Elfdalian - a minority language spoken in Sweden

by LoveUniHateExams 3 Replies latest social current

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  LoveUniHateExams

  Just found an interesting little video (Älvdalska förklarad = 'Elfdalian explained').

  Elfdalian is a separate language spoken in Dalarna, Sweden by a few thousand people.

  In Swedish, the letter W is rarely used, and when it is it is pronounced as V. But Elfdalian has W and it's pronounced just like English W. So, 'white' is vit in Swedish, but wait in Elfdalian, pronounced like English white.

  Elfdalian also has the letter Ð, ð, which features not in Swedish but in Icelandic and Faeroese.

  How cool is that?!

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLE7wfv3r6w

  
  
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  road to nowhere

  A new translating office? Only if it is an upscale area.
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  Magnum

  Thanks, LoveUniHateExams; language is fascinating to me and is on my list of things to study when I can (linguistics, individual languages, history and evolution of languages, etc.).

  road to nowhere: Only if it is in an upscale area.

  You got that right. You think like the Great Leaders in New York. Maybe they have a position open for you.
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  LoveUniHateExams

  A good place to start if you want to explore Elfdalian orthography, grammar, etc., is wiki.

  Elfdalian has four grammatical cases (unlike Swedish which has none).

  Also, Elfdalian speakers were apparently using a runic alphabet right up until 1929! That is insane

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfdalian