Elfdalian or Övdalian is a North Germanic language spoken by about
2,500 people in the Älvdalen Municipality (Övdaln) in
Northern Dalarna in central Sweden. Elfdalian is considered to be a separate
language by some linguists, but many others believe it to be a dialect of
Swedish, and it is not recognised as a minority language in Sweden.
Elfdalian has developed in relative isolation since the Middle Ages and
maintains a number of features of Old Norse not found in other
Northern Germanic languages, not even Icelandic. As a result,
Elfdalian differs markedly from Swedish and can be difficult for
other Swedes to understand.
A runic alphabet known as Dalecarlian Runes was used to write Elfdalian
until 1900. The Latin alphabet was also used to write Elfdalian from the
17th century.
Until the 1950s some people in the Elfdalian-speaking region spoke nothing
but Elfdalian until they went to school. At school children were discouraged or
prohibited from speaking Elfdalian until the 1970s.
Since the 1980s efforts have
made to preserve and promote the language, particularly by Ulum Dalska
(The Organization for the Preservation of Elfdalian). Dictionaries and other
books have been published, a standard orthography for Elfdalian was devised
in 2005 by Råðdjärum (The Elfdalian Language Council),
and an Elfdalian-medium kindergarten is due to open in 2016.
Elfdalian alphabet (Övdalsk-abiseð)
A a
Ą ą
B b
C c
D d
Đ ð
E e
Ę ę
F f
G g
H h
I i
a
ą
bi
si
di
eð
e
ę
eff
gi
hå
i
Į į
J j
K k
L l
M m
N n
O o
P p
Q q
R r
S s
T t
į
ji
kå
ell
emm
enn
o
pi
ku
err
ess
ti
U u
Ų ų
V v
W w
X x
Y y
Y̨ y̨
Z z
Å å
Ą̊ ą̊
Ä ä
Ö ö
u
ų
vi
wi
eks
y
y̨
setå
å
ą̊
ä
ö
C, Q, X and Z only occur in names and foreign words.
Elfdalian pronunciation
Information about Elfdalian pronunciation provided by Wolfram Siegel, with corrections by Yair Sapir
Sample texts
Ig [h]ar [h]ärt glamas um mikid a landi
Sa ir miog dält jär a Dalöfwes strandi
[H]ur jär ir fräkt nad fok
Fläd äd giäf god nag miok
Kullur der omali lat snogt i straiten
Gosser min skäidum tag brindum a kauten
Translation
I have heard in the countryside told many a thing;
which is very pleasant here on the bank of the Dala River;
how kind people are here;
the cattle gives such good milk;
girls play so nicely the horn;
boys catch elks on the run with their skis.
Undą̊ för undą̊ fuor ig föstå ur launggsamt du add eð, Lisslprinsn menn. Laindj i seð add it du noð eller uonå dig ą̊ eld kuogå ą̊ grannsuolniðgaunggą. Eð föstuoð ig um morgun fiuord da'n, mes du lit að mig: Ig tyttjer so mitjið um suolniðgaunggą
Oh, little prince! Bit by bit I came to understand the secrets of your sad little life. For a long time you had found your only entertainment in the quiet pleasure of looking at the sunset. I learned that new detail on the morning of the fourth day, when you said to me: I am very fond of sunsets.
