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
![Apokope i Norrlands bygdemål](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Apokope_i_Norrlands_bygdem%C3%A5l.png)
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
![R-bortfall i Norrlands bygdemål](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/R-bortfall_i_Norrlands_bygdem%C3%A5l.png)
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
![Norrlandsmal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Norrlandsmal.png)
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'').
References
Notes
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External links
Listen to some Norrland dialects
{{Swedish language
Swedish dialects
Norrland