Svorsk

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Svorsk [ˈsvɔʂk] ( Swedish : svorska ) is a suitcase word from the Norwegian words svensk ( German : "Swedish"; Swedish: svenska ) and norsk (German: "Norwegian"; Swedish: norska ) and denotes a mixed language from Swedish and Norwegian slang , for example if Norwegian is interspersed with Swedish loanwords and idioms.

The phenomenon is not uncommon as there is mutual intelligibility between the two neighboring languages . Due to the common origin of the two languages ​​from the Old Norse language , it is possible for the Swedes and Norwegians to converse in an “Internordian” way. By speaking in their own mother tongue and mixing it with expressions from the other language, they intend to make it easier for the foreign-speaking person to communicate with them. A similar phenomenon occurs between Thai and Lao , Portuguese and Spanish ( Portuñol ) or Czech and Slovak (“Czechoslovakian” or sk: “českoslovenčina”, cs: “českoslovenština”).

Swedish influence on Norwegian popular culture

The term svorsk has its origins in the 1960s and 1970s when Norwegian popular culture was heavily influenced by the Swedes. Large parts of the Norwegian population in the border region of Østlandet followed Swedish radio broadcasts and thereby acquired the Swedish language. Swedish family films broadcast on Norwegian television, including Astrid Lindgren 's popular children's series, Holidays on Crows Island and Pippi Longstocking , had the same effect . At a time when both countries had a state broadcasting monopoly, which was heavily influenced by society, several community programs were produced to promote mutual language understanding and cultural cooperation. An early example of such a community program, in which Svorsk appeared, was the radio show Over alle grenser ("Across all borders"), launched in 1959 with Swedish journalist Lennart Hyland and Norwegian actress Randi Kolstad . In 1959, the two radio producers also created the term for the cross-border protection zone Morokulien , which is derived from the Norwegian word moro and the Swedish word kul , which both mean fun.

Many Norwegian and Swedish musicians and artists who performed in both countries developed a mixed vocabulary that can be referred to as Svorsk. The Norwegian comedian Rolv Wesenlund became famous in Sweden with his role as Marve Fleksnes in the series Fleksnes fataliteter , as he strengthened the Swedes in their view of the Norwegians as naive and funny people through his language. Later, the Norwegian Jon Skolmen represented the Swedish cliché of the funny Norwegian again in successful Swedish films such as the comedy Sällskapsresan (Norwegian: Selskapsreisen ) from 1980 . In the role of Ole Bramserud, Jon Skolmen spoke Svorsk, which means he spoke Norwegian but used a lot of Swedish words. The Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl also used a language reminiscent of Svorsk when he read comments for television series about his travels by speaking Swedish with a Norwegian accent .

The influence of Swedish is not only evident in the way the media express themselves in Norway, especially in sports journalism, but many Swedish fashion and slang words have also become established in the Norwegian youth language. Examples are Fjortis as a term for teenagers (compare: 14 is fjorton in Swedish and fjorten in Danish and Norwegian) and kjendis (Swedish: kändis ) for celebrities.

Norwegian and English influence

In contrast, the influence of Norwegian on the more dominant Swedish language is limited, as most Swedes understand Norwegian to a lesser extent than in the opposite case. After the media monopoly in Norway was dissolved and private broadcasting was introduced, Swedish lost its role as the predominant foreign language in the Norwegian mass media compared to English in the late 1980s .

Earlier Svorsk variants

An example of an earlier Svorsk variant is the communication language that was used between Norwegian and Swedish railway workers in Norway, for example when they jointly built the Rallarvegen at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the 1950s, a new kind of colloquial language arose among the employees of the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) , which was based on the Danish , Norwegian, Swedish and English languages ​​and was humorously referred to as Sasperanto .

Svensk-norsk

Svensk-norsk (Norwegian for "Swedish-Norwegian") is another term besides Svorsk that is mainly used when Swedes speak Norwegian with a Swedish accent.

The Swedish-Norwegian singer Elisabeth Andreassen uses Norwegian, which is interspersed with many Swedish words and features and can be paraphrased as "Norwegian with Svorsk touches". The Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann , who worked closely with the Swedish and North American film industry, also spoke a Norwegian for a long time that was heavily influenced by Swedish. Many Swedish migrant workers in Norway continue to speak their mother tongue, Swedish, without making a serious attempt to learn Norwegian, but to varying degrees use Svorsk for better communication.

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