1.3 – Dialects in Norwegian

04 februar 2020 | 8 minutes

Episode’s Transcript

Heihei! In this episode, we will talk about Norwegian dialects. The transcript for the episode is available at the website for the podcast; you can find a link in the description below. The episode is divided in two parts: One in Norwegian and one in English explaining the Norwegian part. Let’s start!

Dialekter på norsk:

Norsk er et språk med mange dialekter. Ei dialekt er en annen måte å snakke på. Ulike dialekter har ofte litt ulik uttale, ord og grammatikk. I Norge er det mange dialekter, men vi kan dele dem inn i noen hovedkategorier. På norsk finnes det fem hovedkategorier for dialekter: Vestnorsk, østnorsk, sørnorsk, midtnorsk og nordnorsk. Jeg snakker østnorsk nå. Bokmål er nærmest østnorsk. I Oslo snakker de østnorsk.

Noen dialekter er likere nynorsk enn bokmål. Mange dialekter vest i Norge ligner mer på nynorsk enn på bokmål. Nynorsk og bokmål er to ulike måter å skrive norsk på. Bokmål er likere østnorsk, mens nynorsk er likere vestnorsk.

Hvorfor finnes det så mange dialekter i Norge? Norge er et langt land med mye natur. Det er langt fra sør til nord i Norge. I tillegg er det mange fjell og fjorder. Fjell og fjorder gjør at mennesker i Norge har vært skilt fra hverandre. Geografiske hindringer som fjell og fjorder har ført til at folk i Norge har utvikla ulike varianter av norsk.

I Norge har dialektene høy status. Dialektene i Norge har høy prestisje. For eksempel er det vanlig å høre ulike dialekter på TV og radio. På TV og radio snakker de dialekter fra hele landet. Det er helt vanlig å høre sørlandsk, vestlandsk, østlandsk, midtnorsk og nordnorsk på TV og radio i Norge. Politikerne i Norge snakker også sin dialekt. Politikere fra Bergen snakker bergensk. Statsministeren i Norge, Erna Solberg, snakker bergensk siden hun kommer fra Bergen.

Noen dialekter er vanskelige å forstå. Dialekter er kanskje det vanskeligste med å lære norsk. Hvordan kan man lære å forstå de norske dialektene? For å forstå dialektene, er det viktig å høre på mye norsk. Det er også viktig å høre på mange forskjellige måter å snakke norsk på. Å forstå ulike dialekter kan være vanskelig i begynnelsen, men det blir lettere etter hvert. Ikke vær redd for dialektene. Jeg synes det er fint at norsk har så mange dialekter. Det gjør norsk til et spennende språk å lære.

Dialects in Norwegian

Norwegian is a language with a lot of dialects, but they can be divided into five main categories: Western, eastern, southern, middle and northern Norwegian. Bokmål is closest to the eastern dialects, whereas nynorsk is closer to the western ones. But why are there so many dialects in Norwegian? Firstly, Norway is a very long country with great distances between south and north. Secondly, Norway is a country with a lot of fjords and mountains, dividing people which naturally leads to language diversification.

Dialects in Norway enjoy high status and prestige. It’s perfectly normal to hear different dialects from all over the country on the radio and on TV. Furthermore, politicians will speak their own dialect, even when addressing people from different regions. Thus, the prime minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, speaks in her dialect, the Bergen dialect.

Some dialects are hard to understand, but don’t worry. By listening to a lot of Norwegian, and to many different varieties of the language, you’ll eventually master them. Personally, I think all the dialects in Norwegian is something that makes the language richer.

Vocabulary:

Uttale – Pronunciation

Dele dem inn i… – Divide them into…

Hovedkategorier – Main categories

Ligner mer på… – Is more similar to…

I tillegg – Also/moreover

Fjell – Mountain

Skilt fra hverandre – Separated from each other

Hindring – Obstacle

Å føre til – To lead to

Variant – Variety

Helt vanlig – Perfectly normal

Siden – Since/because

Måte – Way (for example «way of doing something»)

Etter hvert – After a while

29 Replies to “1.3 – Dialects in Norwegian”

    1. Yes, I know, and I am sorry that it turned out like this. It was very hard for me to know how slowly I should talk, and I think I overdid it. I want to re-record them so that I can fix the way too slow pace.

      But please do check out the more recent episodes (from season 2). Do you think the pace is better there, or is it still too slow?

      1. Yea! I think that pace in s2 is perfect now. You speak faster but it`s clear and understandable for beginner as myself. Keep up the good work

      2. ¡Para mí está perfecto.! Gracias por esforzarte para hacerlo más fácil! Me encanta tu podcast!!

        1. ¡Gracias! Mi objetivo es hacerlo más fácil aprender noruego para hispanohablantes 😊

      3. I actually love the speed you use. I’m a beginner learning Norsk and I do appreciate your input.

      4. The pace is fine. I’m a beginner. And it’s fine. Thanks so much for doing this!

    1. Great to hear! I have re-recorded all of the episodes of season one, so the tempo should now be slow, but not too slow (I hope).

  1. Hei!
    I have a question about the pronunciation. I thought that when the “s” comes after “r” they become a one sound, something like “skj” in a normal speech even if they are in two different words.
    But if I heard correctly, you didn’t do that while reading “har så” in the last paragraph. So, could you explain to me if there are any rules for that?

    1. Good question! I speak a bit slower in the episode so I guess I am more likely to not do it when clearly pronuncing each word. However, my dialect doesn’t do it, so someitmes I might not do it when others would do. I hope that answered your question 🙂

  2. Hi! Thanks a lot for this podcasts and this awesome website! 🙂 Just wanted to let you know that for those who are learning Norwegian your job here is highly appreciated! =)

    1. Tusen takk! My aim for creating the podcasts has always been to make it easier to learn Norwegian. It is so nice that people appreciate all the work and effort. Thank you for the feedback, Elisabeth! 🙂

  3. I really like the speed and setup as it is here.
    Slow Norwegian – English description – vocabulary- normal speed Norwegian.
    (I am a super beginner.)

    Thank you:)

  4. Hei Marius, I really appreciate your podcast. I’ve been learning Bokmål for over a year now but never really practised listening, and your podcasts help greatly. Even if you don’t know all the words it’s easy to understand the main subject of an episode, and the transcript together with the episode helps with studying pronunciation too. Tusen takk og fortsett det flott arbeidet!

    1. Hei!
      Getting the main gist of it really is the most important when listening. I am really happy that the podcast has been helpful to you. Good luck with your Norwegian 🙂

    1. Ingen årsak. I am so happy that people listen to it and appreciate it 🙂

  5. Amazing podcast! I find all the episodes very interesting! I am enjoying a lot to find out more about the origin of the Norwegian language and its culture! The pace is also really good! Thanks a lot!

  6. Hallo! I find your podcast and the fact that you’ve been doing it for so long amazing! You’re my go-to to listen and try to learn this language. Cheers

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