At 5. september 2005 11:04 Jostein ranted: <snip> > It may shine through that I live in this part of the country
It sure does ;-) To the non Norwegian readers: Don't believe a word of what Jostein is saying on this topic ;-D Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) > -----Original Message----- > From: Jostein [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 5. september 2005 11:04 > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: EuroEnglish (Was: Same lenses ...) > > > > <Rant alert> > > Just a quick step out of the shadows of lurkelihood. > > "New Norwegian" was indeed constructed (or construed :-)) in the period of > National Romanticism following the establishment of our Constitution and > the > more independent status we achieved in the union with Sweden; compared to > our > status in the "double-monarcy" with Denmark before Napoleon's demise. This > period (1814-1905) saw a "golden age" in Norwegian cultural life, and > produced > artists like Henrik Ibsen (playwriter), Edvard Grieg (composer), Knut > Hamsun > (author), and others. > > Technically speaking, the New Norwegian was an attempt to build a language > based > on the dialects that were thought to be least influenced by Danish. Which > in > practice meant the dialects from the most remote and isolated valleys in > central Southern Norway. For some reason, the best represented dialects > were > from the same area as it's constructor, Ivar Aasen. :-) > > However, to make sure that New Norwegian got a broad basis in the whole > population (still only considering Southern Norway), a lot of optional > forms > and grammar was introduced. It's main distinction is that whatever is the > normal form in the alternative, Bokmål, is Strictly Not Allowed in New > Norwegian. Interestingly, this excludes the dialects of almost half of the > population in the country. > > It may shine through that I live in this part of the country, and thus > don't see > the bloody point of the entire thing. In my opinion, learning New > Norwegian is a > matter for the particularly interested. :-) > > </Rant alert> > > However, I tend to think of all languages and dialects as music; and I > must say > I truly enjoy the variation in melody between different and properly > spoken > Norwegian dialects. > > Icelandic, and the language of the Faroe Islands, are much closer to the > old > Norse than any Noregian incarnation, and seem pretty foreign to us. > However, > many of the melodic features are similar to the Scandinavian languages. I > find > it extremely fascinating to listen to Icelandic because I understand the > intonation, but not the words. > > > Cheers, > Jostein > > > > Quoting Jens Bladt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > I have no idea. > > Norwegian was very much like Danish (when Norway was a part of Denmark), > so > > the languages are very similar. (Norwegian and Danish is veruy somilar > to > > Danish as well - the thhree Scandinavian countries basically shar a > > language). Norway and Denmark are the only countries that still have the > > three letters a, o and a. After the liberation, the Norwegians tried to > > restore the original old Norwegian language - Ny Norsk (New Norwegian), > > which was actually the old, pre-danish Norwegian language. Rather > > unsuccessfully, I'm afraid. Today Norwegian is still very similar to > Danish, > > with small differences, especially the spelling. Basically we do > understand > > each other very well. Both are of course Germanic languages, which share > the > > most common words (with Germany and England); like hand, finger, eye, > man, > > arm, boat, house, way, see, hear, ear, feel, friend etc. etc. I guess > the > > people on both sides of the North Sea did understand eachother very well > a > > thousand years ago. During the dark medieval ages the languages in each > > country changed - evolved in different directions, so to speak. > > > > It seems that the spelling changes significantly when ever a new state > is > > officially formed. This may be the explanation for the proposed Euro- > English > > language. EU even tried to agree on a shared EU constitution some time > ago - > > unsuccessfully as you all know. I believe Euro English will eventually > share > > the same destiny. > > > > Regards > > > > Jens Bladt > > Arkitekt MAA > > http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt > > > > > > -----Oprindelig meddelelse----- > > Fra: Bob W [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sendt: 4. september 2005 23:52 > > Til: [email protected] > > Emne: RE: EuroEnglish (Was: Same lenses ...) > > > > > > > The Norwegians are even better - they spell everything just > > > like it's pronounced. > > > > Does everybody have the same accent, or do people with different accents > > spell things differently to suit their pronunciation? > > > > -- > > Cheers, > > Bob > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. >
