Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Language, by Hj. Falk
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
LANGUAGE
1. We learn from inscriptions in the so-called older runes
that peoples of Germanic nationality inhabited the Scandinavian
countries as early as about 500 A. D. These inscriptions, carved
on monumental stones, weapons or ornaments, show, for the whole
of the Scandinavian north, a uniform language, closely related to
the Gothic language, and of just as ancient a character. The
highly stirring «Viking age» (the 8th to the 10th century A. D.)
brought about important changes in this idiom, as will be seen by
a comparison with inscriptions in the later Runic alphabet (from
about 1050 A. D.) and with the oldest Old Norse manuscripts
(from the latter part of the 12th century). An especially prominent
feature of this development are the contractions and the
weakening of unstressed vowels, which are produced by the prevalence
of a quicker movement of the speech, by which, for instance, the
name of the Thunderer was gradually changed from Þonarar to
Þórr. In the 11th century, the dialectical differences have grown
to be so great, that it is possible to speak about several languages:
Norwegian-Icelandic, Swedish and Danish; or, perhaps more
correctly — inasmuch as the two last mentioned languages are very
closely related — West-Scandinavian and East-Scandinavian. This
differentiation is continued during the following period, so that
even within the different countries, dialectical differences become
more and more prominent; in Norway, it was particularly the
distinction between the western and the eastern part of the country
that became prominent. Nor did the development take place
everywhere with the same rapidity; for instance the oldest Danish
manuscripts (from about 1300 A. D.) show a much more advanced
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
