The North Germanic Dialect Continuum

Abstract

The North Germanic languages belong to the Germanic language group along with the West Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages. The North Germanic languages are also often referred to as the Nordic languages, a translation of the term mostly used by the speakers themselves and it refers to the closely related Germanic languages spoken in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Traditionally, the North Germanic language family is further subdivided genetically into East Germanic (Danish and Swedish) and West Germanic (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese). Another subdivision is based on the present relationship between the languages and divides the languages into a continental group (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) and an insular group (Icelandic and Faroese). Sometimes the term Scandinavian is used in a narrow sense to refer to the threemutually intelligible continental Scandinavian languages, while Nordic is used in a wider sense to include Icelandic and Faroese. In this chapter we will follow this terminology. Very diverse local dialects are spoken in the Nordic language area, especially in rural communities. Boundaries between dialect areas are gradual and form a dialect continuum that does not always coincide with national borders. In this chapter we will focus on the Scandinavian language continuum, but wewill also discuss the position of Faroese and Icelandic within the Nordic language family.