Linguists argue language spoken by 2,500 people in central Sweden is more than an esoteric dialect
t is a distinct language that has survived against the odds for centuries in a tiny pocket of central Sweden, where just 2,500 people speak it today. And yet, despite bearing little resemblance to Swedish, Elfdalian is considered to be only a
Yair Sapir, the co-author of a new book on Elfdalian grammar, the first to be published in English, said: “There is research that compares the distance between Elfdalian vocabulary and it shows the distance is as large as between Swedish and Icelandic. So there is higher mutual intelligibility between speakers of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish than between Swedish and Elfdalian.”
While runes had became obsolete in most of Sweden as early as the 14th century, there is evidence of runes being used in Älvdalen as late as 1909, making it the last place in the world where they were used. As a result of such attitudes, there has historically been shame around speaking the language, but in recent years there has been a sense of pride. Efforts by speakers to preserve and revitalise the language have resulted in more people learning the language, standardisation, more teaching in schools, research and Elfdalian children’s literature.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hallelujah: how a Nordic muse and a Greek island changed Leonard CohenA new eight-part drama So Long, Marianne tells how the great Canadian singer fell in with two legendary Australian writers, and found his lifelong muse.
Read more »
Hallelujah: how a Nordic muse and a Greek island changed Leonard CohenA new eight-part drama So Long, Marianne tells how the great Canadian singer fell in with two legendary Australian writers, and found his lifelong muse.
Read more »
Hallelujah: How a Nordic muse and a Greek island changed Leonard CohenA new eight-part drama So Long, Marianne tells how the great Canadian singer fell in with two legendary Australian writers, and found his lifelong muse.
Read more »
Foul play at the fish farm: ‘Nordic blue’, the hit new genre mixing noir and knittingSatu Rämö has caused a publishing sensation across Europe – thanks to her novels about Hildur, a mindful cop who solves murders with her needle-clacking sidekick, then soothes her trauma with exercise.
Read more »
Sweden and Norway rethink cashless society plans over Russia security fearsRise in hybrid warfare and cyber-attacks blamed on pro-Russia groups prompt Nordic neighbours to backpedal
Read more »
Anthony Albanese could prove his moral courage with bold action to battle gambling harmMore than 16 months after the parliamentary committee (of which I was a member) handed down a bipartisan report, the PM is yet to respond
Read more »