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Norrland dialects ( sv, norrländska mål, links=no) is one of the six major dialect groupings of the Swedish language. It comprises most dialects traditionally spoken in
Norrland Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administ ...
, except for those of
Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces. Other form ...
and southern
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
, which are usually classified as Svealand Swedish, as well as those of
Härjedalen Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province origi ...
and northernmost Jämtland, which are usually classified as
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
.Dahlstedt (1971) The border between Norrland dialects and Svealand Swedish runs through
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
, such that the northern Hälsingland dialects are regarded as Norrland dialects and the southern ones as Svealand Swedish; an alternative delineation follows the southern border of
Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern ...
. The old northern border of the Swedish language in coastal
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
largely followed the eastern and northern borders of the present-day
Kalix Kalix ( sv, Kalix; Kalix dialect: ''Kôlis'', , phonemically ; fi, Kainuu; fit, Kainus) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word ''Gáláse ...
and
Överkalix Överkalix (; fi, Ylikainuu) is a locality and the seat of Överkalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 975 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Överkalix has a subarctic climate with significant temperature differences between the warm ...
municipalities. From there, a vaguely defined linguistic border ran through Lappland from the northernmost point of Överkalix parish in an arc to the south of
Porjus Porjus is a locality situated in Jokkmokk Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 328 inhabitants in 2010. Geographically it is situated by the shores of Lule River at 499 meter height. Porjus is known for having one of the oldest hydropo ...
, then followed the
Lule River Lule River ( smj, Julevädno, sv, Lule älv, ''Luleälven'') is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second longest river by watershed area or length ...
to the border with
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
.Wessén (1967)


History

Norrland dialects arose from the combined influence of the
Old West Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
spoken in
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
to the west and the
Old East Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
spoken to the south. The westerly influences were notably strong in the centuries leading up to the
Viking Era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
. The shift to East Norse progressed through the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. As Norrland gradually came to be more and more under Central Swedish influence in the Modern Era, many of the older West Norse characteristics disappeared.Edlund & Frängsmyr (1995), pp. 319–320 The strong West Norse influences can still be seen today in the
toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
of Norrland in placenames ending in ''-ånger'' ( sv, vik, "harbour"). Parish names such Skön and
Indal Indal is a locality situated in Sundsvall Municipality, Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Vä ...
(both in Sundsvall Municipality) have West Nordic origins. The dialect of
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
displays less West Nordic influence than other more westerly dialects. The greatest West Nordic/Norwegian, or perhaps least East Nordic/Swedish, influence is found in Jämtland.Edlund & Frängsmyr (1994), pp. 274–276 As with other regiolects, it is difficult to clearly define a unique set of characteristics for the Norrland dialects. The distribution of different features of the dialect have differing boundaries (called isoglosses), which are described in the following summary of phenomena regarded as typical of Norrland dialects. In Norrland, traditional local dialects are on the decline as in many other parts of the world. Aside from characteristic peculiarities in intonation, there are certain grammatical traits that still survive: the infinitive ''måsta'' (Standard Swedish: ''måste''), present tense forms such as ''han gå'' (Standard Swedish: ''han går'', "he goes") and ''han ropa'' (Standard Swedish: ''han ropar'', "he calls"), and the uninflected predicative in a statement such as ''dom ä trött'' (Standard Swedish: ''de är trötta'', "they are tired").


Features


Vowel balance and apocope

Unlike present-day Standard Swedish, syllables in Old Swedish could be both light and heavy, and in the Norrland dialects the two syllable types developed in diverging ways, resulting in a number of phonological developments. In words with an original heavy syllable, the final vowel is often reduced or lost ( apocope). The former is common in southern Norrland dialects, as in the infinitive ending of verbs ( > or ), e.g. ''kaste'' ‘to throw’ (Standard Swedish ''kasta''). The latter is common in northern Norrland dialects as well as in Jämtland, e.g. ''kast'' or more commonly ''kaast'', with preserved double-peak
pitch accent A pitch-accent language, when spoken, has word accents in which one syllable in a word or morpheme is more prominent than the others, but the accentuated syllable is indicated by a contrasting pitch ( linguistic tone) rather than by loudness ...
(so-called “circumflex” accent). In words with an original light syllable, no such reduction is found, e.g. ''taḷa'' ‘to speak’ (< Old Swedish ''tăla''; Modern Standard Swedish ''tala''). This weight-conditioned ending system is known in Swedish dialectology as ''vowel balance'' (Swedish ''vokalbalans''). Vowel balance is abundant throughout the grammatical system. Outside the infinitive of verbs, it is also found in the nominal system, where it affects for instance so-called weak masculines and weak feminines, e.g. Luleå dialect ''bääkk'' ‘hill’ (<
oblique Oblique may refer to: * an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / ) *Oblique angle, in geometry *Oblique triangle, in geometry * Oblique lattice, in geometry * Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the b ...
''bakka''; ''backe'') vs. ''po:sa'' ‘bag’ (with lengthened root vowel, from OSw. ''pŭsa''; Mod.Sw. ''påse''); ''kḷookk'' ‘clock’ (< OSw. ''klokku''; Mod.Sw. ''klocka'') vs. ''lö:do'' ‘barn’ (< OSw. ''lăþu''; Mod.Sw. ''lada''). Vowel balance is found in a large contiguous area in Northern Scandinavia. In Sweden it occurs in the entire Norrland dialect area with the exception of northern
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
, in
Härjedalen Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province origi ...
and in upper
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
. Outside of Sweden, it occurs in northern Ostrobothnia in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and in
Østlandet Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...
,
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
and parts of Nordland in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It is also notably found in several East Swedish dialects in southern
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. The dialects of northern Hälsingland, like most northern Svea dialects and Standard Swedish, generally preserve the ''-a'' of Old Swedish, i.e. ''kasta''. There is evidence to support that vowel balance was once a more geographically widespread phenomenon than in the early 20th century (when traditional dialects were still widely spoken). For instance, there are traces of vowel balance in Upper Swedish dialects, and in Old Swedish texts, vowel balance can be found as far south as eastern Småland. The north Scandinavian apocope has a similar geographical distribution pattern, but is found further to the north, prototypically covering Lappland,
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
and
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
, as well as most of Jämtland and parts of northern
Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...
. In Norway it covers Trøndelag and parts of Nordland and in Finland the northern part of Ostrobothnia. It is also found in other areas such as northern
Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
and
Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...
in Sweden, and
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
in Denmark. General reduction of unstressed ending vowels is, by contrast, a more widespread phenomenon, also found in e.g. Östergötland and Småland as well as in Standard Bokmål Norwegian and Standard
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
. It has been suggested by Russian linguist Jurij Kusmenko that the Scandinavian vowel balance arose in contact with
Saami languages The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several America ...
where a similar phenomenon was previously found. This hypothesis has, however, been deemed unconvincing by several scholars of Scandinavian languages.


Vowel harmony

In a subset of dialects with vowel balance, a process known as ''
vowel harmony In phonology, vowel harmony is an assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, mea ...
'' is found (also known as ''vowel levelling'' or ''vowel
metaphony In historical linguistics, metaphony is a class of sound change in which one vowel in a word is influenced by another in a process of assimilation. The sound change is normally "long-distance" in that the vowel triggering the change may be s ...
''; Swedish ''tilljämning''). Vowel harmony is restricted to words with an old light root syllable and is an assimilation of the root vowel and the ending vowel. The assimilation process is usually regressive, i.e. the root vowel adopts features from the ending vowel, although progressive assimilation is also found in dialects in Norway and
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
. Vowel harmony has its center of intensity in
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region ...
,
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
and upper
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
, but is also found in Norrland dialects. For instance, the in Old Swedish oblique ''lăþu'' ‘barn’ has in many dialects been raised and rounded, e.g. in the Luleå dialect to : ''lödo'', in Jämtland dialects with full assimilation to : ''ludu''. In southern
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
dialects, root vowel harmony with original is common, e.g. in
past participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
s such as ''lissi'' ‘read’ (< OSw. ''læ̆sit'') and ''skyri'' ‘cut’ (< OSw. ''skŭrit, skŏrit'')..


Retention of before

In most Norrland dialects, Old Swedish has been preserved before the consonant cluster (which, however, has changed into , a
retroflex flap The voiced retroflex flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r`. Features Features of the voice ...
). This is unlike Standard Swedish, and the traditional dialects further to the south, where has shifted to in this context. Examples include Medelpad (Torp dialect) ''aḷ'' ‘ard’ (< ''arþer''; ''årder'') and ''svaḷ'' ‘pork rind’ (< OSw. ''svarþ''; Mod.Sw. ''svål''). Jämtland and northwestern Ångermanland do not share this feature, also having changed into (or ), as in Jämtland ''vååḷ'' ‘to become’ (< OSw. ''varþa''); cf. eastern Ångermanland (Arnäs dialect) ''vaḷ''(''e''). Lexical exceptions exist to this rule, notably the word ‘farm’, which is ''gåḷ'' in most of Norrland (< OSw. ''garþer''; Mod.Sw. ''gård''), likely due to influence from the standard language. The retention of is also found in adjacent dialects in Ostrobothnia in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
to the east, as well as in
Dalecarlian Dalecarlian (''dalmål'' in Swedish) is a group of East and West Scandinavian languages, and their respective dialects spoken in Dalarna County, Sweden. Some Dalecarlian varieties can be regarded as part of the Swedish dialect group in Gästri ...
and
Norwegian dialects Norwegian dialects (''dialekter'') are commonly divided into four main groups, 'Northern Norwegian' (), 'Central Norwegian' ('' trøndersk''), 'Western Norwegian' (''vestlandsk''), and 'Eastern Norwegian' (). Sometimes 'Midland Norwegian' () and ...
to the (south)west.


Medial palatalization

The Old Swedish initial
velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth (known also as the velum). Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive an ...
s and , as well as the cluster underwent palatalization before front vowels in almost all dialects of Swedish. In Norrland dialects unlike Standard Swedish, this change also took place in medial position, resulting in > ; > ; > , e.g. Arnäs dialect (Ångermanland) ''rôjjen'' ‘the rye’ (< ''rŭgin''; ''rågen'');
Älvsbyn Älvsbyn (; translating to "the river village") is a locality and the seat of Älvsbyn Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,967 inhabitants in 2010. It is known as "The Pearl of Norrbotten". Älvsbyn has a railway station that is serv ...
dialect (Norrbotten) ''fåḷtje'' ‘the people’ (< OSw. ''folkit''; Mod.Sw. ''folket'');
Burträsk Burträsk is a locality situated in Skellefteå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 1,575 inhabitants in 2010. It is notable as the only place where Västerbotten cheese is made. ''Burträsk Court District'', or ''Burträsks tingslag ...
dialect (Västerbotten) ''fissjen'' ‘the fish’ (< OSw. ''fiskin''; Mod.Sw. ''fisken''). Medial palatalization is especially common in the definite form of masculine and neutral nouns, as shown above. However, in many dialects the change unproductive and has been gradually reversed due to analogy with other unpalatalised forms in the paradigm, hence the definite form of ‘the fish’ in the Burträsk dialect is either palatalized ''fissjin'' or unpalatalized ''fisken''. In words where there are no related unpalatalized forms, palatalization is more robust, e.g. ''myttje'' ‘much’ (< OSw. ''mykit'', Mod.Sw. ''mycket''.) The southern border for medial palatalization runs through
Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
,
Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''väst ...
and
Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
in
Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, T ...
. It is also found in Ostrobothnia and parts of
Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...
(Nyland) in Finland, as well as parts of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. There are also indications that medial palatalization formerly reached even further south, into the archipelago of
Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...
and Östergötland.


Stress in compound words

In many Norrland dialects, the primary
stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
in
compound words In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word or sign) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding, composition or nominal composition is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes. Compounding occurs when ...
is placed on the second element, e.g. Ångermanland ''neverˈtak'' ‘birch roof’ or ''veaˈkast'' ‘wood pile’. This type of stress is especially found in
Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...
and
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
, but also further south in northern
Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
and Södertörn, as well as western
Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...
. Similar stress phenomena are found in western
Uusimaa Uusimaa (; sv, Nyland, ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, ...
(Nyland) in Finland, as well as in Skåne and southern
Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...
.


Use of the definite form

Norrland dialects are known for using the definite form for more grammatical functions than does Standard Swedish, where the corresponding form is often a bare noun. A primary use of the definite article is with non-count nouns and nouns denoting an unlimited quantity. For this reason, calls this use of the definite form “
partitive In linguistics, the partitive is a word, phrase, or case that indicates partialness. Nominal partitives are syntactic constructions, such as "some of the children", and may be classified semantically as either set partitives or entity partitives ba ...
”, since the partitive use is similar to e.g. the French partitive, while
Östen Dahl Östen Dahl (; born 4 November 1945 in Stockholm) is a Swedish linguist and professor best known for pioneering a marker-based approach to tense and aspect in linguistic typology. Dahl finished his PhD at the University of Gothenburg and subsequ ...
calls this ''non-delimited use''. Examples of this usage include Arnäs dialect (Ångermanland) ''såddä svejjrôgen'' ‘sowed burn-beaten rye’ (Standard Swedish ''sådde svedjeråg'');
Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that industry, especial ...
(northern Västerbotten) ''väärm mjölka'' ‘heat milk’ (Standard Swedish ''värma mjölk''). This use of the definite form is common in dialects in
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
,
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
,
Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...
, Jämtland as well as in the settler dialects of Lapland. There are also attested examples from
Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern ...
. In addition, it is also common in Ovansiljan in northern
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
, as well as in Ostrobothnia in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. Furthermore, the definite form is also used in generic statements, i.e when a general statement is made about the entity the noun phrase refers to, e.g. ''beavers build dams'' or ''gold is expensive''. This usage also includes “citation uses”, e.g. Ersmark dialect (northern Västerbotten) ''he kall ve fö sjanostn'' ‘this we call sand cheese’. This usage of the definite form is even more widespread and apart from the areas listed above, it is also found in
Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
, southern
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and parts of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. Dahl also lists a number of other contexts where the definite article is used, including after quantifiers, e.g.
Sorsele Sorsele (; sma, Suarsa; Ume Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Sorsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,277 inhabitants in 2010. Sorsele is also the nearest town to the ski resort Nalovardo. It is kno ...
dialect (southern Västerbotten) ''tre brödren'' ‘three brothers’ (Standard Swedish ''tre bröder''); with so called “low referential” singular count nouns, e.g.
Burträsk Burträsk is a locality situated in Skellefteå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 1,575 inhabitants in 2010. It is notable as the only place where Västerbotten cheese is made. ''Burträsk Court District'', or ''Burträsks tingslag ...
dialect (northern Västerbotten) ''vi hadd hästn'' ‘we had a horse’ (Standard Swedish ''vi hade häst''). In cases like these, the referent is not important but rather the property of owning a horse. In addition, the definite is also often used in instrumental phrases, e.g.
Bjurholm Bjurholm is a locality and seat of Bjurholm Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 968 inhabitants in 2010. It is the second smallest municipal seat in Sweden (Österbymo Österbymo is a locality and the seat of Ydre Municipality, Ös ...
dialect (Västerbotten–Ångermanland transitional) ''ät såppa ve skea'' ‘eats soup with a spoon’ (Standard Swedish ''äter soppa med sked''), as well as a few other cases.


Present tense of verbs

In the
present tense The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...
of strong verbs, the ending ''-er'' is lost, e.g. ''han bit'' ‘he bites’ (Standard Swedish ''han biter''); ''han spring'' ‘he runs’ (Standard Swedish ''han springer''). This is characteristic for all traditional Norrland dialects, and the southern border for runs through
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
, so that northern Hälsingland has ''han bit'', but southern ''han bite''. This feature is also found in northern
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
and
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
.


Adjective incorporation

While adjective–noun compounds are possible in all Scandinavian varieties, Norrland dialects tend to form compounds with adjectives more frequently, and with a semantic difference. Contrasting ''den nya bilen'' ‘the new car’ with the compounded form ''nybilen'' in Standard Swedish, the compound may only have the reading “the recently fabricated car”, not “the car I just bought (in contrast to my old car)”. In Norrland dialect that employ adjective incorporation however, this is only true for the indefinite form, while the definite ''nybiln'' can also refer to a new car contrasted to the speaker’s old car. Adjective incorporation may also occur when the adjective represent a more occasional rather than inherent property of the noun, hence Nederkalix dialect (Norrbotten) ''litn artibåt'' ‘nice little boat’, ''lilfåtiståkkar'' ‘poor little thing’;
Vilhelmina Vilhelmina ( sma, Vualtjere) is a locality and the seat of Vilhelmina Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 3,657 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Vilhelmina has a subarctic climate that is less severe than typica ...
dialect (southern Västerbotten) ''tôkken gammstygggûbb'' ‘such an ugly old man’. Adjective incorporation is found in all Norrland dialects, as well as in northern
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
. It is also found to some extent in Ostrobothnia in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and in
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...
in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
.


Preproprial articles

A preproprial article is an article used before
proper name A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
s, and works like a definite article for both first names, surnames, as well as
kinship term Kinship terminology is the system used in languages to refer to the persons to whom an individual is related through kinship. Different societies classify kinship relations differently and therefore use different systems of kinship terminology; ...
s in Norrland dialects. In Norrland dialects, the form of the article is usually identical to the unstressed forms of the 3rd person
personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take dif ...
s, from which they are also historically derived: ''(e)n'' in the masculine, and ''a'' in the feminine, e.g ''n Erik'' or ''a Anna''. In many dialects the article is indeclinable, but in many dialects with a
dative case In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
, it has a dative form as well. The preproprial article is used when the proper name functions as an argument and in identifying predicatives: ''de här ä n Erik'' ‘this is Erik’, but not when it functions as a predicate with the verbs ''heta'' ‘to be named’ and ''kallas'' ‘to be called’: ''han het (*en) Erik'' ‘his name is Erik’, nor in
vocative In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numer ...
constructions: ''(*a) Anna, vars ä du'' ‘Anna, where are you?’. The preproprial article is obligatory in all traditional dialects in Norrland except for the southernmost regions of
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
and
Gästrikland Gästrikland () is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Uppland, Västmanland, Dalarna, Hälsingland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Gästrikland is the southernmost of the Norrland provinces. Other form ...
. It is also found in western
Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...
and in northern
Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
. It is also common in most parts of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, except the very south.


Subgrouping

Below is a list of common subdialectal divisions of Norrland dialects, beginning in the north and ending in the south.


Settler dialects

The so-called "settler dialects" (Swedish: ''nybyggarmål'') comprise all the Swedish dialects in Lappland; Karl-Hampus Dahlstedt geographically defines this dialect to those inland parts of
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
where the Swedish dialects do not fit in with any of the relatively more clearly defined dialects of the coastal regions, due to the patchwork ancestry of the Swedish-speaking settlers that populated the area. One typical "settler dialect" is found in Arjeplog, which arose from a blending of Standard Swedish with the Piteå and Umeå dialects. There is also Sami influence on these dialects, such as the absence of the "thick L", which is generally typical of Norrland dialects. Another area in which a "settler dialect" is spoken is Malmfälten. Swedish came to the Lappmark in the 18th and 19th centuries as ethnic Swedes began to settle the area. They came from many different regions, and some even spoke
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
or a Sami language natively. This resulted in a blending of both dialects and languages. Most of the Lappmark dialects thus lack such archaic features as the
dative case In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
and diphthongs that the dialects of the coastal parishes have retained. Nevertheless, the differences between the various Lappmark dialects can be considerable, depending on the heritage of those who settled in a given area. A notable amount of Sami loanwords have found their way into the dialects of Lappmark and the areas just to the south. For instance, the
Siberian jay The Siberian jay (''Perisoreus infaustus'') is a small jay with a widespread distribution within the coniferous forests in North Eurasia. It has grey-brown plumage with a darker brown crown and a paler throat. It is rusty-red in a panel near the ...
is locally called ''koxik'' as opposed to the Standard Swedish ''lavskrika''.Dahlstedt & Ågren (1954)


Kalix

The Kalix dialects (Swedish: ''kalixmål'') are spoken in the medieval Kalix parishes (present-day
Kalix Kalix ( sv, Kalix; Kalix dialect: ''Kôlis'', , phonemically ; fi, Kainuu; fit, Kainus) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word ''Gáláse ...
and
Överkalix Överkalix (; fi, Ylikainuu) is a locality and the seat of Överkalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 975 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Överkalix has a subarctic climate with significant temperature differences between the warm ...
municipalities). Like other dialects in
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
, the Kalix dialects retain numerous archaic features. Many
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
diphthongs A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
have been preserved, as well as archaic consonant clusters such as ''sj'', ''stj'' and ''lj''. The
dative case In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
is also retained, including following a preposition. Additionally, verbs at least partially retain their old plural forms. The Kalix dialects are divided into *
Överkalix dialect Överkalix (; fi, Ylikainuu) is a locality and the seat of Överkalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 975 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Överkalix has a subarctic climate with significant temperature differences between the warm ...
(''överkalixmål'') * Nederkalix dialect (''nederkalixmål'') One difference between these two varieties is that the old consonant clusters ''mb'', ''nd'', and ''ng'' have been retained in Överkalix, but not in Nederkalix. For example, the Standard Swedish ''kam'' ("comb" or "crest") is ''kemb'' in Överkalix, but ''kap'' in Nederkalix. Furthermore, the Överkalix dialect has more influences from Sami languages and
Meänkieli (literally 'our language') is a group of distinct Finnish dialects or a Finnic language spoken in the northernmost part of Sweden along the valley of the Torne River. Its status as an independent language is disputed, but in Sweden it is recogn ...
.


Luleå

The Luleå dialects (Swedish: ''lulemål'') are spoken in and around the mediaeval parish of Luleå (present-day Boden and Luleå municipalities). They are also spoken in the easternmost parts of Lule lappmark up to near Vuollerim. These dialects may be further subdivided as follows * Lower Luleå dialect (in Lower Luleå parish) * Upper Luleå dialect (in Upper Luleå parish) * Råneå dialect (in Råneå parish) The Luleå dialects are known for, among other things, a rich inventory of diphthongs. The Old Norse ''ai'', ''au'', and ''öy'' are preserved, as well as ''ei'' (e.g., ''stein'' for Standard Swedish ''sten'', meaning "stone"), ''eo'' (e.g., ''heok'' for Standard Swedish ''hök'', meaning hawk), and ''oi'' (e.g., ''hoi'' for Standard Swedish ''hö'', meaning "hay"). These dialects also have a number of vowels that differ from Standard Swedish. For example, Standard Swedish ''i'' becomes ''öi'' (''röis'' instead of Standard ''ris'', meaning "rice"), while Standard ''u'' becomes ''eo'' or ''eu'' (''heos'' instead of Standard ''hus'', meaning "house").Edlund & Frängsmyr (1995), p. 78


Piteå

The Piteå dialects (Swedish: ''pitemål'') are spoken in the area of the mediaeval Piteå parish (present-day Piteå and
Älvsbyn Älvsbyn (; translating to "the river village") is a locality and the seat of Älvsbyn Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,967 inhabitants in 2010. It is known as "The Pearl of Norrbotten". Älvsbyn has a railway station that is serv ...
municipalities) as well as in the southernmost parts of
Jokkmokk Municipality Jokkmokk Municipality (, fi, Jokimukan kunta, se, Johkamohkki gielda, fit, Jokinmukka) is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Jokkmokk. The name ''Jokkmokk'' is Sami for the words "river" and "bend", ...
and in northern Arvidsjaur Municipality in Pite lappmark. These dialects also preserve a number of archaic features, such as conserved diphthongs in words like ''göuk'' (Standard Swedish: ''gök'', "cuckoo bird") and ''stein'' (Standard Swedish: ''sten'', "stone"). The consonant clusters ''mb'', ''nd'', and ''ng'' are often retained, for example in ''kamb'' (Standard Swedish: ''kam'', "comb"). Unique to the Piteå dialects is that Old Swedish long "a" (modern "å") has become short "a" before "n", but nowhere else. Thus, ''lan'' (Standard Swedish: ''lån", "loan"), but ''båt'' (Standard Swedish: ''båt'', "boat").


North and south Västerbotten

Northern Västerbotten dialects (Swedish: ''nordvästerbottniska mål'') are spoken in the northern parts of
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
, primarily the mediaeval Skellefteå parish (including
Norsjö Norsjö () is a locality and the seat of Norsjö Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden, with 2,051 inhabitants in 2010. It is the birthplace of writer Torgny Lindgren, singer-actor-musician Tommy Körberg, and American author Charlotte Agel ...
), together with a part of Pite lappmark (
Malå Malå ( sju, Máláge, sma, Maalege) is a locality and the seat of Malå Municipality in Västerbotten County, province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roma ...
and
Arvidsjaur Arvidsjaur (; sju, Árviesjávrrie; ) is a locality and the seat of Arvidsjaur Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 4,635 inhabitants in 2010. Arvidsjaur is a center for the European car industry. During the winte ...
). Just like the coastal dialects of Norrbotten, the Northern Västerbotten dialects preserve numerous archaic features. The dative case is still used, not only after prepositions but also after certain adjectives and verbs. Old Norse diphthongs have been preserved in many local dialects, but have developed in different, unique ways. For instance, Standard Swedish ''öra'' ("ear") can be ''ööyr'', ''ääyr'', or ''aajr'' in various local dialects of Northern Västerbotten.Edlund & Frängsmyr (1996), pp. 331–333 Southern Västerbotten dialects (Swedish: ''sydvästerbottniska mål'') are spoken along the
Ume River The Ume River (Swedish: ''Ume älv'' or ''Umeälven'') is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake ''Överuman'' by the Norwegian border within the Scandinavian ...
from
Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...
to Tärna and
Sorsele Sorsele (; sma, Suarsa; Ume Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Sorsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,277 inhabitants in 2010. Sorsele is also the nearest town to the ski resort Nalovardo. It is kno ...
, including Bygdeå and Holmön. A dialect is spoken in Lycksele lappmark which is highly reminiscent of dialects spoken in
Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, U ...
, Vännäs, and Degerfors (
Vindeln Vindeln () is a locality and the seat of Vindeln Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,333 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Vindeln has a subarctic climate that is mildened for its latitude by its proximity to the Gulf Stream airflo ...
). These influences become less apparent approaching the Norwegian border, but are still strong as far as Tärna, where an old Umeå substratum is evident. The local dialect of Sorsele is influenced by the Northern Västerbotten dialects as well. The Southern Västerbotten dialects also preserve archaic diphthongs, for instance in ''bein'' (Standard Swedish: ''ben'', "leg") and ''ööys'' (Standard Swedish: ''ösa'', "to scoop"). This is a characteristic that distinguishes the Southern Västerbotten dialects from the dialects of Nordmaling and Bjurholm to the south as well as a shared feature with the Northern Västerbotten dialects. One difference between the Southern and Northern Västerbotten dialects is that in the Southern group, a "g" is often inserted between the old diphthong "au" and a following an "r" or "thick L". For example, Southern ''ôger'' is ''aur'' in the Northern dialects (Standard Swedish: '' ör'', "gravelly ground").


Transitional dialects between Ångermanland and Västerbotten

These dialects, intermediate between the Southern Västerbotten dialects and the Ångermanland dialect, are spoken in
Nordmaling Nordmaling is a locality and the seat of Nordmaling Municipality in Västerbotten County Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, ...
and
Bjurholm Bjurholm is a locality and seat of Bjurholm Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 968 inhabitants in 2010. It is the second smallest municipal seat in Sweden (Österbymo Österbymo is a locality and the seat of Ydre Municipality, Ös ...
as well as Örträsk. These dialects are similar to the dialect of nolaskogs, such as in the change of Old Norse ''hv-'' to ''gv-'' (''gvit'' as opposed to Standard Swedish ''vit'', meaning "white").


Ångermanland

The Ångermanland dialects (Swedish: ''ångermanländska mål'') are spoken in
Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...
(with the exception of Nordmaling and Bjurholm) and Åsele lappmark. The dialects of
Åsele Åsele () is a locality and the seat of Åsele Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,798 inhabitants in 2010. Its elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed refe ...
and
Vilhelmina Vilhelmina ( sma, Vualtjere) is a locality and the seat of Vilhelmina Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 3,657 inhabitants in 2010. Climate Vilhelmina has a subarctic climate that is less severe than typica ...
have largely retained their Ångermanland character while still developing into their own. One exception is Fredrika parish, which developed a speech closer to Standard Swedish as a result of lying near major immigration routes from Ångermanland. The dialect of Dikanäs in Vilhelmina municipality is a transitional dialect between Ångermanland and the dialects of Lycksele lappmark. The Ångermanland dialects may be further subdivided as follows: *Dialects of Åsele lappmark ** Vilhelmina dialect * Nolaskogs dialect *Dialects of
Ådalen Ådalen is the river valley of the Ångerman River, downstream Junsele, in Sweden. It often refers to the broad, densely populated, fjord-like mouth of the river, in Kramfors Municipality Kramfors Municipality (''Kramfors kommun'') is a munici ...


Jämtland

The Jämtland dialects (Swedish: ''jämtmål'', ''jämtska'') comprise the dialects of Jämtland, with the exception of upper Frostviken, where the so-called Lid dialect (''Lidmålet'') is spoken. These dialects are to a greater extent than other Norrland dialects caught between eastern (i.e., Swedish) and western (i.e., Norwegian) linguistic influences. For example, the vowel ''u'' in words such as ''bu'' (Standard Swedish: ''bod'', "hut"; cf. Norwegian: ''bu'') and ''ku'' (Standard Swedish: ''ko'', "cow"; cf. Norwegian: ''ku''). The Jämtland dialects, like other Norrland dialects, also retain the archaic diphthongs of Old Norse.


Medelpad

The Medelpad dialects (Swedish: ''medelpadsmål'') are spoken in
Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern ...
, with the exception of the westernmost parish of Haverö, where the Hogdal dialects are spoken. In comparison to other Norrland dialects, the Medelpad dialects are relatively uniform. The most important outer isogloss is the one with the Hälsing dialects to the south, which defines the limits of the "vowel balance" characteristic of Norrland dialects. One characteristic that distinguishes the Medelpad dialects (for example,
Indal Indal is a locality situated in Sundsvall Municipality, Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Vä ...
Liden) from other nearby dialects is the pronunciation of both short and long ''i'' and ''y'' as the same, the so-called " Viby I". In Borgsjö and Torp, ''y'' is pronounced as ''i'', while ''ö'' is pronounced closer to ''e''. This trait is also found in the Hälsing dialects and in parts of
Härjedalen Härjedalen (; no, Herjådalen or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the centre of Sweden. It borders the Norwegian county of Trøndelag as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland. The province origi ...
. Other traits are shared with the Ångermanländ dialects, like the "thick ''n''" sound after long vowels in words such as ''van'' ("experienced", "habituated to") and ''måne'' ("moon"). In the northernmost pars of Medelpad, the dialects show notable influence from Jämtland .Edlund & Frängsmyr (1995), pp. 138–139 A characteristic typical for dialects of coastal Medelpad is short ''u'' in place of standard ''ö''.


Hogdal

These dialects are spoken in Haverö and
Ytterhogdal Ytterhogdal () is a locality situated in Härjedalen Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 534 inhabitants in 2010. Being located in the province of Hälsingland, the village has connections to three provinces due to the municipality and cou ...
.


Northern Hälsingland

The commonly accepted isogloss between Norrland dialects and Svealand Swedish runs through
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...
. This area, however, is a typical transition region. From A Svealand standpoint, there are reasons to define the isogloss as coinciding with the southern border of Hälsingland (through Ödmården). From a Norrland standpoint, there are alternative reasons to define it as coinciding with the southern border of
Medelpad Medelpad ( or ) is a historical province or ''landskap'' in the north of Sweden. It borders Hälsingland, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Ångermanland and the Gulf of Bothnia. The province is a part of Norrland and as such considered to be Northern ...
, which would fit with the southern limit of vowel balance. Included in the Hälsingland dialects are the Hassela dialect (Swedish: ''hasselamål'') and the Forsa dialect (Swedish: ''forsamål'').


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External links


Listen to some Norrland dialects


{{Swedish language Swedish dialects Norrland