The Languages of Scandinavia : Seven Sisters of the North

From fjords to mountains, schools of herring to herds of reindeer, Scandinavia is rich in astonishing natural beauty. Less well known, however, is that it is also rich in languages. Home to seven languages, Scandinavia has traditionally been understood as linguistically bifurcated between its five Germanic languages (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese) and its two Finno-Ugric ones (Finnish and Sámi). In __The Languages of Scandinavia__, Ruth H. Sanders takes a pioneering approach: she considers these Seven Sisters of the North together. While the two linguistic families that comprise Scandinavia’s languages ultimately have differing origins, the Seven Sisters have coexisted side by side for millennia. As Sanders reveals, a crisscrossing of names, territories, and even to some extent language genetics—intimate language contact—has created a body of shared culture, experience, and linguistic influences that is illuminated when the story of these seven languages is told as one. Exploring everything from the famed whalebone Lewis Chessmen of Norse origin to the interactions between the Black Death and the Norwegian language, __The Languages of Scandinavia__ offers profound insight into languages with a cultural impact deep-rooted and far-reaching, from the Icelandic sagas to Swedish writer Stieg Larsson’s internationally popular Millennium trilogy. Sanders’s book is both an accessible work of linguistic scholarship and a fascinating intellectual history of language. "A much-needed, comprehensive, and accessible overview of the interrelationship among" Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish, and Sami (Ilmari Ivaska, Scandinavian Studies ). From fjords to mountains, schools of herring to herds of reindeer, Scandinavia is rich in astonishing natural beauty. Less well known, however, is that it is also rich in languages. Home to seven languages, Scandinavia has traditionally been understood as linguistically bifurcated between its five Germanic languages (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese) and its two Finno-Ugric ones (Finnish and Sámi). In The Languages of Scandinavia , Ruth H. Sanders takes a pioneering approach: she considers these Seven Sisters of the North together. While the two linguistic families that comprise Scandinavia's languages ultimately have differing origins, the Seven Sisters have coexisted side by side for millennia. As Sanders reveals, a crisscrossing of names, territories, and even to some extent language genetics—intimate language contact—has created a body of shared culture, experience, and linguistic influences that is illuminated when the story of these seven languages is told as one. Exploring everything from the famed whalebone Lewis Chessmen of Norse origin to the interactions between the Black Death and the Norwegian language, The Languages of Scandinavia offers profound insight into languages with a cultural impact deep-rooted and far-reaching, from the Icelandic sagas to Swedish writer Stieg Larsson's internationally popular Millennium trilogy. Sanders's book is both an accessible work of linguistic scholarship and a fascinating intellectual history of language. "Focuses on contacts, colonialism, conflicts and causes of friction, and the resulting language developments from a macro perspective . . . a refreshing and pleasant read." —Verena Höfig, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign From fjords to mountains, schools of herring to herds of reindeer, Scandinavia is rich in astonishing natural beauty. Less well known, however, is that it is also rich in languages. Home to seven languages, Scandinavia has traditionally been understood as linguistically bifurcated between its five Germanic languages (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese) and its two Finno-Ugric ones (Finnish and Sami). In The Languages of Scandinavia, Ruth H. Sanders takes a pioneering approach: she considers these Seven Sisters of the North together. While the two linguistic families that comprise Scandinavia's languages ultimately have differing origins, the Seven Sisters have coexisted side by side for millennia. As Sanders reveals, a crisscrossing of names, territories, and even to some extent language genetics intimate language contact has created a body of shared culture, experience, and linguistic influences that is illuminated when the story of these seven languages is told as one. Exploring everything from the famed whalebone Lewis Chessmen of Norse origin to the interactions between the Black Death and the Norwegian language, The Languages of Scandinavia offers profound insight into languages with a cultural impact deep-rooted and far-reaching, from the Icelandic sagas to Swedish writer Stieg Larsson's internationally popular Millennium trilogy. Sanders's book is both an accessible work of linguistic scholarship and a fascinating intellectual history of language This work narrates the shared history of the seven languages of Scandinavia and their development from earliest times to the present: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish, and Sámi. These "seven sisters of the north" have coexisted in Scandinavia for millennia but come from two distinct language families: two of them are Finno-Ugric and five Germanic. Traditionally, studies of the linguistic history have considered the two families separately because of their ultimate differing origins. However, a crisscrossing of names, territories, and even to some extent language genetics in the North through millennia has created a body of shared culture, experience, and linguistic influence that is illuminated when these seven languages are told as a singular story, an approach that has been called language contact. This book breaks new ground by considering them together. -- Publisher's description "Contents" -- "List of Illustrations" -- "List of Tables" -- "Introduction. Dead Man Talking" -- "1. Prologue to History" -- "2. Gemini, the Twins: Faroese and Icelandic" -- "3. East Is East: Heralding the Birth of Danish and Swedish" -- "4. The Ties That Bind: Finnish Is Visited by Swedish" -- "5. The Black Death Comes for Norwegian: Danish Makes a House Call" -- "6. Faroese Emerges" -- "7. Sámi, Language of the Far North: Encounters with Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish" -- "Epilogue. The Seven Sisters Now and in the Future" -- "Acknowledgments" -- "References" Five Germanic languages - Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese - along with two Finno-Ugric languages - Finnish and Sami - have lived in neighbouring territory in the North for millennia. Though the first five languages belong to a different linguistic family than the second two, their long life together has influenced them all in sometimes surprising ways. This text investigates archaeological, cultural, and genetic evidence from deep history, beginning in the immediate post-Ice Age, to reveal where the languages and their speakers came from Introduction: Dead man talking -- Prologue to history -- Gemini, the twins: Faroese and Icelandic -- East is East: heralding the birth of Danish and Swedish -- The ties that bind: Finnish is visited by Swedish -- The black death comes for Norwegian: Danish makes a house call -- Faroese emerges -- Sámi, language of the far North: encounters with Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish -- Epilogue: the seven sisters now and in the future