– It would be a bit sad if we were to destroy the dialect for them. At the same time, it’s a little flattering that the comedy can have that effect almost 30 years after we made it, says comedian Harald Eia from Bærum. Many young people in Arendal no longer speak Ändal. The comedy program Lille Lørdag from the 1990s, with Eia and Bård Tufte Johansen in the lead, is pointed to as a possible scapegoat. Eia says that he has never had any desire to destroy a dialect. Harald Eia finds it a bit sad, but at the same time flattering that his program is blamed for Arendal’s retreat. Photo: Robert Rønning / Robert Rønning / news – Some oddities Ingeborg Eskild Nilsen is a lecturer in Norwegian and works at Arendal upper secondary school. She confirms that she has noticed that it is not so cool to speak Arendal dialect anymore, and says that there is an end to using soft consonants and words like food and cake. She herself pays close attention to it if she has a pupil who speaks a dialect. – I had one last year who distinguished himself with a genuine Frolands dialect. It’s not often, she says. Nilsen believes the change in the use of the Arendal dialect may have something to do with Lille Lördag. – The dialect was ridiculed quite a bit. People laughed at it, and it was a bit like that those from Arendal were some weirdos, quite simply. She also believes that the fact that Agder comes out poorly on a number of surveys which, among other things, deal with education and substance abuse, may contribute to the fact that people do not want to identify with this area. – It may result in you changing the way you speak. Ingeborg Eskild Nilsen is a lecturer in Norwegian and believes dialect is partly about identity. Photo: news The summer at the bus station Back to the bus station in the 90s, or Little Saturday, as the sketch program was called. Jan Tore, Vidar, Øystein and the other figures were taken up by many throughout Norway. The song “Min drøvesang” became a country plague. Eia has heard before, when the program was part of the Wednesday evening, that Arendalites felt that their dialect was perhaps a little sloppy because of the programme. – We eventually heard people say that they were embarrassed to speak the Arendal dialect, and that people laughed as soon as they opened their mouths and such. We thought that was a bit silly, because that was not our intention. In addition, they heard from the Arendalites that the imitation of the dialect was not very good either. Almost only hears “Bokmål” If Lille Lördag is partly to blame for the fact that fewer people speak the Arendal dialect, there are divided opinions about among students news talks to at Arendal upper secondary school. Student Mia Fjærbu-Seppola, who was born twelve years after Lille Lördag went on TV, does not rule it out. – It could be that Little Saturday has influenced the generation before us. I have heard that many people thought it was embarrassing to speak dialect because so much humor was made out of the dialect in that series, she says. She doesn’t speak dialect herself, and says there aren’t that many friends who do either. She also believes that it is very easy to follow what you hear on TV. – You almost only hear Bokmål and that’s what we read too, she says. Fellow student Anna Øynes Thorsen says she has not made a conscious choice not to speak the Arendal dialect. She points out that her parents don’t either, and thinks maybe that’s why. Mia Fjærbu-Seppola, together with Anna Øynes Thorsen and Eivind Songe at Arendal upper secondary school. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news Influences from the east Elin Gunleifsen, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Agder, points out that influences from the east may have meant a lot. She acquits Lille Lördag of being to blame for the dialect’s decline. Elin Gunleifsen, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Agder, believes that the young people’s dialect is influenced by Eastern Norway. Photo: University of Agder – It seems that young people as far east as Arendal are very much influenced by what is happening further east. In addition, many people from Eastern Norway are moving down to Arendal and Grimstad, she says. How much Ändalsk can you do, test yourself below: Published 14.12.2024, at 09.12 Updated 14.12.2024, at 10.08
ttn-69
