Dialects in Norway – between tolerance and standardization
Dialects in Norway – between tolerance and standardization

Summary/Abstract: Norwegian is peculiar not only with a view to the written language, which has two official standards, but also regarding the spoken language, which lacks a standardized form. In fact, Norway is one of the most dialect-speaking countries in Europe. The use of a regional dialect in all fields of one’s life is rather perceived as part of one’s identity, and a sign of democracy and decentralization. Although theoretically there are four main dialects, in practice the variety of dialects differing in grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation is much wider, and depends on the part of the country or even on a specific town. The present paper is mainly focused on analyzing how the issue of diatopic variation in the Norwegian spoken language has been depicted in recent years (2008-2012) in Norway’s largest daily newspaper, Aftenposten. Even if dialects are accepted in everyday life, one of the recurrent debates in the newspaper is however related to using a standard form at least in the news programs from the largest Norwegian television and radio company, NRK, where the language ought to be considered a point of reference. Another topic of interest is related to the dialects used in dubbing in children’s television series.

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