9/21/2010 12:51:00
PM Norwegian visitors
explore local dialects
Norwegian speaking
volunteers met with Norwegian researchers to
talk and record their stories and language usage
so that it can be reviewed and studied. Janne
Bondi Johannessen, center, speaks with two
volunteers at Mike and Diane Schmidt’s home in
Spring Grove.
The research group
included, left to right, Arnstein Hjelde, Marit
Westergaard, Beate Taranrød, Signe Laake, Janne
Bondi Johannessen, Kristin Eide, and Luke
Annear.
"It is very interesting
to
see how Norwegian
has developed in these different places. The
vocabulary
When settlers
first came to this area most spoke Norwegian.
However, they had to learn English in order to
survive and assimilate and with the passage of
time Norwegian was not spoken as much in homes,
parents didn't teach it to their children and
slowly the prominence of that language spoken in
this area
diminished.
However,
bits and pieces can still be heard in and around
the Spring Grove area to this day because a few
people continued to learn it if only maybe to
know what their parents are grandparents were
saying when they spoke in Norwegian.
Six
researchers from various universities in Norway
visited the area recently to speak with
Americans that learned Norwegian from a relative
and not from taking formal classes or living in
Norway.
"The
Scandinavian countries have been cooperating in
a study of the different dialects that exist in
the different countries," explained Janne Bondi
Johannessen, professor at University of Oslo.
"All the Scandinavian
countries actually speak the same language, just
different dialects. We wondered if Norwegian was
still spoken in the United States; we didn't
think so, but the research council thought it
was a good idea to research so we were given
extra funding to do this research."
This past
winter, an ad was placed in newspapers looking
for people that spoke Norwegian that was learned
from immigrants that came to the United States
before 1920.
Johannessen and Signe
Laake, research assistant from the University of
Oslo, received about 20 replies with some saying
they knew others that spoke it as well. In
March, Johannessen and Laake came to the United
States for about two weeks interviewing people
in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North
Dakota and the Chicago area.
"We were surprised
to find similar dialects through out this area
since the people were so scattered," commented
Laake.
"After being here
in March, we realized there were more areas and
more people that spoke Norwegian and decided
that we needed to come back," added
Johannessen.
During this
recent visit, they interviewed people in Blair
and Westby, Wis., Decorah, Iowa, and Mabel and
Spring Grove, Minn.
In
Norway today there are also different dialects
spoken. Amongst these six researchers, five
different dialects were spoken.
"The Norwegian
language here [United States] is different from
in Norway because the immigrants spoke different
dialects when they came to the United States and
when they settled they may have been with other
Norwegians, but of different dialects so the
dialects mixed together," explained Johannessen.
"It is very interesting
to see how Norwegian has developed in these
different places. The vocabulary is very
interesting here."
The
volunteers that spoke with the researchers were
also recorded via audio only or video. The
information gathered is important to language
researchers and will be transcribed so that it
may be used in the future by researchers as they
study the development and changes in the
Norwegian language not only in Norway but in
other countries.
With
these conversations transcribed, they can study
the syntax (the patterns of sentences), the
phonology (the patterns of speech sounds) and
the semantics (meaning of words) of Norwegian in
America.
Johannessen
remarked that she noticed Americans have kept
many of the Norwegian traditions, but practice
them in different
ways.
Laake added that
she was surprised to find that the people they
spoke with were still "very Norwegian - they
enjoyed similar things like cakes and coffee and
were very hospitable." She even found
similarities in their looks, "they look like the
elder Norwegians at home."
The other
researchers that were part of the group were,
Kristin Eide, professor, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology, Trondheim; Arnstein
Hjelde, associate professor, Høgskolen i
Østfold; Beate Taranrød, student, University of
Oslo; Marit Westergaard, professor, University
of Tromsø; and Luke Annear, Masters of
Scandinavian Studies student from University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
Giants
of the Earth Heritage Center in Spring Grove
helped welcome the researchers to the area and
helped coordinate the interviews. The Giants are
also very interested in preserving these oral
histories of stories told about life in the
early years of Spring Grove.
"We would like to
continue Norwegian language conversations on a
regular basis," commented Jill Storlie, Giants
of the Earth board member. "Maybe some of the
younger generation will begin to learn Norwegian
and be able to pass it on! We would like to
start a 'kaffe stua' or 'coffee break' where
people can meet and speak Norwegian."
The Giants
of the Earth Heritage Center is located in the
historical Ballard House on Main Street in
Spring Grove. Currently their area is being
remodeled, once complete watch for more
information about a "kaffe stua."
