Norrland dialects
Norrland dialects is one of the six major dialect groupings of the Swedish language. It comprises the dialects in most of Norrland, except those of Gästrikland and southern Hälsingland, where Svealand Swedish is spoken. Local dialects from Härjedalen and northwest Jämtland, which traditionally are counted as variants of the Norwegian dialect of Trøndersk, are also excluded, while Jämtland dialects and other dialects of the region are considered to be true Norrland dialects.
The border between Norrland dialects and Svealand Swedish runs through Hälsingland, 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.
The old northern border of the Swedish language in coastal Norrbotten largely followed the eastern and northern borders of Lower and Upper Kalix parishes in modern Kalix Municipality. From there, a vaguely defined linguistic border ran through Lappmarken from the northernmost point of Upper Kalix parish in an arc to the south of Porjus, then followed the Lule River to the border with Norway.
History
Norrland dialects arose from the combined influence of the Old West Norse spoken in Trøndelag to the west and the Old East Norse spoken to the south. The westerly influences were notably strong in the centuries leading up to the Viking Era. The shift to East Norse progressed through the Middle Ages. 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.The strong West Norse influences can still be seen today in the toponymy of Norrland in placenames ending in -ånger. Parish names such Skön and Indal have West Nordic origins. The dialect of Norrbotten 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 Jamtlandic.
Characteristics
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, which are described in the following summary of phenomena regarded as typical of Norrland dialects.Vowel balance
Words that were "long-spelled" in Old Swedish developed weakened or dropped end-vowels. Examples of words with weakened end-vowels are kastä and backä. In dialects such as those of Jämtland and Västerbotten, where the end-vowels are dropped, these words become kaast and baack. Words that were "short-spelled" have, however, conserved the original end-vowel length. Examples include tala and komma. Vowel balance is also an important distinctive feature in the East Norwegian dialects.End-vowel development in words has been dependent on the stem-syllable length since the time of Old Swedish, known as "vowel balance". The dialect of Medelpad is the southernmost of the coastal dialects which has vowel balance. In the Hälsing dialect, the endings are as in Standard Swedish: kasta, springa etc. Vowel balance is particularly evident in the definite plural of nouns: Standard Swedish hästarna is in certain northern dialects hästa, while dagarna is dagana.
All Sami languages, particularly East Sami, have had similar systems of vowel balance since long before any Nordic languages were spoken in north Scandinavia. One theory that it put forward is that vowel balance emerged in the northern Nordic dialects as a result of the scandinavisation of the Sami people in the area, particularly the South Sami, from about 1300 to 1600.
Smoothing
Words that were originally "short-spelled" have often undergone a process of assimilation of the stem-vowel and ending. Examples include färä and vuku , firi and skyri . The phenomenon, known as "smoothing", is found predominantly in the dialects from upper Dalarna and Trøndelag northward.''A'' and "thick ''L''"
The Old Swedish a before the consonant cluster rð has been preserved, while rð itself became a retroflex flap, often referred to as a "thick L", sometimes represented as a capital "L" to differentiate it from the Standard Swedish rd cluster. Examples of the "thick L" include svaL and aL. The phenomenon is shared with the Dalecarlian dialects and Norwegian and the Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia.Fronted ''sj''-sound
In northern Norrland, the "sj-sound" is pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. That is a postalveolar consonant, represented variously as or , and is sometimes merged with the "tj-sound", a voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant. In Central Sweden and southern Norrland, the "middle sj-sound" is commonly used, described as a voiceless coarticulated palatoalveolar and velar fricative with rounded lips and a relatively closed mouth, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as . The broad "rs-sound", a voiceless retroflex sibilant, is used by many speakers in Central Sweden and southern Norrland for the fronted sj-sound, with considerable variation between individuals. The "back sj-sound" is used in southern Sweden. In Finland Swedish and in English, where the distinction between the "sj-sound" and "tj-sound" is either lost or nonexistent, the fronted sj-sound is used. Examples of the sound in English include the hushing "sh" in she, and the cluster , as in chicken.Articles preceding proper nouns
Proper nouns in the argument position are preceded by an article, just like the weak forms of personal pronouns. For example: ja tala me a Lisa/n Erik igår. That is found in dialects such as those of Medelpad, Ångermanland, and Västerbotten and is uncharacteristic for Germanic languages, but similar to that of Romance languages, among others.Palatalisation
The consonants ⟨g⟩, ⟨k⟩, and ⟨sk⟩ are pronounced as Standard Swedish ⟨j⟩, ⟨tj⟩, and ⟨sj⟩ before front vowels. For example: skojin and ryddjin. That is known as palatalisation. The southern limit of the phenomenon runs through Uppland, Västmanland, and Värmland. It is also found in Ostrobothnia and in a number of dialects in Norway.Loss of ''-er'' ending
In the present tense of strong verbs, the ending -er is lost. Norrland dialects speakers would say han bit as opposed to the Standard Swedish han biter and han spring as opposed to han springer. That is another characteristic shared with the Dalecarlian dialects as well as a number of Norwegian dialects.End stress
The primary stress of compound words is often placed on the ending. For example: näverták and kaffepánna. That is characteristic of most Norrland dialects and is found also in Uppland and Södertörn.Adjective–noun compounds
Compound words with adjectival prefixes are more common in Norrland dialects than in Standard Swedish. For instance, a Norrland dialect speaker may say långhåre, as opposed to the Standard det långa håret, and grannväre, as opposed to det granna vädret. The phenomenon is also found in colloquial Svealand Swedish as well as in Finland Swedish.Subdivisions
Just as it is difficult to precisely define unique linguistic traits for Norrland dialects, it is also difficult to split the group geographically into various subdialects; different traits are found in different areas. Nevertheless, the mediaeval parishes have played a large role in the subdivision of the Norrland dialects. Even those parishes that were organised later in the 1600s, such as Upper Kalix parish and Burträsk parish, have strong dialectal features.The Swedish language came to 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 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 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 is locally called koxik as opposed to the Standard Swedish lavskrika.
Below is a list of common subdialectal divisions of Norrland dialects.
Kalix dialects
These dialects, known in Swedish as kalixmål, are spoken in the medieval Kalix parishes. Like other dialects in Norrbotten, the Kalix dialects retain numerous archaic features. Many Old Norse diphthongs have been preserved, as well as archaic consonant clusters such as sj, stj and lj. The dative case is also retained, including following a preposition. Additionally, verbs at least partially retain their old plural forms.The Kalix dialect is further subdivided into
- Upper Kalix dialect
- Lower Kalix dialect
Luleå dialects
The Luleå dialects are spoken in and around the mediaeval parish of Luleå. 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
- Upper Luleå dialect
- Råneå dialect
Piteå dialects
The Piteå dialects are spoken in the area of the mediaeval Piteå parish as well as in the southernmost parts of Jokkmokk Municipality 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 and stein. The consonant clusters mb, nd, and ng are often retained, for example in kamb. Unique to the Piteå dialects is that Old Swedish long "a" has become short "a" before "n", but nowhere else. Thus, lan, but båt.Settler dialects
The so-called "settler dialects" comprise all the Swedish dialects in Lappland; Karl-Hampus Dahlstedt geographically defines this dialect to those inland parts of Norrbotten 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.North Westrobothnian
North Westrobothnian is spoken in the northern parts of Västerbotten, primarily the mediaeval Skellefteå parish, together with a part of Pite lappmark. Just like the coastal dialects of Norrbotten, North Westrobothnian preserves 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 can be ööyr, ääyr, or aajr in various local dialects of North Westrobothnian.South Westrobothnian
South Westrobothnian is spoken along the Ume River from Umeå to Tärna and Sorsele, including Bygdeå and Holmön. A dialect is spoken in Lycksele lappmark which is highly reminiscent of dialects spoken in Umeå, Vännäs, and Degerfors. 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 North Westrobothnian as well. South Westrobothnian also preserves archaic diphthongs, for instance in bein and ööys. This is a characteristic that distinguishes South Westrobothnian from the [|Nordmaling and Bjurholm] variants of the Ångermanland dialect to the south as well as a shared feature with North Westrobothnian. One difference between South and North Westrobothnian is that in South Westrobothnian, a "g" is often inserted between the old diphthong "au" and a following an "r" or "thick L". For example, South Westrobothnian ôger is aur in North Westrobothnian.Transitional dialects between Ångermanland and Västerbotten
These dialects, intermediate between South Westrobothnian and the Ångermanland dialect, are spoken in Nordmaling and Bjurholm as well as Örträsk. These dialects are similar to the dialect of nolaskogs, such as in the change of Old Norse hv- to gv-.Ångermanland dialects
The Ångermanland dialects are spoken in Ångermanland and Åsele lappmark. The dialects of Åsele and Vilhelmina 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
Medelpad
Jämtland
The Jamtlandic dialects comprise the dialects of Jämtland, with the exception of upper Frostviken, where the so-called Lid dialect is spoken. These dialects are to a greater extent than other Norrland dialects caught between easterly and westerly linguistic influences. Centuries-old cultural and linguistic ties to Norway mean that many westerly linguistic traits that have long since disappeared in the coastal dialects are preserved in Jamtlandic. For example, the vowel u in words such as bu and ku. Jamtlandic, like other Norrland dialects, also retains the archaic diphthongs of Old Norse.Hogdal dialects
These dialects are spoken in Haverö and Ytterhogdal.Hälsing dialects
The commonly accepted isogloss between Norrland dialects and Svealand Swedish runs through Hälsingland. 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. From a Norrland standpoint, there are alternative reasons to define it as coinciding with the southern border of Medelpad, which would fit with the southern limit of vowel balance.Included in the Hälsing dialects are the Hassela dialect and the Forsa dialect.