After Ivar Aasen: formation of Norwegian dialectology in the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

Dialects in Norway are widely used, and attitude towards dialect speech is rather positive. Dialects are spoken in public contexts and in the media. This situation should be seen in connection with the peculiarities of Norwegian history (late independence acquisition, among other causes). In this situation it is not surprising that dialect research is highly appreciated, and names of the prominent dialectologists are known to average Norwegians. This is certainly true as for Ivar Aasen, the amateur linguist and lexicographer who devoted all his life to preserving dialects and who assembled on the base of dialect patterns one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language. He was one of the key figures in the formation of Norwegian national identity, and his life and work have been described in a lot of books and articles. It is though during the next period, in the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th century, that really scientific research in Norwegian dialects starts. Regretfully, the prominent Norwegian dialectologists of this time and their achievements are not as well-known as I. Aasen, and Russian researches are practically unfamiliar with them. The article is devoted to this interesting period in the evolution of Norwegian dialectology. It contains characteristics of the three leading researchers of this time, Hans Ross, Johan Storm and Amund B. Larsen. The issue of progress in studying phonetics, morphology and syntax of Norwegian dialects is touched upon, too. Some consideration is given to the matter of the most usual methods of dialect studies of the time.