Elfdalian 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 and by SIL International.
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.
More information about Dalecarlian Runes
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.
| A a | Ą ą | B b | C c | D d | Đ ð | E e | Ę ę |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | ą | bi | si | di | eð | e | ę |
| F f | G g | H h | I i | Į į | J j | K k | L l |
| eff | gi | hå | i | į | ji | kå | ell |
| M m | N n | O o | P p | Q q | R r | S s | T t |
| emm | enn | o | pi | ku | err | ess | ti |
| U u | Ų ų | V v | W w | X x | Y y | Y̨ y̨ | Z z |
| u | ų | vi | wi | eks | y | y̨ | setå |
| Å å | Ą̊ ą̊ | Ä ä | Ö ö | ||||
| å | ą̊ | ä | ö |
C, Q, X and Z only occur in names and foreign words.
Download an alphabet chart for Elfdalian (Excel)
Information about Elfdalian pronunciation provided by Wolfram Siegel, with corrections by Yair Sapir
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.
From the Lisslprinsn (The Little Prince)
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.
From The Little Prince
Information about Elfdalian | Phrases | Numbers
Information about the Elfdalian language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfdalian_language
http://elvdalsk.inss.ku.dk/om/english
http://virtuallinguist.typepad.com/the_virtual_linguist/2008/10/elfdalian.html
http://theconversation.com/fight-on-to-preserve-elfdalian-swedens-lost-forest-language-41642
http://news-en.fb-page.link/p/293556.html
http://alvdalen.se/upload/Dokument/kultur_fritid/%C3%84lvdalskan/alvdalsk_ortografi.pdf
The Little Prince in Elfdalian (Lisslprinsn ą̊ övdalska)
http://www.byonn.se/?page=lisslprinsn
https://youtu.be/GKIC7SJemZA
Afrikaans, Alsatian, Bavarian, Cimbrian, Danish, Dutch, Elfdalian, English, Faroese, Flemish, Frisian (East), Frisian (North), Frisian (Saterland), Frisian (West), German, Gothic, Gottscheerish, Gronings, Hunsrik, Icelandic, Limburgish, Low German, Luxembourgish, Mòcheno, Norn, Norwegian, Old English, Old Norse, Pennsylvania German, Ripuarian, Scots, Shetland(ic), Stellingwarfs, Swabian, Swedish, Swiss German, Transylvanian Saxon, Värmlandic, Wymysorys, Yiddish, Yola, Zeelandic
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 23.04.21
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