Eva Sivertsen (8 July 1922 – 22 November 2009) was a Norwegian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. She was known for her work on the

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

dialect of the working-class, which was “one of the first investigations of an urban

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

in Britain.” In 1961 she became the first female professor of English linguistics in Norway.

Biography

Born on 8 July 1922 in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...

, Norway, Eva Sivertsen was the daughter of John Ludvig Sivertsen (1879–1970) and Ragna Oline Moe (1891–1992). She enrolled at the department of English in the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1943. In addition she did a postgraduate diploma in phonetics at the department of phonetics, in the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where she conducted the field study for her doctoral thesis on Cockney, an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners, in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

. She later completed her doctoral thesis from the University of Oslo. She also had study stay in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, USA. Her work on Cockney has been criticised by

K.M. Petyt Keith Malcolm Petyt (born February 1941) is a sociolinguist and historian. As a native of Bradford, he investigated the speech of West Yorkshire in his early work. His first publication, ''Emily Brontë and the Haworth Dialect'', compared the s ...

for offering a description of a dialect spoken by millions based on a sample of just four elderly women. In 1957 she started her teaching career as a lecture at the department of English in the

. Between 1961 and 1992, she served as the professor of English linguistics at the

Norwegian College of General Sciences Norwegian College of General Sciences ( no, Den allmennvitenskapelige høgskole) or AVH is a former Norwegian college which from 1968 to 1996 was part of the University of Trondheim (UNIT). It was created as the Norwegian College of Teaching in Tro ...

, earlier known as the Norwegian Teachers' College, which was part of the

University of Trondheim A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. For a period of 15 years, she headed the department of English at Trondheim University. She also served as a

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the University of Trondheim from 1975 to 1981. She was the secretary of the Eighth International Congress of Linguists, held in Oslo in 1957 and edited its proceedings. She was influenced by the works of

Charles F. Hockett Charles Francis Hockett (January 17, 1916 – November 3, 2000) was an American linguist who developed many influential ideas in American structuralism#Structuralism in linguistics, structuralist linguistics. He represents the post-Leonard Bloomfi ...

, a noted American linguist. She also worked with renowned scholars like Gordon R. Peterson and

Kenneth L. Pike Kenneth Lee Pike (June 9, 1912 – December 31, 2000) was an American linguist and anthropologist. He was the originator of the theory of tagmemics, the coiner of the terms "emic" and "etic" and the developer of the constructed language ...

during her stay in abroad. Her works on phonetics and phonology were published by the Oslo University Press as ''Cockney Phonology'' in 1960. She was the member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The s ...

, a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. She was also associated with the

Norsk Tipping Norsk Tipping is a Norwegian gambling company headquartered in Hamar, Norway. Founded in 1948, Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The company offers a wide range of lottery ...

and the Norwegian Lottery Association. She held several administrative responsibilities in a number of professional organizations including the Norwegian Adult Education institute, the Norwegian UNESCO Committee, the Research Council for the Norwegian School Board and the Council for Humanistic Research. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in 1980. To recognize her distinguished services, she was conferred the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav in 1982. She died in Trondheim on 22 November 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivertsen, Eva 1922 births 2009 deaths Norwegian expatriates in England Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters