internationalization 2003-2004 pdf-version of the final report: http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2005-573

  21. 199 Århus Malmö Bergen Mariehamn Vaasa Jyväskylä Torshamn Akureyri Nuuk 150 147 118 110 104 Copenhagen Stockholm Oslo Helsinki Reykjavik 96 82 79 74 53 51 48 48 48 47 44 42 42 41 41 37 31 31 29 19 16 Places of research and number of (young) informants(red columns: number of informants tested for comprension of Scandinavian)(blue columns: number of informants tested for comprension of English)

  22. 7,01 6,14 4,38 4,20 4,19 4,00 3,87 Finland Far. Isles Iceland Greenland 2,14 Denmark Sweden Norway Swed. Finland Total results for comprension of Scandinavian

  23. Danish Swedish Norwegian 8,28 7,00 6,61 6,21 6,07 5,75 5,36 4,97 4,76 4,15 3,80 3,73 3,64 3,53 3,40 3,34 3,24 2,23 1,63 Denmark Sweden Swed. Finland Finland Far. Isles Iceland Greenland Sweden Norway Sved. Finland Finland Far. Isles Iceland Greenland 1,54 Denmark Norway Finland Far. Isles Iceland Greenland Results for the separate languages

  24. 52,3% 43,2% Yes A little No 4,5% Teaching of neighbor languages Hva you studied Danish/Norwegian/Swedish at school?

  25. Denmark Sweden Norway 7,98 7,92 7,26 6,88 6,86 6,73 6,62 5,93 5,55 4,96 4,54 3,59 Parents Pupils Parents Pupils Parents Pupils Parents Pupils Parents Pupils Parents Pupils Sw Sw No No Da Da No No Da Da Sw Sw Parents and Pupils: Comparative results

  26. Denmark Sweden Norway 9,10 8,33 8,05 7,90 7,42 6,62 6,43 6,13 5,17 4,64 3,87 3,41 Sv Sv No No Da Da No No Da Da Sw Sw Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Maurud 1972 INS 2003 Deterioration of neighbor language comprehension the last 30 years

  27. 7,66 7,60 7,17 7,08 7,09 7,01 6,14 6,02 5,70 4,38 4,20 4,00 3,87 Denmark Sweden Norway Swed. Finland 2,14 Finland Far. Isles Iceland The sad story:Comparative results for comprehension of English versus Scandinavian languagesred (Scand. speaking areas) and blue (other Nordic areas) columns: English grey columns: Scandinavian languages

  28. Danes Swedes Norwegians Finns Icelanders 83,1 78,4 76,9 74,7 65,4 63,7 60,1 54,1 49,3 47,4 47,0 46,9 44,7 41,4 38,6 29,6 22,2 Denmark Sweden Norway England Denmark Sweden Norway England Denmark Sweden England Sweden Norway England Denmark Norway England Attitudes to countries Would you like to live or study in…

  29. Denmark Sweden Norway Finnish Finland Iceland 85,9 84,9 83,0 81,0 77,4 73,2 58,4 53,9 51,7 49,5 43,4 37,0 35,5 33,5 33,2 18,5 13,5 Danish Swedish Norwegian English Danish Svedish Norwegian English Danish Swedish English Swedish Norwegian English Danish Norwegian English Do you think that Danish/Swedish/Norwegian/English is easy? Attitudes to languages 1

  30. Denmark Sweden Norway Finnish Finland Iceland 75,3 69,5 66,6 63,5 62,6 62,5 53,1 50,5 50,0 49,3 47,8 47,6 47,5 46,0 37,7 28,9 27,8 Danish Swedish Norwegian English Danish Swedish Norwegian English Danish Swedish English Swedish Norwegian English Danish Norwegian Engish Do you think that Danish/Swedish/Norwegian/English is nice? Attitudes to languages 2

  31. Why are Norwegians always superior in Scandinavian neighbor language comprehension? Norw. is intermediate between Danish and Swedish • We have Swed. pronunciation and Dan. vocabulary • Norwegians are accustomed to linguistic variation. • Norwegian can be written in two different ways (at least!), and the dialects are much more widely used than in the neighboring countries. • Why this? • Both facts are consequences of the four centuries long union between Norway and Denmark.

  32. Encouraging facts for the Scandinavian neighbor language comprehension 1 (particularly Norwegian / Swedish)

  33. Encouraging events for the Scandinavian neighbor language comprehension 2 (only Norwegian / Swedish) • NRK Alltid Nyheter (NRK News All the Time) cooperates with Sveriges radio (and BBC) at certain times every day (and night) • NRK P2 has a Swedish speaking journalist in one of their programs (Radiofront)

  34. Every Friday in prime time at NRK 1 and SVt 1:

  35. Linguistic practices in multilingual programs like Skavlan at NRK TV (and SVt?) • dialogue spoken by participants using the ”national” language (in Norway regardless of dialect!) has no subtitles • dialogue spoken by participants using the neighbor language (and English) has always subtitles • Skavlan speaks ”svorsk” (= 98 % Norw. and 2 % Swedish!) both with Norw. and Swedes

  36. Internordic oral communication at present and in the future: A personal assessment (1) • The Scandinavian neighbor language community: • Norwegians will never have any problems with Swedish! • Swedes may have some (but minor) problems with Norwegian • Conclusion: Norwegians and Swedes will probably continue to communicate in Scandinavian • Danes don’t notice the difference between Norw. and Swedish, but they understand Norwegian (4,2 points) better than Swedish (3,5 points; cf. slide 24 above) • Swedes find Danish hard to understand (and vice versa) • Conclusion: Communication via lingua franca (i.e. English) will probably be the normal practice between Danes and Swedes and possibly also between Danes and Norwegians.

  37. Internordic oral communication at present and in the future: A personal assessment (2) • My prediction for the Nordic countries outside the Scandinavian-speaking language area • Everywhere (with the exception of the Faroe Isles) the lingua franca strategy with English will be the normal practice • This is sad, but probably a realistic prospect

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