The North Germanic Dialect Continuum

doi:10.1017/9781108378291.033

Chapter 32 - The North Germanic Dialect Continuum

from Part V - Language Contact and Nonstandard Varieties

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 March 2020

Charlotte Gooskens

Edited by

Michael T. Putnam and

B. Richard Page

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Michael T. Putnam: Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
B. Richard Page: Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University

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Summary

The modern North Germanic languages family consists of mutually intelligible languages spoken in mainland Scandinavia (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) and the insular languages Faroese and Icelandic. The languages have a common origin but have now diverged to such an extent that there are three different language continua with a large number of dialects. This chapter provides an overview of the history of the North Germanic languages leading to the present-day situation. Results of research are presented that quantify the linguistic differences between the languages and dialects in the language area and the consequences of these differences for mutual intelligibility. Finally, some directions for future research are suggested.

Keywords

Danish Norwegian Swedish Faroese Icelandic dialect continuum mutual intelligibility receptive multilingualism linguistic distances

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics , pp. 761 - 782

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108378291.033 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2020

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