American Norwegian

American Norwegian (Norwegian: amerikansk norsk) is a koiné dialect of Norwegian spoken by Norwegian-Americans.

This article is about the dialect of Norwegian. For the newspaper, see The Norwegian American. For the ethnic group, see Norwegian-Americans.
American Norwegian
amerikansk norsk
Native toUnited States
RegionMidwest, West
Early forms
Latin (Norwegian alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
GlottologNone
IETFno-US

History

Immigration
Further information: Norwegian Americans § History, and Scandinavian immigration to the Americas § Norwegian immigration

American Norwegian formed as a result of Norwegians migrating to the United States.

In 1825, dozens of Norwegians left Stavanger on board the Restauration.[1] Migration was largely due to religious persecution, particuarlly of Quakers and the Haugianerne.[2] Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Norwegian migration to the North America continued, primarily through the White Star Line[3] and the Cunard Line.[4]

Speakers
See also: Norwegian-Americans § Language usage

Between 1910 and the First World War, one million Americans had Norwegian as their first language, many of whom subscribed to Norwegian-language newspapers,[5] such as Decorah Posten and Skandinaven.

In comparison with Norwegian dialects

Differences

The interrogative word used in most Norwegian dialects for "when" is "når", compared to hå ti in American Norwegian.[6]

Variations in grammar indicate koineization.[7]

Similarities

Pronouns in Norwegian and American dialects are relatively similar.[7]

Archaism

While American Norwegian is not archaic in its use of grammar, its lexicon can be described as slightly archaic.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Descendants of Norse 'Mayflower' Pioneers at Centennial Celebration". The Capital Times. June 9, 1925. p. 4. Retrieved September 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. Ingrid Semmingsen, C. A. Clausen (transl.). Haugeans, Rappites, and the Emigration of 1825. Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 29: Page 3.
  3. "The White Star Line". Norway-Heritage. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. "The Cunard Line". Norway-Heritage. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  5. "Den norske Amerika-drømmen" [The Norwegian American Dream]. National Library of Norway (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  6. Reed, Sada (October 16, 2017). "Norwegian America's hidden dialects". The Norwegian American. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  7. Bondi Johannessen, Janne; Laake, Signe (2012). "To myter om det norske språket i Amerika: Er det gammeldags? Nærmer det seg en bokmålsstandard?" [Two Myths About the Norwegian Language in America: Is it old-fashioned? Is it Approaching a Bokmål Standard?]. Norsk Lingvistisk Tidsskrift (in Norwegian Bokmål). 30 (2): 204–228. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
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