Norwegian has many dialects. The dialect of Bergen is quite different from that of Oslo. The dialect of Bergen is similar to many dialects of western Norway.
One of the features which is characteristic of the Bergen dialect is the uvular /r/. In Oslo the /r/ is an alveolar flap, but in Bergen it is a uvular fricative or uvular trill. Unlike in Oslo, the /r/ does not form retroflex sounds in words such as bjørn (bear), hurtig (fast) and torsk (cod) .
The /l/ of the Bergen dialect is never velarized. In the Oslo dialect, it is a velarized lateral in words such as salg (sale), tolv (twelve) and ål (eel). In words such as slange (snake) slott (castle) and slør (veil). the /s/ is a retroflex alveopalatal fricative in the Oslo dialect, but it is an alveolar fricative in the Bergen dialect.
The dialects of Bergen and Oslo both have a distinctive pitch accent which can distinguish words with the same pronunciation. However, the pitch accent is different in the two dialects. The dialect of Bergen is a high tone dialect because the tone starts high and falls. In Oslo, it is a low tone dialect because it starts low and rises.
The two dialects also have different vocabulary. In Oslo the word for I is jeg, but in Bergen it is eg. The word for not is ikke in Olso but ikkje in Bergen. and the word for now is nå in Oslo but no in Bergen.
The Bergen dialect is one of the most recognizable Norwegian dialects. Distinctive features of the dialect include the uvular /r/, the pitch accent and the vocabulary. It is the only Norwegian dialect that uses only two genders, neuter and common, rather than neuter, feminine and common.
No comments:
Post a Comment