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Welcome to the home of Norn, the mysterious 6th Scandinavian language that was spoken in Shetland, Orkney and part of Scotland until the 18-19th centuries, when it was replaced with Scots English. Like its close cousins, Faroese and Icelandic, Norn descended from Old Norse, the language of Scandinavian settlers who colonised various sparse populated or uninhabited territories in North Atlantic. The colonisers, or vikings, which is what they are usually called nowadays, came mostly from West Norway and it seems logical that they first called at Shetland and Orkney, the closest lands to Norway. The first Scandinavian settlements appeared on these archipelagoes around 800 A.D., which can be considered to be the startpoint of Norn. Little is known about the development of Norn before its fragments started being recorded in the 1718th century and nobody knows for sure when Norn developed into a language different from Old Norse. The latter is the language of the oldest Scandinavian records found in Shetland and Orkney - runic inscriptions from the 10-12th centuries. Primarily ruled by native Norse earls, Orkney and Shetland accepted the authority of the King of Norway in 1231 and the written language used at those times in official correspondance was still Old Norse, which showed very few local features, if any. This is not surprising, bearing in mind that local scribes used to go to Norway seeking training in the language. In 1380 Shetland and Orkney followed Norway into an alliance with Denmark when the Norwegian and Danish crowns united (Kalmar Union) and Danish started replacing Old Norse as the language of clerical records. Danish was used well into the 16th century and even longer - the last document written in Danish dates back to 1607 (Shetland). However, whatever written language was used, it is obvious that the spoken language of the original Norse population of the islands - namely Norn - never made it onto paper. Surviving old documents in Old Norse or Danish are not illustrative about Norn, and, as the scarce existing records show, it was quite different from both. In the 14th century, the islands started experiencing a growing influence from Scotland and a few centuries later Scots English (or Scots, regarded by some as a separate language) started to compete with the local Scandinavian tongue. Orkney faced this

influence to a greater extent, while Shetland, thanks to its relative remoteness, was more conservative and about one hundred years behind in accepting the changes that had already occured in its southern neighbour. The first step of "Scottisation" of the islands was eventually made clear in the 13th century when the line of Norse earls in Orkney ceased and was replaced first by Scottish earls of Angus and then Strathearn lines, apparently Gaelic speaking. Later on they were succeeded by the Sinclair earls, who spoke Scots (but still acted on behalf of the Norwegian king). The Sinclairs had a less formal influence in Shetland as well and in the 16th century, Scottish earls finally came to power in Shetland. The oldest preserved documents in Scots are from 1433 (Orkney) and 1525 (Shetland). The Danish king pawned Orkney (1468) and Shetland (1469) to Scotland, to which they have belonged since, being presently a part of United Kingdom. Scots thus became the official language of the islands, despite the dominance of Norn as the spoken language. This dominance was though quickly threatened by a flood of immigrants from Scotland who had started moving to Orkney around 1400 and later reached Shetland, although to a lesser extent. Scots was slowly but surely displacing the Scandinavian language in the official domain and business, leaving to Norn the lower social niche - the language of poor fishermen and crofters. The fate of Norn was finally decided in 1560, when the Reformation reached Scotland and the islands saw new Scots schools and Scots speaking clergymen. After that, the demise of Norn was just a matter of time: Scholars call the old Norse language of Shetland 'Norn'. In Foula it was known as 'Da Dansk'. Tradition has it that the language died out in two generations. Grandparents refused to teach 'Dat auld dirt' to their grandchildren. A major trigger for this attitude was probably the teaching of the English Bible in a school established in the island in 1740 by the Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge.' (Quote taken from the Foula Heritage website). But Norn did not give in easily as it is usually believed. Despite the fact that the islands' old Norse legislation was replaced with that of Scotland around 1600, Orcadians and Shetlanders maintained strong economic and family ties with Norway up till the 1718th centuries. Hugh Marwick mentions that in 1613-1650 no less than 78 Orcadians moved to Bergen, Norway, hinting that the number of immigrants from Shetland was even higher. One of the first burgomasters of Bergen was the Orkney-born 'Little John'. Jakob Jakobsen recalls the name "Hjeltefjorden" ('the Shetland fjord') given to the northern entrance of the harbour of Bergen which was a casual mooring place for boats regularly coming from Shetland. However, the ties with Norway were

constantly slackening until, ultimately, this link to one of the most relevant areas for usage of Norn became a matter of the past. According to historical sources, most of Norn speakers of the 17-18th centuries, if not all, were bilingual. Orkney Norn, being in common usage in the 16th century, most likely declined in the 1600's and after 1700 only a very few people retained an ability to speak it. By 1773 Orkney Norn was believed to be practically extinct, although some of the local inhabitants were said to preserve a very limited memory of Norn (apparently just some odd words and phrases) around 1800. See the following testimonies by contemporaries: 1569, Dalrympe translation of Leslye's "History": 'of the Iles of Orchnay, sum ar Inglese, sum of the language of Norway'. 1582, George Buchanan, "History of Scotland": 'the old Gothic tongue (vetus gothica longua) was still used in Orkney' 1605, Sir Thomas Craig : 'in Orkney and Shetland, where in the previous century only Norse was spoken, English was the language used in churches and was well enough understood'. 1670, Mathew Mackaill (MacKaile), "A Short Relation of the Most Considerable Things in Orkney": 'It is very probably that the inhabitants of the Orcades of old did only speak Noords or rude Danish; but there are only three or four parishes (especially upon the Mainland or Pomona) wherein that language is spoken, and that chiefly when they are at their own houses, but all speak the Scots language, as the rest of the commons do'. 1700, Wallace: 'all speak English, after Scots way... some of the common People amongst themselves speak a language they call Norns; which they have derived to them, either from the Pights, or some others, who first planted this Country; for by the following Lord's Prayer in that Language, it has but little of the Danish or Norwegian language, to which I thought it should have had more affinity, considering how long time they were possessors of this Country'. 1701, Revd John Brand, "Description of Orkney, Zetland, etc.": 'They generally speak English, neither do I think they have so much of the Northern Accent, as in many places of the North of Scotland, yet several of the Isles have some Words and Phrases peculiar to themselves. There are also some who speak Norse especially in the Mainland, as in the parish of Hara there are a few yet living, who can speak no other thing, this Language not being quite extinct among them, since the Norwegians whose Language it is, had this Country in possession. And tho Caithness be near to Orkney, yet none in Orkney can speak Irish, tho the greatest part in Caithness can; Nor any in Caithness speak Norse tho some in Orkney yet can do it'. 1703, Martin, "Brief Description of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland": They generally speak the English tongue, and many among them retain the ancient Danish language, especially in the more Northern isles..

1750, Murdoch Mackenzie: 'The Language is English in the Scotch Dialect, with more of the Norwegian than any other Accent; these Islands having formerly been a Province of Norway, of which they still retain some of the Customs, and a little of the Language, which they call Noren, much the same with what is presently spoken in Iceland and the Faro Islands. Thirty or Forty years ago this (Norn) was the language of two parishes in Pomona Island; since which, by the Means of Charity-Schools, it is so much wore out, as to be understood by none by old People; and in thirty years more, it is probably, will not be understood there at all'. 1750, James Mackenzie, speaking of both Orkney and Shetland: 'The customs of the inhabitants, like the rest, were all Norwegian; their language the Norse, or that dialect of Gothic which is spoken in Norway, and disused only within this present age, by means of those English schools erected by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Nor to this very time it is quite disused, being still retained by old people, and in vulgar use amongst them at this day.' 1757, witnesses at the Court of Session: 'Thomas Balfour, merchant in Kirkwall, aged 33, depones that about 20 years ago, when the Deponent came first to the school of Kirkwall, he heard severals of the Country people from the Mainland speak Norn, or Norse, among themselves; but that English ewas the common Language. ... John Erskine, tacksman of Nether Scapa, aged 38, depones that he does not remember whether or not he heard the Norse language, or the language in Norway, commonly called Norn in Orkney, frequently spoke when the Deponent was a boy at school, but remembers the Language to have been spoke by some Country People, spontaneously, in the Deponent's company, and they had a pretty long Conversation in the Language; and that this happened within these two years. ... James Smith, writer in Stennes, aged 42, depones that he remembers the Norn or Norse Language to have been vulgarly spoke by a good many People in the Mainland of Orkney; and that he knows some People, particularly three or four in the parishes of Harray and Firth, who speak that Language pretty fluently, as far as he can judge, at this day. ... William Sinclair, tacksman of Rapness in Westray, aged 53, depones ... that when the Deponent was a Boy at the School of Kirkwall, he frequently heard the Country People speaking the Norn, at least, a Language resembling the Norse, or Language in Norway.' 1773, Revd George Low: 'The Language of these Islands was a dialect of the Norwegian, the same as is used in Iceland to this day. It was called here Norn (contracted I suppose for Norwegian) but is now so much worn out, that I believe there is scarce a single man in the country who can express himself on the most ordinary occasion in the language. Even the Songs... are now (except a few of the most trifling) altogether lost, tho this little more than half a century ago was the prevailing tongue of two parishes in the Mainland. They now altogether speak english, but with a great deal of the Norwegian accent, and even with some words of that language intermixed... and to this day there are many sounds in the English language which the Orkney people cannot master, but pronounce according to their old Norn dialect'.

1805, Revd George Barry, "History of Orkney": 'So late as 1756 or 1757, as a respectable native of this country was travelling from Kirkwall to Birsa, he heard two old men for an hour or more converse together in an unknown language; which, on enquiry, he found was the Norse language. ... For many years past it has been almost entirely forgotten, except in one parish in the heart of the Mainland (of Orkney), where the people are said, till of late, to have retained some acquaintance with it. ... Here it now exists only in a few vulgar and obsolete words, and in the names of men and places.' 1814, Sir Walter Scott, visited Orkney in 1814 (from a note to "The Pirate"): 'Mr. Baikie of Tankerness, a most respectable inhabitant of Kirkwall, and an Orkney proprietor, assured me of the following curious fact:- A clergyman, who was not long deceased, remembered well when some remnants of the Norse were still spoken in the island called North Ronaldsha. When Gray's Ode, enditled the "Fatal Sisters", was first published, or at least first reached that remote island, the reverend gentleman had the well-judged curiosity to read it to some of the old persons of the isle, as a poem which regarded the history of their own country. They listened with a great attention to the preliminary stanzas... But when they heard a verse or two more, they interrupted the reader, telling they knew the song well in the Norse language, and had often sung it to him when he asked them for an old song. They called it the Magicians, or the Enchantresses. It would have been singular news to the elegant translator, when executing his version from the text of Bartholine, to have learned that the Norse original was still preserved by tradition in a remote corner of the British dominions.' (The Norse song mentioned by Scott is known as Darraalj and featured in the Saga of Njll.) Although Norn survived for a little longer on the Shetland Isles, it precisely mirrored the fate of Orkney Norn. Shetland Norn is said to still have been in common use around 1700, yet being widely replaced with Scots. Shetland Norn did most likely not survive into the 19th century except on the remotest islands, Foula in the west and Unst, Yell and Fetlar in the north, albeit spoken by limited number of people and already much worn out. In the 1890's the eldest inhabitants of the islands still could remember some phrases in Norn: 1605, Sir Thomas Craig: 'In Orkney and Shetland, where in the previous century only Norse spoken, English was the language used in churches and was well enough understood.' 1701, "Revd John Brand, Description of Orkney, Zetland, etc.": 'English is the common language among the inhabitants of Zetland, yet many of the People speak Norse, or corrupt Danish, especially such as live in the more Northern Isles; yea, so common is it in some places, that it is the first language that the children speak. The Norse hath continued ever since the Norwegians had these islands in possession, and in Orkney it is not quite extinct, though there be by far more of it in Zetland, which many do commonly use.' 1703, Martin, "Brief Description of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland": 'They generally speak the English tongue, and many among them

retain the ancient Danish language, especially in the more Northern isles..' 1711, Sir Robert Sibbald: (remark about the parishioners of Cunningsburgh, on south Mainland of Shetland) 'All the inhabitants of the parish can speak the Gothick or Norwegian language, which they call Norn, now much worn out, and seldom speak other among themselves. Yet all of them speak the Scots tongue more promptly and more readily than generally they do in Scotland'. 1750, James Mackenzie, speaking of both Orkney and Shetland: 'their language the Norse, or that dialect of Gothic which is spoken in Norway, and disused only within this present age, by means of those English schools erected by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Nor to this very time it is quite disused, being still retained by old people, and in vulgar use amongst them at this day.' 1774, Revd George Low, about Foula: 'The Norse Language is much worn out here, yet there are some who know a few words of it; it was the language of the last age, but will be entirely lost by the next... The best phrases are all gone, and nothing remains but a few names of things and two or three remnants of songs which one old man can repeat and that but indistinctly'. 1809, Arthur Edmonston (an author from Shetland), "A view of the ancient and resent state of the Zetland Islands": 'The old Norse has long been wearing out, and the change appears to have begun in the southern extremity and to have been gradually extended to the northern parts of the country. The island of Unst was its last abode, and not more than thirty years ago several individuals there could speak it fluently. It was preserved too, for a considerable length of time, in Foula; but at present there is scarcely a single person who can repeat even a few words of it.' 1837, Robert Dunn, "Ornithologist's Guide": 'The English language is commonly spoken... they have introduced into it a great many words from the Norwegian, Danish and Dutch languages, and this medley uttered by a native is exceednigly unpleasant to the ear and very difficult to understand.' 1894, Jakob Jakobsen: 'Even in 1600 the knowledge of English seems to have been very meagre in Shetland; for, according to the "Fasti Ecclesi Scottican", Magnus, surnamed "Norsk", minister of Unst (the most northerly of the Islands), made a voyage to Norway to learn the language spoken there, because his congregation did not undersand any other language than Norse. <...> The Shetland Norn was still a living language in the middle of the 18th century <...> even rather late in the 18th century, Norn songs and ballads survived in the mouths of the common people. <...> In several parts of Shetland, especially Foula and the North Isles, the present generation of old people remember their grandparents speaking a language they could hardly understand, and which was called Norn or Norse. <...> As late as 1894, there were people in Foula who could repeat sentences in Norn, as I myself had the opportunity of hearing. The last man in Unst who is said

to have been able to speak Norn, Walter Sutherland from Skaw, died about 1850. In Foula, on the other hand, men who were living very much later than the middle of the present century are said to have been able to speak Norn'. There are witnesses that the memory of Norn was still not extinct as late as the middle 20th century. Some of today's old Foula residents remember an old woman from their childhood days who used to teach children various Norn expressions and we can roughly date that to the first half of the 20th century. In 1958 George (Dodie) Isbister in Foula was heard to utter a verse from The Eagle's Song (according to The Foula Heritage website). This is certainly the very latest one has heard of Norn. But even after the complete demise of Norn, its remnants still live in the linguistic memory of Shetlanders and Orcadians. Their native Scots dialect has inherited a good deal of Scandinavian words (including pronouns, prepositions and particles), several grammatical traits and even intonation, which is said to be very reminiscient of Norwegian. Hugh Marwick and Gregor Lamb comment on the Orcadian accent with the following words: The Orkney cadence is quite different from that of any part of the mainland of Scotland, and there is not the slightest possibility of confusing it with that of our nearest neighbour - Caithness. But on the other hand, a Norwegian in Orkney, listening to Orcadians talking among themselves at such a distance that only their tones were audible, might well imagine he was at home in Norway. It is one of the most remarkable things about speech that people of the same stock, living out of touch with each other, may become mutually unintelligible so far as vocabulary is concerned, and yet retain 'the tune they speak to' practically unchanged through centuries. Such has been the case in regard to Orkney and its motherland Norway. (Cited from "The Viking Legacy" (1971) by John Geipel, p. 105) In Norwegian, the sentence 'I hope we can eat at eight o clock' is Jeg hper vi kann spise klokken tte and it would be sounded with a similar lilt, going up and down just as in the Orkney dialect. ("Whit Like the Day? Understanding Orkney dialect." (2005) by Gregor Lamb, p. 96) Compare it to what today's Shetlanders say about their experience of communicating with Norwegians: I was in a queue to a theme park in Denmark, where I found the accent difficult, when I heard very familiar voices coming up behind me, I turned to address what I thought were Shetlanders, when I realised from their appearance that they were in fact Norwegians! (By "Rasmie") I was in a fishing shop in Bergen with two fellow Shetlanders and while we were discussing what would be the best gear to catch olicks, the young lady assistant came over and asked where we were from, saying we were not speaking Norwegian but we sounded just like Norwegians. (By "Heimdal")

Unfortunately, Norn did not attract the attention of scholars until it was practically out of use. This can be explained by remoteness of Orkney and Shetland from Europe's scientific centres, lack of missionaries who described languages existing outside of the Christian world, but were hardly interested in visiting long baptised areas, and the immaturity of the linguistic science which was only making the first steps when Norn was already at its last gasp. The first written specimen of Norn came to the light of day in the early 18th century when the Lord's Prayer in Orkney Norn (recorded in the 1690's) was published by Wallace (1700). In the 1770's the Scottish clergyman, George Low, recorded in Foula the Shetlandic version of the Lord's Prayer, the "Ballad of Hildina" and a short list of words. The scientific study of Norn began in 1866 when T. Edmonston published "An Etymological Glossary of the Shetland and Orkney Dialect". In the late 19th century the Faroese linguist Jakob Jakobsen gathered in Shetland by far the most extensive collection of Norn material, including texts (short poems, lullabies, riddles and fragments of live conversation) and vocabulary (about 10 000 words of Scandinavian origin surviving in the local dialect of Scots), which were published in his classic "Etymologisk Ordbog over det norrne Sprog p Shetland" (in Danish, 1908-1921, completed posthumously). Shortly later it was translated into English as "An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland" (1928-1932). About the same time the Orcadian scholar Hugh Marwick published "Orkney Norn" (1929) which comprised a vocabulary of over 3000 words of Scandinavian origin picked up from Orkney Scots. Most of the surviving specimens of Norn speech show signs of corruptedness and feature various elements coming from Scots. Several scholars of Norn (Jakob Jakobsen, Hugh Marwick) have asserted that the demise of Norn was a gradual process, with Scots words and grammar gradually penetrating Norn and turning it into what we would call 'Norn-Scots creole' which later became a highly Scandinavised variant of Scots that is spoken in Shetland and Orkney nowadays (Insular Scots). Others, including Michael Barnes, refute this hypothesis, pointing at the lack of typological parallels for such a "creolisation" and put forward the idea of Norn having been given up in favour of Scots due to the low social prestige of the former. The latter point is regarded by many as more

convincing. Nevertheless, there is a good deal of texts quoted by Jakobsen where you cannot say for sure whether it is Norn or Scots (the alleged Norn-Scots creole?). Let us also mention the language of Manx, which prior to its decline was gradually losing Goidhelic pecularities becoming more and more corrupted - a typological parallel Barnes overlooked. This evidence makes the theory of Jakobsen and Marwick no less worthy of consideration than that of Barnes,.. so the truth, as often, may hide somewhere inbetween.

General account on Norn

1. Introduction 2. Overview 2.1. Shetland (mainland) Norn 2.2. Foula/Westside Norn 2.3. Orkney Norn 3. Norn in Scandinavian classification 3.1. East Scandinavian features in Norn 3.2. West Scandinavian features in Shetland Norn 3.3. West Scandinavian features in Foula/Westside Norn 4. Relations to neighbouring languages 4.1. Orkney Norn vs. South Shetland Norn 4.2. Foula/Westside Norn vs. Faroese 4.3. Foula/Westside Norn vs. Suuroy, Faroes 4.4. North Shetland Norn vs. Faroese 5. Summary 1. Introduction 1.1. The word 'Norn' originates from the Old Norse word norrnn 'northern, Nordic' and is normally used for the Scandinavian language that existed in Orkney and Shetland until the 17-19th centuries. Occasionally the term 'Norn' is applied to the English [Scots] dialects that are spoken on the archipelagoes nowadays. This usage is certainly wrong, although some respectable authors, incl. Hugh Marwick, admitted the term Norn in this incorrect sense (see f.ex. Marwick's "Orkney Norn", 1929, p. XXVIII, where he calls the Sanday author Walter Traill Dennison a "writer of modern Orkney Norn"). So be careful: if you see a text in "Norn" and it has spellings like tae, guid, wrang, laek etc, be sure it is Scots. 1.2. Another stereotype tied with the name of Norn is that it is often understood to be similar both for Orkney and Shetland. This view is misleading too, because there were clear distinctions between the Orkney and Shetland versions of Norn, probably about as noticeable as the differences between Shetland Norn and Faroese when the former was still in full use. More than that, there were serious differences, at least of phonetic nature, in Shetland between the Foula and Westside/Sandness dialect on the one hand (further: Foula/Westside Norn) and the rest of the islands on the other hand, differences at some point larger than between (the rest of) Shetland and Orkney. (We know practically nothing about dialects of Orkney Norn, if they ever existed). To sum it up, the name Norn is rather collective and applies to a group of dialects rather than to any kind of

a common language. However, we reserve the right to use the term Norn as referring to one language when dialectal differences within Norn are to us of no importance. 2. Overview of Shetland and Orkney Norn Further we are going to broadly examine main distinctive features of Norn and its dialects. Bearing in mind our knowledge of grammar is limited, we will mostly concentrate on phonetic features. For a more detailed account see respective sections on Orkney and Shetland Norn. 2.1. Shetland (mainland) Norn The main features of Shetland Norn are the following (Norn < Old Norse or Old Norse > Norn unless specified): 2.1.1. monophtongisation: keipr > keb, greii > gre(d), haugr > hjog, hg, hleypingr > lbin; one of the very few exception: ausa > ous 2.1.2. breaking: baugr > bjog, birtingr > bjartin, fela > fjal, hnefatak > (*njavatak) > njafatag, nevatjog, er ('is') > yaar (Foula), ek > yach, barn > bjadn- (Foula) 2.1.3. "reverse" umlaut: brydda > brodd, *flyra > fluder, lr > (*lr) > lor, *lringr > (*lringr) > lorin, snlda > (*snlda) > snolda, sti > sodi 2.1.4. voicing of stops p,t,k > b,d,g: keikr > kgr, djpr > dub, brot > brod 2.1.5. occasional devoicing of voiced stops: bindari > bjintr 2.1.6. occasional preaspiration of tt, pp, kk: ba'kk, klai'p (often absent or, in the case of tt, replaced with palatalisation, see 2.1.8.) 2.1.7. unvoicing of sonorants (r,l,m,n,,,ng) before p,t,k: swi'rt, ba'lker, (kett)hu'ntlin; in the case of t often replaced or followed with palatalisation: klo't/kloi'nt, ho'tel; 2.1.8. palatalisation ll,rl > , nn,rn > , tt > itt, , rather irregular: - falla > faj, f, ullar- > oa, millum > melan, mean, occasionally in the initial (prevocalic) position: fleygja > fog, lkr > log,ljog - hann > h, brenna > brek, andi > di, but banna > bann, occasionally in the initial (prevocalic) position: nykr > njogel, snykr > snjuger - gott > go, goitt, kattaklr > kiklur, kitaklur; 2.1.9. > d, g, 0 (zero), > t: - hl > li, lr > l, moea > m - boa > bod, ging > gdin, spai > spadi; - afra > afro, afrod; greii > gre, gred - Like in Faroese, the old cluster r is preserved, but unlike Faroese where it is often pronounced as [gr], in Shetland Norn it appears as [dr]: flara > fladrk, lr > ludr-, but hrr > rudr, rur

- Nevertheless, does change to g in Norn in a number of words: kafaburr > kavaborg, skri > skrid, skrig, leivsari > legvisr, aa > jog, g - ari > tari, ilja > tili, urkastt > torksot - Only in South Shetland (Dunrossness) occasionally stayed preserved as [] or []: ei > e, mi > mi, k > k,k, seir > se,se 2.1.10. hv, kv > hw, in North islands (Yell) occasionally to sw: hvalr > hwal, kv > hwi,kwi, hvammr > swam 2.1.11. kj, skj are normally preserved, same as gj, which rarely changes to d, while tj, j tend to become : - kjlki > kjo'lk, skjl >sul - gj > gjo, Nor. gjelg, gjlg > d'lki - tjrn > onn, tjaldr > aldr, but vitja > vit - jukkr > jukk,ok(k)a 2.1.12. The grammar of Shetland Norn, as far as it can be established from the registered texts, shows most of the features of Old Norse: 3 genders (male, female, neuter), 4 cases (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive), 2 numbers (singular, plural), strong and weak declensions of verbs etc. However, this old system was already in decay. The case system was becoming more and more corrupted, cases started getting mixed, which especially concerns the merging of Nominative and Accusative forms of nouns and pronouns. This process likely owed to the influence of Scots which does not distinguish between both cases. As a result, either the Nominative or Accusative form was chosen. The Accusative is more frequent in the strong masculine declension, where it represents the bare stem: ON Nom. hestr, Acc. hest > Norn hest. The Accusative form is often present in plural, cf. several toponymes: ON Nom. lknirnir grnu, Acc. lkina grnu > Norn L(j)gena grna. In the weak declension both forms are possible. Most of the weak feminine nouns retained the old Nominative ending -a (in whatever sound form) or dropped it at all. However, few feminine forms feature the accusative ending: ilsko < ON Acc. ilsku, Nom. ilska; grnsku, grinsko < ON grnsku, grnska, compare also Norw. dial. viku, vuku, vukku 'week' < ON Acc. viku, Nom. vika 'week'. (See the Sketch of Shetland Norn grammar for the more detailed picture). The pronoun system was not left untouched by the merger of Nominative and Accusative either, as the language of the Hildina ballad shows: Quirto vult doch fiegan vara < ON. Hvort vilt feigan vera, where doch 'you' < ig, Acc. . 2.2. Foula/Westside Norn The Foula/Westside Norn inherited many of the above-mentioned features of Shetland Norn, but had the following unique features: 2.2.1. ON > wo: > wo, tr > twor, f > fwo 2.2.2. Instead of the palatal utterance of ll, nn, the change ll, nn > dl, dn is present in many cases (where Shetland Norn has /rn and /rl): fall > fadl, bolla- > bodli-, kunnr > kodn,kodden, horn > hoden

2.2.3. Likewise, the long -tt- is never palatalised and does not palatalise the preceding vowel. 2.2.4. The initial h- is often omitted: hennar > ednar, henni > ende, hsta > osta 2.2.5. hv,kv > kw (hw): hvalr > kwal, kv > kwi, hverjum > kvara, hvar > quar (Hildina), but hvtr > whit-, hvern > whaar (Hildina) 2.2.6. Some pronunciation differences: bjadni < barn(it), cf. Shetland mainland bo. 2.3. Orkney Norn Data on Orkney Norn is much more scarce in comparison with Jakobsen's material from Shetland, which can be explained by the fact that Orkney stood in the frontline of "Scottisation" and lost archaic Scandinavian features quicker than Shetland Norn by the time the remains of both were recorded. 2.3.1. Monophtongisation is not complete, some of the old diphtongs are preserved, albeit in a changed sound quality: geiri > g[ai]ro, gneisti > n[ai]st, gleyma > misgl[ai]med, naut > nout 2.3.2. Unlike in Shetland, the voicing of intervocal stops is more consistent: stikill > stiggle, raki > rag, burtu > bordo, kpa or koppr > kubby 2.3.3. According to H.Marwick, palatalisation affects only ll, nn is never palatilised: helli- > hellyiefer, rulla > rullyo. However, in Marwick's "Orkney Norn" we have found a number of forms that witness about palatalisation of nn and even ng: for eenyie < hver er inni 'who is within?' (p. XXVI), grunyie < grunnr, vinya < vinna; fonyaless < *fngulauss, munyo < magn, groyn < grenja. Cf. also Ork. nitter, Cait. nyatter, of obscure origin. 2.3.4. stays in several words: nira > nither, hroi > ruithe, brega > braithin; 2.3.5. The grammar is more simplified, Dative has merged with Nominative/Accusative: while the Lord's Prayer from Foula has Dative in fro adlu idlu < fr llu illu 'from all (the) bad', the Orkney version of the prayer says fro alt ilt, where the last two words correspond to ON Nom/Acc. allt illt. A specific feature of Orkney Norn is a big number of originally feminine weak words that have preserved the accusative form: ON bytta, Acc. byttu > Norn butto, ON kringla, Acc. kringlu > Norn kringlo. 2.3.6. Lexical distinctions from Shetland Norn: Ork. soind 'to die slowly' Shet. soind 'to show', Ork. skrift 'lean, hard-grown' - Shet. skrift 'crack, fissure', Ork. lerblade 'cormorant' - Shet. lorin 'cormorant'. 3. Place of Norn in the classification of Scandinavian languages

3.1. Traditionally Norn is classified as a West Scandinavian language. Marius Hgstad, Sophus Bugge and Jakob Jakobsen brought forward historical evidence in support of that: as they asserted, Shetland and Orkney were populated mostly from several areas in West Norway, namely Ryfylke and Jderen (Stavanger, Rogaland; all included into the West Scandinavian area). They based this view upon numerous lexical parallels between the dialects of the mentioned Norwegian regions and Norn. Michael Barnes supports the West Scandinavian status of Norn by bringing forward a number of phonetic features of the latter, although he mostly quotes material from Foula, the dialect of which was rather specific and the closest to Faroese, an undoubted West Scandinavian language (see below). But as we believe, the overall amount of Norn data does not look to us so unambiguously West Scandinavian and a good deal of East Scandinavian features can also be discovered (most of them we loosely pick up from Elias Wessen's "De nordiska sprken"): 3.1.1. almost complete lack of u-umlaut 3.1.2. monophtongisation, incomplete in Orkney, practically total in Shetland (see 2.1.1 and 2.3.1) 3.1.3. > 3.1.4. breaking, which is very widespread (probably as much, as nowhere else in Scandinavia) and occurs even to short a (see 2.1.2) 3.1.5. breaking in the personal pronoun 1 pers. sg. - ya (Foula) (although it could well have been a later development, cf. Icel. g [je]) 3.1.6. palatalisation of ll (incl. Orkney) as well as nn and tt (Shetland only), unknown in Iceland, Faroes and West Norway and developped primarily in Trndelag dialects of Mid-North Norway (see 2.1.8 and 2.3.3) 3.1.7. the assimilation of the Proto Norse (PN) clusters mp, nt, n, nk is incomplete: bank/bakk < ON bakki < PN *bankan, kemp/kepp < ON keppa < PN *kampijan, but slokk < ON slkkva,slkkja < PN *slankwijan; tann/tant < tnn < *tanu, but munn,monn < ON munnr < PN *munaz 3.1.8. vague traces of the ending of reflexive verbs -s: pinnis (see also 3.2.4.) 3.1.9. a good deal of words having cognates in Swedish dialects (which did not stay unnoticed by Jakobsen, see his "Etymological Dictionary...", XXXIV) Of course, many of these features (especially 3.1.1-5) might have developed independently of the East Scandinavian influence and be a pure coincidence. Moreover, we are not aware of specifically large migration from Denmark to the islands, let alone from Sweden. So most of the above mentioned East Scandinavian features should be rather

explained as the sum of the internal development of Norn dialects and the external influence that Scots, Low German, Dutch and Danish may have put on it. On the other hand, point 3.1.9. cannot be explained as easily and requires a special investigation. 3.2. Among West Scandinavian features common for Shetland Norn (incl. Foula/Westside) we mention: 3.2.1. preaspiration (sporadically occurs in Swedish dialects; see 2.1.6) 3.2.2. unvoicing of sonorants (r,l,m,n,lj,nj,ng) before p,t,k (see 2.1.7) 3.3. Foula/Westside Norn shows an additional number of traits proper to West Scandinavian dialects: 3.3.1. No palatalization of nn, ll, tt; 3.3.2. rl, ll > dl, rn, nn > dn (see 2.2.2.); 3.3.3. hv > kw (see 2.2.5.); 3.3.4. traces of i-uml. in present indicative: sev < sefr (J.Jakobsen "Etymological dictionary...", CX), tega < tekr, du geve < gefr, stiendi < stendr, keimir < kemr, genger < gengr (Hildinakvadet) Material from the other parts of Shetland is too scarce on this subject 3.3.5. the ending of reflexive verbs is -st: sadnast < sannast We should also mention here another form where an older reflexive ending -sk ( > -st) can be reconstructed in the following example: helsk < helsask. This form is registered in Nesting (middle Shetland Mainland) which is geographically adjacent to Westside. At the same time, the Foula/Westside dialect, like the rest of Shetland, has some of the features listed in 3.1, such as monophtongisation and breaking. 4. Relations to neighbouring Scandinavian languages As shown above, the Norn dialects were not isolated from linguistic trends going on in the other Scandinavian languages and dialects. Although this could have been the result of independent development, influences from outside were quite possible as well. Whether certain change comes from inside or outside, is a question where linguistic theory is often helpless and in this respect Norn is probably no exception. In this connection it is especially interesting to have a look at the geography of features that were common within Norn dialects and with their closest outside cognates, namely Faroese. 4.1. Orkney <-> the southernmost part of Shetland (Dunrossness): 4.1.1 sporadic preservation of (see 2.1.8. and 2.3.4.) 4.1.2 several lexical parallels: Ork., Du. ru - Shet. rug < hrga; Ork. (Birsa) tekkal, South. Shet. (Du., Conn.) tahella, tahellek < *ak-hella -

Nor. Shet. ufsahella < ufsahella 'one of the flat stones laid to form the eaves of a house (to prevent rain from penetrating)' 4.2. Foula, Shetland <-> Faroese: 4.2.1. traces of "skerping" (a Faroese term designating consonantal inserts -gv- and -ggj- after several old long vowels): ON ba > Norn buga, Far. bgva, ON sjr > Norn sheug (rest of Shet. sju-), Far. Sjgvur 4.2.2. > oi (Far. [i], where [] designates a sound between [o] and [u]): hsa > hoissan, Far. hsa [hisa], tligr > utoitlig, Fr. tiligur [u-tji-lijr] (a similar change > ui has also occurred in several West Norwegian dialects, f.ex. that of Setesdalen) 4.2.3. ll, nn > dl, dn (see 2.2.2) 4.3. Foula, Shetland <-> Suuroy, southernmost Faroese dialect: 4.3.1. Foula yagh 'I' - Su. [je], Far. eg [e] 4.3.2. Foula mier 'me (dat)' - Su. [mjer], Fr. mr [mear] 4.3.3. Foula dagloght (Lord Prayer) - Su. [daglot, daglt], Fr. dagligt [daglit] 4.4. North Shetland Norn (Yell, Unst) <-> Faroese (except Northern Isles): 4.4.1. Shetland: the long develops into [a]: ali 'lamb' - Far. [a] < : btur [ba:tR] (except the northern Faroese dialects, which have [btR]). 4.5. The above examples are certainly fairly scarce, and an exacting reader would suggest that these are sporadic and occasional similarities, so any further discussions on this subject would be a waste of time. According to another possible explanation, at some stage, probably in the 14-15th centuries when the Norn dialects were still not worn out, they constituted together with Faroese a common L-complex (a chain of dialects, where the neighbouring links are linguistically closer to each other than those further away). This would mean that there were regular contacts between Orkney and Shetland as well as between Shetland and the Faroes that kept their neighbouring dialects linguistically close to each other, despite the large geographical distance in between (approx. 100 km. between Orkney and Shetland and ca. 300 km. between Shetland and the Faroes). But could there really be so tight a linguistic interaction across the sea that would allow us to explain the similarities in question? The seriousness of this question is illustrated by Michael Barnes who discusses case 4.2.3. as an example of a possible influence from Faroese. Barnes mentions historical evidence about real contacts between Shetlanders and Faroese fishermen who used to cast ashore in Foula and Westside. Nevertheless, the author does not fail to point out the main drawback of this hypothesis: "It is of course highly improbable that the arrival of the odd Faroeman would be sufficient to cause Faroese features to

spread among the speakers even of a small island community using a closely related language" (Michael Barnes "The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland", 1998, p. 18) We would like to point out another drawback of this hypothesis: the rules for nn > dn (4.2.3.) in Faroese and "Foulese" differ, so it is highly unlikely that West Shetlanders could have borrowed this feature from the "odd Faroeman", but found it a different distribution. In Faroese the change nn > dn occurs only after the old long i-diphtongs (seinni [sa(i)dni], oynni [o(i)dni]) and new ones developed from older long vowels (one of the few examples is kvnni [kv(i)dni], although it can be explained by analogy). The only exception where the change occurs after an originally short vowel is the obscure word tinna [tidna] 'tin'. On the other hand, on Foula and Westside nn regularly becomes dn after short vowels: kodn < kunn-, edne < enni, fidna < finna, ednar < hennar etc. We have not found examples of this change after the old long vowels, although this does not mean such instances did not existed. (Of course, we should not forget that this process must have been overshadowed by monophtongisation, see 2.1.1.). A development similar to Foula/Westside Norn can be found in several West Norwegian dialects, f.ex. in West Hordaland, where dn occurs only after the old short vowels (in the rest of Hordaland dialects it is registered after the old long vowels: ,, etc. plus diphtongs). Although West Hordaland belongs to the area from where the immigration to Shetland is believed to have started, the fact that Foula is the farthest Shetland point from Norway makes us think this is not a result of direct influence either. One could suppose that this feature could have already developed in the language of the first Norse settlers in Shetland back in the 8th century and for some odd reasons spread out only in the West of the archipelago. This point has several weaknesses. On the one hand, it is highly unlikely that dn could have later developed into nnj in the rest of Shetland. On the other hand, we certainly have no evidences which might allow us to date the change nn > dn, however, its later (=independent) development is typologically not excluded. For instance, in Iceland this process is believed to have happened in the 15-16th century (Bjrn K. rlfsson, "Um slenskar ormyndir 14. og 15. ld" (1925), XXXI), when the country had already been linguistically isolated from West Norway for centuries. At the same time the distribution of nn >dn in Icelandic is similar to that of many Hordaland dialects, occurring after all old long vowels (except when nn belongs to the suffigated article). It proves to us that this phenomenon was not a result of direct linguistic contacts but rather an independent process in which "pre-conditions" were similar both in Iceland and in West Norway (and in Faroes as well, although we do not know in which century this change occured there apart from the fact that the distribution rules are slightly different in Faroese, see above). These "pre-conditions" can be interpreted as some kind of a seed that grew up 5-7 centuries later generating the change nn > dn. What kind of a seed it could be is to us totally incomprehensible. Why nn changed to nnj in the rest of Shetland mainland (and, possibly in Orkney as well), like in the far away dialects of Trondelag (Norway), is an even bigger mystery.

To sum up, common traits in related languages or dialects can witness either co-influence or parallel development from the same source. This kind of problem arises when dealing with similarities like those mentioned in 4.1-3., and at this stage we can just say that these features are still awaiting their linguistic interpretation, of course unless it will be proved that they are purely accidental. 5. Summary The term Norn refers not to a monolyte language, but rather to a group of dialects, which, as we estimate, were three: Orkney, Shetland and Foula/Westside Shetland (we base this division mostly on their phonetic features). Being of West Scandinavian origin, they in different degree developed several features that can be considered as East Scandinavian, although it does not necessarily mean they occured due to the direct influence from East Scandinavian languages, as it was rather a move towards the simplification of the language. We should not disregard here the external influence from several West Germanic and Scandinavian languages spoken on the shores of the North Sea (mainly Scots, but also Norwegian, Danish, Low German, Dutch) that could also have had some impact, but to what extent this influence could have provoked separate changes is subject to further investigation. A several number of common phonetic features between Orkney and South Shetland, Shetland (esp. Foula) and the Faroes (esp. Suuroy) is registered. It can be argued whether these similarities are accidental or bear witness to linguistic contacts and a co-influence.

Linguistic terminology easily explained

On this page we offer the interpretation of various phonetic symbols, as well as linguistical and grammatical terms, which are used on our website but might be incomprehensible to an ordinary reader or concern phenomena lacking in their mother tongue. Our overview is especially aimed towards English speakers, although native speakers of other languages might consider it useful too. Feel free to suggest terms that are used on this website and you cannot find here and we will add them to this overview. However, bear in mind that we do not cover the simplest notions that everyone would have learnt at school, such as vowel, consonant, substantive, adjective, adverb, number, tense etc. If you feel uncomfortable with these, try Wikipedia as a starting point.
Accusative active voice ' (apostrophe) article articulation aspiration * (asterisk) bisyllabic breaking case : (colon) diphtong feminine gender Genitive imperative indicative ' ' (inverted commas) masculine middle voice monophtong monosyllabic [] (square brackets) strong declension (subst.) strong declension (adj.) strong conjugation subjinctive transcription umlaut (upper hyphen) voice vowels: back

consonants: affricate palatal sonorant spirant stop voiced voiceless consonant letters contraction Dative devoicing

mood neuter Nominative passive voice phonetics phonetic signs phonology polysyllabic postvocalic preaspiration preterite-present verbs prevocalic

central front high labialised low mid vowel letters weak declension (subst.) weak declension (adj.) weak conjugation

1. Symbols 1.1. * (asterisk) - is placed in front of a form that has not been registered: *sti, *kurna. So where did we take it from? It is our own construction - such a form is hypothetical. We need the asterisk to prevent any confusion between the real and our "guessed" forms. But do not regard such words as arbitrary or fabricated, as in most cases they can designate something which is highly likely to have existed and is reconstructed on the basis of a scientific method. Sometimes we discover such reconstructions as real borrowings in third languages, which only confirms that this was not just a mater of superficial guesswork. Remember the periodic law of chemical elements, which anticipated the prediction of previously unknown elements that were indeed discovered afterwards - it is practically the same method as the one which is used in linguistic reconstruction. 1.2. [ ] (square brackets) - are used for phonetical transcription to distinguish it from the orthographical notation. F.ex. Faroese ngv 'much' is pronounced as [negv] and hv 'why' as [kwj] or [kwuj]. 1.3. (upper hyphen) or : (colon) - indicate the length of a sound: , a: . The symbol "" is only used for vowels. Long vowels in Old Norse are normally marked with an acute: ,,,,,, also . 1.4. ' ' (inverted commas) - are used to mark the meaning of a word: ON drengr 'boy'. 1.5. ' (apostrophe) - when used before a sonorant ('l,'m,'n,',',') marks the voicelessness of the respective consonant. 2. Phonological terms 2.1. Common terms 2.1.1. Phonetics - acoustical and physiological aspects of sounds and their pronunciation. 2.1.2. Phonology - sounds in a more abstract aspect (otherwise called phonemes), regarded as parts of a system they constitute through various relations and ties between each other. 2.1.3. Transcription - transformation of the orthographical notation into phonetic symbols. Transcription is especially needed for languages

where the orthography differs greatly from the actual pronunciation (English is one of them). The golden rule of transcription is one letter for one sound and vice versa. 2.1.4. Articulation - the interaction of speech organs (lips, tongue, jaws, roof of mouth etc) for the making of sounds. 2.2. Orthography issues Old Norse orthography (or its normalised and unified version we are using), was pretty straightforward and each letter had a very definite sound value, so we never transcribe Old Norse. The sound value of Old Norse letters is the following: 2.2.1. Vowels: a - like a in Allah akbar o - like o in English song u - like oo in English spoon i - like i or ee in English bit, steel e - like e in English bed y - like German or French u - like German or French eu - how exactly it was spelled we do not know, probably it was something between [a] and [o] or [] and [o]. In Icelandic and Faroese this sound has merged with or o. ,,,,, - long a,o,u,y,i,e - long - long, like German or a in English bad au - a+u, like ow in English brown ei - e+i, like a in English mate ey - e+y, soon developed into either [ei] or [y] 2.2.2. Consonants: Except in a few instances, consonants do not differ significantly from their English counterparts. The usage of the following letters must be specified: j - like y in English yes - like th in English the, those. This vowel originates from the Old English alphabet, although today it is used with its original meaning only in Icelandic. It is also present in Faroese where it indicates other sounds and has only an etymological value: maur [mavr], nian [nijan]. - like th in English thorn (the actual name of this letter!) or thatch. This letter comes from the Runic alphabet. We are using it in our transcription, following the Nordic tradition, although in many books you will find another phonetic sign for this sound: the Greek letter , which sounded the same. (This Greek letter is used by Michael Barnes in his article "A Note on Faroese // > /h/" on the change > h we are referring to on the page about the language of the Ballad of Hildina, item 3.2.2.4.) f - in most cases read as [f], except the positions between vowels and/or r,l where it is spelled as [v]: lifa [liva], kalfr [kalvr].

Practically the same system is used for our transcription, except for the fact that we never use f for [v], adhering to the "golden rule". Notice that the transcription rules in other Scandinavian languages, even including Icelandic which looks in writing very much like Old Norse, may considerably differ. 2.2.3. Additional transcription: phonetic signs, occurring only in phonetic

,, - different degrees of sounds between e and a ,, - different degrees of sounds between o and a - like u in English hut , - different degrees of sounds between u and o ,I - different degrees of sounds between e and i - an indefinite sound, like a in English ago or -er in brother - like ng in English song or - like sh in English show - like sur in English measure t - like ch in English chain d - like j in English joke 2.3. Phonetical and phonological terms: 2.3.1. Vowels Front vowels - i,e,,y,/ Central vowels - a, Back vowels - o,,u High vowels - i,y,u Mid vowels - e,,o Low vowels - (,)a, Labialised vowel - o,u,,y - vowels which are formed with an extra-lip rounding during the articulation Monophtong - a,e,i,o,u - a vowel that does not change quality during its pronunciation Diphtong - au,ei,ey,oa etc. - a vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation and can be represented as a sum of two vowels 2.3.2. Consonants Stops - p,t,,k,b,d,,g Spirants - s,,,, Affricates (stop+spirant): t,d Sonorants - l,r,m,n,,, Voiced consonants - b,d,g,,,l,m,n,r,j Voiceless consonants - p,t,k,s,,, also 'l,'m,'n,'r,',',' - pronounced as if whispering Palatal consonants - ,,, - formed with additional articulation by which the body of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate (as if j followed). The sound is like Spanish , - like Spanish ll, and resemble k,g being pronounced before j,i,e, but occurring in front of other vowels ( a , u etc.)

Devoicing - loss of sonority: b,d,g > p,t,k, l,m,n > 'l,'m,'n Aspiration - a short h after p,t,k: ph Preaspiration - a short h before p,t,k: ht 2.3.3. Sound alternations 2.3.3.1. Umlaut (mutation). A regular change of a vowel caused by another one. Some of our readers might already know the German "Umlaut" letters , and . The sounds they mark originate from a,o and u respectively, which were influenced by i in the succeeding syllable (which later might have been dropped). As a result, the mentioned "hybrid" vowels appeared, which combined the qualities of a,o,u and i. That is why this kind of mutation is often called i-umlaut, i.e. mutation caused by i. This process was much more extensive in Old Norse. There were 3 kinds of umlauts in the language: a-umlaut, u-umlaut and i-umlaut, which had still occurred in Common Scandinavian: a-umlaut: u > o: *kurna > korn u-umlaut: a > : *barnu > brn i-umlaut: a > e: *gastiR > gestr (the short o did not exist in Common Scandinavian and was a product of later processes, mostly a-umlaut of u) u > y: *hulijan > hylja > : *ltiR > ltr > : *dmijan > dma > : *ltiR > ltr au > ey: *hlaupiR > hleypr "Reverse umlaut" - this term means that in the given word there should have been umlaut but it did not occur, or perhaps it did but then was restored to the original sound value due to analogy from other words: Scand. *stija 'seat' > ON sti > Norn sodi (that would correspond to ON *sti, while ON sti would have resulted in Norn *sedi). 2.3.3.2. Breaking (caused by the succeeding a or u): e > ja,j: *fella > fjall, *gebu > gjf a > ja (known only in Norn): ON barnit > bjadni 2.3.4. Some other terms Prevocalic - occuring before a vowel Postvocalic - occuring after a vowel Contraction - contraction of two syllables having no dividing consonant Inbetween: ON grum > grm, ON rauu > Norn ru (after the fall of ) Monosyllabic - consisting of one syllable Bisyllabic - consisting of two syllables Polysyllabic - consisting of several syllables

3. Grammatical terms 3.1. Nouns 3.1.1. Case - grammatical category indicating the role of a noun or pronoun in a phrase (subject, object, indirect object etc) or having a specific meaning (functioning thus like prepositions). English has two cases, Common and Genitive. Common case is the default one. Genitive indicates ownership and has the ending 's: my father's hat. The same assortment of cases is present in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Dutch. Old Norse, as well as Icelandic and German have a four-case system. This includes the two cases featuring in English, where the Common case is named Nominative and is the case of the subject. In addition to that there are two other cases, Accusative and Dative (Faroese has a three-case system, including all the cases as in Old Norse minus Genitive, which is practically lost). The prepositions in such languages require (or, as it is also said, govern) Genitive, Accusative or Dative. Accusative - means 'whom?' (direct object). The sentence 'The boy saw the dog' would sound in Old Norse as Drengrinn s hundinn. Drengrinn 'the boy' is Nominative and hundinn 'the dog' is Accusative. Dative - means 'to whom?' (indirect object). Drengrinn gaf manninum sver 'The boy gave the man a sword'. Drengrinn 'boy' is Nominative, manninum 'to the man' is Dative and sver 'a sword' is Accusative. The existance of cases gives us the scope to change the word order without destroying the general meaning of the sentence. Let us get back to the sentence Drengrinn s hundinn 'The boy saw the dog'. Now if we try to reverse the word order: Hundinn (Acc.) s drengrinn (Nom.) it would still mean 'The boy saw the dog', although in English a similar operation would give quite a different sense: 'The dog saw the boy'. In English it is mostly the word order which tells us who saw and who was seen. In Old Norse it is, to the contrary, the cases which do the job, and the word order is secondary to them. Normally, the subject in Nominative takes the first place like in English. But you can move the object to the first place to emphasize its role without destroying the general sense. Consequently, a better translation of the phrase Hundinn s drengrinn is 'It was the dog that the boy saw'. Let us consider a more sophisticated example by bringing Dative into the example. Drengrinn (1) gaf manninum (2) sver (3) describes the same situation as Drengrinn gaf sver manninum (132), Manninum gaf drengrinn sver (213) and Sver gaf drengrinn manninum (312) = 'The boy gave the man a sword' (the difference between all these variants is only in emphasis). In English we have only one choice for the alternation of the word order, and this will involve the additional preposition to: 'The boy gave the man a sword' = 'The boy gave a sword to the man'. As in the former case, this example confirms that the cases provide much more flexibility in the terms of word order, its

interchangeability and emphasizing, keeping the number of words needed to a minimum, than the strict word order rule does. No wonder that multicase systems are very widespread in languages of the world. 3.1.2. Article - a function word that marks definiteness. In English there are two sorts of article: definite (the) and indefinite (a). In Old Norse there is only the definite article which corresponds to English the (the counterpart of the English indefinite article is just zero). In Old Norse the article stands either before the substantive word (usually when there is a modifiying adjective) or, more commonly, afterwards, joining as another ending: inn hundr 'the dog' = hundrinn (Nom.), inn hund = hundinn (Acc.), inum hundi = hundinum (Dat.), ins hunds = hundsins (Gen.). 3.1.3. Gender - a grammatical category which associates words with sex (masculine, feminine) or marks their animacy (masculine, feminine) or inanimacy (neuter). In languages with such a system father, son, brother, grandad are masculine, mother, daughter, sister, granny are feminine, while neuter includes mostly inanimate objects. Of course, this is a simplification, as there are masculine and feminine words for inanimate objects and there can be exceptional cases when animated nouns have neuter (f.ex. 'child' in many old Indo-European languages is neuter, i.e. as something whose anima, or soul, is still undevelopped according to old beliefs). In fact, nowadays, gender should rather be regarded as a purely grammatical ("meaningless", "technical") category. For example, in Icelandic you can have words of all three genders for a woman: fem. kona 'woman (neutral)', masc. kvenmaur 'woman (more official)', neut. kvenndi 'woman (vulgar)'. Apart from Old Norse and Icelandic, three genders have existed in Norn, Faroese and German. In Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and Frisian masculine and feminine have merged into the so-called "common" gender, as opposed to neuter. In English and Afrikaans, all gender distinctions are lost (except relics in personal pronouns: masc. he, fem. she, neut. it). 3.1.4. Types of declension 3.1.4.1. Strong declension (substantives) - used with substanives that normally have a consonant ending in Nom.sg. (masc. drengr 'boy', fem. fer 'trip, journey', neut. barn 'child') 3.1.4.2. Weak declension (substantives) - used with substanives that have a vocalic ending in Nom.sg. (masc. gluggi 'window', fem. amma 'granny', neut. auga 'eye') (Sporadically substantives could change their type, mostly from strong to weak) Ironically, in Proto-German the strong declension contained stems ending in a vowel and the weak one in a consonant. But after numerous reduction processes that occured in Common Scandinavian 1000-1500 years ago, this situation changed to the opposite.

3.1.4.3. Strong declension (adjectives) - "default" declension, combines endings from the substantive strong declension and the pronominal declension (svartr hestr 'a black horse', glair drengir 'glad boys') 3.1.4.4. Weak declension (adjectives) - same endings as in the weak declension of substantives, is used if the substantive, modified by the adjective, has the definite article or if there is a possessive or definite pronoun (svarti hestrinn 'the black horse', minn svarti hestr 'my black horse', eir glu drengir 'those glad boys') 3.2. Verbs 3.2.1. Mood - a grammatical category which expresses modality, subjective interpretation of the action, its possibility and necessity. Three main moods should be kept in mind: 3.2.1.1. Indicative - used for factual statement or positive belief: ON ek kem 'I (will) come', ek kom 'I came' 3.2.1.2. Imperative - expresses an order, command, request, exhortation or prohibition: ON kom! 'come!', sof ekki! 'do not sleep!' 3.2.1.3. Subjunctive - expresses possibility, conditionality, wish: ON ek kmi 'I would come' 3.2.2. Voice - relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object etc.). In Scandinavian languages there are three main vocies: 3.2.2.1. Active voice - the subject is the agent or actor of the verb: ON Marinn drap hestinn 'The man killed the horse'. 3.2.2.2. Passive voice - the subject is the patient, target or undergoer of the action. The verb is normally expressed by its passive participle preceded by the verb 'to be' (English, Icelandic) or 'to become' (German, Danish, Faroese): ON Hestrinn var drepinn af manninum 'The horse was killed by the man'; Dan. hesten blev drbt af manden, blev 'became'. 3.2.2.3. Middle voice - is in the middle of the active and passive mode, expresses an action directed at the subject or that has a reciprocal meaning. In Old Norse was formed with the suffix -st, which originated from sik 'oneself': ON drepast 'to get killed', Norn sadnast 'to "verify oneself"', i.e. 'to be verified', roast - 'to "frighten oneself"', i.e. 'to be frightened'. 3.3. Conjugation types 3.3.1. Strong conjugation - verbs which form their past forms through alternating the root vowel: Eng. give - gave, bind - bound, ON gefa gaf (sg.) - gfu (pl.), binda - batt (sg.) - bundu (pl.). 3.3.2. Weak conjugation - verbs which form their past forms through adding the so called 'dental suffix' -d-, -t- or -(a)-: Eng. call - called,

tell - told, ON kalla - kallai (sg.) - klluu (pl.), telja - taldi (sg.) - tldu (pl.). 3.3.3. Preterite-present verbs - a small group of verbs which form their present like past time of strong verbs and form their past like past time of the weak verbs (i.e. with the dental suffix). Most of these verbs have modal meanings (can, shall, will, must etc.): Eng. shall - should, ON skal (sg.pres) - skulu (pl.pres.) - skuldi (sg. past) - skuldu (pl.past).

Articles
"Hildinakvadet, med utgreidung um det norske maal paa Shetland i eldre tid" by Marius Hgstad (coming soon) Examples of phonetic corruption in Norn (coming soon) Similarities between Norn and Faroese (coming soon) Ek-words in Shetland Norn (birtek, geddek, vedek etc.) (coming soon) Infinitives used as imperative in Norn, Icelandic and Faroese (coming soon)

Shetland Norn:
- Phonetics - Dialects - Grammar - Hildina - Texts

Phonetics of Shetland Norn

Based on "An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland" by Jakob Jakobsen.
Old Norse a a, ,i (before palat.) , o , , (rare) Shetland Norn Examples (Norn < Old Norse) fr < far, hf < haf, rm < armr; rb/rab < hrap-/rabb? b < ball, f < fall, bdin,baldin < baldinn, nd,t < -and, hva'rt < annathvrt, h < hann, k < kanna mogi < magi, og, kr < akr, vkr < vakr, de fgri < hinn fagri; grd < garr, Vrd < vara,vari erg, rg < arga, rski < *arsk, grbk,grbk,garbk < *garbalkr, to b < baa bl,bul < bl, dma,dma < dmr, h < hfr, to ld < lta, to s < s, to sp < sp, v < vgr, -tt < ttr, gdk,gdk < gta, ldigrd < *ltugrtr wo < , twor < tr, fwo < f smut < smtt

,, w (Foula, Hildina) ,u

(i),o(i) (before palat.) gi,gi < gtt, mi,mi < mttr

tdbu(s) < *tbr, bl,bul < bl, blustr, blostr < blstr bk < bekkr, brna < brenna, brg < berg, frd,frdk < fer, m'rki < merki, rkstr < rekstr, to slp,slp < sleppa valous < efalauss, hgri < hegri, lga < lega frdimt,frdimt < *ferarmatr, lm, lm, lemm < hlemmr at:av'ta <*aptrvelta,hk < hella, hr < hellir, dw < dvelja, sk < skell, rd < renna, vdi < vent hwli < hvelja, hwopt,kwopt < hveppti, past of hveppa la < *hjela < hla, spjlman < *splmar, sp(j)viti < spvtti, jlins < lingar, rta-dyke < rttarwl'nt, wl'nt < vlindi bidi < biti, driv < drif, lvn < lifandi bi'rtk,be'rtk,b'rtk < birta, dmska < *dimska, hmna < himna, k'rkasukni < kirkjuskn 'skt < illskttr, b'tr,bji'ntr < *bindari, hd < hinna, pei'k,p'k < Nor.,Sw. pilka, op'ti < sjpiltr, st'k < stilkr, BUT stirs,sters,strs < stillis, tii,tei < ilja slk,slk < silungr, t'lfr,t'fr < ilfar grmi < grma, hwld < hvld, bit < *bit, l < hl, r < hr; risl < hrsla, nisk < hnsa, simn < smi tdbu(s),tedbu(s) < *tbr lla,litla < ltla litla/litla < litla, hw,kw/hwi,kwi < kv brd < brot, fg,fog,fjog,fjok < fok, kli < kola, nog(in) < hnokkr; to tjg < toga krupin < kroppinn, urm-,orm- < ormr, git < gott, hi < Nor. holleg,hollig, km'rki < *kornmakr, skit,skit < *skott < skoa, m: < mo, b: < bo, b:r < bor; occas. in Eng. words: to mv,mv < move gn < gan/ging; hb < hp, klr < klra, md < mt, sl < sl, r < sjvar, str < strr kr: < kr, r:s < hrsa, m/m < *ma groma < *grma?, rvk < rfa, skogin < skinn, tovi < fi bu'lk < Nor. bulk, bulin < bulungr,bolungr, rus < rus borl < burl, rosk < rusk, flga < fluga, rdl < hurar

e,,,

, (before palat.) o, (before w)

j (), , j , (after w)

i, e, , (before palat.)

,i e , (before palat.) i/i occas. alternate

o,,,, jo u (occas.) (i), (i) (before palat.) (esp. before )

: (occas.) (i), (i) (before palat.) (except.)

u o,

a- < ullar-, r'k < Nor. rulk, st'ka < stulka, md < (i), (i) (before palat.) mund, dali < undarligr, sd < sund, std < Nor.standa,stonda,

u, o,, (occas.)

b < b, rg < hrga, skr < skrfa, tg < fa, tn < tn, kupa < kpa grt < Icel. grtr, kupi,kopi,kobi < kpa, mul,mol,ml < mli

(i), (i) (before palat.) gdt < *g(a)ldinn bIgin (bgin) < bygging, birk, berk < byrjan,*byrjing, nidrd,nedrd < nytrttr, rIga- < hryggjar, n (n:) < nyt? br,br < byrr, fr < fyrir, m'rk < myrkr don,dn < dynr, ds < dys, stkins < systkin, pti,pti < *pytti, td < ytr

i (e) ,:,

hin,hn < *hyrningr, da < dynar, mgt < (i), (i) (before palat.) myglar, skins < systkin, tlt,titlt < iligt; BUT bei'k, bi'ki < *bylki, r'ki < *rylki, :d,id < hyrni o,u (after palat.) ogl,njogl < nykr, sukr,snokr < snykr dr:lin < drll, fl:d < flta, g:r < ggr, h: < h, de r()n < krnar; mrna < mrina, bsni < bsn br < brna, tli < ligr, skrvlin/skr:vlin < skrflingr, stvin/stivn < *stfingr < hlr lir/l:r < lrr, skil, sk:l,s:l < skla kr() < krr, skrlin < skrlingr, swl < svla, vn < vnn; res < rsa, dwetl,dwtl,twidl < *vtl,*vtla rk,rk < ringr tw(i)ld < *vtlar grla < grla b:li < bli, *f:r < fra, k:d < ka, -m: < ma; bdi < *bti, llk < hlgligr beniman < *bniman g < lkr, BUT Lgna < Lkina [Lkirnir] fjra,fjora,fjra < fjara,fjru, hjog < hggva, hogi < hgg, hm(b)li- < hmlu-, jokl < jkull, jkl < xl, st < stng n,n < tjrn, tlp,todlk,tudlk < *tulaupr g < lgr dk < dkk, r < rng, fjl < fjl blg < bleikr, d < ei, s < eisa, gr(d) < greii, h'nt,h'nt < heimta, lra < leira, rdkab < reiskapr vjdk,vjdk < veit(a), jdr,etr < eitr bjg < baugr, gjl < gaula, jga < auga

,: ,i (after palat.) ai (Scots infl.?)

,e , (before palat.) (except.)

:, e (occas.) (after palat.)

(i), (i) (before palat.) grka < grnska

,o(u),,, :, (after palat.) (e),

(i), (i) (before palat.) tr < trll, d,d < nd

ei

,:,, e, j,j (occas.)

au

j,j

,,o, (rare without j) ,: u

*jra, rna- < eyra (< *auRa), eyrna; tm < taumr; gjpm,gopm < gaupn br:d < braut, sk:vi < skauf, *grtta < grautstar, r,rd < raur, r:n,rni < hraun lup,lop < hlaup, klustr,klostr,klstr,klstr < klaustr; nut,nt < naut

u (Scottish influence?) us < ausa kl:vin < *kleyfingr, l:bin < *hleypingr, r:dastab < *reyarstabbi, st: < streyja, :r < eyrir, s:da < seya r,:r < eyrr fg < fleygja dr:g < drjgr, fr < fjrir, kl: < klj, l:(d) < hlj, rd < hrjta < hlj; hlr; < ljtr, m(i) < ljmi, *ljs < ljs

ey

: (rarely) (after palat.)

j,j,j :, (after palat.), ljo (in Foula, partially) b b (usually) p v ml > mbl

berdus, perdus < *bergdus, bjak,pjak < Nor. pjakke, onplost,o'mplost < andblstr bl,vl < Nor. bull, bi'rtk,virda,virdk < birta, b'vam:,v'vam: < *barnsvamm gambli,gambla < gamli, hm(b)libands,*himblins < hmluband, skum(b)l < skuml

d (usually) t dj > d (Whalsay: t) nd > , ld > bji'ntr < bindari; bl'nt < blundr da'rf (ta'rf) < djarfr, db (tb) < djarfr, dur < djr, ta'lk, da'lk < Nor. dalka, Far. dlka hn < hundinn, haless,h'ta(r)less < handa(r)lauss, minasto'mp < *myldingarstump g(n) < ga(n), l < hl, l: < hla, r < hr, sn,sn < sneia, *tr < rr bd < boa, frd < froa, gdin < *ging, k:d < ka, spadi < spai, stdk < stai,*sta; afr,afrd < afra, gr,grd < greii, l:,l:d < hlj, *r:,r:d < raur fldrk, fldrk < *flara, ldr < lr, ldrhorn < lr-, mdra,- < mar(inn), rudr,rr < hrr bIrdk < byrr, brd < burr, frd < fer; grd < garr, hardi < hari, hrd < hira, hrdk,hrdin < ur, skrd < skar, BUT galafr < -fer (unstressed), strn < stirna, vr < veri afbreg(d),breg,utbrag(:) < afbrigi, lagt (-d) < lagr aitrahla < arahvra, :t:lt < iligt, vitikb < vakeipr rd < ryja, BUT widi,widdi < vija fg:br:gr < fokburr, kvabrg < *kafaburr

(dropped)

r > dr

r > rd

g > g(d), occ. d, ()t t j > d g k - see k

f, rf > rf v (as in ON -fbetween vowels and sonorants) v (occasionally in the beginning of a word) dropped after , commonly preserved, incl. between vowels and in the end dropped k/t (occas.), esp. in lg,ng g > (palatalisation before front vowels: i,e,) gi,ggi > di gj < d (gj) gl > lg

da'rf < djarfr, ska'rf < skarfr; dfn,dvn < dofinn, kf, kfa, kvi,kva < kafi, klfn,klvn < klofann, fatag,nevatjg < *hnefatak gva < gfa, arvi < arfi, hvi,hvi < hfr, krv < krof, nev < hnefi, riv < rifa, skv < skafa, sv < sofa,sfa, t:v < tfa fasg'rt, vasg'rt < fastgarr, fdk,vatk < (dafek) < ?Gael. dubhach h < hfr, skr < skrfa, st < stfa bogi < bogi, drg < drag, drg < draga, flg < fluga, mogi < magi, rg < hrga, slg < slag, smoga < smuga, stigi,stiggi < stigi, trogl, truggel < trygill v < vgr m'rki,mergi < mergr, ha'klin,haglin < *hanglingr, foknr < *flognir, krhrd,grhrd < *garhira, t'lk,dlgr,dlgr < gjalfr, Nor. gjelg,gjlg gebi,ebi < Icel. gepill, gld,ld < gelda, era < gera, il < gil, g:r,:r < ggr bldin < belgin, kndi < knoggi dlgr,dlgr < gjalfr, Nor. gjelg,gjlg, gj < gj mgt < myglar

retained initially (h)a'l:tag:gi < *haltaganga, jigl(ti),hjigl,hjogl < hgeitill, j'nsi, hjnsi < hns, rm,horm < hrhamr, dropped occasionally rin,wrin,jrin < *hringr, w'lsbane,hw'lsbane < before a vowel, j,w hlsbein, ogg < hugga, rdltree < *hurartr; Foula ballad: elde < heldr, e(i)dnar < hennar, yilsa < heilsa, yom < heim inserted before a h:vg < *andvaka, hildin < eldinn, hrdk,hrdin < vowel in the beginning ur(in), hofsahk,ofsahk < *upsarhella of words l < hl, rni < hraun, rm,kramk < hrammr, hl > l knp,kn < hneppa,kneppa, knkins,snap < hnappr, hr > r,occas. hr,kr snig < hneggja, snigin,snigom,negi < *hneggingr, hn > hn,kn, occas. n,sn snjg(i) < knjkr,hnjkr, snt(i),snt(i) < hnttr,knttr hv > hw,kw, sw (rarely) hwl,kwl < hvalr, swam(m) < hvammr hj > arl < hjarl, lmt < hjlmttr, la < *hjla < hla, BUT ja'rta < hjarta kikn < *kykandi, lik < lk, puki,puka < pki, rk < reka, rok < rok, k < sjkr, vkr < Far. vakur bgi < bak, blg < blaka, brogi < Nor. brokkut, klg < klaka, kragk < kraki, krg < krkr, g < lkr, njogl < nykr, g < aka, rg,rg < reka, stjgi < stjaki, s:ga,s:gi < ski, -tag,-tjg < -tak; blka,bloga < *blaka, fjk,fog,fg,fjg < fok,fjk-, stuki,stjgi < stka,kr,og(r) < akr; gjla < Nor.kjore, ggi(s),kgi(s) < kaga, grg,krg < *kruk b,kb < keipr, gr,kgr < keikr, ipk,kipk < kippi, 'rk < kyrkja, :r()n < krnar, sga < skeki, sl,skl < skla, BUT k'r:kasuk:ni < kirkjuskn kj'lk < kjlki, kjlk,kjrk < Nor. kjore,kjra, skj < Nor. skj, *skjldra < *skjaldra; BUT kjb,b < kaup, sl,sl

mostly retained

g (freq., when final or between vowels; occasionally in initial position)

palatalised before a front vowel kj > kj,

< skjl kk > g() (occasionally) baga- (baa-), bagi- < bakka-, ngistik (ni-) < *hnakkastykki, bloga (bloa), bloka < *blakka < *blaka

mostly retained vl > lv gl > lg lm > ml l>r l > (before a consonant, occasionally initially); ll,rl > ; (palatalization) ld > kvl,klvk,klva < kefli, skalv < skafl mgt < myglar skul()m, skum(b)l < skuml fjrd < fjldi, nralg < *nlarleggr, swr,swl < Nor. sval pei'k, pi'k < No. pilk, rk < Nor. rulk, st'k < stilkr, b < ball, f < fall, hk < hella, hr < hellir, hi < No. holleg,hollig; sk < skellr, tr < trll, k < karl; BUT bdin,baldin < baldinn, meln (men) < millum, hkil(l)in < hkerling; fg < fleygja, g < lgr;lkr; < hlj;hlr; < ljtr, m(i) < ljmi minasto'mp < *myldingarstump

usually retained ms > (k)s lm > ml fj's,fjo'st < Nor. fjoms; ho'(k)s, ho'ms < Nor. humsken, L.Sc. hum; ro'(k)s, ro'ms < raumska skul()m, skum(b)l < skuml

generally retained fn > mn, m (finally) stmna,stmna < stofn, hamn- < hafn-, Ham < Hfn, stamrn < *stafn-rng hva'rt < annathvrt, h < hann, k < kanna, brer,brr,brr < brennir, md < mund, dali < undarligr, vt(i) < vent (), grka < grnska, b,b < barn; BUT hni,hni,h,h < horn; mn,m < munnr, span < spann, mana < manna, brna,bra < benna, andr,adr < anddyri njd,nd < Sw. knat?, njafin,njafk < Sw.dial. naffa, L.Sc. naff,nyaff, njatri < *gnatra,gnaddra, ogl,njogl < nykr hn < hundinn, haless,h'ta(r)less < handa(r)lauss rd < renna, sd < sanna; blohdin,blohin < *bilohyrningr; drd,drin < drynja

n > (before a consonant, occasionally initially); nn,rn > ; (palatalization)

nd > nn > d

retained db < djp, flab < flapr, glb < glap, glb < glop, gl:b < *gleypr, hb < hp, kjb < kaup, l:bin < *hleypingr, rab,rb < hrap, sb < saup, strba < stopi, b,:b < p, b,:b < pa; kupi,kbi < kpa, etrskab,etrskop < eitrskapr, rdkab < reiskapr, spjskb < *spskapr; BUT lndsp < landskapr skbk,skbk < skeppa, snbk,snabk,snp(i),snp(i) < *hneppi, kibk < kippa ap(ta) < aptann [-ft-], skptin,skbdk < *skeptingr; Tpti-,Tptns (Tptns), Taft < tpt

b (usually when final, or between vowels)

pp > b (occasionally) ft > pt (bd)

retained

rn > nn (occas.) rn > rl (occas.) tr > rd r>l

banno-corn < barn mallo < marlaukr slrd,sldr < slytra aitrahla < arahvra, buli,brk < *buringr, gjla,kjlk,kj:lk,kj:rk < Nor.kjore,kjra, krl,korr < kyrr;misf:ld,misf:rd < misfr(sk), njogl,ogl < nyk, rdl- < huar-?

retained dropped between k and l bjkl < bxl, jakl < jaxl, jkl < xl

usually retained

frt < freta, hatr < hatra, klut < kltr, mjat < mat, sktk < *sktingr bidi < biti, -brd < -brot, flda < flata, gad < gat, d < ljtr, mdr < matr, md,md < mt, r:d < hrjta, sld < slot, sd < st, sdi,sdi < sti,*sti,v(j)dk < veita; jdr,etr < eitr, fdk,vatk < fata, grd,grt < grjt, grdk,gr:tk < grta, nd,not,ut < naut, sda,st(a) < str,sta; dr:l:gt,tr:l:gt < trllsleginn, da'mp < Dan./L.Germ. tamp

d (usually when final, or between vowels; occasionally in initial position)

dropped (occasionally (spirvi)gru < -grjt, lag:st:(t:) < *lagsteyta, *rdt,*rddit < *rdagsdot(t), hw < hvtt when final) , (palatalisation) ifr, itifr,atwrs,b'rt,b'rt < atfer, gi,gi < gtt, tlt,titlt < iligt, -hi < -httr, lla,litla < ltla, tw(i)ld < *vtlar, vibnd,vitaband < *vattaband aldr < tjaldr, n < tjrn, una < Nor. utjona; Foula ballad: chaldona < tjaldinu; vit < vitja mind < mintt, td,tdk < tuttr slrd,sldr < slytra tari < ari, t'lfr,t'lfr < ilfar, tii,tei < ilja, (u)tli < ()ligr, tog- < oku-, to'rkst < *ukastt, tr < r, trn < r(in), tw(i)ld < *vtlar dm < m, dd < ot, du,d < , dwa'rs < vers, dwetl,dwtl < *vtla < vtta; the Foula ballad: dar < ar, do < ok(k)a < jukkr km'rki < *kornmakr [-k-], cf. Nor. mark < makr

tj > ; t (when final) tt > d (occasionally) tr > rd

d j > k > rk (occas.) v v (in most cases) w (initially) vl > lv

Watli < Vatnshl, wadml < vaml, wl'nt,wl'nt < vlindi, widi < vija, w'li < vlsi kvl,klvk,klva < kefli, skalv < skafl

Dialects of Shetland Norn

This overview is based on distinctions registered in Shetland Scots as of the end of the 19th century by Jakob Jakobsen and presented in his "Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland", v.I, p. LIX, with some additions. Most of the features mentioned below are

undoubtedly of Norn origin, although influences from Scots may also be seen in between. (Additions to this list are more than welcome.) 1. Eastside, North Islands, South Shetland 1.1. palatalisation (rather irregular) ll,rl > , nn,rn > , tt > itt, : falla > faj, f, ullar- > oa, millum > melan, mean, gott &ht; goitt, go, occasionally in the initial (prevocalic) position: fleygja > fog, lkr > log,ljog - hann > h, brenna > brek, andi > di, but banna > bann 1.2. ON hv,kv, Eng. qu-,wh- > w: hvalr > hwl, hvammr > hwam, kvisa > hwis, Eng. quite,white > White 1.3. In Dunrossness (South Shetland) the original is occasionally preserved as [] or []: ei > e, mi > mi, k > k,k, seir > se,se 1.A. North Islands, especially Unst and Yell 1.A.1. > , a somewhat diphtongized sound approaching the Faroese [a]: li 'lamb' = li, brnd = brand, tnd = tnd; 1.A.2. de Herra in Yell (as well in several other places all over Shetland): -ingr,-ungr > -i: buli = brk < *buringr, buli,boli = bulin, drli = dr:lin < ON drafli + L.Sc. drulie; 1.A.3. In de Herra in Yell sporadically > : k: = k:d < k, tlp = tudelep < *tulaupr 1.A.4. hv, kv > hw, in North islands (Yell) occasionally to sw: hvalr > hwal, kv > hwi,kwi, hvammr > swam 2. Westside (neighbourhood of Sandness), Foula 2.1. , are occasionally pronounced more open than usual. 2.2. ON > wo: > wo, tr > twor, f > fwo 2.3. [y] is often present where Mainland has []: bryni (brni) < ON *brn-; ryni (rni) < ON hraun, tryni (trni) < ON trni; 2.4. (also in part of South Shetland, especially Conningsburgh and Quarf) hv,kv, Eng. qu-,wh- > kw: kwolvin < klf(r)inn, hvalr > kwal, kv > kwi, hverjum > kvara, hvar > quar (Hildina), Eng. quite,white > quite, but hvtr > whit-, hvern > whaar (Hildina) 2.5. Instead of the palatal utterance of ll,nn, the change ll, nn > dl, dn is present in many cases (where Mainland Norn has /rn and /rl): fall > fadl, bolla- > bodli-, kunnr > kodn,kodden, horn > hoden. It has to be added that the palatal pronunciation of ll,nn has found its way to this dialect too, cf. !!! 2.6. Likewise, the long -tt- is never palatalised and does not add -i- to the preceding vowel either: gott > gott. 2.7. The initial h- is often omitted: hennar > ednar, henni > ende, hsta > osta 2.8. Some pronunciation differences: bjadni < barn(it), cf. Shetland mainland bo.

Sketch of the grammar of Shetland Norn based on the material from Jakobsen's "Etymological dictionary of Shetland Norn"
(See a separate overview forthe language of the Hildina poem) This overview is mostly based on forms picked up from Jakob Jakobsen's etymological dictionary. Of course, it should be kept in mind that most of those forms represent not directly Norn but rather its remnants in Shetland Scots and may well originate from different dialects and epochs. Nevertheless, we think that this material to a certain degree allows its systematisation and a contour description of

the grammar of Shetland Norn (or, at least, its morphology) can be rendered. See also the chapter on Old Norse for a grammar reference. Short view A. Substantives A.1. Indefinite declension A.1.1. Singular A.1.1.1. Strong declension A.1.1.2. Weak declension A.1.2. Plural A.2. Definite declension A.2.1. Singular A.2.2. Plural B. Adjectives B.1. Strong adjectives B.2. Weak declension B.3. Comparative and superlative degree B.3.1. Comparative degree B.3.2. Superlative degree C. Pronouns C.1. Personal pronouns C.2. Possessive pronouns C.3. Demonstrative pronouns C.4. Indefinite and interrogative pronouns D. Numerals D.1. Cardinal numerals D.2. Ordinal numerals E. Verbs E.1. Indicative E.1.1. Present E.1.2. Past E.2. Imperative E.3. Subjunctive E.4. Invinitive E.5. Present (active) participle E.6. Past (passive) participle E.7. Middle voice A. SUBSTANTIVES A.1. Indefinite declension A.1.1. Singular A.1.1.1. Strong declension A.1.1.1.1. Nominative/accusative The standard Old Norse (ON) masculine ending -r is dropped in most cases (merging thus with accusative), except a few words where it still shows up as -er: (Norn < Old Norse unless specified)

erdros < arr-ss modera handalos < mar(inn) handalauss fogborder < fjkburr funder, finder < fundr hwisterester (*hwister-hester) < hestr kidnpuster < kinnpstr Most of the feminine and neuter strong substantives in ON had no ending in nominative and the same applies to Shetland Norn (further referred to as Norn). A.1.1.1.2 Genitive a) -s was a common genitive singular ending in masculine and neuter declension in ON. This ending is widely presented in Norn: Hornshul < Hornshll s(j)usamillabakka (*sjsmillibakka) < milli sjs ok bakka Maedadalls Woe < Matdals Vigadalswo < Vkardals Polsgjo < Pollsgj marta di gons teke di veps < margt til garns, tekit til vepts Vatshwi < Vatnskv De Felsend < fells endi merkis-time < merkis-t As -s is the only genitive ending in English, there is no doubt that it had to stay in Norn under any circumstances. In separate cases -s shows up as -is, -sa, -ses: Rnisfell < Hraunsfell, Rnis vo < hrauns-vgr Markamudiswo < markamts elis < ls Vatsaros < Vatnsrs Banufseskodda < Boahnfskoddi The ending -is could have developed owing to the influence from words ending in -i, which had the genitive ending -is, e.g. ON sti Gen. stis. An influence from Scots is also possible. The other examples - Vatsaros, Bahufseskodda - can contain a contamination of various genitive endings. b) Another regular genitive ending - ar/r - was used in the strong feminine and the strong i/u-masculine declensions. In Norn it's normally preserved as -a/e (occasionally a > i), -er, -r: Masc. de Jrnategs < Jrundar teigar de Sjurategs < Sigurar teigar *Sunlasetter < Slmundarsetr Tronaseter (Tronister) < rndarsetr; de Fjardepall < fjararpallr; ryggagitel < ryggjargeitill Skeldebrs < Skjaldarbrjst

Skellavelti < Skjaldarvelta? Ballafell < ballarfell (?); de Bellag < ballarggr hatterskum < *hattarskm Fem. Engamor, Engatus, Engamosdelds; Engermorvatn < engjarde Grasten, Gstens < ggjarsteinn; de Grhul < ggjarhll (W)Ordal < rdalr; de Orems < rheimar; Worgert < rgarr; Orgil < rgil; (W)Orli < rhli; Woros - rss; (W)Orwick, Orruk < rvk olla < ullarGrindavelta < grindarHamnavoe < hafnarvgr Mradelds < mrardeildir, Mrategs < mrarteigar de Stranategs < strandarteigar skotnarur < *skotanar-rr ufsahella < upsarhella Tuptategs < tuptar-; utia < t(ar?) Vigagjo < vkargj lir, lida < hlar; Lifell, de Lidadal < hlardalr; de Lirend(s) < hlarendi; Lirhul (-hol, wol) < hlarhll noralegg < nlar-leggr Maligjo < malargj Navigjo < nafargj The above examples show that -r is normally preserved in monosyllabic words (wor < r, lir < hlar, gr < ggjar), but tends to drop in bisyllabic ones. The reflexes of Old Norse hl show both types of this development: hlar > lir, lida. The choice obviously depends upon whether -- stays (as -d-) or disappears at all, which gives either a mono- or bisyllabic word respectively. A.1.1.1.3. Dative In Old Norse strong masculine and neuter nouns had the ending -i. It seems to be well-preserved in Norn. Feminine nouns had no ending in dative except the word hnd - D.sg. hendi: lagi (to be in a lagi [lag] 'to be excited') < lagi, D.sg. of lag Velli < velli, D.sg.of vllr Stakken groiti < stakkrinn grjti Vo < vgi andi < hendi A.1.1.1.4. Accusative Corresponding to most Norwegian, Danish and Swedish dialects, as well as West Germanic languages (German), accusative in Norn strongly inclined to merging with nominative. It is especially evident in the strong masculine declension where nominative has lost its masculine ending -r which made it look the same as the accusative form. In most of the feminine and all the neuter words nominative and accusative were morphologically identical.

A.1.1.1.5. Summary Masc N A D (er) i Fem a,r,er Neu i s

G s/is/a,er

A.1.1.2. Weak declension A.1.1.2.1. Nominative One of the most prominent pecularities of this group of nouns is fluctuations between the masculine endings -i (oiginally, nominative) and -a (originally, accusative, dative and genitive). Their confusion can witness the blending of the nominative and accusative cases in Norn as we have already discussed above. As a result, other forms with the ending -a swapped it for -i by analogy. In neuter the Old Norse ending -a is mostly preserved or dropped occasionally. a) Masculine bilk, bilki, bulk < Icel. bulki m., bylki n., Nor. bulk m. < ON *bular hog, hogi, hoga < hagi ralli < Nor. Swed. Ralla rmi, remi < rjmi slagi, slaga < slaga, slagi skugga, skugg < skuggi (cf. to be i' skugga < at vera skugga) b) Feminine floga < fluga flukra,flokra < Far. Flykra solta < solta Smorkelda < smr-/smjrkelda c) Neuter jarta < hjarta joga < auga jora < eyra nir < nyra Many weak nouns have lost their ending, although in a number of forms it is still preserved (partially it owes to the occasional blending of the strong and weak declension still in Old Norse, cf. ON. stubbr vs. stubbi). The omitting of the ending is especially noticeable in female. Masc. stubb nm. stub, stump < stubbr/stubbi rukka, rokk < Nor. Ruka Fem. bor < bora

dagdvelj < dagdvelja di < a Greentua/Grntu < grn fa; Tuan stura < fan stra; Htu < heyfa; Litlatu < litla fa; Muklatu < mikla fa A.1.1.2.2. Genitive In Old Norse there was the same form for accusative, dative and genitive of singular in the weak declension of nouns. However, we have collected the examples of genitive into a separate group, because most of them are parts of compound words. In feminine the ending -u is often replaced with -a (the same change -u > -a is frequent in the plural of weak adjectives, see B.2.3.): Masc. Mangaseter < Magnasetr, Magni Tirvister (*Turvasetter) < Torfasetr, Torfi; s(j)usamillabakka (*sjsmillibakka) < milli sjs ok bakka Fem. Kellabrun < keldu-brunnr, kelda Kjorkabi < kirkjubr; Kjorkigert < kirkjugarr; de Kjorkidelds < kirkjudeildir; K(j)orkhul < kirkjuhll, de Kjorkalis < kirkjuhlir; Korkaseter < kirkjusetr, kirkja pannabrod/panni- < pnnubrot, panna gjonge-sop, gjonga-fish/gjonge-fish < gngu-sopi, gngu-fiskr, ganga A.1.1.2.3. Accusative, dative folgju, fulgju < fulgu, fulga grinsko, alongside grnska < grnsku, grnska hurro, horro < Nor. hurru, hurra ilsko, ilsku, alongside ilska < ilsku, ilska fongsnoro < *fang-snarvu, *fang-snarva (Alternatively the final -o can be explained as a result of the influence from -v-, cf. dorg > * dorw > Norn dorro, like sorg > Eng. sorrow) A.1.1.2.4. Summary Masc N A D G i (a) a a a Fem a (o) a, *o (u) o (u) o (u) Neu a,*a (-) *a (-) *a (-)

A.1.2. Plural A.1.2.1. Nominative Old Norse had various plural nominative endings in masculine and feminine: -ar, -ir, -ur, -r. In neuter there was a zero ending in the strong declension and the ending -u in the weak one. All this is narrowed

down to 3 endings in Norn: -ar, -er and the neuter zero ending. The weak neuter declension has apparently borrowed the ending -er, see below jogers. drengar < drengar (also drengir), sg. Drenar de Kletters < klettar, klettr de Engers < engjar, eng vister < vistir, vist ilsker < ilskur, ilska klr, sg. kl < kljr, sg. Kl ger (*kr, kyr) < kr, sg. K jogers (*joger) < augu, sg. auga; cf. Far. pl. eygu, eygur A.1.2.2. Genitive The main genitive plural ending in ON was -a. It is quite well preserved in Norn, occasionally appearing in a slightly different phonetic form, f.ex. as -e: dea-dumbvidlavoga < dymbildagavika, -daga-, Nom. sg. dagr Hulmawater < hlmavatn; Hulmasjnn < hlmatjrn Kollafirt < Kollafjrr; Kollevo < Kollavgr; Kollefell < Kollafell; Kollern < Kollahraun, kollr husamilla(n) < millum hsa; milla gorda < millum gara; skottamilliskrua < skotta milli skrfa; s(j)usamillabakka < milli sjs ok bakka; millen fjella, Mella fjela < millum fella (fjalla); Milla hella < milli hella; Milla stakki (*Milla stakka) < milli stakka; Milla stena < milli steina; Milla vatna < milli vatna; Milja sanda < milli sanda Gott a taka gamla manna ro < gott at taka gamalla manna r de Emannasod < *eins-manna-str < eins-manns-str; cf. de Twegemanso < tveggja-manna-str; de Vjedemansso < veiimanns/astr. In the last case we face the mixing of the endings for genitive sg. and pl. Logically it should have been *Emannsod, *Twegemann(a)o and *Vjedemann(a)o, but the outcome is opposite due to corruption. According to the rule of vocalic contraction, the genitive plural ending -a is usually dropped when the root ends in a vowel: Srett < sauartt Millenor < millum (a); (-r is pleonastic) The genitive ending -na, proper to female and neuter of the weak declension shows up in few cases: ornaskap < eyrna-, Nom.sg. eyra A.1.2.3. Dative The ON ending is always -um, which in Norn turned into -en (cf. the Faroese ending -um [n]): Hwien < * kvum, Nom.sg. kv

Toften < Toftum, tft De Nes(j)en < Nesjum, nes hwiden s(w)iglen < (me) hvtum seglum Hulen < Hlum, hll (or Hl(l)inn, see A.2.1.1) Tuen < fum, fa (or fan, see A.2.1.1) A.1.2.4. Accusative In neuter and feminine accusative plural had the same ending as nominative. In masculine it was equal to the nominative ending, but failed the final -r: Nom.pl. hestar, dalir, Acc.pl hesta, dali. Remains of this system are still to be found in Norn: blura < blra, Nom.pl. blrar dimmodali < dimmu dali, *dimmudali, Nom.pl. -dalir A.1.2.5. Summary Masc N A D G ar, er a, i en a Fem ar, er, r ar, er, r en a Neu s. -, w. er s. -, w. er en s. a, w. na

A.2. Definite declension (with the suffigated article) A.2.1. Singular A.2.1.1. Nominative-accusative. a) Masculine The mixing of nominative and accusative is evident where definite nouns are concerned, especially when a noun is followed by a (weak) adjective in accusative, e.g. pollin djuba which repeats the old accusative form pollinn djpa, nominative pollrinn djpi. We quote both accusative and nominative forms of the Old Norse archetypes, either separately (Acc. kollinn, Nom. kollrinn) or within the same word (eld(r)inn). globeren < glparin de Fors(in) < forsinn Hessen gula < hestinn gula (Acc), hestrinn guli (Nom) slagi, slaga < ON slaga, slagi Boens < boinn (boi) lavin < hleifinn (Acc), hleifrinn (Nom) Stakken groiti < stakk(r)inn grjti, Stakken sjukka < stakkinn jukka, Nom. stakkrinn jukki hogin/hogen; de Hogen < haginn de Kollen [Kullen] < kollinn, Nom. Kollrinn de jaderin, jadren (jader) < jaarinn

dene komene ljus [lusa] < daginn [dgun?] er kominn ljs, Nom. dagrinn ungadrengen < unga drenginn, Nom. ungi drengrinn Klettin r < klett(r)inn raui monin, Edm. monen < mninn hildin < eld(r)inn kjosen < kossinn halsin < hlsinn Pollin djuba < pollinn djpa, Nom. pollrinn djpi ratsin < rassinn simmen < sminn Stenavellen; Vallernes Hulen, Hulin < hlinn, Nom. hllinn (otherwise treated as Dat.pl, see A.1.2.3.); Hulen brenda < hlinn brennda, Nom. hllinn brenndi; Hulen hjoga < hlinn ha, Nom. hllinn hi (Far. hgi); Hulna hwessa < hlinn hvassa, Nom. hllinn hvassi (or Nom. plur. hlarnir hvssu, see A.2.2.1.); Hulen [hollen] kwida < hlinn hvta, Nom. hllinn hvti; Hulen rundi < hlinn rundi; Hul(en) skarpa < hlinn skarpa, Nom. hllin skarpi; Hulen (Ulna) stura [sturi] < hlinn stra, Nom. hllinn stri Tuen < fan (otherwise fum, see A.1.2.3) In several cases the old masculine ending -inn shows up in the shape of -a or -e. The conditions of this change are unclear, although it echoes a similar development of the feminine article in Norwegian dialects, cf. ON bkin > Nynorsk boka. Nevertheless, in Norn such cases are registered mostly in masculine. Probably this is an example of the ending -a spreading out as a universal ending of Norn, see f.ex. J.Jakobsen, "Etymological Dictionary...", "Fragments of Norn", p. XCIII, "Gryle verse" ("All the old grammatical endings in this verse have been levelled to -a, except in bjadnis <...>"). sagde kolle gambli [kolla gambla] < sagi karlinn gamli spungna ligger i gliggan < spnninn liggr *glygganum modera handalos < mar(inn) handalauss b) Feminine In feminine the blending of nominative and accusative is especially obvious. Most examples show strong declension which Old Norse endings were -in (Nom.) and -ina/-na (Acc.). In Norn they show up as en/in and -ena/-na respectively. The weak endings in Old Norse were an and -una, in Norn they appear as -en/in and -ena respectively. mrena grna < mrina grnu, Nom. mrin grna; mrna kwida < mrina hvtu, mrin hvta; Blomrna < blmrrin/-ina Gjona stura < Acc. gjna stru; Nom. gjin stra; Gjona wi' < gjna vi rna wi < eyrina vi Wona svarta < na svrtu, in svarta Kusena stura < ksina stru, ksin stra dongjin < dyngjan skivin < skfan de Sletten < slttan jilder hjolskin! < illa heilsa(n) Grunkens < grunnkan pirrena < pirruna (alternative interpretation: pirr-hna)

Smina wi < smijuna vi Rivena hgena wi < rifuna hauginn vi c) Neuter The Old Norse ending for nominative and accusative was -it. In a few Norn words the final -t is still on, but most often it is dropped. The vowel is presented as -i, rarely -e. tungeflet/-it < tungufallit darget (also darg) < darget valne vatne < fallinn vatnit firsta fari! < fyrsta farit sommere litla < summarit ltla Rni fogra < hraunit fagra; de Berrarnis < berghraunit; de Fellarnis < fellhraunit; Hjogarnis < haugahraunit; Krogarni < krk(u)hraunit; Langa-/Longarni < langa hraunit. seppalama (*-lami) < sta lambit sjnibsni < sjnar-bysnit A.2.1.2. Genitive a) Masculine, neuter The masculine (and neuter) ending in Old Norse was -ins. Preserved in Norn. Holsinswart < halsins vara [-i] b) feminine In Old Norse The feminine ending was -innar (strong) and -unnar (weak). In Norn the final -r is dropped, the double -nn- is shortened and the initial vocal -i- or -u- reduced, so the outcome is -na: Wonaswartadal < rinnar-svrtudalr Murnategs < mrarinnar-teigar; de Mrnabrods < mrarinnar-brotar? (or Celt. brod?; also treated as mranna-brotar, see A.2.2.2.) Nipnafell < gnpunnar-fell (also treated as gnpna-fell, see A.2.2.2.) A.2.1.3. Dative a) The masculine ending in Old Norse was -inum (strong) or -anum (weak). Norn has most often the ending -en or (respectively?) -an, i.e. the same as in accusative (see though the account on the language of Hildinakvadet where there still is a different ending). gleggin, gleggan < glygginum, glygganum lt i riggen < ilt hrygginum Kletten r < () klettinum [klettinn] raua b) Feminine The Old Norse strong ending -inni appears as -in in the only example we have found (see also an anological conclusion for the language of Hildinakvadet). No traces of the weak ending -unni have been discovered.

Mren < / mrinni No examples of dative definite in neuter (Old Norse -inu) are found either. A.2.1.4. Accusative sg. masc. weak (strong covered above) -ann Norn -an agglovan < *agga-klofann, A.sg.def. of klofi Tongan swarta < tangann svarta, tanginn svarti Rivena-hgena-wi < rifan/rifuna-hauginn-vi - a separate form which shows an influence from the feminine ending -ena. A.2.2. Plural. A.2.2.1. Nominative a) masculine, feminine In Old Norse both genders had the endings -ar/-ir/-ur + -nir (masc.)/-nar (fem.). In Norn all these variants have merged into -erne (-ene) which must be a combination of nominative and accusative forms and is very typical for many continental Scandinavian dialects. A slightly different development is shown by donna < dyrnar, where -rn- follows straight after the root vowel. visterne, visterno < vistirnar Kletterne < klettarnir Vallernes < vellirnir Hulna hwessa < hlarnir hvssu (or hlinn hvassa, see A.2.1.1.) oba donna [dnna, dnni]! < opna dyrnar! boochsina < buksurnar (?) b) neuter de Lediens (ledi) < leitin Nom.pl. of leiti de Rnins < hraunin, hraun Ennins < ennin, enni viln (vils) < vilin Nom. pl. of vil de Gilins < gilin grnu There are few examples of the ending being -ena (-*eni, -*ini) which is the same ending as exists in Faroese and Danish, unlike the ending -in as in Old Norse: Gilena grona (< *gilini) < gilin grnu, Far. *gilini grnu clovena < Nor. klov + in The following word has formally no neuter plural article, but its final part (-in) does remind it, so that in Faroese and Danish it acquired the final vowel -e/i by analogy from the article. However, this did not happen to Norn: sotskin < systkin, but Far. systkini, Dan. sskende

A.2.2.2. Genitive plural has a common ending for all 3 genders: -anna [-nanna]. In Norn it is normally preserved as -na, rarely -ena. Midla jouna [jongna, jungna] < milli gjnna Hwinarigger < kvanna-ryggr Hulnarift < hlanna-ript Rivnateng < rifna-tangi de Mrnabrods < mranna-brotar (or mrarinnar-brotar? see A.2.1.2.) Nipnafell < gnpna-fell (or gnpunnar-fell? see A.2.1.2.) Tegenavall (Tegnivaldjes) < teiganna-vllr Husenvord (Husavord) < hsanna-vara A.2.2.3. Dative Unfortunately, no definite dative plural forms have been discovered. A.2.2.4. Feminine and neuter names had identical forms for nominative and accusative plural. Accusative masculine in Old Norse had the ending -ana or -ina. In Norn these endings are merged into -ena or -na. L(j)gena grna < lkina grnu, Nom. lknirnir grnu Hulna hwessa < hlana hvssu, hlarnir hvssu Tegena gronna [gronja] < teigana grinnu [grnu?], teigarnir grinnu Blettena/blekna grna < blettina grnu, blettirnir grnu Stakkena grona < stakkana grnu, stakkarnir grnu Summary. Singular (s. - strong, w. -weak, sw. - both strong and weak)
Masc N A D G sw. en/in, a s. en/in, w. an s. en, w. an s. ins, w. ? Fem sw. en/in sw. ena/na s. en, w. ? s. na, w. na? Neu s. i(t), w. ? s. i(t), w. ? ? s. ins?, w. ?

Plural Masc N A D G erne (e)na ? (e)na Fem erne, na erne, na ? (e)na Neu in(i?) in(i?) ? (e)na

B. ADJECTIVES B.1. Strong adjectives The repertoire of various grammatical forms presented by strong adjectives is quite scarce. The following forms only have been

registered: Nom.sg.masc/fem/neu, Nom.pl.masc (?), Gen.pl. and Dat.pl.

Acc.sg.masc.,

Dat.sg.masc,

B.1.1. Singular nominative. Like with masculine names, adjectives in Old Norse had the masculine nominative singular ending -r but only few instances of this ending are found in the remnants of Norn: naber [nabel] < knappr uvolter [uvolt, uvilt] < villtr (?) The rest of adjective forms have this ending dropped and thus coincide with the old feminine form. modera handalos < mar(inn) handalauss Mukkel/Mikkel R < mikil Rauey; R stur < Rauey str Grni < grn ey; Grntu < grn t/fa In feminine the ending -a [-e] is sometimes present. Most likely it originates from the Accusative form (ga) or, alternatively, the weak Nominative form (also ga). Sanday Stour [stura] < Sandey str(a) De vare [vera] gue ti < at var g t (Nom), Acc. ga t B.1.2. Neuter ending in old Norse was -t. It is well preserved in Norn. smutt < smtt, Neu. Smr uvart < vart, obra utoitleg(t) < ligt, iligr Sometimes the neuter form includes additional inserts: mjoget < mjtt, *mj-tt In a separate case the final -(t)t is eliminated altogether: hw ligr hw < hvtt liggr hvtu B.1.3. Singular accusative masc. In Old Norse the ending is -an, in Norn it is preseved as -en in those few examples where it still can be traced: goden dag! < gan dag! B.1.4. Singular dative. Like with the dative plural of nouns, the old ending -um shows up as -en. hwiden s(w)iglen swerten tro < (me) hvtum seglum, svrtum ri B.1.5. Plural nominative: ungadrengar < contamination of Acc. unga drenga and Nom. ungir drengar (?) Otherwise it might be influenced by an alternative form

ungadrengen < unga drenginn or, more likely, be a reflex of a weak form: ungu drengar (see B.2). B.1.6. The only surviving Genitive plural form is gamla < gamalla (assimilation of the standard Gen.pl. ending -ra, which changes to -la after -l-): Gott a taka gamla manna ro < gott at taka gamalla manna r B.1.7. Plural dative. Same as B.1.4. hwiden s(w)iglen swerten tro < (me) hvtum seglum, svrtum ri B.2. Weak declension B.2.1. In a number of cases adjectives are preserved in their old weak form. All occurences of this type show the masculine ending -i: dummi < Fr. dummi,dummur/dumbur, Nor.dumm bolleti < blltti, bllttr huketi < hktti, hkttr kruketi < krktti, krkttr mirki < myrki, myrkr keremi < kri minn, Kerr kluki < klki, klkr Some of these adjectives appear as substantivated nouns: halti < halti, halar hardi < hari, harr rdi < raui, raur smjongni < (hinn) smeygni, smeyginn B.2.2. Weak adjective with an indefinitive substantive (widespread among toponymes). In the case of feminine nouns, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the old strong Accusative singular form and the weak nominative singular one, which had the same ending -a in Old Norse (see B.1.1.). longafloga < langa fluga de Longeg < langa ggr Grnablett < grna blett, grni blettr; Gronastakk/Gronistakk < grna stakk, grni stakkr, Grnitong/Gronateng < grna tanga, grni tangi Kwidamrr < hvta mrr; Hwidanes, Kwidanes < hvta nes; Hwitiberg < hvta berg; Hwita-/Kwitastakk < hvta stakk, hvti stakkr Brattikom < bratti kambr; Rongakom < ranga kamb, rangi kambr; Mukla Kom < mikla kamb, mikli kambr; Litla Kom < litla kamb, litli kambr de Longemi < lngumi Ruy stoura < Rauey stra je gamla < ia gamla de Gamlabuls/Gamlibls < gmlu bl; Gamla hellek < gamla hella Hjoganip < hga gnpa (?) Tjongi longi, Longatonga < tangi(nn) langi, tanga langa

sota [soti] lamb! < sta lamb! In the original weak forms consonantal inserts occasionally occur: groga < gra, grr, cf. Anglo-Saxon grg B.2.3. Weak adjective with a definitive substantive. Most of the forms show the ending -a. The masculine Nominative ending -i is rather rare (gambli, rundi), the plural and feminine indirect ending -u is replaced with -a in most examples except dimmodali < dimmu dali (see a similar development in genitive feminine of substantives, A.1.1.2.2.). sagde kolle gambli [kolla gambla] < sagi karlinn gamli Stakken sjukka < stakkinn jukka, Nom. stakkrinn jukkr seppalama < sta lambit (?) sjolin sjota < slin sta ungadrengen < unga drenginn, Nom. ungi drengrinn Gjona stura < gjin stra; Acc. gjna stru Blettena/blekna grna < blettina grnu; Dalin grna < dalinn grna, dalrinn grni; Fidna grna < fitina grnu, fitin grna; Ljgena grna < lkina grnu, lkirnir grnu; Mrena grna < mrina grnu, mrin grna; Stakkena grona < stakkana grnu,stakkarnir grnu; Tona grona < tna grnu, tin grna; Gilena grona < gilin grnu, Far. gilini grnu Hellena kwida < helluna hvtu, hellan hvta; Hulen kwida < hlinn hvta, hllinn hvti; Mrna kwida < mrina hvtu, mrrin hvta Gorsten stura < garstainn stra, garstarinn stri; Hulen stura < hllinn stri; Vadlin/Vallin stura < vailinn stra, vaillinn stri; Hessen gula < hestinn gula, hestrinn guli Hulin rundi < hllinn rundi sommere litla < summari litla; L(j)gena grna < lkina groenu, lknirnir grnu dimmodali < dimmu dali(na) B.2.4. Because of vocalic contraction in Norn a number of adjectives ending in a vowel (or the original --) does not allow us to detect exactly whether it is an old strong or weak form: Klettin r < klettinn raua, klettrinn raui; (undir) klettinum raua R hedler < raur [raui?] hellir (Fo) Hellena gro < helluna gr(u), Nom. hellan gr(a) B.3. Comparative and superlative degree B.3.1. Comparative degree. The older endings -ri and -ra are preserved, apart from the ending -er which must have been borrowed from Scots, despite the Old Norse form betr which also should have given the ending -er. tra/Hemra Nip < ytri/*heimari gnpa Sudra Kidn < syri kinn ettri < eptri,aptari better < betr, L.Sc./Eng. Better

ver/Neder Sund < fra/nera sund de ter/inner Kinnens < ytri/innri kinn de hemer/framer Sedek < *heimara/fremra sti or *heimari/fremri seta Adverbial paradigm: hema - hemer - hemest < *heima - *heimari - *heimast B.3.2. Superlative degree Hostanup < hsti gnpr i mirkastim hura < i myrkastum 'hour' ('in the darkest hour'); see comments by J.Jakobsen on this form in his "Etymological Dictionary...", p. CXVI. C. PRONOUNS C.1. Personal pronouns 1. sg.: Nom. ek < ek, Acc. mog < mig: ek ska(l) skjera < ek skal skera ve rigrive mog < (ek) efa(sk) (at ) hrygghrfir mik 2. sg.: Nom. du, Acc. dig,dok < ig, Gen. din < n, Dat. djer. Like in Old Norse, the nominative form can be used in the imperative form of a verb, cf. ON halt > haltu: Shetland Scots looks-to! < look + tu (< ) Shetland Scots haltu dog at djer < haltu (ik) at r (double recirpocal form) 3. sg.: Nom. hann, haa hanna daga < hann dagar 2.pl.: Nom. di < it/r?, dor < Fr. tygur; Gen. dor(a) < Goden dag til dor(a)! < gan dag til yvar Shetland Scots kwar'r dor gaun? where are you going? C.2. Possessive pronouns 1. sg.: mi,mit lammit < lamb mitt keremi < kri minn 2. sg.: dit, det C.3. Demonstrative pronouns Shetland Norn der < at er it(t)a, jada < etta, masc. essi, Fr. neu. hetta C.4. Indefinite and interrogative pronouns marg; neu. mart(a) < margr, margt

kwar, sing.neut. kwart < hvert (uppo kwart ura < upp hvert eyra) or kwat < hvat: kwat a ita? kwat e jada? < hvat er etta? D. NUMERALS D.1. Cardinal numerals de Emannasod < *eins-manns-str; de Twegemanso < *tveggjamanna-str fire,fre < fjrir, Far. fra '4' trettin < rettan '13' fjomtena, fjumtan < fimmtn '15' seks < sex; cf. sekserin,seksrin < sexringr tretti < rjtu '30' D.2. Ordinal numerals firsta fari! second anari! < fyrsta fari, anna! ('1st', '2nd') trid < rii '3d' (tiind < tund 'tithe' in bot(is)tiind) trettind < rettndi '13th' E. VERBS E.1. Indicative E.1.1. Present. The system of endings in the present seem to be the same as in Faroese: 1.sg -e, 2,3.sg -er,-ar, pl. -a. In many instances the final -r in 2,3.sg is dropped, most probably when the next word begins in a consonant. 1 sg. ve rigrive mog < (ek) efa(sk) 3. sg. ligga, liger < liggr siter < sitr seve < sefr,sfr leka < leikr hanna daga < hann dagar kaller < kallar 3.pl. wakna < vakna gonga, gonge, gongera < ganga honge < hanga Preterito-present verbs: 1,3 sg. skal skal, skall, skar < skal Shetland Scots who s it? < hver at? 2.sg. sal du < skalt 1.pl. skola < skulum (at ) hrygghrfir mik

E.1.2. Past. In some cases the respective infinitive form is also mentioned after the past form. E.1.2.1. Strong verbs gret, grot < grt, grta wann, winn < vann, vinna strd/strded, str < streyi(?), streyja lep/loped, lop < hljp, hlaupa gat, get < gat, geta dret, drit < dreit, drta strok < strauk, strjka skr < skrei, skra kom < kom E.1.2.2. Weak verbs. Once again, the endings are practically the same as those of Faroese: -e in sg., -u [-e] in pl. sagde kolle/a gambli/a < sagi karlinn gamli, segja sokketu < sktu/sttu, skja vogede < vktu rude < *ru/reru, ra E.2. Imperative Preserving the old imperative, Norn shows a tendency to add a vowel if the imperative did originally not have it, cf. kome < kom, ria < r. Either it is the result of a levelling influence from weak verbs or it is just the infinitive used in the imperative meaning. trivi < rf ! Halt < halt tak < tak kome < kom gera so! < gera sv! klapa < klappa ria < r rn(na) < renn A number of forms have preserved the old Old Norse imperative particle -tu which originates from the personal pronoun 2.sg. : hredu < heyr , heyru Shetland Scots looks-to! < look + tu (< ) Shetland Scots (or Norn?) haltu dog at djer < haltu (ik) at r (double recirpocal form) E.3. Subjunctive twit se dee! < tvt s r! welawirdi < vel veri r, Fr. vl veri tr! twiti var dee! < tvtt veri r! twiti varg dee! < tvt veri r! (?), Fr. tv vori [vorti] tr

I ver vi dee! < ek veri me r! probably mixed with Eng. I wish I were here (?) E.4. Infinitive. Infinitives of the verbs listed in Jakobsen's dictionary normally have a zero ending according to the rules of English/Scots. However, the Scandinavian infinitive ending -a is still preserved in a few obscure forms apart from a number of forms from the Norn texts. ek ska(l) skjera < ek skal skera skottamilliskrua < skotta milli skrfa tia,ti < egja, Far. tiga E.5. Present (active) participle The original ending is preserved only in a few forms. In the most of cases the Scots ending -in/en is used instead. driljandi < drillandi gemsina < gemsanda, Gen.pl. of gemsandi glen < glandi E.6. Past (passive) participle In some cases the respective infinitive form is also mentioned after the participle. E.6.1. Strong verbs groten, grot < grtinn, grta sukken, sukk < sokkinn, skkva dritten, drit < dritinn, drta teke < Tekit halden < haldinn voksen < Bassin smjongni < hinn smeygni fonn < fundinn, but: hjogfinni < haugfundit? nomin < numinn boren < barinn lopen [lupen], lopa < hlaupinn, hlaupa upplopen < upphlaupinn wantriven < *vanrifinn or rather L.Sc. wanthrivin? dene komene ljus [lusa] < dagar [dgun?] kominn ljs valne vatne (FO fadlin) < fallinn vatni vanvordin, vanvurden < vanvorinn runnin < runninn E.6.2. Weak verbs Hulen brenda < hllinn brenndi lengdi < lengir teldar < taldar Fem.pl.

run, rin < hruninn, hrynja uppadoga < uppidagar vandet < baador supet < spa hoitted, -et < httar E.7. Middle voice helsk < helsask (?) pinnis < pnask (?)

The language of The Ballad of Hildina

Detailed view 1. History 2. Import of the ballad 3. Phonology 4. Grammar 5. List of grammatical forms A. Substantives B. Adjectives C. Adverbs D. Pronouns E. Verbs F. Prepositions G. Conjunctions H. Particles 1. History The Ballad of Hildina, the longest text in Norn that has survived until our days, was recorded in 1774 in Foula by a young Scottish clergyman George Low, who, serving at that time in Orkney, made a voyage to Shetland. The ballad was narrated to Low by William Henry, an old farmer from Guttorm in Foula. Low included the poem under the title "The Earl of Orkney and the King of Norway's Daughter: a Ballad" into his book "A Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Schetland", manuscript to which he completed in 1777. The book saw the light of day only a century later, in 1879, when it was published in Kirkwall. Before that, the song had already been in print, featuring in "History of Orkney Islands" by Dr. Barry (1805, London) and in "Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, 6te band 1ste hefte" (1838, Christiania). In 1900 the Norwegian scholar Marius Hgstad, well-known for his researches on Scandinavian dialectology, published the ballad in his "Hildinakvadet med utgreiding um det norske maal paa Shetland i eldre tid". This volume featured a profound analysis of the song and its language. Hgstad presented his own corrected version of George Low's text, attempting to bring the language of the ballad closer to its original (both versions are available at our website). 2. The import of the ballad.

The Ballad of Hildina has its roots in Scandinavian and Germanic folklore and is believed to have been composed in Orkney, as its contents clearly witnesses. However, the alleged Orcadian original of the song is not preserved - its only available version comes from Shetland. The import of the ballad is summarised by George Low himself who commented in detail on this matter (without doubt, retelling the narrator's explanations): The following song is the most entire I could find, but the disorder of some of the stanzas will show that it is not wholly so. The subject is a strife between a King of Norway and an Earl of Orkney, on account of the hasty marriage of the Earl with the King's daughter in her father's absence. Here it is worthy to be observed that most of the fragments they have are old historical Ballads and Romances, this kind of poetry being more greedily swallowed and retentively preserved by memory than any others, and most fitted to the genius of the Northerns. In this Ballad I cannot answer for the orthography. I wrote it as an old man pronounced it; nor could he assist me in this particular. This man (William Henry, a farmer in Guttorm, in Foula) has the most knowledge of any I found; he spoke of three kinds of poetry used in Norn, and repeated or sung by the old men; the Ballad (or Romance, I suppose); the Vysie or Vyse, now commonly sung to dancers; and the simple Song. By the account he gave of the matter, the first seems to have been valued here chiefly for its subject, and was commonly repeated in winter by the fireside; the second seems to have been used in publick meetings, now only sung to the dance; and the third at both. Let it be remarked that the following ballad may be either written in two long line or four short line stanzas. A literal translation of the above I could not procure, but the substance is this:- "An Earl of Orkney, in some of his rambles on the coast of Norway, saw and fell in love with the King's daughter of the country. As their passion happened to be reciprocal, he carried her off in her father's absence, who was engaged in war with some of his distant neighbours. On his return, he followed the fugitives to Orkney, accompanied by his army, to revenge on the Earl the rape of his daughter. On his arrival there, Hildina (which was her name), first spied him, and advised her now husband to go and attempt to pacify the King. He did so, and by his appearance and promise brought the King so over as to be satisfied with the match. This, however, was of no long standing, for as soon as the Earl's back was turned a courtier, called Hiluge, took great pains to change the King's mind, for it seems Hiluge had formerly hoped to succeed with the daughter himself. His project took, and the matter came to blows; the Earl is killed by Hiluge, who cut off his head and threw it at his lady, which, she says, vexed her even more than his death, that he should add cruelty to revenge. Upon the Earl's death, Hildina is forced to follow her father to Norway, and in a little time Hiluge makes his demand to have her in marriage of

her father; he consents, and takes every method to persuade Hildina, who, with great reluctance, agrees upon condition that she is allowed to fill the wine at her wedding. This is easily permitted, and Hildina infuses a drug which soon throws the company into a dead sleep, and after ordering her father to be removed, set the house on fire. The flame soon rouses Hiluge, who piteously cries for mercy, but the taunts he had bestowed at the death of the Earl of Orkney are now bitterly returned, and he is left to perish in the flames." The start of the ballad and its main characters are believed to be related to the story of Hinn and Hgni from "The Battle of Heodenings", alternatively "Saga of Hild": Hjaningavg (the "battle of the Heodenings"), the legend of Heinn and Hgni or the Saga of Hild is a Scandinavian legend from Norse mythology about a never-ending battle which is documented in Srla ttr, Ragnarsdrpa, Gesta Danorum, Skarma and in Skldskaparml from Snorri's Edda (Prose Edda). It is also held to appear on the image stone at Stora Hammar on Gotland. Moreover, it is alluded to in the Old English poems Deor and Widsi, and in the Old Norse Httalykill inn forni (an Old Norse poem, attributed to Rgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, the Earl of Orkney and Hallr rarinsson in the Orkneyinga Saga). Like the names Heinn (O.E. Heoden) and Hgni (O.E. Hagena), the legend is believed to have continental Germanic origins. In the Skldskaparml and in Ragnarsdrpa, it is related that once when Hgni was away, his daughter Hildr was kidnapped by a prince named Heinn, the son of Hjarrandi (O.E. Heorrenda). When Hgni came back, he immediately started to search for her. In the older poem Ragnarsdrpa, Hgni finally found her and the island where Heinn waited with his army. This island is explained as the island of Hoy in the Orkneys by Snorri Sturluson in Skldskaparml. Hildr welcomed her father and offered him peace and a necklace on behalf of Heinn. However, Hgni had already unsheathed his sword Dinsleif, which gave wounds that never healed and like Tyrfing always killed a man once it had been unsheathed. A battle ensued and they fought all day and many died. In the evening Heinn and Hgni returned to their camps, but Hildr stayed on the battle-field. She resurrected them with incantations and the fallen soldiers started to fight anew, and this went on until Ragnark. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjaningavg) As the narration develops, the similarity to the mentioned legend dissolves giving way to other influences, mainly from the plot of the Elder Edda song "Gurnarkvia II": a woman (Gurn) is being urged to marry a man (Atli) who has killed her lover (Sigurr). Atli then starts suffering terrifying dreams about Gurn killing himself. 3. Phonology.

3.1. Orthography issues. The study of the phonetic system of the Ballad of Hildina (further referred to as "Hildina") is hampered by its orthography, which, as Low points out himself, was fairly random, looking like a mix of Scots, Dutch and possibly French writing rules. The randomness of the orthography can be best shown with the following examples: keimir, kimer < kemr kemi, cumi < komi frinde, friend < frndi dor, ger < r (ger possibly due to the influence from the preceding consonant: yach ger < ek r; however, cf. gem < eim from the Lord's Prayer) for, firre, firin, fare < ferir inga < enga, but angan < engan [j]: jok < eyk, but yath a port < gataport yera < gerir; but gerde < geri kin, kidn, kedn- < kinn liva,lava < lifa (cf. Shet la'verni < ON lferni with the shift of the stress on the 2nd syllable, also vrildan < verldin) mien < menn, mein(i), mjinn. Apart from Low's ignorance of Norn, the inconsistency of the ballad's orthography could well be due to the utterance of its narrator William Henry. At least some of such "inconsistencies" are obviously not arbitrary and could be only done by one knowing Norn (f.ex. whar vs. quar < ON hvar 'where', see below 3.2.2.). The sound quality of various letters or their combinations is not clear, as in a number of cases they noticeably differ from their Old Norse archetypes, sometimes in a rather weird way. Whether these are arbitrary orthographical mistakes by Low, misspellings by Henry or are we dealing with the actual decreptitude of Norn, is still subject to discussion. For example, in "Hildina" we occasionally encounter graphical diphtongs, although in the majority of cases the commonNorn monophtongisation rule is obeyed, cf. lever < hleypir, ru < rauu, hemi < heima. The old long vowels are normally not diphtongised either: ro < r, heve < hfi, i muthi < mti etc. Nevertheless, there are cases where such digraphs (combinations of two letters) are used for one original sound. Let us consider as an example ei, as in reithin < rtum. What sound did it stand for? Here it should be said that the direct development of ON into [ei] is typologically hardly probable. Either it was a slip of pen or we should take it for granted and try to explain it by the following series of changes: ON > [] > [e] (delabialisation) > [ei]. However, there is one other occurrence of this digraph, where it is highly probable that it stands for a monophtong: eidnar < hennar. It is highly unlikely that the short vowel could have developped into a diphtong (let alone acquired length) in a closed syllable before dn, which, as we point out in General 4.5, appeared in Norn after short vowels. These examples make us suppose that ei designated a monophtong, either coinciding with [e] or having a sligthly different quality. (Using an analogical approach we can

suppose that ou in the spellings gouga < ga, slouge < sla stood for the monophtong [u]). Yet another example of a digraph being used for monophtong is eo which most probably designated []: meo < mr, bleo < bla (compare the development of ON and in Phonetics of Shetland Norn). Nevertheless, the language of "Hildina" was not quite free of diphtongs, although their phonological prehistory differed from the cases described above. Let us consider the letter y. Its usage in "Hildina" is very reminiscent of English orthography. In most cases it should obviously read [j]: yath a port, villya. However, in one type of example it is more likely to be spelled as [ai] or [ei], for instance, in the word fy 'father' (do NOT spell it as [f], like a Scandinavian would tend to do, cf. a contemporary performance of "Hildina" by a Swedish folk singer). The diphtongised spelling must descend directly from the Old Norse archetype fair, cf. the parallel form feyrin sien < fr sinn. In this case the diphtong [ai/ei] comes from -ai- after the intermediate consonant fell out, so originally it consisted of two syllables. And that is still not the end of the story, as there is yet another group of diphtongs in "Hildina". While in the previous paragraphs we were discussing descending diphtongs (where the stress falls onto the former part, like ei), there are also occurrences of rising ones ie,uo,ue (stress on the latter part): mien < menn, mjinn; tworene < trin(i), wo < , fwelsko < flska, fuo < f. Hardly do these occurrences stand for monophtongs. Instead of this we can treat these spellings as instances of breaking, which was very widespread in Norn (cf. Foula bjadni < barn(it), see also General 2.1.2.). The uniqueness of the language of "Hildina" shows in the fact that in addition to the regular j-breaking we also encounter w-breaking (of labialised back vowels), strange to the rest of Norn. Things seem to be much simpler where consonants are concerned, the usage of such letters reveals no surprises except in a few cases. As we pointed out above, Low is not quite consistent in the usage of a sign for [j], and follows either the English/French (y) or Dutch/German/Scandinavian (j) tradition. Another interesting example is the usage of th. In one case it could be presumably treated as []: vath (also vad) < vi. If this is true, this will be one of the fewest examples of the occurrence of [] in Shetland Norn (see General 2.1.9.). The other cases are more complicated: yath a port < gataport, -buthe < -btr, reithin < rtum, groth < grti, muthi < mti, th < -tu, lothir < ltr, lathi < lzt, wath < () at. On the one hand, the spirantisation of the old t into in these particular instances is not very probable, cf. cases where this did not happen -fetign < -ftingr, gede < getit. On the other hand, the language of "Hildina" shows a close example of spirantisation, where p,b have transformed into [v,w]: lever < hleypir, uadn < barn. Whether t could analogically turn into [] or h in -th- was silent and meaningless, like in English, is still unclear. No other examples of occurrences of the sound [] in Foula are known. 3.2. Sound system. The phonetics of the ballad is well in line with what we know about Norn and its Foula/Westside dialect (see General and Phonetics of

Shetland Norn). Below you find an overview of main sound changes from Old Norse to Hildina's Norn (notice that we use there Low's orthographical notation, not phonetic transcription). 3.2.1. Vowels 3.2.1.1. Short vowels. The vowel a stays mostly unchanged, except cases mentioned below in item 1. High vowels i,u tend to descend: u > o, i > e, although changes in the opposite directions occur spontaneously too: 1. -a > -a, -e: gouga < ga, kera < kra, earna < gjarna; herre < herra, son < sona (but sonnales < sonalauss), velburne < velborna (compare the mixing of -a and -i in Shetland Norn: Shetland Grammar, A.1.1.2.1.) -jar > -er (in endings): skeger < skeggjar, sover < syfjar 2. u > u,o,i,e: burt < burt, onde < under, billon < bilund, godle < gulli, min < mun, spirde < spuri, Konign < konungrinn, Drotnign < drottningrinn, dern < durum -u > -a,e: fasta < fstu, sanne < snnu, chaldona < tjaldinu, forlskonna < frsknnu, duka < drykkju (this is probably an analogical change, cf. the mixing of -a and -u in Shetland Norn: Shetland Grammar A.1.1.2.2. and B.2.3.) 3. o > o,u,i: Orknian < Orkneyjum, Drotnign < drottningrinn, Konign < konungrinn, sonnaless < sonalauss, hon < hon, bor < borit, but velburne < velborna, glasburyon < glasborginni, mild < mold, whird,quirto < hvort 4. i > i,e: kin, kidn, kedn- < kinn, mege < mikit, gre <, ita < etta; but linge < lengi, tinka < enkja, skinka < skenkja; gre < gri -i > -,e, more seldom i: groth < grti, bor < borit, friend < frndi, frinde < frndi, pluge < plgi, o landi < af/r landi (see also Hgstad "Hildinakvadet", p. 56-57) -in(n) > in,n: Iarlin < jarlinn, eulinngin < lingrinn, vadlin < vllinn, bugin < bkinn, estin < hestinn, fadlin < fallinn, commin < kominn; Drotnign < drottningrinn, Konign, Koningn < konungrinn, feurfetign < fjrftinginn (see also Hgstad "Hildinakvadet", p. 56-57) 5. e > e,ei,i,a,o: bera < bera, skeger < skeggjar, ere < herra, yera < gerir, gerde < geri, gev(e) < gefr, genger < gengr, tega < tekr, lega < leggja, edne(r),eidnar < hennar, keimir > kemr, heind < hengdr, stiender < stendr, rdna < rennr, linge,ling < lengi, tinka < enkja, skinka < skenkja, vara < vera, gak < gekk, vaar < ver, whaar < hvern, garedin < gerinni, wordig < verigr, moga < megi, angan,engin,inga? < engan e > ya (breaking, only in a few unstressed words): yach,yagh < ek, yaar < er 6. > o,a,u,eu,we,ie,i: londen < lndum, forlskona < frsknnu, skam < skmm, and < hnd, hadlin < hllinni, huge < hfi, eulinngin < lingrinn, fwelsko < flska, mien < mjinn, vrildan < verldin

7. > u(a): dukrar < dkkvar, dahuge < dauahggit; askier,askar < ski,skir/*skar 'wiches' (obviously influenced by English ask, the meaning of which it has in stanza 26) 8. y > i(e),o: min,mien < *myn < mun, minde,mind < mundi, myndi, dern < *diren < dyru(nu)m, sover < syfjar, otsta < yzta, *utsta (lack of umlaut? - see also 3.2.1.4.) 3.2.1.2. Long vowels: 1. > o,wo: mo < m, smo < smr, sot < stt, groth < grti, yo < lj, fuo,fwo < f 2. > u,ou: fur < fr, ufrien < frnda, mandum < manndm, tuchta < tti, gloug < gl but daute < dttr (dtr?), meo < mr j > ui,eu [?]: guida < gjta, feurfetign < fjrftingr 3. > u,au,o,i: mug mga, fruna,fruan,fraun < frin,frna, ot < t, bridlevsin < brhlaupsins, Maunis < Magns 4. > e(o),ie,i: dor,ger < r, mier, mir < mr, hien < han 5. > i(e,a,u): whitran < hvtrandi, minu < mnum, sna < sna, tretti < rjtu, i,e,u < , san &snum 6. > e,i,ie: gever < gfir, keresta < krasta, friend < frndi, frinda < frnda but rost < hrast, kloyna < klin(i) 7. > o: gro < gra, daute < Gen.sg. dttr (or dtr by anology from ntr Gen.sg. of ntt,ntt 'night'?). 3.2.1.3. Diphtongs: 1. ei > e (ie), o: yom < heim, hemi < heima, mere, mre < meiri, yilsa < heilsa, liene < leiinni, fiegan < feigan 2. au > e: bridlevsin < brhlaupsins 3. ey > yo,eu: yoch < eyk, meun < meyna, lever < hleypir 3.2.1.4. Regular vowel alternations (umlauts or mutations). Like elsewhere in Norn, u-umlaut is often lacking: scam < skmm; vath fasta bande < me fstu bandi, vadlin < vllinn, hadlin < hllinni, feyrin < frinn, wa and < hnd. Examples of the surviving are o in voller < vll(r), londen < lndum, forlskona < frsknnu, and possibly eu [] in eulinngin < lingrinn (Hgstad "Hildinakvadet", p. 40). I-umlaut is more widespread. As pointed out by Jakob Jakobsen and Hugh Marwick, some words, i-mutated in Old Norse, fail i-umlaut in Norn (whaar < hvern (< *hwaRan), otsta < yzta, osta < *hsta < hsta, duka < drykkju, sover < syfjar), while several unumlauted words appear mutated (mild < *myld < mold (*muld), whirdi,quirto < hvort, min < mun, spirde < spuri). There are clear traces of i-umlaut in singular present indicative of strong verbs: tega < tekr, kemi, keimir, kimer < kemr (koma), genger < gengr (ganga), stiendi,stien < stendr (standa). It is striking that i-umlaut affects only verbs with -a- (except before -r-) and -o-, otherwise it is inactive: lothir < ltr (lta), slo < slr() (sl), buga < br (ba). The vitality of i-umlaut is confirmed by some interesting analogy cases: du geve, di gava < gefr, it gefa. The change gefa > gava is obviously caused by analogy from verbs like tekr/taka (cf. also vera > vara, gekk > gak.).

3.2.2. Consonants. Old Norse consonants stay mostly unchanged except the following cases: 1. p,b > v,w (occasionally): uadn < barn, vadne < barni, lever < hleypir, bridlevsin < brhlaupsins 2. h > h,0 (zero): han,an,en,in < hann, hans,ans < hans, hon, on, an < hon, honon, ana < honum, ednar,edner < hennar, ere < herra, elde < heldr, and < hnd, estin < hestinn, otsta < yzta, osta < *hsta < hasta 3. kt,tt (< *ht) > cht: tuchta < tti, docht < tt; tacht < akt 4. > t,d,y,0(zero): tinka < enkja, tuchta < tti, tacht < akt, tretti < rjtu, da < at, du < , doch,dogh < ig, di,day < it, din < n,inn, yayer < egar, eso < esi, ita < etta, an < ann, wath < at (the "zero" cases seem to be analogical to the omission of h-, that could well have preliminarily turned into, cf. Far. hetta < etta, hsdagur < rsdagur, s. also M.Barnes, "A Note on Faroese // > /h/", Scripta Islandica, 1985, also in M.Barnes "Faroese language Studies"(2001)) 5. > 0(zero), j (before front vowels, like in Faroese), d (after r, like in Faroese): ro < r(a,i), stumer < stjpmir, meo < mr, billon < bilund, dahuge < dauahggit, go < gu, ru < rauu, gro < gra, gre < gri, mien < mjin, lian < leiina, sian < san, bian < bir hann, kast(a) ans < kastai hans, feyr < fair, fy < fr, kloyna < klin(i), spirde < spuri, wordig < verigr > g: gouga < ga, stug < st, sluge < sla, gloug < gl, huge < hfi, buga < *bgr < br(), cf. Far. Bgva 6. sj > sh,ch,s: shall < sjalfr, chelsino < sjlfs sns, swo < sj 7. -um > -on,-an,-en,-in,-n,-u: honon < honum, Orknian < Orkneyjum, londen < lndum, reithin < rtum, dern < dur(un)um, minu < mnum; 8. nn > dn(nn), rn > dn: eidni < henni, kadn < kann, widn < vinn, ridna < rennr,rinnr; kidn,kedn,kinn < kinn; uadn < barn nd > nd,nn: band < band, landi < landi, friend < frndi, stiendi < stendr, onde < undir, vannaro < vandari, billon < bilund, avon < afandi, whitran < hvtrandi 9. ll > dl, rl > rl: spidla < spillir, godle < gulli, fadlin < fallinn; iarlin < jarlinn 10. g(j),lj > j/y: buryon < borginni, yath-a-port (< *gjataport) < gataport, earna < gjarna, yera < gerir; but gerde < geri; yo < lj 10. -fn > -mn: namn < nafn 11. hv- > wh,qu: whitran < hvtrandi, whaar < hvern, whar,quar < hvar, whird,quirto < hvort The development of ON hv- is worth commenting upon in greater detail. The language of Foula belonged to the Westside dialect (the main underlying feature being the presence of dl,dn < ll,nn). Everywhere in Westside ON hv gave [kw]. Jacobsen, listing phonetical differences between dialects in Shetland, does not mention Foula among places with the kw-pronunciation, although most of the examples from his dictionary do confirm it: kwara < hverjum, hvart < hvert, kwasi < *hvasa, kwekk < *hvekkr, Kwida < hvta. However, in "Hildina", as just shown above, there are cases, where ON hv is represented with wh, which we can interpret as [hw] (or [w]?). There are also instances which clearly illustrate [kw]: quirto < hvort 'whether' (along with whirdi), quar < ON hvar 'where' (along with whaar). The presence of both [kw] and [hw] can eventually mean that the replacement of the original [hw] with [kw] within the Foula/Westside dialectal area still was not finished in the 18th century, at least in Foula, which was the longest to keep its archaic traits due to its peripherical

status. The disappearance of the older [hw] in favour of [kw], that Jakobsen faced at end of the 19th century, could also be accelerated by an eventual immigration to the island from Westside - as Michael Barnes mentions, Foula was re-populated from other parts of Shetland after plague took away a large part of its original inhabitants in the 18th century ("The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland, p. 18"). (For more detailed coverage of sound changes in "Hildina"'s phonetics, refer to "Hildinakvadet" by Marius Hgstad, pp. 33-75.) 3.2.3. Word juncture. "Hildina" is one of those Norn specimens, where we can clearly watch in action word juncture phenomena. For example, -r is often omitted if the next word begins at a consonant: tega di < tekr , gev Drotnign < gefr drottningrinn, onde kinn < undir kinn, but kimer in < kemr enn, keimir eullingin < kemr lingrinn. Analogically, final vowels get occasionally omitted before a word beginning at a vowel: meyn our < meyna r. 4. Grammar. The grammar of the language of "Hildina" still preserves the main framework of the Old Norse grammar and repeats the traits of the Shetland Norn grammar, as exposed in our overview (to which we refer as the background for all said below). On the other hand, the grammar rules are not always followed by the narrator, which could mean that he already did not have a perfect command of Norn and possibly had a mechanical memory of the ballad. As an example of grammatical (non-arbitrary) mistakes we can mention the mixing of cases: a) Nominative-Accusative. As elsewhere in Shetland the old Nominative masculine ending is lost, which probably makes Norn the only Scandinavian language which preserves the four-case system after the fall of the masculine ending (like in German): eulinngin < lingrinn, konign, koningn < konungrinn. The only exception is vodler < vll, which, ironically, has the accusative meaning. Examples from feminine: fruen,frauna,fruna < Nom. frin, Acc. frna, meun < Nom. meyin, Acc. meyna, i lian < Nom. leiin, Acc. leiina. Cf. also the usage of doch < ig (Acc.) instead of du (Nom.) 'you' < . b) Accusative-Dative. o Orkneyjar < af Orkneyjum, Acc. Orknejar, dem 'them' < Acc. , Dat. eim. Original dative verbs acquire accusative government: lever velburne mien < hleypir velbornum mnnum, Acc. velborna menn, Orkneyar ro < ra Orkneyjum, Acc. Orkneyjar, spdla mann < spillir manni, Acc. mann, vilda mien < valda meini, Acc. mein (this process has also advanced in Faroese: spilla mann, volda mein, loypa velbornar menn/velbornum monnum). c) Accusative-Genitive. to Orkneyar < til Orkneyja, fyrin din < fyrir ig (Acc.), Gen. n.

The ending of Dat.sg.fem. is either -in (hadlin < hllini, garedin < gerinni) or -ene (liene < leiinni). This confirms our observaton that the ending in discussion reduced its final vowel except in one-syllable vocalic stems (cf. cases like lida vs. lir, Shetland Grammar, A.1.1.1.2.). The respective ending in the adjective declension (which the article generally follows) has experienced a similar reduction: arar (< *arari) < annarri (cf. regular Acc.sg.fem ON ara; Far. annari, colloquial arari [arari]). In the definite declension it is striking that a number of nouns have the article even being defined with possessive pronouns, which are incompatible with the article in Scandinavian languages: sina kloyna < sn kli(ni), min heran < minn herra(nn), ans bugin < hans bk(inn). A close example, which is a bit more common, is the use of the article after demonstrative pronouns: eso vrildan < essi verld(in). Unlike Danish and Swedish, the double use of the definite article and a demonstrative pronoun is not unknown in Norwegian (det huset < at hs(it), denne boken < essi bk(in)), Faroese (hetta barni < etta barn(it), teir dreingirnir < eir drengir(nir)) and, as an exception, also occurs in Icelandic (essa dagana, etta skipti). Verbal endings do not differ much from their Old Norse prototypes, although the mixing of endings due to the corruption of the language is very clear: askier < ski, bian < bir hann. We suspect that some of present 2 sg. forms descend from plural and if this assumption is true, it probably means that the plural present, like in Faroese, had the same ending -a for all persons: di yera < gerir, it gerit, Far. tit gera, di lava < lofar, it lofit, Far. tit lova (see also Shetland Grammar E.1.1.). The past participles of weak verbs and supines (past partiples used in perfect forms) are encountered only in the weak form, even where the strong form would be expected: heind < hengdr, tacht < akt. 5. List of grammatical forms In this overview we mention all forms registered in the text. They are classified by parts of speech, either standing independently or in a longer phrase (then underlined). For English translations see the vocabulary at the Hildinakvadet website, Vigfsson/Cleasby's Icelandic-English dictionary and Marius Hgstad's "Hildinakvadet" (in Norwegian). A. SUBSTANTIVES A.1. Masculine A.1.1. Undefinite. Nom.sg. - Strong erego < herra gu meo < mr slksark ans smo < silkiserkr hans smr

Konign < konungr -Weak erego < herra gu frinde hans < frndi hans friend min < frndi minn Acc.sg. - Sorong kednpust < kinnpst jok < eyk in u vodler din < inn vll inn, Nom. vllr man < mann 'man', Nom. mar fy din < fr inn fy min < fr minn fysin < fr sinn i otsta yath a port < yzta gataport -Weak angan ufrien < engan frnda mug < mga sluge < sla frinda sin < frnda sinn an gouga her min < ann ga herra minn herre din < herra inn fwelsko < flska Dat.sg. -Strong burt asta < burt af sta fy minu < fr mnum i pluge < plgi ov mandum dora < af manndm ykkar vath stien < me Stein -Weak wo sino chelsino villya < snum sjlfs sns vilja Nom.pl. - Weak gever skeger < gfir skeggjar Acc.pl. - Strong sna mien < sna menn velburne mien < velborna menn Gen.pl Strong son < sona sonnaless < sonalauss A.1.2. Definite

Nom.sg. -Strong Iarlin < jarlinn eulinngin < lingrinn Drotnign < drottningrinn Konign, Koningn < konungrinn Acc.sg. - Strong feurfetign < fer-ftinginn i vadlin < vllinn feyrin sien < frinn sinn wo Iarlin < jarlinn fare kera fyrin minn < fyrir kra frinn minn mien < mjinn bugin < bkinn estin < hestinn -Weak min heran < minn herrann Dat.sg. -Weak a bardagana < bardaganum i bardagana < bardaganum Gen.sg. -Strong Koningnsens < konungsins A.2. Feminine A.2.1. Undefinite Nom.sg. -Strong stu-mer < stjpmir Acc.sg. - Strong onde kin, onde kidn < undir kinn wo and < hnd to strand < til strandar scam < skmm billon < bilund sot < stt -Weak inga forlskona < enga frsknnu Dat.sg. - Strong wo edner whitran kidn < hennar hvtari kinn vath mild < me mold

-Weak u duka < drykkju Gen.sg. -Strong i daute-buthe < dttr-btr (dtr-btr?) Nom.pl. Orknear < Orkneyjar i lutustor < lopthsdyr Acc.pl. ro Orkneyar < ra!!! Orkneyjum i daute-buthe < dttr-btr tretti merk < rjtu merkr Dat.pl. o Orkneyjar < af Orkneyjum reithin < rtum i Orknian, i Orknean < i Orkneyjum u dern san < r durum snum (Hgstad: durunum) Gen.pl. to Orkneyar < til Orkneyja A.2.2. Definite Nom.sg. -Strong eso vrildan < essi verldin fruen, frauna, fruna, fraun < frin Acc.sg. -Strong meun < meyna i lian < leiina fruan < frna Dat.sg. -Strong or glasburyon < r glasborginni fro liene < fr leiinni u garedin arar < gerinni annarri ur hadlin < r hllinni Gen.sg. -Strong to strandane < til strandarinnar A.3. Neuter A.3.1. Undefinite

Nom.sg. - Strong ro < r ans namn < hans nafn -Weak uo < auga (augu?) Acc.sg. -Strong wo osta tre < hsta tr band < band gild < gjald ans huge < hans hfu (Dat. hfi?) i fong < fang live < leyvi vin < vn gloug < gol gre < gri u gouga gre < a ga gri i mit fung < mitt fang mien < mein (Dat. meini?) Dat.sg. -Strong vannaro < vandari o landi < r Landi vath ru godle < vi rauu gulli vath godle o fasta bande < me gulli og fstu bandi u groth < r grti vadne < barni Gen.sg. - Strong alty uadn < allt til barns Nom.pl. (ro < r) -Weak uo < augu (auga?) Dat.pl. i londen < lndum Gen.pl. to landa < til landa A.3.2. Definite Acc.sg. -Strong (wo osta tre < hsta trt) dahuge < dauahggit live < lfit

Dat.sg. Strong wo chaldona < tjaldinu Gen.sg. -Strong til bridlevsin < til brhlaupsins Nom.pl. -Strong tworene < trin Acc.pl. - Strong sina kloyna < sn klin B. ADJECTIVES B.1. Strong declension B.1.1. Masculine Nom.sg. sonnaless < sonalauss wordig < verigr bal < baldr Acc.sg. fiegan < feigan Nom.pl. gever skegger < gfir skeggjar Acc.pl. velburne mien < velborna menn B.1.2. Feminine Dat.sg. wo edner whitran kidn < hennar hvtari kinn [hvt(a)ri] B.1.3. Neuter Nom.sg. blit < bltt mege < mikit lide < ltit Dat.sg. fir sane < fyrir snnu vath ru godle < me rauu gulli vadh fasta bande < me fstu bandi B.2. Weak declension

B.2.1. Masculine Nom.sg. kere friende min < kri frndi minn ere min heve < herra min hfi sante < sankti Acc.sg. an gouga her min < ann ga herra minn fare kera fyrin min < fyrir kra frinn minn B.2.2. Neuter Nom.sg. u gouga gre < at ga gri B.3. Comparative degree mere, mre < meiri B.4. Superlative Degree wo osta tre < hsta tr i otsta yath a port < yzta gataport C. ADVERBS burt < Burt yom < heim hemi < heima darfro < ar fr u< sian, sien < san nir < nir avon < afandi earna, ear < gjarna i muthi < mti so, se < sv linge < lezgi nu < n allde < aldrig fram < Fram idne i fro < inni fr ov < af mire, mir < Meira in < enn ot < at fest < Fast do, da < in < inn D. PRONOUNS D.1. Personal pronouns Nominative

a,yach,yagh < ek du < -th < -tu doch,dogh < (ig) di,day < (it) han,an,en,in < hann hon, on, an < hon Accusative moch < mig doch, dogh < (ig) fyrin din < fyrir ig (n) Dative mier, mir < mr dor, ger < r honon, ana < bonum hedne < henni dim < eim Genitive to din < til n ednar, edner < hennar ans < hans dora < ykkar (yvar) D.2. Reflexive pronouns Nominative shall < sjalf(r) Genitive chelsino < sjlfs sns D.3. Posessive pronouns Nominative min < minn din < inn Accusative mit < mitt din < inn sien, sin < sinn sina < sn sna mien < sna menn Dative minu < mnum (masc.sg) sino < snu (neu.sg.) Genitive chelsino < sjlfs sns

D.4. Demonstrative pronouns Nominative da < at eso < essi ita < etta Accusative san < sdan (?) an < ann Genitive dese < ess dar(fro) < ar(fr) hien < han D.5. Indefinite pronouns Accusative whaar < hvern Dative arar < *aari, annarri (fem.sg) D.6. Negative pronouns Accusative angan, engin[engine] < engan (masc.sg.) inga < enga (fem.sg) D.7. Interrogative pronouns whar, qvar < hvar E. VERBS E.1. Indicative E.1.1. Strong verbs E.1.1.1. Present 1.sg. widn < vinn 2.sg. tega < tekr vaar < verr taga < tekr slo < slr() du buga < br, cf. Far. bgva < ba du geve, di gava < gefr (di gava is probably an original plural form) 3.sg. stiendi < stendr keimir < kemr stien < stendr

an yaar < hann er ridna < rennr bian < bir hann gev < gefr kimer < kemr u < er stiender < stendr tegar < tekr genger < gengr gev < gefr liger < liggr lothir < ltr lever < hleypr vexe < vex (x?) 2.pl. di gava < it gefit (?), cf. Far. tit geva E.1.1.2. Past 1.sg. fur < fr 2.sg. lath < lzt 3.sg. vara, vaar < var gak < Hjek com < kom stug < st swo < s fac < fekk vaks < x (Far. vaks) bar < bar sat < sat var < var 3.pl. furu < fru E.1.2. Weak verbs E.1.2.1. Present 1.sg. yach askier < ek ski (partially influenced by Eng. ask) 2.sg. di yera < gerir spidla < spillir di lava < lofar heve < hefir 3.sg. klapa < klappar swara < svarar kadnar < kallar/Caar

lever < hleypir dukrar < dkkvar askar < skir sover < syfjar heve < herir 2.pl. di yera < r gerit (?) di lava < r lofit (?) E.1.2.2. Past 2.sg. dogh casta < kastair 3.sg. spirde < spuri cast ans < kastai hans gerde < geri laghd < lagi du tuchta (pers.) < r tti (impers.) E.1.3. Preterite-present verbs E.1.3.1. Present 1.sg. skall < skal mo < m 2.sg. vult < vilt di skall (plur?) < skalt ear di < *eigar (tt ) du ska < skalt skall dogh < skalt 3.sg. min < mun kan < kann scal < skal mien < mun kadn < kann 3.pl. mo < m E.1.3.2. Past 1.sg. vild-a < vilda ek 3.sg. skild < skyldi mind, minde < myndi visti < vissi (Far. visti) E.2. Subjunctive 3.sg.

kemi < komi cumi < komi (pres)/kmi (past)? comme < komi moga < megi gev < gefi E.3. Imperative far di < far geve,gev < gef tinka < enkja E.4. Infinitive fwo < f taga < taka vara < vera vilda < valda ro < ra ria < ra yilsa < heilsa gave < gefa yo < lj liva < lifa fare < fara lega < leggja gonga < ganga lava < lifa gro < gra bera < bera verka < verka dogha < da skinka < skenkja guida < gjta swo < sj bleo < bla E.5. Present (active) participle avon < afandi E.6. Past/perfect (passive) participle gede < petit heind < hengdr han u cummin < hann er kominn velburne < velborna (Acc.pl.masc) fadlin < Tallinn bor < borit var commin < var kominn on heve tacht < hon hefir akt E.7. Middle voice

rost < hrast sadnast < sannast F. PREPOSITIONS o, a, ov < af for, firre, firin, fare < ferir or, our, u, ur < r til, to < til fro < fr e, i, u, ei < wo, u, a < onde < under vath, vad < vi, me ot < at G. CONJUNCTIONS u < og un- < en or < er (Eng. or?) whird,quirto < hvort yamna < jafnan whar < hvar sin, san < sem elde < heldr so < sv wath < at ty < til till do < til min < mean wath < at docht < tt u < e quar sin < hvar sem H. PARTICLES ho, ou, u < at (inf.) etsa < einnug

Shetland's Lord's Prayer Recorded in the 1770's by George Low. First published in his "A Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Schetland. Kirkwall: William Peace, 1879.".
Fy vor or er i Chimeri. / Halaght vara nam dit. La Konungdum din cumma. / La vill din vera guerde i vrildin sindaeri chimeri. / Gav vus dagh u dagloght brau. Forgive sindorwara / sin vi forgiva gem ao sinda gainst wus. Lia wus ik? o vera tempa, / but delivra wus fro adlu idlu. For do i ir Kongungdum, u puri, u glori, Amen

The Ballad of Hildina (Foula)

The ballad was recorded by the Scottish clergyman George Low on his voyage to Foula in the early 1770s. Low had no knowledge of Norn whatsoever, so his "by-ear" transcript of the song is hardly phonetically precise. This prompted the Norwegian linguist Marius Hgstad to elaborate on Low's text attempting to reconstruct its Norn original. The outcome was published in Hgstad's brochure "Hildinakvadet, med utgreidung um det norske maal paa Shetland i eldre tid" (1900). Both Low's and Hgstad's versions of the ballad are included below. We also offer our translation of the song into Old Norse (translation of the stanzas 1-4 has in fact been copied with some minor changes from William Burley Lockwood's book "Languages of the British Isles past and present" (1975)). The Old Norse translation follows Hgstad's version and is mostly based on the vocabulary given in his paper with a few corrections and additions of ours. The English translation is borrowed from the Foula Heritage website (stanzas 1-12) and from the Hildinakvadet website (stanzas from 13 onwards and the notes). See also the vocabulary to the song at the latter resource and a separate chapter on the language of the Ballad of Hildina.
George Lows version Da vara Jarlin d'Orkneyar For frinda sn spur de ro Whirdi an skild meun Our glas buryon burtaga. Marius Hgstads correction Da vara Iarlin o Orkneyar for frinda sn spirde ro, whird an skild meun or vannaro eidnar fuo Or glasburyon burtaga. Tega du meun our glasburyon, kere friend min, yamna meun eso vrildan stiendi, gede min vara to din. Yom keimir eullingin fro liene; burt asta vaar hon fruen Hildina, hemi stu-mer stien. Translation into Old Norse at var jarlinn af [r] Orkneyjum fyrir frnda snum spuri r(a) hvort hann skyldi meyna r vandari hennar f r glasborginni burt taka? Tekr meyna r glasborginni kri frndi minn jafnan mean essi verldin stendr getit mun vera til n. Translation into English It was the Earl from Orkney, And counsel of his kin sought he, Whether he should the maiden Free from her misery.

Or vanna ro eidnar fuo Tega du meun our glas buryon Kere friend min yamna men Eso vrildan stiendi gede min vara to din. Yom keimir cullingin Fro liene burt Asta Vaar hon fruen Hildina Hemi stu mer stien.

"If thou free the maid from her gleaming hall, O kinsman dear of mine, Ever while the world shall last Thy glory still shall shine." Home came the king, Home from the ship's levy The lady Hildina she was gone, And only her stepmother there found he. Verse(s) missing? The story moves from the Earl of Orkney, to the King of Norway

Heim kemr lingrinn fr leiinni burt af sta var hon frin Hildina heima stjpmir stendr.

Whar an yaar

Whar an yaar e Hvar hann er

"Be he in whatever

elonden Ita kan sadnast wo An scal vara kund Wo osta tre sin reithin ridna dar fro

londen ita kan sadnast wo, an scal vara heind wo osta tre, sin reithin rdna darfro. Kemi to Orkneyar Iarlin, sante Maunis vilda mien, i Orknian u bian sian, i lian far di an. An gev Drotnign kednpuster onde kin; fir sane furu tworone wo edner whitran kidn.

lndum etta kann sannast hann skal vera hengdr hsta tr(t) sem rtum rennr ar fr. Komi til Orkneyja jarlinn sankti Magns valda mun, Orkneyjum bir hann san, leiina far enn. Hann gefr drottningrinn kinnpst undir kinn; fyrir snnu fru trin(i) hennar hvtrandi [hvt(a)ri] kinn.

land, This will I prove true, He shall be hanged from the highest tree That ever upward grew." "If the Earl but come to Orkney, Saint Magnus will be his aid, And in Orkney ever he will remain Haste after him with speed." The King he stood before his lady, And a box on her ear gave he, And all adown her lily white cheeks The tears did flow truly. Verse(s) missing? The story jumps from Norway to Orkney

Kemi to Orkneyar Jarlin Vilda mien sante Maunis I Orknian u bian sian I lian far diar.

An gev Drotnign kedn puster On de kin firsane furu Tworare wo eder Whitran kidn.

In kimerin Jarlin U klapasse Hildina On de kidn quirto Vult doch, fiegan vara moch or fly din.

In kimer in Iarlin u klapa se Hildina onde kidn; Quirto vult doch fiegan vara moch or fy din? Elde vild-a fiegan vara fy min u alt sin ans namn u wo; so min yach u ere min heve Orkneyar ling ro. Nu di skall taga dor yoch wo and u ria dor nir to strandane u yilsa fy minu avon blit; an earni cumi i dora band.

Inn kemr enn jarlinn Ok klappar sv Hildinu undir kinn; Hvort vilt feigan vera mig er fr inn?

The Earl he stood before Hildina, And a pat on her cheek gave he, "O which of us two wouldst thou have lie dead, Thy father dear of me? "I would rather see my father doomed, And all his company, If so my own true lord and I May long rule in Orkney. "Now do thou take in hand thy steed, And ride thou down to the strand; And do thou greet my sire full blithely, And gladly will he clasp thy hand." Verse(s) missing The story jumps into the conversation between the Earl and the King.

Elde vilda fiegan vara Fy min u alt sin Ans namnu wo So minyach u ere min heve Orkneyar king ro.

Heldr vilda ek feigan vera fr minn ok allt sem hans nafn er ; Sv mun ek ok herra minn hfi Orkneyjum lengi ra. N skalt taka r eyk [hest] hnd ok ra r nir til strandarinnar og heilsa fr mnum afandi bltt; hann gjarna kmi [komi?] ykkar band.

Nu di skall taga dor yochwo And u ria dor to strandane nir U yilsa fy minu avon Blit an ear ne cumi i dora band.

10 Nu Swaran Konign

No swara an

N svarar hann

The King he now

So mege gak honon i muthi Whath ear di ho gane mier I daute buthe.

Konign - so mege gak honon i muthi -: Whar ear di ho gave mier i daute-buthe? Tretti merk vath ru godle, da skall yach ger yo u allde vara sonnaless, so linge sin yach liva mo. Nu linge stug an Konign, u linge wo an swo: Wordig vaar dogh mug son; yach askier fare moga so.

konungr - sv mikit gekk honum mti -: Hvar gjarna eigar [tt] at gefa mr dttr-btr? rjtu merkr vi [me] rauu gulli, skal ek r lj ok aldrig vera sonalauss sv lengi sem ek lifa m. N lengi st konungrinn ok lengi hann s: Verigr ver mga sona ek ski fara megi sv.

made answer So sore displeased was he "In payment for my daughter What will thou give to me." "Thirty marks of the red gold, This to thee will I give, And never shalt thou lack a son As long as I may live." Now long stood the King, And long on the Earl gazed he: "O thou art worth a host of sons; Thy boon is granted thee."

Trett merk vath ru godle Da skall yach ger yo U all de vara sonna 11 less So linge sin yach liva mo. Nu linge stug an konign U linge wo a swo Wordig vaar dogh mug son 12 Yacha skier fare moga so minde yach angan u frien Rost wath comman mier to landa.

Verse(s)/line(s) missing Now Hiluge (the Earls rival) joines the conversation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------so minde yach angan ufrien rost, wath com an mier to landa. Nu swara Hiluge - hera geve honon scam -: Taga di gild firre Hildina sin yach skall lega dor fram: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------so myndi ek engan frnda hrast at kom hann mr til landa. (---Now Hiluge (the Earls rival) joines the conversation.---) so need I not fear any enemy who might come to this land.

12b

Nu swara Hiluge Hera geve honon scam Taga di gild firre 13 Hildina Sin yach skall liga dor fram.

Ni svarar Hiluge - herra gef honum skmm -: Tekr gjald fyrir Hildina sem ek skal leggja r fram:

Now Hiluge answers Sir, thou shouldst inflict injury on him Now thee canst accept a fitting dowry for Hildina, that I shall bring forth: Every horse and four-footed that can follow a path, every horse and four-footed that can pull a plough. Now the Earl he stood for a long time, and gazed at him,

Estin whaar u feur fetign Agonga kadn i sluge 14 Feur fetign sin gonga Kadn i pluge. Nu stienderin Jarlin. U linge wo an wo 15 Dese mo eke Orknear

Estin whaar u feur-fetign a gonga kadn i sluge, estin whaar u feur-fetign sin gonga kadn i pluge. Nu stiender in Iarlin u linge wo an swo:

Hestinn hvern ok fjrftinginn e ganga kann sla, hestinn hvern ok fjrftinginn sem ganga kann plgi. N stendr hann jarlinn ok lengi hann s: ess m ekki

So linge san yach lava mo.

Dese mo eki Orknear, so linge san yach lava mo.

Orkneyjar, so lengi sem ek lifa m.

This can Orkney not be equal to as long as I may live. The Earl addressing Lady Hildina

Nu eke tegar Nu eke tegaran san an san sot, Sot Koningn fyrin din Koningn fyrin U alt yach an din; 16 Hilhugin u alt yach an Widn ugare din Hilhugin arar. u garedin arar widn. Nu swarar an frauna Hildina U dem san idne i fro 17 Di slo dor a bardagana Dar comme ov sin mo. Nu swarar an frauna Hildina u dern san idne i fro: Di slo dor a bardagana, Dar comme ov sin mo!

N ekki tekr hann sanna [sdan?] stt konungrinn fyrir n [ig]; og allt ek hann Hilhugin gerinni annarri vinn. N svarar hon frin Hildina r dur(un)um snum inni fr: slr r bardaganum [ana?], ar komi af sem m!

Now hes not willing to make a deal with me, the King your father; and instead I think that Hilhugin by another decision will win. Now the Lady Hildina answers from inside the house; Someone will die if you fight, that will happen for sure. Verse(s) missing? The scene switches to the duelling ground

Nu Iarlin an genger i vadlin Nu Jarlin an genger fram I vadlin fram u kadnar sna 18 U kadnar sina mien mien, Geven skeger i gever skeger i Orkneyan. Orkneyan ---------------------------------------------Han u cummin In u vod lerdin 19 Fronde fans lever Vel burne mun. Han u cummin in u vodler din; frinde hans lever velburne mien. Nu fruna Hildina on genger i vadlin fram: Fy di yera da ov mandum dora, di spidla ik mire man. Nu sware an Hiluge - erego gev ana scam -: Yayer an Iarlin frinde din an u fadlin in. Nu fac an Iarlin dahuge - dar minde an

N jarlinn hann gengr vllinn fram ok kallar sna menn, gfir skeggjar Orkneyjum ---------------------------------------------Hann er kominn inn vll inn frndi hans hleypir velborna menn [velbornum mnnum] N frin Hildina Hon gengr vllinn fram: Fair gerir af manndm ykkar, spillir ekki meira mann[i]. N svarar hann Hiluge - herra gu gefr honum skmm -: egar hann jarlinn frndi inn hann er fallinn enn. N fekk hann jarlinn dauahggit - ar myndi hann

Now the Earl steps forward onto the duelling ground and adresses his men: brave islanders of Orkney ---------------------------------------------He has come onto the duelling ground; his friend follows the men of royal lineage. Now the lady Hildina, she steps forward onto the duelling ground, father thou overdost thy manhood dont let a brave man die. But Hiluge he answers: May God inflict injury on him then the Earl your friend will surely be dead. Now the Earl received a deadly cut,

Nu fruna Hildina On genger i vadlin fram 20 Fy di yera da ov man dum Dora di spidlaik mire man. Nu sware an Hiluge Crego gevan a scam 21 Gayer an Jarlin frinde Din an u fadlin in. Nu fac an Jarlin 22 dahuge Dar min de an

engine gro An east ans huge ei Fong ednar u vaxhedne more neo.

engin gro -. An cast ans huge ei fong ednar, u vaks hedne mere meo.

engan gra -. Hann kastai hans hfi fang hennar, ok x henni meiri mr.

no one there could heal him Hilunge threw his head into Hildina's lap; thus added to her grief. Verse(s) missing? The Earl is now dead. Hiluge talks to the King:

Di lava mir gugna Yift bal yagh fur o lande 23 Gipt mir nu fruan Hildina Vath godle u fasta bande.

Di lava mir yugna, yift bal yagh fur o landi; gipt mir nu fruan Hildina vath godle u fasta bande. Nu billon heve day alty uadn bor, u da kadn sina kloyna bera; do skall hon fruna Hildina verka wo sino chelsina villya.

lofar mr gagna [eigna, unga?], ef baldr ek fr af [r] landi; gipt mr n frna Hildina vi [me] gulli ok fstu bandi.

You promised me marriage if I boldly voyaged from our land Now let me marry Hildina, with golden dowry and solid pact. The King to Hiluge: Now you will suffer long, until a child is born, and wearing its own clothes; then the Lady Hildina will act upon her own will. The scene switches to the preparations for Hiluges and Hildinas wedding. Then Hildina gets her revenge.

Nu bill on heve da yals Guadn bor u da kadn 24 Sina kloyn a bera do skall Fon fruna Hildina verka wo sino chelsina villya.

N bilund hefir alt til barns er borit, ok kann sn klin(i) bera; skal hon frin Hildina verka snu sjalfs sns vilja.

Hildina liger wo chaldona U o dukrar u groth 25 Min du buga till bridlevsin Bonlother u duka dogha. Nu Hildina on askar feyrin Sien di gava mier 26 liv Ou skinka vin Ou guida vin. Duska skinka vin, u guida vin Tinka dogh eke wo Jarlin an gougha 27 here din.

Hildina liger wo chaldona uo dukrar u groth; min du buga til bridlevsin, hon lothir u duka dogha. Nu Hildina on askar feyrin sien: Di gava mier live ou skinka vin, ou guida vin. Du ska skinka vin u guida vin; tinka dogh eke wo Iarlin, an gougha here din. Wath a skilde tinka wo Iarlin an gouga her min,

Hildina liggr tjaldinu auga dkkvar r grti; mean br til brhlaupsins, hn ltr drykkju da. N Hildina hon aksar [skir, Eng. asks] frinn sinn: gefr mr leyfi at skenkja vn, at gjta vn. skalt skenkja vn at gjta vn; enkja ekki jarlinn, ann ga herra inn at ek skyldi enkja jarlinn ann ga herra minn,

Hildina is lying on the blanket her eyes all wet with tears; while theyre preparing the wedding she pours poison into the drinks. Now Hildina she asks her father: Wilt thou permit me to pour the wine, and serve it for the guests? You may pour the wine and serve the wine; dont think any more of the Earl, the dear late husband of yours. Why should I think of the Earl the dear late husband of mine?

Watha skilde tinka Wo Jarlin gouga 28 her min Hien minde yagh

inga forlskona Bera fare kera fyrin min.

hien mindi yagh inga forlskona bera fare kera fyrin min. Da gerde on fruna Hildina, on bar se mien ot; on sover in fest fysin, fysin u quar sin sat. Da gerde un fruna Hildina, on bar dim ur hadlin burt; sien on laghd gloug i otsta jath a port.

han myndi ek enga frsknnu bera fyrir kra frinn minn. a geri hn frin Hildina, hn bar sv mjinn t; hn syfjar inn fast fr sinn fr sinn e hvar sem sat. a geri hn frin Hildina, hn bar eim [] r hllinni burt; san hn lagi gl zta gataport.

and sure I will not present any poisoned drink, to serve for my father. Then the lady Hildina, she served the drinks for the men; she sent to sleep her father, and all the guests that were present. Then the Lady Hildina, she dragged her father and his friends, out of the hall; then she lit a fire, in the main entrance. Now Hiluge he didnt wake up, not until too late; when the fire had covered the entrance, and his silk shift had caught fire as well. Then Hiluge he jumped up and cried out to Hildina My dearest Lady Hildina, please let me live and give me quarter. Thus much good life and quarter you shall receive, as you yourself let my late husbond have, on the duelling ground. You thought little of it, even though I saw also his body bleeding; you threw his head into my lap, and added to my grief. Now she has covered his falseness both with earth and stone. You will do the Kings children,

Da gerde on fruna Hildina 29 On bar se mien ot On soverin fest, Fysin u quarsin sat.

Da gerde un fruna Hildina On bard im ur 30 Hadlin burt sien on laghd Gloug I osta jatha port.

Nu iki visti an Nu iki visti an Hiluge Hiluge Ike ov till do ike ov till do Eldin var commin i 31 eldin var lut commin i lutustor U stor u silk sark ans u slksark ans smo. smo. Nu lever en fram Hiluge -----------------------------------Du keresta fraun Hildina, du geve mir live u gre. So mege u gouga gre skall dogh swo, sin shall lath min heran i bardagana fwo. Du tuchta da lide undocht yach swo etsa ans bugin bleo; dogh casta ans huge i mit fung, u vexe mir mre meo. Nu tacht on heve fwelsko ans bo vad mild u stien. Dogh skall ald mir

N ekki vissi hann Hiluge ekki af til eldrinn var kominn lopthsdyr e silkiserkr hans smr. N hlaupr hann fram Hiluge --------------------------------------- krasta frin Hildina, gefr mr lfit ok gri. S mikit a ga gri skalt sj sem sjalfr lzt minn herrann bardaganum f. r tti a ltit en tt ek s einnug hans bkinn bla; kastair hans hfi mitt fang, ok vex [x] mr meiri mr. N akt hn hefir flska hans bi me mold og steini. skalt aldrig meira konungsins barni valda mein[i].

Nu leveren fram Hiluge du kereda 32 Fraun Hildina du Gevemir live u gre

So mege u gouga gre 33 Skall dogh swo Skall lath min heran I bardagana fwo. Du tuchtada lide undocht yach Swo et sa ans bugin bleo 34 Dogh casta ans huge I mit fung u vexemir mise meo. Nu tacht on heve fwelsko Ans bo vad mild u 35 stien Dogh skall aid mis Koningnsens Vadna vilda mien.

Koningnsens vadne vilda mien.

no harm ever again.

Texts in Shetland Norn quoted by Edmonston and Jakobsen

1. Fragments of conversation 1.1. Random phrases 1.2. A colloquy from Foula ("Dfnajora") 1.3. A colloquy from Unst ("Marion") 1.4. A colloquy between a home-owner and his servant ("Kwarna farna") 1.5. An address to a cat from Cunningsburgh ("Gott fere monnja") 2. Nursery rhymes and cradle songs 2.1. The "gryle" (bogey) verse ("Skekla komena") 2.2. A nyrsery rhyme ("Klapa klapa sda") 2.3. Another nursery rhyme ("Bis bis byo") 2.4. A short nursery rhyme ("Sere sere skolma") 2.5. Cradle song ("Vallilu") 2.6. Lullaby ("Sterna") 3. Various verses and rigmaroles 3.1. The Troll's Message ("Hredu hredu ria") 3.2. An unintelligible troll saying ("Sustri") 3.3. The troll-child in the horn ("Hempi horni") 3.4. A Troll legend ("Katta moga") 3.5. The cow-call verse ("Kome kome haste") 3.6. A verse ("Han strok op") 3.7. A folk verse from Cunningsburgh ("nge bnge") 3.8. "Valafjel" 3.9. A fable of animals - The crow and the crab ("Krabe krabe kome lnde") 3.10. A phrase ("Hwigen swiglen") 4. Riddles 4.1. A riddle from Unst ("Fre honge, fre gonge") 4.2. Another riddle ("Hwi liggere hwi") 4.3. A riddle from North Yell ("Flokera flura") 4.4. A riddle about a man sitting on the roof of a house ("Bonnja sits") 5. Songs and fragments 5.1. A fragment from Foula ("I have malt") 5.2. Another fragment ("Hnja daga") 5.3. A refrain from North Yell ("Skouan rla") 5.4. The Eagle song ("Anti padua") 5.5. Fisher verse ("I lay and I hanvaget") 5.6. A Sea song from Unst ("Delen stoiten") 5.7. An incantation ("Da stuhl es scarp") 6. Adages and proverbs 6.1. Adage ("Dea lengdi") 6.2. Proverb from Weisdale on Mainland ("Gamla manna ro")

6.3. Proverb from De Herra ("Marta di gns") 6.4. A proverbial phrase ("Dombvidla voga") 6.5. The Cunningsburgh phrase ("Myrk in e Liora") 7. Religious texts 7.1. A burial formula ("Yurden du art") 7.2. Lord's Prayer (Foula)

1. Fragments of conversation
1.1. Random phrases
Norn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kwrna frna? (Fo.) Spona ligr (lign) glegan (Fo.) Mdr to de bjadni (Fo.) 'lt i rign (Un.) F me a dk (Uw.) Skdi (skd dee), pjgi (Us.) Old Norse/Nordic Hvar (ert ) farinn? spnninn liggr glygginu(m) English Where are you going? The spoon is lying in the window

matr til barnsins > til barni; Food to the child L.Sc. to, de ilt hrygginum f mr (ein) drykk Fr. skunda tr, pjak (I feel) a pain in the back Give me something to drink Be quick, you slowcoach To 'flit' the cows

to lg de r()n (U., Fe.?) laga krnar now more commonly to muna 'to move' mn de baess Oba da! (C.) Godn dg! Dogn dg! Godn (dogn) dg til dr! opna dyrnar gan dag! gan dag til yvar!

Open the door! Good-day! Good-day to you! (the return greeting)

1.2. A colloquy between two old men in Foula:

Norn - Ja'rta, bodna kmna ro'ntna (rotna) Kmba. - Kwat jda? - Dfnajr(n)a! - Ja'rta, bota komna ro'mpa [romba] Komba. - Kwata ita? - Strasktin! Old Norse/Nordic - Hjarta, btrinn er kominn runt um Kambinn. - Hvat er at [etta]? - Dauft eyra! (Dauf eyru!) - Hjarta, btrinn er kominn runt um Kambinn. - Hvat er at [etta]? - Stri sktr! English - My heart (my dear), the boat (a boat) has come round de Kaim - What do you say?, prop. What is that? - Deaf ear! (Big shit!)

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1.3. A colloquy from Unst:

Norn - Mrjan, ara du ie? - J! - Sala slg din fr rn? - Jo ra so, ra so! Another version of the same colloquy: - Morian arra doo enya? - Yo! - Sklaug dine cr fren? - Yo gerasso gerasso! (from B.Edmonston and Jessie M.Saxby's "The Home of a Naturalist") Old Norse/Nordic - Marion, ert inni? - Ja! (J!) - Skal ek ... nar kr? - Ja (J), gera sv, gera sv! English - Marion, are you in there? - Yes! - Shall I 'flit' your cows? - Yes, do so.

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1.4. A colloquy between a home-owner and his servant

Norn - Kwrna frna? - Frna sikna droka? - Frna radna sikna droka? Old Norse/Nordic - Hvar ertu farinn? - Farinn ??? at drekka? - Farinn ??? at drekka? English - Where have you been? - I have been to get something to drink (a drink) - Have you been up in the roof to get something to drink?

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1.5.Kind of address to a cat

Norn Up (p) aboot de ra (< *jra), git fr ma Old Norse/Nordic Upp um eyrat, gott fyrir munninn. English Up around the ear (with the paw)! (that is) good for the mouth (= that promises us a lucky catch of fish)

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2. Nursery rhymes and cradle songs

The "Gryle" (bogey) verse Norn
Skkla komna rna tna swa'rta hsta blita brna fo'mtna (fjo'mtan) hla and fo'mtna (fjo'mtan) bjadnis a kwra hla

Old Norse/Nordic
Skekill er kominn randi tnit svrtum hesti me bletti brnni fimmtn halar ok fimmtn brn hverjum hala.

English
A bug-bear [*skekill] has come riding into the homefield (the tun) on a black horse having a white spot (blita) on its brow (brna), and fifteen tails, and with fifteen children on each tail.

Cf. a passage from Sturlungasaga: er Loptr rei tnit, kva hann etta: Hr ferr grla gar ofan ok hefir sr hala fimmtn JJ: All the old grammatical endings are levelled to -a, except in bjadnis which has got the Eng. plural ending -s. HN: bjadnis < def. barnit + Eng. pl. -s. Most of the old prepositions are dropped. Notice the usage of the English conjunction and. A nursery rhyme Norn
Klapa klapa s:da bokina slna bj:da A version from "The Home of a Naturalist": Clapa clapa sda Boochsina schlina Bjda Bauta deema kjota schin Swala clovena vjenta in Roompan pman sda

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Nor. klov n. - (cleft) fork Nor. svola f. - a) a swallow; b) acute-angled notch Another nursery rhyme
Norn Bis bis byo Bulva reeka tyo Tak laigen Slogan veggin Bulva reeka tyo Variant form: Bn vil ikk t tak an lggn slgan vggn bn vil ikk t Old Norse/Nordic English

JJ: "Bulva reeka" is evidently a corruption of bo() vil ik 'the child will not (be quiet)'. Cf. a Faroese rigmarole (Antikvarisk tidsskrift, 1851, p. 322), beginning: "Rura rura barni" - and containing the lines: "vil ikki barni tiga, so tak um legg og sl vegg - so skal barni tiga" - If the bairn will not be quiet, take it by the leg and hit it against the wall - that will make it be quiet. Watch a live performance of this lullaby ("Rura barni") by the famous Faroese singer Eivr Plsdttir: A short nursery rhyme
Norn Sr r sklma Ek skal ra trv i nva an kasta band to Old Norse/Nordic English

Cradle song
Norn Vallil ga s ro a siggalin leka tu sa fra a mrnin a giblin

Old Norse/Nordic ... leikr [JJ:leikar] sv frr [frr] um morgunin geiplandi

English ... are you playing so blithe and gay in the morning, waving your arms about? [making vigorous mouthing efforts to take the nipple]

vallilu - L.Sc. balow 'hush-a-bye' suro [sro] - Nor. SW su-ru, a word with which children are hushed asleep siggalin - ? *seyglingr or soglingr < sga 'to suck', cf. Nor. sogbarn 'suckling' + -ling from Eng. Suckling gibbelin < Nor. geipla 'to make wild gestures with the arms; to make greatlip movements' Lullaby (from North Roe)

Norn B w ba (bina) d manna wakna starna strta lra lspa (-spina) (aa) kmin hm an lmu. Variant: Flekka Ferna Strippa Sterna comin' doon? and Langspina

Old Norse/Nordic

English

3. Various verses and rigmaroles

The Troll's Message A man is riding past a mound, who hears some words shouted to him from the interior:
Norn Foula: Hrdu hrdu ra ra ra rn(na) sina divla dna vivla kpra jadla hdna bradna. Norn Variant form (Foula): --------------------sana divla dna vivla kpr ktl hd bredn. Norn Fetlar version 1 (Scots + Norn): Geng home to Fivla, and tell Divla at de honnins [hins] wis lopen in a "tuilly" [tli] and brunt de bonnins [bins] Norn Fetlar version 2: Trra rra gga tell du tivla at fivla is fa'en i' de fire and is brunt [burnt] her. Norn Fetlar version 3: Du at rides de rd and rins de grey tell tna [tuna] tivla at nna nivla Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic Hoyr hoyr rari, r, r, renn! English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

is vna vna Norn Fetlar version 4: Du at rides de red and rins de grey tell Tivla taitta (Taitta) at Vrna vaitta (Vaitta) is fa'en i' de fire and brunt her Old Norse/Nordic English

A troll saying, unintelligible

Norn Di rua vatta mega sustri Old Norse/Nordic English

The troll-child in the horn

Norn A troll-wifesat milking her cow in a stall when she heard the following warning cry: H'mpi hrni hi minni km karl mi mg Whereupon she cried: O dl and hwn! dat is my bairn at is fa'en i' de fire and is brunt her Norn Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

A man found a horn, took it home and hung it on the wall. Then a voice was heard outside saying: mn mir kallar mik Himpi hrni hi or humpi hrni hu whereupon the troll-child in the horn cried: My midder kaller o' me [krmi, krm] or Dat is my midder kallin [kin] on me

A troll legend A man found a fiddle-case out of doors and hung up on the wall of his house. Then a voice was heard calling the following unintelligible words:
Norn Katta mga de lde l Old Norse/Nordic English

The cow-call verse

Norn Km km hast km so saldu ek skam (skm) falaldrald kjra neprt nni lsprli stil km u()r mi lma falaldrald kjra Old Norse/Nordic English

A verse
Norn H strk p and h strk nr amina g'msina fra bt dlg d ra hwat gd rmn lja mi keaka mlhus mn sda mlhus f m'kfd m'kfd f drv gd drv gd f gln v gln v f k'niknan k'nak an(d) a piknn stak an(d) nj an vdt. Norn H skr p and h skr nr amiana g'msna fra maina log (lg) d hira hand hwat gts rmn lja Norn H skr p and h skr nr mia loga fra stak f'ta gra hwat gts de ramn lja Norn H skr p and h skr nr miana g'msa fra stat fdin gr fdn ga Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

A corresponding rigmarole (ula) is found in Iceland, beginning: Hann tk upp og hann tk nir, og svo tk hann frinni. Folk verse
Norn g bg lra bl skola rina bl skola bti ndru wistras Old Norse/Nordic English

gd to bid to brti git git ggi bit bit bti

Valafjel
Norn Vlafjel wz t'rt (trt) o bra hagda wzo hla vodd nit (nt, nt), seg me das (and) rd krid la. Norn Vlafjel wz t'rt o brota hfatu wizo hla fram skto (skto) dafa vogd nit n rd krid la. Norn Vlafiel wiz trt u bruta hfatu wiz o hla frm skktu dafa vggdu nit n rude kri de jla. Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

A fable of animals "The crow and the crab"

Norn Fetlar version 1: Krab krab km ld v rig rv mg skna rv dk n trt s. ---------------------------------Krab j'nsa trals Old Norse/Nordic Krabbi krabbi kom at landi! (Ek) efa(sk), at hrygghrfir mik Ek skal eigi hrfa ik "Nei, rtt!" sagi krabbinn --------------------------------(Hon er)sv trygalaus. Old Norse/Nordic English English

Norn Fetlar version 2: Krab krab km lnd v rig rv mg skna rv dig n trt krab j'na trtls (trls) Norn Unst version: Crab, crab, come ashore! Ng trita, ng trita I'm feared, du "rigraivs" me.

Old Norse/Nordic

English

A phrase (probably a line of a song)

Norn hwgn swigln sw'rtn tr

Old Norse/Nordic hvtum seglum svrtum ri

English (with) white sails (sewn with) black threads

4. Riddles A riddle from Unst

Norn Unst version: Fr hg, fre gg fr stad po sk, twa vistr vegbi and en comes at driandi. Old Norse/Nordic Fjrir hanga, fjrir ganga, fjrir standa upp sk, (tveir) vsa veg b (ok) einn kemr aptan drilandi. Old Norse/Nordic English English

Norn Fetlar version: Twa standn opa sk, twa vegbi, four hga, four gga, etom ita drita.

Cf. Gest the Blind's riddle about the cow (in Hervarar Saga): Fjrir hanga, fjrir ganga, tveir veg vsa, tveir hundum verja, einn eptir drallar ok optast hreinn. Another riddle
Norn hw ligr hw Old Norse/Nordic hvtt liggr hvtu English white lies in white

Another riddle
Norn Flkra flra fedderless, ut km mdr h'taless h be graless ------------------------------Norn Flkera fla fedderless, sa bena graless ut km mdr haless and drave awa fl.fl. f. Norn White fool fedderless, ut km mdr h'tarless sa ga bndrless and plucked awa wh.f.f. Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

The original Old Norse form: (Fuglinn flaug) fjaralauss (hann) settisk garinn beinlauss t kom mar handarlauss A riddle about a man sitting on the roof of a house The farmer sits on the top of a high heap:
Norn Ba sit po tap(a) tirl (tirl) kina (kili in a) bambirl (birl) luta koa h'ltr s'ltr ondr a kgl. Norn From "The Home of a Naturalist": Bunye sits uppo tappa tirl calye inta bamba birl Ba hilkie toonie; Ladyco hilka tilta, Roonin oondie conggaloo. Ba hilkie toonie. Norn Bonna sat paa tap d trl kallin aa bam brl luta kua h'ltr skri'ltr ondr a kgal. Norn Ba sit upo tap tirr l kaili in a bambirrl hei'ltr tei'ltr ldi kn ondr kgal.

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Norn Ba sat upo happna trl cryin' oot for bmba brl kom and see hi'lki rinnin ftr ski'lki raamtna ski. Norn Bi sits ypo tappa tirl kalla inn a bamba birl baa hi'lka tni ldi ko hi'lka ti'lka runnin undi kgal. Norn Bonna (bonja) site po tappatirl

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

Old Norse/Nordic

English

5. Songs and fragments

A fragment of a song from Foula
Norn I have malt (mlt, m'lt) mldra min (mldrn) I have spt sn (ppt psn) nd sv de sd lin (or: a'nt lig de sd min or lin) and dn (-a) komn (-a) lsa (ljs). Old Norse/Nordic Ek hef malit meldra mnn (or meldrann) ek hef spat hsin; enn sefr (sfr) (liggr) at sta ln (hin sta mnn) ok dagrinn er kominn ljs. English

Another fragment
Norn Ha dga frsa frga I wish it may be very git and ver si mga. Old Norse/Nordic English

A refrain from North Yell

Norn Skuan rla grn(a) ---------------------------Hwr j'rtn (fr 'rtn) gr [han] grn [grn] rla (-lk) Old Norse/Nordic English

The Eagle song

Norn A'nti padua sat n ska padua sat n gra A'ntn gr skrkr la str la fstin prla mra h'ra boga idri jla nstin. Norn A'nti padua t n gra str la fsa trla mra h'ra boga idri la ns. A'nti pakta skta s pa jn sktn gr by came de dnin an i ta a'nti b a'nti gavra (gafra) skrkr la str la fesa prla mra h'nistr bgra adra jala nesa. Skrikna hjla dogna fjla Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

midra harda a'ntu at n'rti jalani. 'ka lma bit h'ns bokra prla mra adri jal neso meni m mita gma. Jodnar ud tra i'lka bit an moni meta gma at al bi edna hga.

Fisher-verse
Norn I lay and I hanvgt and I rs and I klbo'kt I looked fort and de seven starns wis come upo Nedrs and de glm i' de sudwast I kom in and I took de pernisipes and stird i' de fkum and I hang on my waksipan and when I wis klaa(i)n ut my waksipan I took mi brl upo mi back and I gd to Stba and when I kom to Stba, it was nothing but a r and a mi and de could no a boat gng aff o' a linn. Old Norse/Nordic English

I lay and I hanvgt and I rs and I klbo'kst and I took de pernsims and stirred op i' de fkom and den I klj i de waksipan and den de liklvins wis giaan aboot de hs and de krls dey were begun to ld I pat my bdi upo my shooder and I gd to Stba and when I cam' to Stba dan der' wer' nothing but ndrhwg and a "misri".

A Sea-song from Unst

Norn Dln stitn stga rra ba ma hwat sis d t bka va latna mei bi driga sna pba vra Old Norse/Nordic English

latna mei bi driga sta'rka brna vsta agd k, .k., snd bra vsta agd ka gamla hwn d wrna tpg agd k, .k., hwn d wrna tpg agd ka gamla Norn Another variant: Dla stita stga rr (rla) bka va ma sta'rka brna fiskali (sta'rka vrna vstali) aid k gambli Ldra b bi di. Norn A version from "The Home of a Naturalist": Saina poba wer-a Leetra mavi, letra mavi, Saina poba wer-a Leetra mavi drengie. Daala stuyta stonga rara Oh badeea, oh badeea, Daala stuyta stonga rara, Oh badeea moynie. Old Norse/Nordic English Old Norse/Nordic English

Wher der isno topshar, topshag, topshag, Wher der isno topshag, Shakda cole o Gamblie.

An incantation
Norn Da stuhl es scarp an fien, Da sacheles emer a snean, Da vird es sicer en pura, A glimer i' mirk-as-dim hura, La stuhl an vird ay gyrda An prof er an skyla, an svirda. Old Norse/Nordic English The steel is sharp, the edge is fine, It's severed many a tough design, The word is sure, the word is pure, A light e'en in the midnight hour, Let steel and word for ever gird And be to ger a shield and sword.

6. Adages and proverbs

Adage
Norn Da ldi, mogi swdi Old Norse/Nordic dagar lengir, magar English

(swgi)

svengir Nor. dagarne lengjast, magarne svengjast

A proverb from Weisdal on Mainland

Norn Git a taka gamla manna r. Old Norse/Nordic Gott at taka gamalla manna r. English It is wise ti take old men's advice.

A proverb from de Herra

Norn Ma'rta di g'ns tek di (d) vps Old Norse/Nordic Margt til garns tekit (?) til vepts. English Much can be used for woof that is useless for warp.

A proverbial phrase
Norn Da dombvidla vga da vidla vga psa [passion] vga Old Norse/Nordic English Easter-Sunday weather will last all the week. More correctly probably: the weather of Passionweek will be the weather of Easter week.

The Cunningsburgh phrase

Norn Myrk in e Liora, Luce in e Liunga, Tim in e Guest in e geungna Old Norse/Nordic English It's dark in the Chimney, but it's light thro' the Heaven, it's still time for the stranger to be gone. Old Norse/Nordic myrkt er ljra, ljst er lyngi, tmi er at gestr(inn) gengr. English

Norn Variant from Yell: M'rka lra, lestra liga, tmra gstra ggra

7. Religious texts
A burial formula (in Danish)
Norn Yurden du art fur af yurden du vis skav'd Oktoa yurden nu ven dd. Op fra yurden skal du Opstaa, naar Herren aar syne bastnan blaa. Old Norse/Nordic English

Shetland's Lord's Prayer

Recorded in the 1770's by George Low. First published in his "A Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Schetland. Kirkwall: William Peace, 1879.". Fy vor or er i Chimeri. / Halaght vara nam dit. La Konungdum din cumma. / La vill din vera guerde i vrildin sindaeri chimeri. / Gav vus dagh u dagloght brau. Forgive sindorwara / sin vi forgiva gem ao sinda gainst wus. Lia wus ik? o vera tempa, / but delivra wus fro adlu idlu. For do i ir Kongungdum, u puri, u glori, Amen

Phonetics of Orkney Norn

Based on "Orkney Norn" by Hugh Marwick. Notice that Marwick uses the orthographical notation of Norn words (in "Examples"), not their transcription.
Old Norse a a Orkney Norn Examples (Norn < Old Norse) andoo < andfa, arvo < arfi, chaldro < tjaldr nask < naska, skarf < skarfr, slack < slakki graand < grandi, skaav < skafi, baakie < bal; frequently before an elided or assimilated consonant, as in aval < afvelta, avaless < afllauss, maalo < marlauk air < ar, backfett < -fattr, lecko < laki, krepp < krapp (umlaut forms?) hinsho < handsko, skint < skant muggy < magi chold < tjalda, gonfert < gandfer bore < bra, geo < gj, ho < hr, ogang < gangr, skyo < skj, skory < skri aak < lka, flaa < fl, -maa < mr mardroo < marrr skrue < skr, shuimet < *hjlmttr, huivy < hfr blouster < blstr aint < enta, erkny < erkn, skegg < skegg, berry < berg, klett< klettr, elt < elta hail < hella kaivy < kefja, save - cf. Nor. sev arkamy < erkn, kwark < kverka brinno < brenna, rin, rinnick < renna kyirk < kyrkja settin < sttingr shaygray < *hjela kipp < kippa, bit < biti, kikk < kikk geel < gil, kleester < klistra, week < vik

(rare) (rare)

o: (usually) a: (occasionally) u: (rarely) : (rarely) u (rarely)

e: (rare) (rare)
I

(rare) e: i i

i: (rare) alternations (occas.) i i: ai (Scots infl.?) i/ai occas. alternate o a (rarely) : (rarely) u (occas.) u: (occas.) : (rarely) : (I-umlaut?) o: ? : u u: u u u: (occas.)

leero < lri, meethe < mi tulfer < ilfar leero/lyrie, meethe/maithe snippo < snpa, spick < spk wheel < hvla, kwee < kv reen < hrna, Lee < hl, teebro < tbr grice < grss, kline < klna, skive < skfa kwee/kwy darro < dorg, garr/gurr < gor skraal < skroll, baa < boi lurt < lortr, murr - Icel. mor, rud - Nor. rodda, gurr < gor kroopan < kroppinn, roodgoose < hroloo < lo, floo < flo bawkie < bokki huiv < hov, ruithe < hroi, sluiter < slora dome < dmr bl < bl, uiss < ss, stuil < stll kuithe < k, ruise < hrsa buo < bla, Loomachun < lmatjrn, sooken < skn sloo < sl, kloor < klra, stoor < strr, moorit < mraur bool < bulla, doose < dusa, kooker < kurka moors < mura gump < gumpr, hurr < hurra, krummo < krumma, kunn < kunna, mulder < muldra, rugg < rugg, studdle < stuull kuil < kul, uiko < ulk, styuilk < stulk birt < burr, klimse < klumsa book < kr, brook < brk, doon < dnn, skoot < skt, soog < sgr, toon < tn skroo < skrfr, sooro < sra, stoo < *stfa uimater < mttr?, huin < hnn, kuivy < kfr bizzy < bys, minn < mynd, linyo < lygna, nizz < knysja, sirry < syrja, stinn < stynja gilt < gylta, ritto < rytr, tinsal < yngsl, tirl < yrla, trist < rysta huirn < hyrna stinn, stunn < stynja meeo < m, sneet < snta, speet < spta nue < gnja geyro < ggr, skila < skla, sly < sl aisins < sing, braithe < bra, saithe < si,

u u: :

i
I

i ai (Scots infl.?)

e:

saxhering < sexringr : : e: o : i: e/ brail < brla, lerblade < lrsimmy < sma, kniff < knfr aikel < xl, geskafoo < gzku-fullr haze < sa buil < bla bonie words < bnar-or? oro < rr meen < mnir golt < gltr, rost < rst, slokk < slkkva dekk < dkkr, kegel < kggull, kes < ks, kjest < kstr skurrock < skr, spurrey < spjrr birk < brkr aize < eisa, maise < meiss, raiso < reisa, saithe < seir, skrae < skrei bysk < beiskr, geyro < geiri, neist < gneisti, skry < skrei, sny < snei, snyse < sneis, tie < teigr, tyno < teinn dello? < deili, skaively < skeifligr gowl < gaula, howe < haugr, nowt < naut, nout < knauta, owse < ausa, tout < tauta, tow < taugr duff < daufr, rumse < raumska gokk < gaukr, stot < stauta tome < taumr nust/nust < naust, hogboon < haugbandi snype < sneypa, misglimed < -gleyma, blaithin < *bleyingr, daive < deyfa glaip < gleypa, Sanday < Sandey ersland < eyrisland, aire < eyrr urisland, uirsland < eyrisland, gma < geyma, lpir, lnlighe yackle < jaxl glee < glj grono < grjn lood < hlj, loodan < hljan, NB. biwr < bjrr ??? ruithe < hrja, skyued < skjttr brisk < brjsk ? nita < ?njta b b (usually) p pangse < bangsa, pivver < bivra, polt < boltr, pook < buka, puink < bunka

ei

e: ai (:)

au

u o: u(:)

ey

ai e: e : (in old records)

ja j j

ja i(?) o u

d (usually) t occasionally dropped in -nd dj > t trimso < dramsa n < nd charve < djarfr, forcharved < fordjarfa? nither < nira, ruithe < hroi, kuithe < k, meethe < mi?, owmuth? < umbo, braithin < brega with < vi, footho < fu, lithy < lir heemfare < heimfer, ee < ia, Lee < hl, mardroo < marrr, skrae < skrei, -gar < -garr, sny < snei, swee < svia, teebro < tbr, kleppi-spur < -sporr, gee < ge bod < boi, glad <glar, gleed < gleir, guid < ga, hirdmanstein < hirmannastefna daawurt < dagver brudge < bryja, rudge < ryja

preserved (occas.) (dropped)

d (sometimes) t (occas.) j > d f f v (as in ON between vowels and sonorants) dropped & assimilated: before l before b before v before d before n between vowels finally retained for the most part

arvo < arfi, charve < djarfr, hivvle < hefill, klov < klauf, krove < krof, rivling < hriflingr, skav < skafa, sweevle < sveifla matlo < mafl??, Less/Lesh/Lashy < fles aaber < afberja, klibber < klyfberi aval < afvelta odder < ofdyri stein < stefna, Ham < hfn andoo < andfa, tuo < fa skroo < skrfr, BUT guff < gufa, skarf < skarfr, riff < rif

forskin < forskyggni, geyro < ggr, neester < gnistra, nyst, neest < gneisti, nile < negla, nit < gnit, roo < dropped (when spirant) hrga, sameyn < sameign, sile < sigl, smyoo < smjga, tie < teigr, braithe < brega, Voy < vgi k (occas.) gn > nj, gl > lj freq. palatalized durk < dorg, knoop< gnpr, krane < gren, kyirked < kergja, sook < sgr, swilkie < svelgr nyaffle < gnafla, nyaggle < gnagla, rullyie < rugl -gyar [gjr] < -garr, dyelro < gildra, dyoard [djord] < gjorde, gj < ganga

retained initially disappears before l,n,r hv > w, hj > (occas.) ch [x] (occas.) nave < hnefi, reen < hrna, roo < hrga, lood < hlj w: wee < hva; : whess < hvessa shuimet < hjlmttr, shaygrey < *hjela-, sholtie < hjalti Whup < hp, Whupland < Hpland Chimeri < himli

mostly retained g (freq.) t (occas.) kn > sn (occas.) palatalised before a front vowel fig < fika, huiggle < hukla, yaggle < jakla, rag < raki, srpaagle < sprkla, stugg < stokka, stiggle < stikill ill-treested < treisk, ill-twartened < tverkandi, roost < rusk, sturten < storkna, strood < skr snoddy < knoa? kji?st < kist-

mostly retained disappears: before k between vowels before s before m finally ll palatalized lm > ml (sometimes) aak < lka, uiko < ulk, uivigar < *yvelker??? buo < bla, heyamet < heilagr hass < hals (Scots influence?) hom < hlmr. ium < lmr faa < fall (Scots influence?) hellyiefer < helli-, rullyo < rulla hemlins < hjelm??, hemlin < helmingr

usually retained fn > mn > m Ham < Hfn, Ramnigeo < Hrafnagj, yamalt < jafnaldri

generally retained fn > mn > m m when followed by labial consonant ny > in (metathesis) Ham < Hfn, Ramnigeo < Hrafnagj, yamalt < jafnaldri gamfer < *gegnfer, gomfer < gandfer, toomal < tnvllr feenk < fnykr

retained b (frequently) hiblin < hiplingr, horngibly < gepill?, kubby < koppr or kpa, skraable < skrapla, tribble < tripla BUT: kuppo < koppr, gapis < gapuzi, luipy < laupr

retained rn > nn (occas.) rn > rl (occas.) banno-corn < barn mallo < marlaukr

retained (occas.) sk > (occas.) sk > ks (occas.) dropped between r and l between k and l between t and l smirlin < smyrslingr yackle < jaxl, aikel < xl wattle < veizla, mittle < meizla sharg < sarga runge < runsa, range < hreinsa hansho < handskr (?), shore < skri fyaksy < fjask

usually retained

d (often) tj > t t (usually) d (occas.) h

blade < blettr, skyued < skjttr, sloond < slunt, smud < smutt? chaldro < tjaldr, chold < tjalda, -chun < tjrn tulfar < ilfar, tuo < fa, tirl < yrla, tang < ang droo < rr, mardroo < marrr, du < u Hurteso < Thurstainshow, Hurstane < Thurstath, Horraldshay < Thorwaldishow daawurt < dagver??, waddy < va, waffle < vafla, wassy < vasi, week < vik Vinquoy, Vinbreck, Voldibrae, Verpinno

w v (in placenames)

Sketch of the grammar of Orkney Norn based on the material from H. Marwick's "Orkney Norn")
1. While the remnants of Norn in Shetland are fairly scarce and worn out (although we still have some 10 000 words and a number of texts), this is even more true in respect of Orkney Norn. The only surviving text in the language is the Lord's Prayer, which is around just 60 words long. There are reports about another Orkney Norn text, the Norse ballad Darraalj, re-worked by the English poet Thomas Gray in the 18th century as "The Fatal Sisters: an Ode" (the Norse original of the song is featured in the famous Icelandic Saga of Njll). The knowledge of this poem still existed in North Ronaldsay, Orkney as late as around 1800 (this remote island seems to have kept Norse archaisms longer than most of the archipelago). The famous English writer Walter Scott, who visited Orkney in 1814 collecting material for his novel "The Pirate", makes the following comment about the song: 'Mr. Baikie of Tankerness, a most respectable inhabitant of Kirkwall, and an Orkney proprietor, assured me of the following curious fact:- A clergyman, who was not long deceased, remembered well when some remnants of the Norse were still spoken in the island called North Ronaldshaw. When Gray's Ode, enditled the "Fatal Sisters", was first published, or at least first reached that remote island, the reverend gentleman had the well-judged curiosity to read it to some of the old persons of the isle, as a poem which regarded the history of their own country. They listened with a great attention to the preliminary stanzas... But when they heard a verse or two more, they interrupted the reader, telling they knew the song well in the Norse language, and had often sung it to him when he asked them for an old song. They called it the Magicians, or the Enchantresses. It would have been singular news to the elegant translator, when executing his version from the text of Bartholine, to have learned that the Norse original was still preserved by tradition in a remote corner of the British dominions.' (from a note to "The Pirate") To our great regret this piece of Orkney Norn was lost before somebody cared to write it down - it escaped even the attention of George Low, who left some of the most valuable records of Shetland

Norn, although he served in fact in Orkney. Had Darraalj been recorded, it could probably have become equally important to the study of Norse relics in Orkney as the ballad of Hildina is for those of Shetland. Apart from The Lord's Prayer, we have at our disposal "The Dictionary of Orkney Norn" (or just "Orkney Norn") by Hugh Marwick, which is the Orcadian counterpart to Jakob Jakobsen's "Etymological Dictionary of the Norn language in Shetland". Marwick's work features 3000 words, contrary to 10 000 entries in Jakobsen's dictionary. The Orcadian material seems to be much more worn out and scotticized than that from Shetland. The proportion of words that are not traced back to Old Norse in "Orkney Norn" is noticeably higher than in the "Etymological Dictionary of the Norn language in Shetland" (perhaps, if the latter had been written a few decades later than it actually was, it would have looked likewise). This being said, both dictionaries contain a good number of words which have parallels in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish dialects instead of Old Norse. Marwick's book features a lot of Scots words and even some of Gaelic origin, referring more to the Orcadian dialect of Scots than to Orkney Norn itself, although, like in Shetland, we can not clearly demarcate the two. Speaking of Jakobsen's own contribution to the study of Orkney Norn (he went on an expedition to the islands in 1909, 1910 and 1912) we should first quote his sister Anna Horsbl (Jakobsen), who in the preface to the English edition of the Shetlandic dictionary reveals her brother's intention to work out "a considerable collection of Orkney Norn". Unfortunately, the Faroese researcher passed away in 1919 before he could bring this plan about, having though succeeded in publishing several important articles about Orcadian relics of the Norse language. Once in a while Marwick inclines in his book that he uses Jakobsen's vaults, although to what extent he does it, whether all of Jakobsen's data has found its place in "Orkney Norn" or only a part of it, remains unclear. In any case, it seems very likely that Jakobsen's research in Orkney provided nowhere near as much material as his fieldwork in Shetland. 2. The grammar of Orkney Norn, or, more correctly, Old Norse grammatical archaisms in Orcadian Scots are very scarce and are summarized in the following lines. 2.1. Substantives 2.1.1. Singular 2.1.1.1. Nominative/Accusative As mentioned in General, no distinction between Nominative and Accusative was to be found in Orkney Norn. The most obvious examples of such a mixing are certainly the loss of the strong masculine -r (except in very few cases) and replacement of the weak feminine nominative ending -a with the respective accusative one -o (ON -u). A process similar to the latter must have occured to the weak masculine declension, where the nominative ending -i must have

tended to be replaced by the accusative one -a. However, the mixing of -a and -o in the feminine, contributing to the overall confusion of endings, must have overshadowed it, producing weak masculine nouns ending in -o as a result. Another group of weak substantives lost their vocal endings to become undistinguished from strong nouns. The appearance of -o in the strong declension was certainly the reverse effect of this change. To sum up, almost all variants of the endings mixing became possible: 2.1.1.1.1. Masculine words retaining -er < ON -r: amiter < mttr, blooter (blout) < blautr, brander < brandr, merkister < merkjarstar, yaager < jlkr 2.1.1.1.2. o < a kringlo,kringl < kringla, krummo,kromak < krumma, mullyo < Sw. Mulla By the anology from the substantives words in other classes of speech change -a to -o too: adverbs: reevligo < rfliga verbs: fordo < fora 2.1.1.1.3. 0(zero) < i aithken < aukenni, ang < angi, ayrskifft < arfskifti, bilge-kod < koddi, biter < *btari, rag < raki, raim < rjmi, skift < skifti, tong < tangi, wind < yndi 2.1.1.1.4. i < i ogude < gi, ruithe < hri, saithe < si, wazzi < vasi 2.1.1.1.5. o < i arvo < arfi, klavo < klafi, lacky,lecko < Laki 2.1.1.1.6. o < a bikko < bikkja, bitch, brinno < brenna, herto < hjarta 2.1.1.1.7. 0(zero) < a amis < lmusa, almusa (Orkney Norse), bore [bo:r,bo:r] < bra, bram(mo) < Dan. brme, Nor. berm, brecks < brekka 2.1.1.1.8. o < 0: grono < grjn (pl.), kid,kiddo,kiddy < ki, kleppo < kleppr, kuppo < koppr, skjeldro < tjaldr 2.1.1.1.09. o < ingr klino < klningr, sillo, sillock < *slingr, sr 2.1.1.1.10. o vs. Ek blatho < Gael. blaathach, Far. Blak 2.1.1.2. Dative. A few set expressions and forms preserve the Old Norse masculine/neuter sg. ending -i: agairy < af gari asee < (yfir, undir) si Brya-grunyie < Breia-grunni

Hoosavelji < Hsavelli; according to Marwick, this form is registered in "Ry." (Rousay? North/South Ronaldsay?), the rest of Orkney has Hoosavel Also a feminine dative form: leggin < lgginni (in) laaginy < Nor. lag(n)ing + -inni (??) The following word descends from a dative expression, but the ending is lost: forrowhand < fyrir hndum 2.1.1.3. Genitive Genitive endings can be found in compound words. The old genitive ending -s is mostly preserved, sometimes presented as -is. The other endings are mostly reduced to -i or -e. In two cases the old masculine/feminine ending -(a)r still can be seen: domismen < dmsmenn banno-disty < barna-dust bonie-words < bnar-or geivaless < gfulauss geyar-, gyre- < ggjarhandigrip < handa(r)grip hummleband < hmluband katabelly < kattarbelgr merkister < merkjarstar messigate < messugata ombisman, umboathman < umbosmar urislands < eyrislnd voldro < vallar-ms? vole-grun < vallar-grinn yarromang,manna,myungy < jararmegin (-munr?) Genitive expression with eliminated ending: emby < innan bjar fainfu < fagnaarfullr forcop < fararkaup 2.1.2. Plural 2.1.2.1. Nominative blooro < blrar katrisper < kattar-rispur vandar (vanda) < vandi, pl. vandar (??) 2.1.2.2. Accusative riggaforaaser < *hrygg(ir)-yfir-sa. Marwick believed that the final -r has appeared due to "a false association with English razor". We think instead that the ending could have simply acquired the final -r in Norn, like it did in Faroese: Far. hestar, vinir < ON hesta, vini. 2.1.5. Definite forms 2.1.5.1. Masculine

geyarkarlin < ggjarkarlinn tramins < rminn (??) kroopan < kroppinn (??) 2.1.5.2. Feminine keelin < keilan hoolan < la (Far. lan?) grullyan < grlan wanboona < *vanbnin?? yern < jrin leggin < i lgginni Examples from North Ronaldsay: Burrian < Borgin Lashan < Flesin Leean < Hlin Geo na gui < Gjin ga (Acc. Gjna gu) Stn < Stin 2.1.5.3. Neuter witheron < virin(i)?? 2.2. Adjectives 2.2.1. Strong adjectives long reed < lng hr Nue[n]-biggin < n bygging taragott < at er gott 2.2.2. Weak adjectives groy < gri Brya-grunyie < () Breia-grunni Tongabrey < Tangi breii Geo na gui < Gjin ga (Acc. Gjna gu) Neeoquoy < Na kv Langaber < Langa berg 2.2.3. Comparative negree uiter-ald < ytri 'old' innerli < innarliga 2.3. Adverbs reevligo < rfliga 2.4. Pronouns suistoo < Eng. seest thou!, Eng. dial. seesta, also cf. ON sru (sr ) 'see you', sstu (sst ) 'saw you [did you see]' taragott < at er gott me-nain [min:n] < minn Eigen yin < hinn (+ Sc. yon?) 2.5. Numerals (or substantives derivated from numerals) ferd < fjri setten, settin(g) < sttungr ' a 6th part'

schone, schound < sjaund 'the 7th day' teind < tund bow-teind < b-tund 2.6. Verbs 2.6.1. Presens the're, de'r < +er 'is' taragott < at er gott suistoo < Eng. seest thou!, Eng. dial. seesta, also cf. ON sru (sr ) 'see you', sstu (sst ) 'saw you [did you see]' 2.6.2. Past dyoard < geri, Nor. Gjorde handselde (Orkney Norse??) < handseldi 2.6.3. Imperative fordo < fora 2.6.4. Present (active) participle greyin < grjandi 2.6.5. Past (passive) participle forlegen < *fyrirlaginn hoved < hafinn, hefja domlad < dmlagr? 2.7. Prepositions in under < inn under ON? forgen < *fyrir-gegen forrowhand < fyrir hndum riggaforaaser < *hrygg(ir)-yfir-sa

Orkney's Lord's Prayer The only known text in Orkney Norn is The Lord's Prayer recorded in the late 1690's by James Wallace. First published in his "An Account of the Islands of Orkney. London: Jacob Tonson, 1700.":
Favor i ir i chimrie, Helleur ir i nam thite, gilla cosdum thite cumma, veya thine mota vara gort o yurn sinna gort i chimrie, ga vus da on da dalight brow vora Firgive vus sinna vora sin vee Firgive sindara mutha vus, lyv vus ye i tumtation, min delivera vus fro olt ilt, Amen. or On sa meteth vera. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. Amen. or And so may it be.

The following overview of the prayer is based on Hugh Marwick's analysis with some minor corrections: 1. By-word translation

Favor: fa 'father' < fair, Shet. (Hildina) fy vor 'our' < vrr, cf. mod. Ork. war (Marwick) i 'who, which' < e ir 'is' < er i 'in' < chimeri 'heaven, "heavenly kingdom"' < himinrki, himnarki Helleur ir i: should be *Helleut viri: *helleut < heilagt viri 'may it be' < veri nam 'name' < nafn thite 'thine, your', neu. < itt gilla - ??. Hgstad takes this as gud lat 'God let' < gu lt cosdum 'kingdom' < konungsdmr (masc.), *konungsdmi (neut.). (The possessive pronoun thite is witness to the neuter gender of this word.) cumma 'come' < koma veya 'will' < vilji, Acc. Vilja thine 'thine, your' masc. < inn mota 'may' < mtti 'might' vara 'to be' < vera gort 'done' < grr, pp. of gera, gra o 'on' < yurn 'the earth', Dat. < jrinni sinna 'as it is': probably < sem hann er 'as he is, as it is' ga[v] vus 'give us' < gef oss da on da 'day by day' < dag um dag? dalight 'daily' < dagligt brow 'bread' < brau vora 'our' < vrr (influenced by vora below? Grammatically *vort should have been expected). firgive 'forgive' < fyrirgef sinna 'sins' < syndir vora 'our', pl. < vrar, fem. sin 'as' < sem vee 'we' < vr sindara mutha vus: 1. 'sinners against us' < syndarar mti oss 2. 'sins against us' < syndar mti oss lyv vus 'lead us' < lei oss ye 'not' < eigi tumtation 'temptation' < Scots/English temptation min 'but' < Dan. Nor. men < mean 'while, in the meantime' delivra 'deliver' < Scots + the Norn ending a fro 'from' < fr olt 'all' < llu Dat.sg.neut. of allr, Nom/Acc.sg. neut. Allt ilt 'ill, evil' < illu Dat.sg.neut. of illr, Nom/Acc.sg. neut. Illt on 'and' < Scots/English and

sa 'so' < sv meteth 'may it' < mtti at vera 'be' < vera 2. Grammar The grammar of Orkney Norn as in the Lord's Prayer is much simplified in comparison to Old Norse. There is confusion between genders, especially masculine and neuter. No distinction between masculine and feminine can be traced, although the material is too scanty to make definite conclusions. Dative is replaced with Nominative/Accusative (common case): olt ilt < llu illu, jurn < jrinni. One plural ending can be found: -a(r) < ir,ar: vora, sinna, sindara (?). The superfluous ending -e in thite, thine might be a reflex of an older flexion from other cases. The relations between cases and genders can mark the development of the same system in Orkney Norn as in contemporary Norwegian, Danish and Swedish, where only 2 genders (common and neuter) and 2 cases (common and genitive) exist. In adjectives the neuter ending -t is registered: dalight, olt, ilt The morphology of the verb is represented with the following endings: -e - 1. pl. we firgive -a - inf. cumma, vera/vara -a,e - imper. delivra, firgive -i - pres. subj. Viri -e (+ i-umlaut) - past. subj.: mete < mtti (Notice that these are "orthographical" spellings and their phonetic nature may differ.) 2.1. Substantives 2.1.1. Masculine cosdum < konungsdmr (neut. *konungsdmi?) da < dag, Nom. dagr fa < fair veya < vilji, Acc. Vilja sindara? < syndarar 2.1.2. Feminine yurn < jrinni sinna(r) < syndir 2.1.3. Neuter chimrie < himnarki/himinrki cosdum < *konungsdmi (masc. konungsdmr?) nam < nafn brow < brau (tumtation) 2.2. Adjectives All in neuter: *helleut < heilagt dalight < dagligt ilt < illt, Llull

2.3. Pronouns 2.3.1. Personal pronouns -n- in sinna < hann in sem hann er -th < at vee < vit vus < oss 2.3.2. Possessive pronouns thine < inn thite < itt vor < vrr vora < neut. vrt, pl.fem. vrar 2.3.3. Other pronouns olt < alt, llu 2.4. Verbs 2.4.1. Indicative 2.4.1.1. Present ir, -a < er firgive < fyrirgefum 2.4.1.2. Past mota < mtti 2.4.2. Subjunctive 2.4.2.1. Present *viri < veri 2.4.2.2. Past mete < mtti 2.4.3. Imperative ga[v] (vus) < gef (oss) firgive < fyrirgef, forgive delivera < *delivra gilla < gu lt? lyv [*li?] (vus) < lei oss 2.4.4. Infinitive vara,vera < vera, vera? cumma < koma 2.4.5. Past (passive) participle gort < gjrur (gjrr), neut. Gjrt 2.5. Prepositions fro < fr i< mutha < mti o< on < um

2.6. Conjunctions min < men i < e ond < Sc. And 2.7. Particles sin [-na] < sem [hann er] sa < sv ye < eigi

Caithness Norn
The scope of the Norse language in the British Isles was at times much wider than the Orkney-Shetland area. Vikings coming from Norway and other Nordic countries founded settlements in many corners of Britain and Ireland. Old Norse had a major influence on the other local tongues, including English, Scots and Gaelic. However, by the end of the Middle Ages Norse (or its later versions which we can call Norn) was superceded by other languages practically everywhere, except in such remote corners as Orkney and Shetland. Besides these, the last strongholds of Norn in Scotland seem to have been the Hebrides and Caithness (ON Katanes, North-East Scotland). In the Hebrides, Norn is believed to have died out in the 1500-1600's at the latest, replaced by Gaelic, but having left a big number of toponymes and borrowings in the Celtic language. At approximately the same time, Norn was devoured by Gaelic and Low Scottish in Caithness. Per Thorsen mentions three possible datings of its decay in his paper "The Third Norn Dialect - That of Caithness" (The Viking Congress, Lerwick, 1950), which is probably the most substantive account on Caithness Norn so far: 15th century (by William Grant, "Scottish National Dictionary", Introduction, 156), 17th century (by Adolf Noreen, "Altislndische und altnorwegische Grammatik", 4th ed., 20, "Geschichte der nordischen Sprachen", 3rd ed., 2) and 16th century, asserted by Thorsen himself, who cites the following testimony from 1662, which witnesses that the local inhabitants had by that time turned to Gaelic: The common speech of humble people nowadays is mostly Scottish-Irish, a mixture of the two languages, not markedly one or the other. (Sir John Scott's text to the "Atlas Major" by J. Blaeu, Vol. VI) One of the main factors which supported the existence of Caithness Norn during was the constant communication of the locals with Orkney, where its own dialect of Norn was well entrenched until the 1617th centuries. However, it did not save Caithness Norn from decay which was destined to happen, like elsewhere on the mainland. No written records in Caithness Norn are known to exist. All that we have to rely upon is the list for Norse words in the Low Scots dialect of Caithness (about 100 instances) collated by Thorsen and published in his article mentioned above. Thorsen mostly resorted to the "English Dialect Dictionary" by Joseph Wright, who, in his turn, borrowed

Caithness words from the manuscript collection of David B. Nicholson, a native of Wick in Caithness. In several cases Thorsen adds words belonging generally to Northern Scotland (marked as "N.Sc."), assuming that they also occurred in Caithness. Unlike Shetlandic and Orcadian material, no grammar features can be worked out from these forms, and their phonetics fully accord with the main sound pecularities of Norn, especially its Orkney version. The total of Norse words in the local Caithness dialect, including terms common to Scots in general, is estimated by Thorsen to be "a couple of hundreds". The wordlist by Thorsen is fully reproduced here below: 1. Terms for natural formations: clet 'rock or cliff in the sea' < klettr geo 'narrow inlet, creek' < gj skerry 'isolated rock in the sea above water' < sker wick 'creek, small bay' < vk leen 'grassy place in a moor, low-lying piece of grass on a farm' < Far. Nor. Ln tuag 'small hillock' < fa + Sc./Gael. ock lith 'gate, gap in a fence' < hl quoy 'piece of ground taken in from a common and enclosed' < kv 'cattle-fold' rae 'enclosure for cattle' < r, r roo 'heap, esp. small heap of peats set on end to dry' < hrga scroo 'small stack of corn, hay or straw' < skrf 2. Terms connected with domestic life and husbandry: squaar 'swath in mowing' < Icel. skri, Norw. skaare steith, steethe 'bottom or foundation' < sti, *sta toft 'homestead' < toft wait, wate 'mill-race, the water-course from a mill' < veit, veita boo-man (obs.) 'the man in charge of the cattle on a large farm' < b 'farm', cf. bmar 'farmer' 3. Terms for implements, etc., and terms referring to house-building: (a) ammel (obs.) 'the swingle-tree of a plough' < *hmull cassie 'basket made of twisted straw' < kass, kassi clubber 'wooden saddle, pack-saddle' < klyfberi flet, flate 'straw mat put under a horse's saddle to prevent the back from being chafed' < fltta 'plait' keyse, keis 'large straw basket' < Norw. kjessa lay 'slip of wood coated with sand or emery, used for sharpening a scythe' < l 'scythe' simman 'rope made of heather, rush, or straw' < smi 'rope' tuskar 'spade used for cutting peat' < torf-skeri (b)

benlin 'long light stone, slung in the loops of the "simmans" of a thatched roof < * bendlingr birk 'piece of round timber laid horizontally', in roof-making < bjrk rain-tree (obs.) 'bar or beam across the chimney from which pots are hung' < *randtr, Norw. randatre wyg, in the phrase rae wyg to waw 'backwards and forwards' < veggr 'wall' 4. Terms referring to cattle, sheep, horses, etc.: cushie, a milk-maid's call to a cow < kussi 'calf' droonyie 'moan or complain in a murmuring way' < Norw. drynja 'low softly' ingy 'bring forth lambs' < yngja 'bring forth young' mull 'the mouth, esp. of a horse or cow' < mli onmark 'troublesome or refractory person or animal' < andmarki 'adversity, vice', the word signifying properly 'something marked'), Norw. andmarke 'cattle' queyag 'heifer' < kvga + suffix -ock); skeel, a mouth-disease in horses (Norw. skjl, skjol); skite (N.Sc.) 'the dung of fowls' < sktr 'dung' snuy 'turn suddenly as if displeased or annoyed', used of cattle < snga 'win, accomplish', properly 'wind, turn' 5. Sea terms (in a wide sense) (a) Terms for motions of the sea, etc.: bowd 'breaker, billow' < boi burth 'current in the sea caused by a furious tide, but taking a different course from it' < burdr 'carrying', Faer. burdur av streymi 'current' insook 'inrush', used of the tide < *innsog outrook 'the backward wash or undercurrent of a wave after breaking' < *trk rost 'strong tide or current' < rst brook, in the phrase war brook, brook o' war 'a quantity of seaweed driven on shore by stormy weather' < brk, arabrk (b) Terms connected with boats: lin(n) 'piece of wood put under the keel of a boat to facilitate its being drawn over a loose or sandy beach' < hlunnr nile 'plug in the water-hole of a boat' < Norw. Nygla noast 'landing-place for boats' < naust 'boat-shed' anno 'row against the wind to keep the boat from drifting' < andfa ouse, in the phrase ouse o'er 'swish over' < ausa 'bale out' (c) Terms connected with fishing: aav(e) 'spoon-net, the pock-net by which boys pick up herrings' < hfr; an identical Caithness word is haev 'small hand-basket used by fishermen to carry bait'; clev 'make up a fishing handline after use' < klyf 'cleft, forked implement' ile 'the fishing-ground inside the main current' < li 'sink-stone for holding a boat'); braad 'sharp pull to hook a fish' < bragd 'sudden movement'

(d) Terms for fish and parts of fish: ly 'the pollack' < lrr peltag 'young coal-fish in its second year' < piltr 'boy' + suffix ock sellag 'the coal-fish in its first year' < sl, a kind of small fish, 'ammodytes tobianus' + suffix -ock tusk 'the torsk, brosmius brosme' < orskr gip 'the point of the jaws of a fish' < Norw. Gip ug 'the pectoral fin of a fish' < Icel. uggi, Norw. Ugge maak 'the milt of a fish' < mjlkvi (e) Terms for sea-birds: scarf 'the cormorant' < skarfr scorie 'young gull' < skri tyst(e) 'the black guillemot' < eisti 6. Atmospheric phenomena: aem 'blast of hot air from a fire or furnace' < eimr 'steam, warm vapour' flag 'flake, esp. of snow' < -flaga flam, flan(n) 'sudden gust of wind', as a verb: 'blow in gusts' < flana 'rush' gray 'slight breeze of wind' < gri theef, feff 'stench, bad smell' < efr up-light 'the brightening at the end of a shower' < ltta 'brighten' ime 'soot, thin scum or coating' < m 'dust', in Norw. and Faer. 'soot'). 7. Of the verbs, two categories stand out, viz.: (a) Terms for odd or extravagant behaviour: scravvle 'scramble, crawl, grope with the hands' < Norw. skravla 'scrape or beg together' skavle, skaivle 'walk with a tottering gait' < Norw. skeivla 'walk clumsily' pepper 'tremble, quake, vibrate' < pipra scum 'glance, look at hurriedly' < *skma, cf. Norw. skyma 'look secretly' clype 'scratch with the nails' < klpa 'pinch' glaep 'gulp, swallow, seize' < gleypa 'swallow' glup 'beguile, wheedle, catch' < Norw. glupa 'catch, swallow' (b) Terms for 'useful' or 'productive' actions: brath (N.Sc.) 'plait straw ropes round a stack, crossing them at intervals' < brega 'plait' skyle 'shelter, shade, put up a screen in the chimney to prevent the smoke blowing down' < skla 'protect, screen', Icel. skla hj 'put up a kind of chimney-cap on the opening of the kitchen roof elt 'knead dough' < elta); scair 'fasten two pieces of wood together' < Norw. skara 'mortise boards or planks' 8. Various terms: aikle 'molar tooth' < jaxl birsk 'cartilage or gristle' < brjsk brither-bairn 'cousin', brither-dochter 'niece', brither-sin 'nephew' < brraborn [pl.], brurdttir, -sonr

knip 'small bundle of things strung together on a string' < Icel, knippi, Norw. Knippe slitter 'breach in cloth where the woof has given way, leaving only the warp' < slitri 'rag' ta(a) 'fibre, fibrous root' < tg yarfal 'peat mixed with clay and sand' < jrfi wan, waan 'hope' < van ever 'upper, higher', used of places < fri, efri

Philosophy of Nynorn
"O death, where is thy sting?" (1 Kor. 15:55) This section of our website is devoted to the reconstruction and revival of Norn. We have chosen to give this project another name in order to distinguish it from the real Norn and, of course, the apt title 'Nynorn' [nee-norn] which means "new Norn" (cf. Nynorsk = "New Norwegian") came straight to mind. Our goal is to re-create Norn as a usable (=living) language in order to see what it could be like had it stayed alive until our days. It is not to be denied that very few Norn texts has survived until today which is usually considered to be the main obstacle for such a revival. But the situation is not as hopeless as it seems at first sight. Several thousand Norn words and expressions, that include not only crofters and fishermen's slang, as usually believed, but also more sophisticated and absract terms (ober 'responsibility', afgeng 'accomplishment, conclusion', skatt 'tax', soind 'legal investigation', upphald 'support, maintenance', vokster 'enterprise, energy', drag op 'to educate, stand till 'to depend; be entitled to', jenk 'to dedicate' etc. etc.), are known. The Ballad of Hildina and the Lord's Prayer give us a good account of the late Norn's grammar, far from complete yet fairly illustrative. By this we mean that most of the discovered features of Norn reflect its rich predecessor, Old Norse, which is quite well known and researched. We also have at our disposal a complete list of phonetic changes from Old Norse to Norn which have been documented by Jakobsen and Marwick. Finally, the other descendants from Old Norse, such as (New)Norwegian, Faroese and Icelandic have survived until our days and look to us encouraging. Of course, altogether it makes Nynorn a fairly hypothetical language and this project should be considered as an intellectual game rather than anything else. But, as it often happens with intellectual games, there can be a certain theoretical value to them. Usually when a language is under reconstruction, an overview of its grammar and a short vocabulary are presented as the outcome. But in some cases linguists go further and try to reconstruct the speech, which is the next and more sophisticated level of reconstruction. Schleicher wrote fables in Proto-Indo-European (3000 - 4000 B.C.) and Illich-Svitych, who pioneered the Nostratic reconstruction (13 000 - 12 000 B.C.), supplied his dictionary with a short verse in Proto-Nostratic as an epigraph. There are more examples of extinct languages being spoken or revived. Classic Latin is widely used 1500 years after its dissolution into the numerous Roman languages. Enthusiasts have revived Cornish (existed

until the late 18th century), Hebrew was ressurrected in the 1800's 2000 years after it had been abandoned, and guess what language the specialists in Old Chinese (200 B.C. - 900 A.D.) are speaking in their leisure time when they meet at conferences? No language can be completely dead (= unused) - this point is all the clearer in these days of the Internet where people set up webpages in Anglo-Saxon, Old Church Slavonic, Sanskrit and even Proto-Indo-European. Or look at this online tutorial of Crimean-Gothic (existed until the 17-18th centuries). This list is certainly far from being complete. The fact that Nynorn is an artificial language should not confuse anyone. You might not realise it, but there are many words in your language that have not developed in the 'natural' way but were consciously and artificially constructed instead. Human intervention into the development of a language has not been an unknown phenomenon, especially in the Nordic countries. Icelandic has hundreds and thousands of neologisms created by a special commission which invents new words instead of borrowing them from outside - this policy is known as lingustic purism which set off as early as the 17-18th centuries when Icelanders started cleaning their language of Danish and Low German words replacing them with neologisms made out of Icelandic words. More than that, even several declension types were corrected through restoring their original endings in the 19th century (see Stefn Karlsson, "Tunga", 1989). A more advanced example, when it is a whole language that has been constructed, is shown by nynorsk ('new Norwegian'), originally known as landsml ('language of country'). The father of this language Ivar Aasen conceived it the 19th century trying to develop a purely Norwegian written language based upon Norwegian dialects in addition to the existing riksml ('state language'), otherwise bokml ('book language'), which had its roots in Danish. So far nynorsk has not become Norway's main written language, but, as bokml, it has official status and is widely used in several domains. Yet another example of human interference into the language is Hebrew. You might probably not be aware that we do not know for sure what the vowels of many original Old Hebrew words were, because in the writing they were not marked (f.ex., the name of God in the Old Testament can be read either as Yahweh or Yehowah). The vocalisation of the contemporary Hebrew (the revived one) originates from different medieval traditions of reading Old Hebrew textes and uses their combination. This is a living example of a theoretical reconstruction that has been brought to life and continues existing as a real linguistic phenomenon. The future will show whether Nynorn has any chances in the real world, but the first step has been taken, to start this project in the virtual space. In the following chapters you will find a more detailed description of our methodology as well as the grammar of Nynorn, vocabulary, tutorial and a few short texts.

Introduction into Nynorn

1. This section of the website is dedicated to our experimental project which aims at reconstruction of Norn as a usable language. See the

Nynorn philosophy page for more detailed explanations of the objectives. Our reconstruction is mostly based upon the Shetland dialect. The most distinctive feature of Nynorn in phonetics is the palatalised pronounciation [lj,nj] of ll,nn like in the most of Shetland. (Of course, if you prefer the Foula/Westside pronunciation [dl,dn], you may carry on with it; see a more detailed coverage of this matter in Dialects). In the grammar, it has been decided to use the four-case system, as preserved in the Ballad of Hildina and The Lord's Prayer. But, once again, variations can be possible. In general, it should be mentioned that the presented version of Nynorn is, so to say, at the "beta" stage and subject to further corrections. There will likely be a major update (further referred to as "Great Revision") when all found mistakes will be indentified and improvements brought in. Feel free to use our forum to suggest things that could and should be improved. 2. The most common guidelines for Nynorn are as follows. (This is a rough overview and certain things may be added later on. See also the chapter on the Nynorn grammar for more details.) 2.1. The material remaining from Norn is to be used to the greatest extent and has priority over Old Norse or Scandinavian stuff. Our task is only to get rid of some superficial influences that Norn experienced from Scots: 2.1.1. [i] is restored back to the original [i] (occasionally [e]) 2.1.2. the definite article de, coming from Scots is removed; 2.1.3. the preposition to is replaced with its Scandinavian equivalent til (also widely present in the surviving texts); 2.1.4. infinitives are assigned the ending -a, they have lost in most cases; 2.1.5. -in > -ing in masculine names; 2.1.6. -in > -andi in present participles. 2.2. At the same time, a few things connected to Scots have been left untouched, due to our desire to stay as close to the Norn material as possible: 2.2.1. Nouns ending at -ek which is a merging of the Scandinavian -ingand Scots -ack, -ock ( < Gaelic -ach) are preserved; they conjugate like the -ing names, with which they have mixed a lot (words like hutrikin < *hudrek, mulikin, muttikin make us believe such words at least could take the definite article or what was left of it); 2.2.2. the ending of the names of agent -er (< ON -ari) is left unchanged, despite sporadic examples of ON -ari. This decision can

be explained by the fact that -er in the given context descends both from -ari and -ir, another Old Norse suffix for agent. (The same process has f.ex. also happened in Danish.) 2.2.3. female abstract names in -in (ON -an, -ing) are left unchanged; 2.2.4. several expressions quoted by Jakobsen as being of Scandinavian origin were translated into Nynorn and are given in bold in the dictionary. 2.3. Bearing in mind we will not find many useful terms among the registered Shetland/Orkney words, why not to borrow some from Old Norse or contemporary Scandinavian languages? In this particular case a systematic approach is followed. We can reconstruct the needed words according to phonological correspondance between Norn and Old Norse or another language. For example, we need a word for 'ghost', but the ON term for it draugr is not registered in Norn records. However, we have Shetland Norn/Scots words like hjog < ON haugr, bjog < ON baugr, joga < ON auga. So by analogy we could postulate that ON draugr would give *drjog in Norn (the asterisk is used for a reconstructed form, never met in life). But there are no Norn words that begin with drj-! All of them drop the -j-: drg < ON drjgr, drl- < ON *drjl-/drl-. So our final answer is *drog < ON draugr. To be quite fair, we must admit that we lied in the beginning, there really is a Shetland word which originates from ON draugr, namely drow. However, this is rather a contamination of the respective Old Norse word and the Low Scots trow and is not a direct descendant from draugr. But whatever the truth is, the above-mentioned reconstruction of the form *drog is just a good example of our method. However, had there been no L.Sc. word trow, draugr would have most likely appeared in Norn as *drog! 3. Nynorn orthography. 3.1. The Nynorn alphabet consists of 24 letters: Aa Bb Dd () Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Yy The letter does not occur in the beginning of the word, its capital counterpart is mentioned only for completeness sake. 3.2. We have introduced several letters which have an etymological value only: 3.2.1. - for ON . This letter reads as zero sound (like in Faroese), except 2 positions: r and g, where you can read it either like [r, g] or [rd, gd] respectively. Notice that the usage of in the Nynorn dictionary is not quite consistent and is subject to Great Revision. 3.2.2. (reads as o) - for ON and a, which gave o in Norn. This applies only o in stressed syllables. In the unstressed syllables we have

decided to use the letter o: -som < -samr, as the spelling -sm has been considered lame. (But you can always contest it!). NB! ON is spelled as o, unless it is changed to a. 3.2.3. y (reads as i) - for ON y and . It has been decided not to create a separate letter for u < due to the lack of a good sign for it and, more seriously, because the change > must have likely occurred already in the Old Norse dialect of Shetland and Orkney. 3.3. Various letter combinations. 3.3.1. hj reads as [j]; 3.3.2. sj reads as English sh; 3.3.3. tsj reads as English ch. 3.4. A few more words on palatalisation. Long palatalised consonants can add the -i to the preceding vowel (especially o), although this is not a universal rule: foiljda < folda, skonjda,skoinjda < skunda, goitt < gott, but kolj < kollr, konnj < korn, knotti < knttr. We admit that in this case our orthography is not quite consistent, so there may be changes during the Great Revision too.

Grammar of Nynorn
In the process of compiling the grammar of Nynorn we have followed two main guidelines, as declared elsewhere: (1) the existing Norn material is to be used to the greatest extent, (2) remaining gaps are filled up from Old Norse or other Nordic languages, where all borrowings are rehashed according to the phonetic rules of Shetland/Orkney Norn. We base the reconstruction on Shetland Norn from the period of The Ballad of Hildina/the Lord's Prayer, i.e. when the grammar still preserved the inflectional system. Latter forms of Norn have not been considered reliable to be used as a model pattern: they seem to be much worn out and probably uttered by people who were more accustomed to use Scots than Norn (if they spoke the latter at all). Working out the endings of Nynorn we have taken most of them from the grammar of Shetland Norn. Those endings that differ or are not present in Norn are explained explicitly. Reconstructing the endings missing from Norn, we normally use their Old Norse archetypes, given a 'Norn touch' when needed. This is not a big step away from the truth, because the existing Norn endings are quite reminiscent of their Old Norse archetypes (our readers are encouraged to check the grammar of Old Norse for more detailed information on grammatical topics that has to do with Nynorn). Having tried various combinations of endings for our reconstruction we have decided to drop some of them for the sake of integrity. For instance, this applies to those endings whose status within the

inflectional system of Norn is not clear or which are considered as a result of corruption, f.ex., -a, which is often used as the definite article in masculine (ON -inn, see Grammar of Shetland Norn, A.2.1.1.a), a plural ending (Orkney Norn) or a common ending for most forms (like in the "Gryle" verse from Foula). The inclusion of such endings did not worked well in earlier test versions of Nynorn grammar, making the whole picture look a bit chaotic, so we have decided to make our reconstruction more conservative and 'Old Norse-oriented'. Whether it is right or wrong, is subject to discussion, but meanwhile our experiment continues its run (feel free to share your ideas on this matter and they will be reserved for the Great Revision). Of course, when dealing with the real Norn such a loose treatment of the material would be inappropriate, but we have full rein for it in our experimental project, so there will always be some space for reasonable imagination, where it is backed up with logical conclusions and typological evidences. Remember Hebrew - you might probably not be aware that we do not know for sure what the vowels of many Old Hebrew words were, because in the writing they were not marked (f.ex., the name of God in the Old Testament can be read either as Yahweh or Yehowah). The vocalisation of the contemporary Hebrew (the revived one) originates from different medieval traditions of reading Old Hebrew textes and uses their combination (read more on the revival of Hebrew here). This is a living example of a theoretical reconstruction that has been brought to life and continues existing as a real linguistic phenomenon. Before we proceed to the actual paradigms let us make some general points, which concern a number of orthography issues. 1. ON ir/ur endings. In Norn they have mixed into -er (ON -ar often did too), so we use the same approach in Nynorn. This system has a close parallel, as in many Faroese dialects the old endings -ir and -ur are also indistinguishable (where either -ir or -ur is chosen; this topic is covered in detail by Bjrn Hagstrom in his "ndelsevokalerna i frskan"). 2. ON i/e and u/o endings. In Old Norse i/e and u/o were phonetic variations of the same vowels (phonemes) in unstressed position. In this case the following policy has been chosen: i,u is used before the final and in the final position (except -rne in definite noun declension and comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs -(e)re), e,o in front of a consonant: hesti < hesti, lambi < lambit (Icel. and Far. lambi), but hestenon < hestinum; hvitu < hvtu, but hviton < hvtum. Marius Haegstad postulates the reverse distribution for the language of Hildina, however, the system we have chosen seems to be closer to Jakobsen's data presented in his dictionary. 3. The ON dative ending -um is spelled as -on. Shetland Norn has mostly -en or -an, and the only instance where we have -on is honon < ON honum '(to) him'. It has been decided to use the ending -on instead of -en/-an both for phonological reasons and in order to avoid its mixing together with accusative singular masculine ending of adjectives -an and the article -en: hviton vs. hvitan < ON hvtum/hvtan, heston vs. hesten < ON hestum/hestinn.

Short view A. Substantives A.1. Indefinite declension A.1.1. Masculine A.1.1.1. Strong 1 (ON a-type) A.1.1.2. Strong 2 (ON i/u-type) A.1.1.3. Weak (ON an-type) A.1.2. Feminine A.1.2.1. Strong 1 (ON -type) A.1.2.2. Strong 2 (ON i-type) A.1.2.3. Weak (ON n-type) A.1.3. Neuter A.1.3.1. Strong (ON a-type) A.1.3.2. Weak (ON an-type) A.2. Definite declension A.2.1. Masculine A.2.1.1. Strong A.2.1.2. Weak A.2.2. Feminine A.2.2.1. Strong (consonantal) A.2.2.2. Strong (vocalic) A.2.2.3. Weak A.2.3. Neuter A.2.3.1. Strong A.2.3.2. Weak B. Adjectives B.1. Strong declension B.1.1. Sonorant and polysyllabic declension B.2. Weak declension B.3. Comparative and superlative degree B.3.1. Comparative degree B.3.2. Superlative degree C. Pronouns C.1. Personal pronouns C.2. Possessive pronouns C.3. Reflexive pronouns C.4. Interrogative pronouns C.5. Indefinite and other pronouns D. Numerals D.1. Cardinal numerals D.2. Ordinal numerals E. Verbs E.1. Strong verbs E.1.1. Present E.1.2. Past E.1.3. Participles E.2. Weak verbs E.2.1. Present E.2.1.1. Type 1 (ON ja/ia/-type) E.2.1.2. Type 2 (ON -type) E.2.2. Past E.2.3. Participles E.3. Preterite-present verbs

E.4. Reflexive mode F. Syntax A. SUBSTANTIVES A.1. Indefinite declension A.1.1. Masculine A.1.1.1. Strong 1 (ON a-type) Gen.sg. -s, nom.pl. -ar. The most widespread type in masculine. hest 'horse
' Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. hest hest hesti hests Pl. hestar hesta heston hesta

A.1.1.2. Strong 2 (ON i-/u-type) Gen.sg. -s, -ar, nom.pl. -er. The genitive singular ending can vary between -s and -ar. Several words (f.ex. benk 'bench' admit either ending. rygg 'back', gest 'guest'
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. rygg, gest rygg, gest ryggi, gesti ryggar, gests Pl. rygger, gester ryggi, gesti ryggon, geston rygga, gesta

A.1.1.3. Weak (ON an-type) Gen.sg. -a, nom.pl. -ar. skuggi 'shade'
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. skuggi skugga skugga skugga Pl. skuggar skugga skuggon skugga

A.1.2. Feminine A.1.2.1. Strong 1 (ON -type) Gen.sg. -ar, nom.pl. -ar. mr 'bog, swamp'

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. mr mr mr mrar

Pl. mrar mrar mron mra

A.1.2.2. Strong 2 (ON i-type) Gen.sg. -ar, nom.pl. -er. ferd 'journey'
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. ferd ferd ferd ferdar Pl. ferder ferder ferdon ferda

A.1.2.3. Weak (ON n-type) voga 'week'

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. voga vogu vogu vogu Pl. voger voger vogon vogna

A.1.3. Neuter A.1.3.1. Strong (ON a-type) lamb 'lamb'

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. lamb lamb lambi lambs Pl. lamb lamb lambon lamba

A.1.3.2. Weak (ON an-type) joga 'eye'

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. joga joga joga joga Pl. joger joger jogon jogna

A.2. Definite declension We faced a number of problems with certain definite forms, first of all the genitive singular of feminine (strong) and the dative plural (of any gender, not found in the existing Norn material). a. The problem of the ending for dative plural is closely related to that of dative singular of masculine (ON -unum and -inum/-anum respectively). The language of Hildina has one form for Dat.sg. bardagana < ON bardaganum (weak masculine declension). Such a form would look the same as accusative/genitive plural in Nynorn, so it is not what we need. However, there can be a solution, which we can look up in the pronominal forms hana/honon 'him' < ON honum. These forms show us that the endings -ana and -onon were interchangeable (where -ana most likely represented the unstressed form). This is why we have decided to construct the ending -anon. For the strong declension -enon is chosen and in the case of plural we go for -onon. The last point can be argued and we reserve the right to admit -enon instead of -onon for this form, which saves us from creating one more artificial ending. Such a system exists in a number of Faroese dialects which do not differ between -inum (sg.) and -unum (pl.), see Hagstrm, "ndelsevokalerna i frskan", p. 160. However, bearing in mind that Old Norse and most other Scandinavian dialects with a surviving dative case strictly distinguish between dative singular and plural in the definite declension, a separate ending for dative plural like -onon looks to be more preferable. b. Genitive singular feminine (strong). Shetland Norn seems to have the indefinite ending -a/ar and definite -na. To construct the Nynorn form we have tried several options, most of them either coincided with other endings or were too far from the real Norn. In the end the following compromise was found: indef. -ar < ON -ar, def. -anar < ON -arinnar, f.ex. Nynorn rnar - Norn orna < ON rinnar. The final -r in -anar is brought in because, as we have found out in the Hildina chapter, this sound is often omitted in Norn in the final position, especially when the next word begins at a consonant. This makes it reasonable to restore the original -r when we specially need it. It is also worth mentioning that our reconstruction of the ending fits perfectly into the whole feminine definite paradigm. As mentioned below (A.2.2), like in Norn, there is no distinction made between the strong and weak definite endings in Nynorn. This goes well with most endings except genitive of singular, where the strong and weak endings considerably differed in Old Norse. But in our reconstruction the strong genitive singular ending becomes almost the same as in the weak declension (except the first vowel), so the problem is happily solved: Nom. grinden, stoljken < ON grindin, stlkan Acc. grindena, stoljkena < ON grindina, stlkuna Gen. grindanar, stoljkenar < ON grindarinnar, stlkunnar A.2.1. Masculine A.2.1.1. Strong

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. hesten, ryggen hesten, ryggen hestenon, ryggenon hestsens, ryggarens

Pl. hestarne, ryggerne hestana, ryggena hestonon, ryggonon hestana, ryggana

A.2.1.2. Weak
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. skuggen skuggan skugganon skuggans Pl. skuggarne skuggana skuggonon skuggana

A.2.2. Feminine We have decided to distinguish between the vocalic and consonantal declension in the strong feminine declension as is the case in Shetland Norn (see The language of the Ballad of Hildina and Grammar of Shetland Norn, A.1.1.1.2.b). The vocalic declension includes nouns ending at vowels and - (silent) and preserves the old Old Norse dative singular ending -ni < -inni. The consonantal declension has -en coinciding with nominative: hallen < ON hllinni, but leni < ON leiinni, nni < ON nni Another feature borrowed from Norn is that the ending of definite weak female nouns is in accusative, dative and genitive the same as in the case of the strong ones, i.e. its vocal is e instead of the o of the indefinite paradigm: accusative indefinite dimsku, but definite dimskena < *dimskuna, dative definite dimsken < *dimskunni. These are exclusive features of Norn unknown in Old Norse, Icelandic or Faroese. A.2.2.1. Strong, consonantal (mr, pl. mrar - Strong 1)
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. mren mrena mren mranar Pl. mrarne mrarne mronon mrana

A.2.2.2. Strong, vocalic (le pl. leer - Strong 2), Dative -ni le 'way'

Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. leen leena leni leanar

Pl. leerne leerne leonon leana

A.2.2.3. Weak
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. vogan vogena vogen vogenar Pl. vogerne vogerne vogonon vogana

A.2.3. Neuter As shown in Grammar of Shetland Norn, A.2.1.1.c, Norn data show two variants of the neuter nominative/accusative definite article: ON -it and -i, which refers to its later version, cf. Icelandic -i [i] and Faroese -i [i]. We have declined to use the later version too. The rest of the endings is trivial and identical to the masculine declension (except dative singular). The plural nominative/accusative ending had in Norn two variants: ene and -en/in (see Grammar of Shetland Norn, A.2.2.1.b). The former coincides with the Old Norse ending and is still present in Icelandic. The latter type is represented in Faroese and Danish. We use the Old Norse variant. Apart from the fact that the number of occurrences of en/in is noticeably higher, we would also like to point at the Norn word sotskin n.pl. 'brother(s) and sister(s)', also mentioned in A.2.2.1.b. In several other Nordic languages the latter part of the word coincides with the respective neutral plural ending of the article, cf. Icel. systkin vs. brn-in 'the children', but Far. systkini vs. brn-ini, Dan. sskende [syskn] - brn-ene. Using the word sotskin as a marker, we have chosen to use the article -en in neutral plural instead of -ene. A.2.3.1. Strong
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. lambi lambi lambenu lambsens Pl. lamben lamben lambonon lambana

A.2.3.2. Weak
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. joga joga joganu jogans Pl. jogen jogen jogonon jognana

B. Adjectives B.1. Strong declension The strong declension is used with indefinite nouns: svart hest '(a) black horse', guder btar 'good boats'. As in the case of masculine nouns, we have decided to omit the old ending -er ( < ON -r) that is still present in a few Norn adjectives (naber, uvolter). The only place where we had to use a direct borrowing from Old Norse is the genitive plural ending -ra. Norn has only one form in this case and number - gamla, which is not very illustrative about the ending due to assimilation: gamla < ON gamalla < *gamalra. The same decision to use the archaic ending -ra is often taken by Faroese grammatists (see Lockwood "Introduction into Modern Faroese", p. 46, ; Froysk orabk (1998), p. 1438, cf. also Meginfelag froyskra studenta 'Association of Faroese students'), despite the fact that the ending has disappeared from Faroese for good as well as the genitive case itself except in several types of set expressions. The feminine dative singular ending -ari is the same as in Faroese (cf. ON -ri) and is inspired by the forms arar and whtrane, see our analysis of the Ballad of Hildina. gul 'yellow', gud 'good'
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. gul, gud gulan, gudan gulon, gudon guls, guds Fem. gul, gud gula, guda gulari, gudari gular, gudar Fem. gular, gudar gular, gudar gulon, gudon gulra, gudra Neu. gult, goitt gult, goitt gulu, gudu guls, guds Neu. gul, gud gul, gud gulon, gudon gulra, gudra

Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

Masc. guler, guder gula, guda gulon, gudon gulra, gudra

B.1.1. Sonorant and polisyllabic stems that end in l,n decline in the following way (grn 'green', gamel 'old'):
Sg. Nom. Acc. Masc. grn, gamel grnan, gamblan Fem. grn, gamel grna, gambla Neu. grnt, gamelt grnt, gamelt

Dat. Gen.

grnon, gamblon grns, gamels

grnari, gamblari grnar, gamblar Fem. grnar, gamblar grnar, gamblar grnon, gamblon grnna, gamela

grnu, gamblu grns, gamels Neu. grn, gamel grn, gamel grnon, gamblon grnna, gamela

Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

Masc. grner, gambler grna, gambla grnon, gamblon grnna, gamela

The main distinction is the form of genitive plural, where r is assimiliated by l or n of the stem. Polysyllabic stems lose the vowel of the second syllable if the ending begins at a vowel (this type is widespread among strong past participles, see E.1.3.). Notice that when m and l meet in several forms of gamel, b is inserted inbetween. B.2. Weak declension The weak declension is used with definite nouns and possessive attributes consisting of possessive pronouns or genitive nouns: svarti hesten 'the black horse', gudu btarne 'the good boats' min svarti hest 'my black horse', svarti hest drengsens '(the) black horse of the boy The only change from the Old Norse paradigm is the ending -a instead -u in accusative, dative and genitive of feminine singular, which fully corresponds to many existing instances from Norn (see Grammar of Shetland Norn, B.2.3.). The plural ending remains -u as in Old Norse, cf. the form dimmodali (ibidem). The main weakness of this system is that it does not distinguish between the weak and strong forms of accusative singular feminine.
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. guli, gudi gula, guda gula, guda gula, guda Fem. gula, guda gula, guda gula, guda gula, guda Neu. gula, guda gula, guda gula, guda gula, guda

Plural of all cases and genders has the same form: gulu, gudu B.3. Degrees of comparison

B.3.1. Comparative: gulari (from gul), beter (from gud) Indeclined (like in Faroese). B.3.2. Superlative: gulast (from gul), best (from gud) Admits both strong and weak declension. However, due to the nature of the superlative meaning, which assumes the singleness, and hence definiteness, the weak superlative forms are used more often than not. C. Pronouns C.1. Personal pronouns. Reconstructed forms are marked with blue.
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. 1 eg 2 du 3. masc. hann hann honon hans 3. fem. hun hana henni hennar 3. fem. der der dem derra 3. neut. da da di dess

mog dog mjer djer min din

Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

1 vi vus vus

2 di dor dor

3. masc. der d dem derra

3. neut. de de dem derra

vora dora

C.2. Possessive pronouns min 'my' din 'your (sg.)' hans 'his' hennar 'her' dess 'its' vor 'our' dor 'your (pl.)' derra 'their'
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. min, vor min, voran minon, voron mins, vors Fem. min, vor mina, vora minari, vorari minnar, vorrar Fem. minar, vorar Neu. mitt, vort mitt, vort minu, voru mins, vors Neu. min, vor

Pl. Nom.

Masc. miner, vorer

Acc. Dat. Gen.

mina, vora minon, voron minna, vorra

minar, vorar minon, voron minna, vorra

min, vor minon, voron minna, vorra

din and dor conjugates like min and vor respectively. The other possessive pronouns are in fact genitive forms of corresponding personal pronouns and hence do not change. C.3. Reflexive pronouns Nom. Acc. Sog Dat. Sjer Gen. sin The possessive reflexive pronoun sin conjugates like min, see C.2. C.4. Interrogative pronouns (to be updated) hvar? - who? (masc.) hvat, hvatna? - what? (neut. of hvar) hvarna? - where? ner? - when? C.5. Indefinite and other pronouns (to be updated) sikk - 'such' ingen - 'none', neu. Ikke hvar - 'every' (same word as hvar?, see C.4.) annar - 'other' annarhvar - 'either' (annanhvarn, adrahvara, annahvat, adruhvaru etc.) Sikk declines like a usual adjective (see B.1.). The other pronouns in this group decline as follows: a) ingen:
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. ingen ingan ingon inges Masc. inger inga ingon ingra Fem. ingen inga ingari ingar Fem. ingar ingar ingon ingra Neu. ikke ikke ingu inges Neu. ingen ingen ingon ingra

b) annar:
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. annar annan adron annars Masc. adrer adra adron annara Fem. annar adra annari, adrari annar Fem. adrar adrar adron annara Neu. anna anna adru annas Neu. annar annar adron annara

c) hvar:
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. hvar hvarn hvaron hvars Masc. hvarer hvara hvaron hvarra Fem. hvar hvara hvarari hvarrar Fem. hvarar hvarar hvaron hvarra Neu. hvat hvat hvaru hvars Neu. hvar hvar hvaron hvarra

D. Numerals D.1. 1 en 2 tver 3 trir 4 fyre 5 fimm 6 seks 7 sj 8 tta 9 nie 10 tie 11 ellive 12 tolv 13 tretten 14 fjurten 15 fimmten 16 seksten 17 sjtjen 18 tjen 19 nitjen 20 tuttu (Ork.) Cardinal numerals

Like in Faroese, only the first 3 numerals decline. en '1' has singular and plural, while tver and trir are plural only.
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. en en(an) enon ens Masc. ener ena enon enna Masc. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. tver tv tvemon tvegga Masc. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. trir tr trimon trigga Fem. en ena enari ennar Fem. enar enar enon enna Fem. tver tver tvemon tvegga Fem. trr trr trimon trigga Neu. ett ett enu ens Neu. en en enon enna Neu. tv tv tvemon tvegga Neu. tru tru trimon trigga

D.2. Ordinal numerals 1. fyrsti 'first' 2. annar 'second' etc 3. tridi 4. fjurdi 5. femti 6. Betti 7. sjendi 8. ittendi 9. niendi 10. tiendi 11. ellivti 12. tolvti 13. trettendi etc. All of the above numerals decline as weak adjectives except annar, which is covered in Pronouns, see C.5. E. Verbs The verb declensions of Nynorn repeat in most respects those of Old Norse and Faroese. Like in the latter, no distinctions between persons is done in plural (cf. Norn vi forgiva < vit forgefa, di gava < it gefa);

optative (the old subjunctive) has only one indeclined present form. The only place where Nynorn differs from Faroese and follows Old Norse is the 1. person of singular in the strong present declension (cf. Hildina winn < ON ek vinn) - it has zero ending and i-umlaut (cf. ON ek tek, Nynorn eg tek vs. Far. eg taki). E.1. Strong verbs E.1.1. Present Strong verbs have i-umlaut in the singular except those where the root vowel is -e- or -i-. at driva 'to drive', at taka 'to take'
Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg driv du driver hann driver Pl. vi driva di driva der driva

Imperative: sg. driv(du), pl. drivi Optative: driv

i Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg tek du teker hann teker Pl. vi taka di taka der taka

Imperative: sg. tak(tu), pl. taki Optative: taki E.1.2. Past

Pres. 1. 2. 3. Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg drev du drev hann drev Sg. eg tuk du tuk hann tuk Pl. vi drivu di drivu der drivu Pl. vi tuku di tuku der tuku

E.1.3. Participles Present (active): drivandi, takandi Past (passive): driven (neu. drivi), teken (neu. teki) The neuter form of past participle is used in perfect (this participle form is called 'supine'): eg hevi drivi/teki Present participles do not change. Past participles decline like normal adjectives (gamel-type):
Sg. Masc. Fem. Neu.

Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

driven, teken driven, teken drivnon, teknon drivens, tekens Masc. drivner, tekner drivna, tekna drivnon, teknon drivena, tekena

driven, teken drivna, tekna drivnari, teknari drivnar, teknar Fem. drivnar, teknar drivnar, teknar drivnon, teknon drivena, tekena

drivi, teki drivi, teki drivnu, teknu drivens, tekens Neu. driven, teken driven, teken drivnon, teknon drivena, tekena

Pl. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

E.2. Weak verbs E.2.1. Present E.2.1.1. Type 1 (ON ja/ia/-type) at gera 'to do, make'
Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg geri du gerer hann gerer Pl. vi gera di gera der gera

Imperative: sg. ger(du), pl. geri Optative: geri E.2.1.2. Type 2 (ON -type) at kalla 'to call'
Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg kalla du kallar hann kallar Pl. vi kalla di kalla der kalla

Imperative: sg. kalla(du), pl. kalli Optative: kalli E.2.2. Past In type 1 the stem of the past tense is formed through adding -d or -t to the root: gera > gerd-. Like in Faroese, the tense has only 2 endings: singular -i and plural -u., cf. Norn sagde < ON sagi, soketu < sttu, sktu. (The plural ending -e, as in rude < *ru, vogede < vktu, is

considered in this connection as corrupted or representing a later version of Norn than the one we base our reconstruction upon.) The past tense of type 2 (kalla) caused us a bit of a problem. The only example of its past is a form from the Ballad of Hildina: kast-ans < kastai hans (no past plural is registered). his would suggest creating the same past in Nynorn: kalla. But then there would have been no distinction between past and 1. sg/1.-3. pl. of present which is kalla as well. As a solution, we have decided to use the following artificial endings to distinguish between singular and plural: -ai and -au respectively (like in Faroese). The phonetic value of these endings, namely, the spelling of , will be clarified later during the Great Revision.
Past 1. 2. 3. Past 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg gerdi du gerdi hann gerdi Sg. eg kallai du kallai hann kallai Pl. vi gerdu di gerdu der gerdu Pl. vi kallau di kallau der kallau

E.2.3. Participles Present (active): gerandi, kallandi Past (passive): gerd (neu. gert), kalla (neu. kalla) The neuter form of past participle is used in perfect (this participle form is called 'supine'): eg hevi gert/kalla. In the case of kalla we had to choose between the ending -t (archaic) and - (latter) of the neuter form. Norn preserves both types: vandet < vandar/vandat, spet < spar/spat, hoitted < httar/httat, but uppidoga < uppidagar/uppidaga. It is quite possible though, that the -et/-ed in these participles has stayed due to the influence from numerous adjectives ending in -et < -ttr, so we have decided to go for the 'silent' forms and use -- (as is the case in modern Faroese and Icelandic). The present participles do not change. The past participles decline like usual adjectives:
Sg. Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen. Masc. gerd, kalla gerdan, kallaan gerdon, kallaon gerds, kallas Fem. gerda, kallaa gerdari, kallaari gerdar, kallaar Fem. Neu.

gerd, kalla gert, kalla gert, kalla gerdu, kallau gerds, kallas Neu.

Pl.

Masc.

Nom. Acc. Dat. Gen.

gerder, kallaer gerda, kallaa gerdon, kallaon gerdra, kallara

gerdar, kallaar gerdar, kallaar gerdon, kallaon gerdra, kallara

gerd, kalla gerd, kalla gerdon, kallaon gerdra, kallara

E.3. Preterite-present verbs This group consists of the following verbs: munu 'will/shall (fut.)', skulu 'shall, must', kunnu 'can', vilja 'to wish, will', m 'may'. These are mostly used as modal or auxiliary verbs.
Pres. 1. 2. 3. Sg. eg myn, skal du myn(t), skal(t) hann myn, skal Pl. vi mynu, skulu di mynu, skulu der mynu, skulu Pl. vi myndu, skuldu di myndu, skuldu der myndu, skuldu

Past 1. 2. 3.

Sg. eg myndi, skuldi du myndi, skuldi hann myndi, skuldi

The other verbs in this group conjugate in a similar way: eg kann, vi kunnu eg kundi, vi kundu eg vil, vi vilja eg vildi, vi vildu eg m, vi m eg mitti, vi mittu (The reflex of ON eiga 'to own' is to be presented later). E.4. Reflexive mode The mode has a reflexive, reciprocal or passive meaning. It has only one ending: -st, which is added to the end of the respective form. Herewith the following phonetic changes occur: - the final r,t,d, are omitted: hann gerer > hann gerest, gert > gerst; kalla > kallast; - the strong present ending -er (ON -r) is omitted altogether: du teker > du tekst a) at taka: present: eg/du/hann tekst, vi/di/der takast

past: eg/du/hann tukst, vi/di/der tukust optative: takest past participle: tekest b) at gera: present: eg/du/hann gerest, vi/di/der gerast past: eg/du/hann gerdest, vi/di/der gerdust optative: gerest past participle: gerst c) at kalla: present: eg/du/hann kallast, vi/di/der kallast past: eg/du/hann kallaist, vi/di/der kallaust optative: kallest past participle: kallast F. SYNTAX The syntax is similar to that of Old Norse. The word order is rather free besides one strict rule, which requires the conjugated verb to be the second member of the sentence (the first member can normally be a subject, object or adverbial modifier): Drengen sjer stolkena. 'The boy sees the girl.' Nu sjer drengen stolkena. 'Now the boy sees the girl.' Notice that a member of a sentence can consist of more than one grammatical word: Vi furu til Lervikar i vr. 'We went to Lerwick (in) this spring' [I vr] furu vit til Lervikar. '[(In) This spring] we went to Lerwick' (modifier [i vr]) Eg s hvita hesten. 'I saw the white horse.' [Hvita hesten] s eg ikke. '[The white horse] I did not see.' (object [hvita hesten]) Genitive attributes are preferably used in postposition. In this case Nynorn joins Icelandic and German, the only Germanic languages which preserve the old four-case system and at the same time where the genitive attribute is used in post-position. Nouns with a genitive attribute or possessive pronoun do not use the definite article. hund drengsens 'the dog of the boy' hest stoljkenar 'the horse of the girl'

Nynorn texts
1. Logaritm Nynorn translation: Logaritm er flokk matematiskra funksjona loga, sen uppfyller: loga(ax) = x

fyri all x. a heder grunnek logaritms. loga(y) er s da tal (da stig), sen skal upplyfta a i, til a f y, og er di anduvsfunksjonen av eksponensfunksjonen ax. Teger man sen dm log10(100) er utgngen 2, av di at 102 = 100. Tv mest nota logaritm eru desimallogaritm ve grunntalenu 10 og naturligt logaritm ve grunntalenu e (2,71828...). Da naturliga logaritmi er skilmarka sen:

English translation: Logarithms are a class of mathematical functions loga which meet: loga(ax) = x for all x. a is called the base of the logarithm. loga(y) is therefore the number (the power), to which a must be raised in order to produce y, and is consequently the inverse function to the exponential function ax. If we take as example log10(100) the result is 2 because 102 = 100. The two most common logarithms are decimal logarithms with the base of 10 and the natural logarithm of the base e (2.71828...). The natural logarithm is defined as:

Matematikkerar kalla oft da naturliga logaritmi fyri bara logaritm (log), mien dir marka 10-tali ve desimallogaritmi (log10). insjenjramli tder logaritm tvartimuti desimallogaritm, mien da naturliga logaritmi heder ln. D insjenjrar var dir sen uppfunnu lummareknera, hever derra markin vorden lmenn. Logaritm eru mella annars nota umreknin av ymiskon enekon og virdon, og logaritmsmt sjst etsa oft i krosslaston fyri viss grafrit. Rekninarregler Fyri all logaritm gilder:

Umreknin til annara grunntala Logaritm kann umreknast fr enu grunntali til annars ve fylgandi formulu:

Essi formula kann utleast fylgandi htt:

English translation - Danish tanslation - Faroese translation - Icelandic translation Vocabulary: Reconstructed Norn forms or Nynorn neologisms based on original Norn words are marked with blue, direct borrowings from other languages are in brown.
logaritm (nn., pl. -) logarithm flokk (nm., pl. -ar) group sen, e which matematisk (G.pl.) mathematic funksjon (nf., pl. -er) function uppfylla (vw., pres. ind. 3.sg., past -ti) - to meet (some condition), Dan. opfylde heda (vs., pres. ind. 3 sg., past hjed) - to be called grunnek (nm., pl. -ar), grunntal (nn., pl -) base da that tal (nn., pl. -) number stig (nn. pl. -) power upplyfta i (vw., past -i) - to raise smth., Dan. oplyfte anduvsopposite taga (vs., pres. ind. 3 sg. teger, past tug) to take dm (nn., pl. -) example utgng (nm., pl. -ar) result av of di Dat. of da 'that' av di at because hava (vw., past -di) - to have markin (nf., gen. -ar) - notation varga (vs., past varg, pp. vorden) - to become lmenn common mella (Gen.) between annar other mella annars - inter alia, Far. millum anna, Icel. meal annars reknin (nf., gen. -ar) - calculation, Icel. reikningur, Far. rokning ymisk - various, different, Far. ymiskur, Icel. miss enek (nm., pl. -ar) - entity, unit virdi (nn., pl. -) value mt (nn., pl. -) - scale, Far. mt etsa also sjst - to be seen, sj - to see krosslast (nf., pl. -er) - coordinate system (Norn last - area of arable land; certain measure) fyri (Acc.) for viss - certain, definite, Far. vissur grafrit (nn., pl. -) - graph, plot, Far. ritmynd,

tv (neut., masc. tvir) two mest (superl. of gud 'good') - most nota (vw., past -ai, pp. -a) - to use, cf. Norn not 'use, benefit', Icel. nota naturlig natural skilmarka (vw., past -ai, pp. -a) - to define matematikker (nm., pl. -ar) matematician kalla (vw., past -ai) - to call oft often da (here) - the definite article used with nouns preceeded by adjectives bara - just, simply, Icel. Far. bara mien while dir (masc.) they marka (vw., past -ai) - to mark insjenjr (nm., pl. -ar) - engineer ml (neut., pl. -) language tda (vw., past -di) - to mean tvartimuti - conversely, cf. Far. tvrturmti d as, since, Dan. Nor. da uppfinna (vs., past -fann) - to invent, design, Far. uppfinna, Dan. opfinde lummarekner (nm., pl. -ar) - pocket calculator, Far. lummaroknari

Icel. lnurit regla (nf., pl. -er) - rule, Far. Icel. regla all all gilda (vw, past. gilti) - to be valid umreknin (nf., gen. -ar) - conversion, Icel. umreikningur, Far. umrokning umreknast (vw., past -aist) - to be conversed fr (Dat.) from en one til (Gen.) to ve (Dat.) with fylga (vw., past -di) - to follow, ON fylgja fylgandi the following formula (fw., pl. -er) formula essi (masc., fem.) this kunnu (pres. kann, past. kundi) - can utleast (vw., past -leddist) - to be derived, Far. tleiast (Acc.) on htt (nm., pl. -er) - way, manner fylgandi htt - as follows, Far. fylgjandi htt

English translation: Logarithms are a class of mathematical functions loga which meet: loga(ax) = x For all x. a is called the base of the logarithm. loga(y) is therefore the number (the power), to which a must be raised in order to produce y, and is consequently the inverse function to the exponential function ax. If we take as example log10(100) the result is 2 because 102 = 100. The two most common logarithms are decimal logarithms with the base of 10 and the natural logarithm of the base e (2.71828...). The natural logarithm is defined as:

Mathematicians often call the natural logarithm simply logarithm (log), marking 10 in decimal logarithms (log10). Conversely, the engineers' logarithm (log) is the decimal one and the natural logarithm is designated as ln. Since it was engineers that designed the pocket calculator, their notation has become prevailing. Logarithms are used, inter alia, in the calculation of certain entities and values, and logarithmic scales are often seen in the coordinate systems for certain graphs. Calculation rules

All logarithms obey the following rules:

Conversion to other bases A logarithm can be converted from one base to another through the following formula:

This formula can also be derived as follows:

Danish translation: Logaritmer er en klasse af matematiske funktioner loga, der opfylder: loga(ax) = x for alle x. a kaldes for logaritmens grundtal. loga(y) er alts det tal (den potens), som a skal oplftes i, for at f y, og er derfor den inverse funktion til eksponentialfunktionen ax. Tager man for eksempel log10(100) er resultatet 2, fordi 102 = 100. De to mest anvendte logaritmer er 10-talslogaritmen med grundtal 10 og den naturlige logaritme med grundtallet e (2,71828...). Den naturlige logaritme er defineret som:

Matematikere kalder ofte den naturlige logaritme for blot logaritmen (log), mens de pointerer 10-tallet i 10-talslogaritmen (log10). Omvendt er ingenirerens logaritme (log) den med grundtallet 10, og den naturlige logaritme betegnes ln. Da ingenirerne var dem, der konstruerede lommeregneren, har deres betegnelser vundet indpas. Logaritmer bruges bl.a. i udregning af visse enheder og vrdier, ligesom logaritmiske skalaer ofte ses i koordinatsystemerne til visse grafer. Regneregler For alle logaritmer glder:

Omregning til andre baser En logaritme kan omregnes fra en base til en anden med flgende formel:

Denne formel kan udledes p flgende mde:

Faroese translation: Logaritma er ein blkur av stddfriligum (matematiskum) funksjnum loga, i uppfyllir: loga(ax) = x

fyrir ll x. a er kalla fyri grunntali hj logaritmu. loga(y) er soleiis ta tali (ta stigi), sem man skal seta a , til a fa y, og er t andstdda funskjnin til stigfunksjnina ax. Tekur man sum dmi log10(100), er rsliti 2, av t at 102 = 100. Tvr mest brktu logaritmurnar eru desimallogaritma vi grunntalinum 10 og natrlig logaritma vi grunntalinum e (2,71828...). Natrliga logaritman er sett sum:

Stddfringar kalla oft natrligu logaritmuna fyri bara logaritmu (log), mean teir merkja 10-tali hj desimallogaritmuni (log10). verkfringamli er logaritman mtsett desimallogaritmuni, og natrliga logaritman eitur ln. Av t at verkfringar vru teir i uppfunnu lummaroknarar, gjrdust teirra fakligu heiti almenn. Logaritmur eru millum anna brktar trokning av vissum eindum og virum, lka sum logramt sggjast ofta krossskipanum fyri vsar ritmyndir. Umrokningsreglur: Fyri allar logaritmur er galdandi:

Umrokningur til onnur grunntl Logaritma kann umroknast fr einum grunntali til anna vi fylgjandi frymlinum:

Hesin frymilin kann tleiast fylgjandi htt:

Icelandic translation: Logri (lgarimi) er flokkur strfrilegra falla loga, sem uppfyllir: loga(ax) = x fyrir ll x. a heitir grunnur logra. loga(y) er annig s tala (a veldi), sem a hefja a , til a f t y, og er v andhverfa vsisfallsins ax. Ef vi tkum sem dmi log10(100) er tkoman 2, af v a 102 = 100. Tveir mest notair lograr eru tugalogri me grunntlunni 10 og nttrulegur logri me grunntlunni e (2,71828...). Nttrulegur logri er skilgreindur sem:

Strfringar kalla oft nttrulega logrann einfaldlega logra (log), en jafnframt merkja 10-tluna vi tugalogrann (log10). mli verkfringa vsar logri aftur mti til tugalogra, mean nttrulegi logrinn heitir ln. annig a vasareiknivlar voru hannaar af verkfringunum, hefur eirra merking ori ofan . Lograr eru meal annars notair treikningu miss konar eininga og gilda auk ess a logramlikvara m oft sj hnitakerfum hj kvenum lnuritum. Umreikningsreglur: Fyrir alla logra gildir.

Umreikningur til annarra grunntalna Logri getur veri umreiknaur fr einni grunntlu til annarrar me eftirfarandi formlu:

essi formula getur veri leidd t eftirfarandi htt:

2. Drying lamb meat in Shetland Nynorn translation: Et frskt fyritak, Faroe Foods LTD, atlar at bygga en sturan sjall i Lervik i Hjetlandi til at turka kjd i. Efter hemasieni Shetland News vunar fyritaki at turka upp i 6000 krov um ri at utflytsja til milljan annars Denmark. Bnder i Hjetlandi fena um atlena, ti djer vuna at f mere fyri erne og sleppast kann unden at flytsja livandi s til Skotlands. Sen tillag f b sltervirken i Hjetlandi mukki at gera. (translation follows soon) Faroese original: Ein froysk fyritka, Faroe Foods LTD, tlar at byggja ein stran hjall Lerwick Hetlandi til at turka kjt . Sambrt heimasuni Shetland News vnar fyritkan at turka upp 6.000 krov um ri at tflyta til millum anna Danmarkar. Bndur Hetlandi fegnast um tlanina, t teir vnta sr meira fyri rnar og sleppast kann undan at flyta livandi sey til Skotlands. Harafturat fa bi slturvirkini Hetlandi ngv at gera. Source: http://www.kringvarp.fo/index.asp?s=49&Id=56129

(translation follows soon) 3. Laying undersea cable between Scotland and Faroes. Nynorn translation: B i Hjetlandi ok i Orknjon hava de sturar vuner samskiftakadli, sen Froya Tele myn legga milla Frja og Skotlands i sommer. Kadlen skal i land b i Hjetlandi og Orknjon. Orkningar fena lika um nyjan Froya

Tele-kadel. I Orknjon fenar Jim Wallace, sen er lim i skotska tingenu, um frska kadlen. Men hann teker ut, at da stender etsa at reda ut digitalt samskift innenja, so aller f bredband. I Hjetlandi hever Tavish Scott, sen er etsa lim i skotska tingenu, gevi upp BT, British Telecom, at taka kasti, sen kadlen gever hjetlendingon fyri beter og sktere samskift ve umhemen. Etta er fyrsta ti, sen hjetlendingar f ennan bolbak fyri gdasifullu digitalu samskifti. Serli fyri drivlivi i Hjetlandi varger etta et sturt framstig, skrivar hemasidan Shetland News. Efter attel BT um mukki sktere samband fr Hjetland ikke glei av henni fyrr en i 2011, men nu atlar Tavish Scott at skonda BT. (translation follows soon) Faroese original: Bi Hetlandi og Orknoyggjunum hava tey strir vnir til samskiftiskaalin, sum Froya Tele fer at leggja millum Froyar og Skotland summar. Kaalin skal land bi Hetlandi og Orknoyggjunum. Orknoyingar fegnast eisini um nggja Froya Telekaal. Orknoyggjunum fegnast Jim Wallace, sum er limur skotska tinginum, um froyska kaalin. Men hann leggur dent , at neyugt er eisini at menna talgilda samskifti innanoyggja, so ll fa breiband. Hetlandi hevur Tavish Scott, sum eisini er limur skotska parlamentinum, heitt BT, British Telecom, um at taka av og gagnnta mguleikarnar, sum kaalin gevur hetlendingum fyri betri og skjtari samskifti vi umheimin. Hetta er fyrstu fer, hetlendingar fa hendan mguleikan fyri dygdargum talgildum samskifti. Serliga hj vinnulvinum Hetlandi verur hetta eitt strt framstig, skrivar heimasan Shetland News. Sambrt eina tlan hj BT um ngv skjtari samband fr Hetland ikki glei av henni fyrr enn 2011, men n tlar Tavish Scott at skunda undir BT. Source: http://www.kringvarp.fo/index.asp?s=49&Id=41315 (translation follows soon) 4. Gunnie Moberg (1941 - 2007) Nynorn translation: Til at bera da ver skal du taka dina ti og vitsja fotografisojning Gunnie Moberg um Tria jaflokka - Frjar, Orknjar og Hjetland. Moberg, boren i Sverige og uppdragen sen fotografer, siter i Orknjon og er kanske best kend i Hjetlandi fyri sina buk "Hjetlands stol" og senest prentau "Hjetland", ena av 'Island Trilogy' utgvon. Moberg er kend b i hemenon og i Bretlandi sen mester i sinu tolkekasti og tuk upp ve at legga til urval av sinon fotografon til soindar i bygging skotska tingsens. (translation follows soon) English original:

IN ORDER to do it justice, you must take your time when visiting Gunnie Moberg's exhibition of photographs of Three Island Groups - Faroe, Orkney, and Shetland. Moberg, born in Sweden and trained as a photographer, lives in Orkney and is probably best known in Shetland for her book The Shetland Story, and the more recent publication Shetland, one of the Island Trilogy publications. Nationally and internationally recognised as a master of her trade, she has been commissioned to provide a selection of her photographs for the Scottish Parliament building. Source: http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/features/Review Photographic triumph.htm

Nynorn Tutorial (Shetland version)

1. Lesson One 1.1. Alphabet. Common reading rules. - 1.2. Strong substantives. Plural 2. Lesson Two 2.1. Orthography - 2.2. Weak substantives. Plural - 2.3. Personal pronouns 3. Lesson Three 3.1. Orthography (cont.) - 3.2. Adjectives. Introduction - 3.3. Verbs. Present tense. Introduction 4. Lesson Four 4.1. Accusative. Strong declension - 4.2. Prepositions with accusative 4.3. Verbs. Present tense. Strong declension 5. Lesson Five 5.1. Accusative of weak substantives - 5.2. Accusative of personal pronouns - 5.3. Verbs. Present tense. Weak conjugation 6. Lesson Six 6.1. Irregular plural - 6.2. Accusative of adjectives - 6.3. Possessive pronouns 7. Lesson Seven 7.1. Dative. Strong substantives - 7.2. Prepositions with dative - 7.3. Past tense of strong verbs 8. Lesson Eight 8.1. Dative of weak substantives - 8.2. Past tense of weak verbs - 8.3. Questions and interrogative pronouns 9. Lesson Nine 9.1. Dative of adjectives - 9.2. Interrogative pronouns (cont.) - 9.3. Declension of adjectives in -el,-en,-er.

Lesson One
1. Alphabet. Common reading rules.

The Nynorn alphabet consists of 24 letters: Aa Bb Dd () Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Yy The letter never occurs at the beginning of the word, so its capital counterpart is mentioned only for completeness sake. The following counterparts: letters are pronounced as their English/Scots

b,f,g,h,k,m,p,v, d,l,n,s,t r is a trilled rhotic sound as in Scots, Gaelic or Spanish ng is uttered as ng + g hv reads as [hw] except Foula and Westside where it is uttered as [kv] j reads as English y in young hj reads as j (English y) sj reads as English sh; tj reads as English ch. One consonant letter, , reads as zero sound (like in Faroese), except 2 positions: r and g, where you can pronounce it either like [r, g] or [rd, gd] respectively. The letter g in the adjective ending -ig is silent, i.e. the ending reads as [i]. The vowel letters are pronounced according to rules, common for most European languages: a reads as a in French and German (or Arabic Allah akbar) o reads as o in English song u reads as oo in English spoon i reads as a mix of i and ee in English bit, steel e reads as e in English bed reads as Shetlandic ui in guid, German or French eu (very close to English ur in hurt) reads as o y reads as i NB! The pronunciation of a,o,u, + ll,nn,tt,pp,kk may have dialectal variations which are to be covered in the following lessons. The letters ,y, refer to Old Norse sounds which have merged with other sounds or become silent during the history of Norn. The stress in Nynorn normally falls onto the first syllable, except in borrowings from other languages where other syllables can be stressed.

The vowels in the stressed syllable are long, unless followed by a long consonant (marked with two consonant letters) or a group of consonants. Examples: long vowels: hus 'house', taka 'to take', dag 'day', voga 'week' short vowels: hest 'horse', drengi 'boy', efter 'after', kerling 'old woman' long consonants: miss 'loss', hvessa 'to sharpen', sommer 'summer' Exercise 1.1. Read the following words: bera 'to carry', joga 'eye', udal 'allodial', hval 'whale', tjug 'thigh', hnga 'to hang', bjrga 'to save', hjog 'hill', sjalder 'oyster-catcher', miss 'loss', njavi 'fist', nyr 'kidney', bjrg 'rocky hill', jl 'Christmas', ting 'court; district', sj 'to see', hvessa 'to sharpen'. Sometimes it can be handy to use the dialectal orthography: thus, hval, hvessa should be written in Foula/Westside Nynorn as kval, kvessa. 2. Strong substantives. Plural As in German and Scandinavian languages, all substantives in Nynorn are divided into two main classes, strong (S) and weak (W). It has nothing to do with force or weakness, this naming is purely conventional and refers to two main declension types. As a rule, the strong nouns, with a few exceptions, end in a consonant (hest, kerling, hus), while the weak ones always end in a vowel (drengi, voga, joga). Another characteristic common to all substantives is gender. As in Faroese, Icelandic and German, there are three genders in Nynorn: masculine (M), feminine (F) and neuter (N). The gender of a substantive is to be checked in the dictionary. First we introduce the strong substantives and how they form their plural form. Masculine and feminine nouns add either -ar or -er, while the neuter nouns stay unchanged. The plural ending in each particular case is as given in the dictionary. The majority of masculine nouns has ar in plural, while -er seems to be more typical for feminine nouns. Masculine 1. hest 'horse' - hestar 'horses'; 2. gest 'guest' - gester 'gests' Feminine 1. kerling 'old woman' - kerlingar 'old women'; 2. ferd 'journey' - ferder 'journeys' Neuter kast 'chance' - kast 'chances' Exercise 1.2.

Change the following words to plural (the class of the word is given in the parantheses - e.g., FS2 stands for feminine strong, type 'ferd'): dag 'day'(MS1), toft 'thwart; ruin'(FS2), fjord 'fjord'(MS2), hus 'house'(NS), rug 'heap'(FS1), fisk 'fish'(MS1), sild 'herring'(FS2), rum 'space; room'(NS), sta 'place'(MS2), mess 'mass'(FS1)

Lesson Two
1. Orthography In Shetland Mainland Nynorn, the double consonants ll and nn are regularly pronounced palatalized: [lj,nj]. The same change occurs in ld,lt,nt,nd: [ljd,ljd,njd,njt], although exceptions are possible (check the dictionnary). Several vowel changes occur before [lj] and [nj]: a reads as [], which is equivalent to a in English cap; o and reads as [oi] Palatal consonants lj,nj are formed with additional articulation by which the body of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate (as if j followed). The sound nj is like Spanish , lj is like Spanish ll. Exercise 2.1. Read the following words: a) hann, ull, Dumbvilla, mella, kalla, full, enni, gronn, annehvar, kenna, bnn; b) kelda, mond, millablanda, hald, golti, brand, folda In the dialectal orthography for Mainland Nynorn hann, kalla, hald, bnn, millablanda are spelled as hnnj, kllja, b(i)nnj, hljd, milljablnjda. **************************************************************** (This part of the lesson has only to do with the Foula/Westside dialect and can be skipped by those only interested in Mainland Nynorn) In Foula/Westside Nynorn, ll and nn are read as [dl] and [dn] respectively. Additionally, rn often changes to [dn] (possibly also rl). The above mentioned vowel changes caused by llj and nnj do not occur. Exercise 2.2. Read the following words with Foula/Westside pronunciation: all, ill, inni, bjarn, korn, henni, ern, enni In the Foula/Westside Norn dialectal notation the above words are spelled as adl, idl, idni, bjadn, kodn, edn, edni. Exercise 2.3. Read the words from exercise 2.1. with the Foula/Westside pronunciation. Notice that Shetland Mainland bnn [boinnj] 'child' corresponds to Foula/Westside bjarn [bjadn].

**************************************************************** 2. Weak substantives. Plural. As we said in Lesson One, Ch. 2, substantives in Nynorn are divided into strong and weak. We have already started covering the strong declension in the previous chapter, now let us introduce its weak counterpart. As already known, weak nouns always end in a vowel: -i for masculine, -a for feminine and neuter. Weak substantives form their plural by replacing -i with -ar (M), -a with -er (F) or -u (N): M. drengi 'boy, lad' - drengar 'boys' F. floga 'fly'- floger 'flies' N. joga 'eye' - jogu 'eyes' Exercise 2.4. Change the following words to plural: dokka 'young girl', mgi 'stomach' (MW), jora 'ear' (NW), bogi 'curve; small bay' (MW), nyra 'kidney' (NW), nalta 'grain, particle' (FN), mni 'moon' (MW), skiva 'slice; piece of turf' (FW) 3. Personal pronouns Sg. 1. person 2. person eg 'I' Pl. vi 'we' dir 'they (M)' der 'they (F)' de 'they (N)'

du 'you (sg.)' di 'you (pl.)' Fem. hun 'she' Neu. da 'it'

3. person Masc. hann 'he'

Hann/dir refer to masculine names, hun/der refer to feminine names and da stands for neuter ones. This has nothing to do with animacy, which differentiates pronouns in English, Norwegian or Danish. For example, Nynorn sten (M) 'stone' should be referred to as hann 'he' (never da 'it'!) and stenar 'stones' as dir. Analogically, hun 'she' stands for rug (F) 'heap' and der stands for rugar 'heaps'. On the other hand, bnn (N) 'child' would be referred to as da 'it', bnn 'children' as de. The use of the same pronouns for humans and inanimate objects is an ancient Germanic feature, still valid in Faroese, Icelandic and German. When a masculine and feminine substantive meet together, the neuter plural pronoun is used: Johan (M) og Maria (F), sten (M) og rug (F) 'a stone and a heap' should be referred to as de (N). This is another old trait, no longer relevant to German but still vital in Icelandic and Faroese. Exercise 2.5.

Replace the following words with the corresponding pronoun (third person) or several different pronouns when applied: mgi rum joga fjord skiver nyru hus mnar nalta ruger Johann og Hendrik bnn og hus Hendrik og Astrid rug og skiva Astrid og Maria -

Lesson Three
1. Orthography. The long consonants tt,pp,kk and p,t,k before l or n everywhere in Nynorn acquire the so called preaspiration, i.e. a short preceding [h]: [ht,htl,htn,hp,hpl,hpn,hk,hkl,hkn]. Exercise 3.1. Read the following words: a) bakk 'bank, slope; edge, bank', ikke 'not', mukki 'much', mitt 'my (N)', rtt 'red' (N), upp 'up', knippa 'to break asunder', knotti 'ball', neppa 'to join together', skinnalepp 'remains'; b) ketling 'kitten', netla 'to trifle with one's work', bjokl 'high dorsal-fin of a whale', mukler 'big (pl. M)', driplet 'spotted', skiplaga 'to build aircastles'. In Mainland Nynorn, o, change to [oi] in front of tt: gott [goiht] 'good (N)', ntt [noiht] 'night', tottlig [toihtli] 'comely, neat'. Foula/Westside Nynorn is free of this change. The preaspiration of tt,pp,kk and p,t,k + n,l is obligatory in Icelandic and Faroese. It also occurs in several Norwegian and Swedish dialects, albeit less regularly there. Outside of the Scandinavian area, stops p,t,k are widely preaspirated in Scottish Gaelic (apparently borrowed from the language of the Vikings). Non-existent in today's Shetland live speech, preaspiration was still sporadically heard in a number of old Norn words recorded in Shetland by the Faroese linguist Jakob Jakobsen in the end of the 19th century. 2. Adjectives. Introduction. Nynorn adjectives take genders, cases and numbers. It means that, for instance, in the expression "white horse" the word "white" must take the same gender, number and case as the word "horse".

Such a dependency from the substantive is called 'agreement': the adjective 'agrees' in gender, number and case with the substantive it describes. The initial singular forms of masculine and feminine have no ending and do thus not differ: gul 'yellow' (M,F). The neuter form takes the ending -t: gult 'yellow' (N). If the adjective ends in -d or -, in neuter either consonant changes to -t, giving double -tt after a vowel or single -t in case there is a preceding consonant: blid 'kind-hearted' (M,F) - blitt 'kind-hearted' (N), r 'red' (M,F) - rtt 'red' (N), bald 'bold; quick; skilful' - balt. Adjectives which end in a vowel require in neuter double -tt too: gr 'grey' (M,F) - grtt 'grey' (N). Adjectives ending in a consonant + t undergo no changes in neuter: bjart 'cold (of wind); biting, sharp (of weather)'. The adjective gud 'good' has an irregular neuter form gott. NB! Do not forget about preaspiration in words like blitt, rtt and additionally the [o]-[oi] alternation as in gr-grtt, gott. The plurals of adjectives are -er (M), -ar (F) and zero in N (the plural N form is identical to the singular M/F): M. gul - guler, r - rer, blid - blider, gud guder F. gul - gular, r - rar, blid - blidar, gud gudar N. gult - gul, rtt - r, blitt - blid, gott - gud Examples: M. gud drengi 'a good boy' - guder drengar 'good boys' F. svart floga 'a black fly' - svartar floger 'black flies' N. blitt hjarta 'a kind heart' - blid hjartu 'kind hearts' NB! Don't confuse the endings of substantives and adjectives! Masculine and feminine substantives may take either -ar or -er in plural endings, while for adjectives it is strictly -er for M and -ar for F! The following combinations are possible: hviter hestar 'white horses' (M) guler vegger 'yellow walls' (M) langar ferder 'long journeys' (F) blidar kerlingar 'kind-hearted old women' (F) Exercise 3.2. Change the following adjectives to neuter: Hvit lang stur 'big' gud

los 'loose, free' bleg 'light-brown' bjart Exercise 3.3. Change the following phrases to plural: svart hest rtt joga bald hund gr vegg gul knotti (MW) 'ball' blid dokka gott hus 3. Verbs. Present tense. Introduction. We begin our study of the Nynorn verbal system with two very common verbs: at vara 'to be' and at heda 'to be called'. At is a particle which means 'to' as in English 'to be' and is only used with infinitives. There is another particle - ikke, which means 'not' and is always placed after the verb. Nynorn does not have the form 'do not', ikke always provides the negation alone: at vara 'to be': eg er - I am du ert - you (sing.) are, thou art hann/hun/da er - he/she/it is vi,di,dir eru - we/you (pl.)/they are eg er ikke - I am not du er ikke - you (sing.) are not etc. Eg er mann. Hann er ikke hest. Hestar eru ikke guler. I am a man. He is not a horse. Horses are not yellow. NB! Adjectives after the word 'to be' agree with the substantives in gender and number. at heda 'to be called': eg hedi - I am called, my name is du heder - you (sing.) are called, your (sing.) name is hann/hun/da heder - he/she/it is called, his/her/its name is vi,di,dir heda - we/you (pl.)/they are called, our/your (pl.)/their name is eg hedi ikke - my name is not etc. Eg hedi Magnus. Hon heder Astrid. Hann heder ikke Torkel. De heder Hendrik og Maria. Hon er blid. Da er rtt. Dir eru balder. Der eru baldar. I am Magnus. Her name is Astrid. His name is not Torkel. These are Hendrik and Maria. She is kind-hearted. It is red. They (M) are bold. They (F) are bold.

Exercise 3.4. Translate the following phrases: Our names are Torsten and Bjarnhild. Your (sing.) name is not Sunneva. You (sing.) are not a horse. You (pl.) are not horses. Journeys are long. White horses are kind-hearted.

Lesson Four
1. Accusative. Strong declension. So far we have been dealing with the initial form of nouns which is called the nominative case. In Nynorn there are three additional cases. One of them is called the accusative. The accusative case is used for the object of verbs and with a number of prepositions. The difference between nominative and accusative can be rather difficult to grasp for those whose native language is English. There are several tips you can follow in order to distinguish between the cases: the subject is normally in the nominative (the acting body), the object of the action is normally in the accusative (the patient). There is a golden rule: normally there would not be two nominatives within the same phrase (the main exception being the verbs like 'to be', 'become', 'be called/named', 'is like' and similar). In fact, English is not totally free of cases - they are still used with the personal pronouns I, he, she, we, they (corresponds to nominative), which change to me, him, her, us, them (in our case corresponds to accusative) respectively. So if you are in doubt as to which case, nominative or accusative to use in a given situation, you can check it by replacing the substantive with a personal pronoun instead. Say, we are dealing with the sentence A dog is biting a man. Which case(s) would a dog and a man have in Nynorn? Replace a dog with I and a man with he and you will get I am biting him. The unchanged pronoun (I, he) corresponds to nominative, the changed (me, him) refers to accusative (at least in this particular case). Hence a dog will have nominative and a man - accusative. See also our brief introduction to the case system: http://www.nornlanguage.110mb.com/index.php?term#case In the strong declension, accusative (A) is the same as nominative (N) except for the plural of masculine. The first masculine class (pl. -ar) has the ending -a in accusative plural, while the second masculine class (pl. -er) takes the ending -i:
Sg. M. N hest - A hest, N fjord - A fjord N. N kast - A kast Pl. N hestar - A hesta, N fjorder - A fjordi N kast - A kast

F. N ferd - A ferd, N kerling - A kerling N ferder - A ferder, N kerlingar - A kerlingar

Exercise 4.1. Change the following words to the nominative and accusative of plural:

dag 'day' (MS1), toft 'thwart; ruin' (FS2), fjord 'fjord' (MS2), hus 'house' (NS), rug 'heap' (FS1), fisk 'fish' (MS1), sild 'herring' (FS2), rum 'space; room' (NS), sta? 'place' (MS2), mess 'mass' (FS1). 2. Prepositions with accusative 'onto' i 'into' ve 'close to, near' um 'about' Examples: i hus 'into a house/into houses', um Hjetland 'about Shetland', hesta 'onto horses', ve fjord 'near a fjord', ve fjordi 'near fjords'. Exercise 4.2. Translate the following phrases into Nynorn using the words from the preceding lessons: close to ruins, about horses, near Shetland, into houses, onto heaps 3. Verbs. Present tense. Strong declension. Like substantives, verbs in Nynorn are divided into strong and weak, depending on how they form their past tense. Strong verbs roughly correspond to English irregular verbs (like bite-bit-bitten, stand-stoodstood), while weak verbs are reminiscent of English regular verbs, which form their past by adding -ed. In this lesson we will show how strong verbs form their present. The present tense in Nynorn corresponds both to English present simple (I go) and present progressive (I'm going). The endings are as follows:
eg - (zero) du -er vi -a di -a

hann,hun,da -er dir,der,de -a

As in Faroese, the plural of the present tense looks the same as the infinitive. Further on, we are going only to give one form for plural: at bita 'to bite': eg bit 'I bite' du biter hann biter vi bita Verbs with radical -a- and -o- (i.e. with a or o in the root) change the vowel to -e- in singular forms: at standa 'to stand', at koma 'to come': eg stend, kem du stender, kemer hann stender, kemer vi standa,koma

Several verbs conjugate irregularly, e.g., at sj 'to see': eg se du ser hann ser vi sj At vara and at heda from Lesson Three belong to the strong verbs too, albeit having some irregularities. Exercise 4.3. Conjugate the following strong verbs in the singular: skina 'to shine', taga 'to take', sita 'to sit', sj 'to see', halda 'to hold', koma 'to come', lega 'to play', ligga 'to lie', ganga 'to go', geva 'to give', finna 'to find' Exercise 4.4. Translate the following phrases: I'm seeing horses. She is going into a house. We are sitting near a heap. A dog is biting fishes. Old women find children.

Lesson Five
1. Accusative of weak substantives. In Lesson Four we became acquainted with the accusative case and its form in the strong declension. Now let us see how the accusative is formed with weak substantives. In singular, the masculine words have the ending -a, -u applies for feminine, while neuter stays unchanged with the ending -a. As for plural, the situation is the same as in the strong declension: masculine nouns have -a, while in feminine and neuter ones the accusative form is equal to its nominative counterpart:
Sg. F. floga - flogu N. hjarta - hjarta Pl. floger - floger hjartu - hjartu

M. drengi - drenga drengar - drenga

NB: neuter (singular and plural) and feminine (plural) never distinguish between nominative and accusative in any declension types. Exercise 5.1. Translate the following phrases: I'm seeing boys. He's seeing girls. A dog bites a boy. Flies don't bite girls. 2. Accusative of personal pronouns
Sg. 1. eg 'I' - mog 'me' 3. hann 'he' - hann 'him' Pl. vi 'we' - vus 'us' dir 'they M' - d 'them M'

2. du 'you' - dog 'you Acc' di 'you pl.' - dor 'you pl. Acc

3. hun 'she' - hana 'her' 3. da 'it' - da 'it Acc'

der 'they F' - der 'them F' de 'they N' - de 'they N Acc'

Examples: Eg se dog 'I'm seeing you (sg.)'. Hann kenner hana, men ikke dor 'He knows her, but not you (pl.)'. Der finna d 'They (females) find them (males)'. Exercise 5.2. Translate the following phrases: a) I know them (M), but not him. A dog is biting you (sg.). They (F) don't find us. b) about me, near her, into that, about us, onto them (M), near them (N) 3. Verbs. Present tense. Weak conjugation In Lesson Four we learned about the present tense of strong verbs. Now let us see how the present is formed by weak verbs. The main difference from the strong class is the endings: weak verbs form their present tense through adding either -i/er (type 1) or -a/ar (type 2): Type 1. at gera 'to do, make' eg geri du gerer hann gerer vi gera Some other verbs of this type: senda 'to send', bygga 'to build', kba 'to buy', birta 'to quicken a fire', fylga 'to follow', stda 'to support', legga 'to lay'. In exceptional cases the root vowel undergoes changes similar to those for strong verbs: hava 'to have': eg hev du hever hann hever vi hava Type 2. at kalla 'to call': eg kalla du kallar hann kallar vi kalla This is the most widespread conjugation type in Nynorn. It also includes the following verbs among many other: bjrga 'to save', fena 'to show delight, hospitality', prenta 'to print', nota 'to use', ferda 'to walk quickly', vitsja 'to visit', marka 'to mark'.

Exercise 5.3. Translate the following phrases: A boy is calling a dog. A girl is saving horses. She has dogs. We don't have dogs. I save you (sg.). You (pl.) visit us. He is building houses. A boy is buying balls.

Lesson Six.
1. Irregular plural In addition to the previously mentioned classes of substantive declension there is a small group of nouns which form their plural in a different (as they say, irregular way). This group belongs to the strong declension. To this group belong many common kinship terms: fader (faer Westside/Foula), moder, syster, dotter, son, bruder Words are used in high style speech and have more colloquial equivalents/counterparts: pbi mw, mor, brui mw. instead of fader, moder, bruder respectively. The following words do not change in the singular and have an umlaut in the plural wherever the root vowel allows it. The endings in plural are similar to those in the other classes of substantives. Mor 'mum' belongs to the same class and has the same plural as moder 'mother'.
Sg. Nom. - Acc. masculine: fader fader son son feminine: moder moder mder mder mor mor dotter dotter syster syster mder mder dter dter (NB single t!) systrar systrar feder feder syner syner bruder bruder brder brder Pl. Nom. - Acc.

The irregular class also includes the following words: masculine: finger finger (pl. finger), fud foot (fder), mann man (menn) feminine: buk book (bker), ntt night (neter, NB single t!), gs goose (geser), mus mouse (ms), ku cow (kr). Exercise 6.1 Translate into Nynorn: I have a father and a mother. Mothers love fathers and sisters love brothers. Nights are cold. Feet are long. Geese are seeing men.

2. Accusative of adjectives In Nynorn the cases are proper/intrinsic/inherent not only to substantives. Adjectives and some other grammatical classes, such as pronouns, participles and certain numerals take them too. In this chapter we introduce the accusative form of adjectives (the nominative was covered in Lesson Three):
Sg. Pl.

Nom. - Acc. Nom. - Acc. M. gul gulan guler gula F. gul gula N. gult gult gular gular gul gul

Notice that as in the case of substantives, adjective neuter and plural feminine forms do not distinguish between nominative and accusative. Examples. Eg se sturan hest. Hun elskar blidan drenga. Vi finna ikke gula tasku. Du hever gott kast at gera da. Hann ser fullan mna, hvitar sterner og brett hav. Der hava ung bnn og svarta hesta. Im seeing a big horse. She loves a kind boy. We dont find a yellow bag. You have a good possibility to do that. He is seeing the full moon, a white star and the broad ocean. They (the women) have young children and black horses. Exercise 6.2 Translate the following phrases into Nynorn: I am placing a yellow cup on a white table. They are seeing young dogs and old birds. We are thinking about a big star. We are traveling over a green valley (dal m.s2.). They (M and W) are traveling over green valleys. to place at legga vw1 to think about at tenka um vw2 valley dal (m. s2) 3. Possessive pronouns Possessive pronouns, which express ownership, can be divided into three groups: a. min my,mine, din your, thine (sg), vor our, dor your pl. b. hans his, hennar her, dess its, derra their c. sin his/her/its/their own The words in group a. belong to the 1st and 2nd persons. They decline like adjectives, with a few exceptions for min my and din your,thine: 1. In the accusative of masculine min and din stay unchanged. 2. In the neuter nominative and accusative min and din change to mitt and ditt respectively.

Sg. M. min min F. min mina N. mitt mitt

Pl. miner mina minar minar min min

Nom. - Acc. Nom. - Acc.

(din yours and sin his own decline accordingly). Vor and dor decline like usual adjectives. The pronouns in group b. belong to the third person. They are never inflected for case. These forms are actually the genitive forms of the respective personal pronouns (which will be covered in future lessons), and this is why they do not need to change any more. As you will see later, the pronouns from the group a. descend from genitive forms of respective personal pronouns too. The only difference is that they have turned into independent words and started taking cases on their own. The pronoun sin means his/her/its/their own. The difference between sin on the one hand and hans/hennar/dess/derra on the other can be best illustrated with the following examples: Hann ser sin hest. Hes seeing his own horse Hann ser hans hest. Hes seeing his (somebody elses) horse Hun kenner sitt atdriv. She knows her (own) business. Hun kenner hennar atdriv. She knows her (somebody elses) business. Dir elska sina hesta. They (masc.) love their own horses. Dir elska derra hesta. They (masc.) love their (somebody elses) horses. X kenner Y. Hann ser sin hest. Hann ser hans hest. X knows Y. Hes seeing his (own) horse. Hes seeing his (Ys) horse. X og Y kenner Z og T. X og Y elskar sina hesta. X og Y elska derra hesta. X and Y know Z and T. X and Y love their (own) horses. X and Y love their (Z and Ts) horses. Examples: Vi tenka um vora ferd runt um Island. Eg kenni hans konu og derra bnn. De kenna etsa min bnn. Hun elskar sin bruder. Din son kenner ikke mina dotter. Dorer hestar rida ver voran voll. Miner foreldrar kenna ikke dinar systrar. De elskar derra hunda. We are thinking about our trip around Iceland. I know his wife and their child(ren). They know my children too. She loves her (own) brother. Your son doesnt know my daughter. Your horses are riding over our field. My parents do not know your sisters. They love their (somebody elses) dogs. Exercise 6.3 Translate into Nynorn:

My horses are going into your (of you=du) houses. My child is going into your (you=di) house. Her father knows my parents. I know their mother, but dont know her sister. He is thinking about our dogs. They (M and W) find their (own) dog. My daughters love your (you=di) dogs. Im giving you my book. You (sg.) are not thinking about your heart. He is not thinking about his (own) heart.

Lesson Seven.
1. Dative. Strong substantives. Dative is another important case in Nynorn. Dative normally means to whom. This is not the direct object (patient) of an action, it is rather its addressee or recipient. In the phrase I gave you the pen, the word you is meant to be in dative, pen in accusative and I in nominative. Strong masculine and neuter nouns form the dative case by adding -i while feminine nouns stay unchanged. In plural all genders have the universal ending -on:
Sg. Pl.

Nom. - Dat. Nom. - Dat. M. hest hesti hestar heston F. ferd ferd ferder ferdon N. kast kasti kast kaston

Declension 3 (irregular) has the following forms:

Sg. Nom. - Dat. fud fudi fader fader Pl. Nom. - Dat. fder fudon feder fedron

bruder bruder brder brdron muder muder mder mdron ku ku gs gs kr kun geser gson

etc. Of these words, only three (fader, bruder, muder) keep the altered vowel (e or ) in the dative plural, the rest have the same vowel as in the initial form. Ku has the reduced dative plural form kun instead of *kuon. Dative case of personal pronouns:

Sg. Nom. - Dat. 1 eg I mjer (to) me 2. du you djer (to) you

Pl. Nom. - Dat. vi we vus (to) us di you pl. dor (to) you pl.

3 hann he honon (to) him dir they M dem (to) they M

hun she henni (to) her da it di (to) it

der they F dem (to) they F de they N dem (to) they N

Dative is used with a large number of verbs: geva vs. to give someone (D) something (A), soina vw1. to show, lva vw1. to allow, banna vw2. to prohibit, sija vw1. to say something (A) to someone (D), to tell someone (D) something (A), fyrigeva vs. to forgive, skriva vw2. to write something (A) to someone (D), hjlpa vw1. to help, takka vw2. to thank etc. Exercise 7.1. Translate into Nynorn: He is giving her his heart. Your brother is showing me his fist. We forgive you your sins. He is helping them. They (F) are thanking him for that. He's writing me a letter. We are telling them to go. sin - synd fs2 for (as in to thank for) - fyri A letter (text) - brev nns. to go (away) - at fara vs. 2. Prepositions with dative In Lesson Four we learned several prepositions which govern the accusative. Some of them can take dative as well, although in this case they will have a different meaning: on (cf. onto with Acc.) i in (cf. i into with Acc.) As a rule, such prepositions take the accusative when referring to movement and dative in the case of still position: Buk ligger bordi. (Dat) A book lays on a table vs. Eg legg buk bord. (Acc) Im putting a book on a table Drengi siter i husi. (Dat) A boy is sitting in a house vs. Eg sendi drenga i hus. (Acc) Im sending a boy into a house. Similarly, a number of other preposition are inflected for case, f.ex. ver above, over and under under: Hamar henger ver mjer. (D) 'A hammer is hanging over me' vs. Fugl fljuker ver dal. (A) A bird is flying over a valley. In other cases , when a preposition does not mark location or movement, it can have very different meanings in the dative and accusative: ve D together with ve Aclose to, near fyri D in front of fyri A for The following prepositions govern only the dative case: muti 'against'

ur 'out of' av 'off' fr 'from' Notice the following prepositions are opposed to each other: 'on(to)' vs. av 'off' i 'in(to)' vs. ur 'out of' (fr 'from' is opposed to til 'to' which is to be covered in later chapters). Examples: fyri mjer in front of me, ve djer with you (sg.), fyri hana for her, ur di out of it, av vus off us, fr dem from them, ve dem together with them, um der about them (fem). Exercise 7.2. Translate into Nynorn: Im going into my house. Shes coming out of their house. A letter is falling off a table. Im coming with my father. A dog is sleeping in front of our house. He comes from Shetland. Im doing it for you. She is against your (you=di) brothers. 3. Past tense of strong verbs Past tense in Nynorn corresponds both to the past indefinite and past continuous of English. As with the present tense, the past tense does not differ between indefinite and continuous forms. To express the continuing meaning you can add respective adverbs, like nu now (present), d then, fyri tiena at the moment, um da tiena 'at that moment' etc. See also Lesson Four (#3). Strong verbs form their past tense by mutating the root vowel (this mutation is called ablaut) and adding the past tense endings. This is a closed group of verbs which date back to ancient times. Although we can give you the main guidelines of conjugation, the best way is to learn the conjugation of each strong verb by heart. There are six main classes of strong verbs in Nynorn which mostly differ by vowels and the way how they are ablauted. Each different form of ablaut is called grade or degree. Strong verbs in Nynorn (as well as in Old Norse, Faroese and Icelandic) use four degrees of ablaut. You already know the first one, which is used in infinitives and in the present tense (where it sometimes undergoes an additional mutation, see Lesson Four). The second degree of ablaut is used in past singular and the third in past plural. The fourth degree is reserved for past participles (which will be covered later). The singular and plural of strong verbs differ not only by ablaut degrees, but also have different endings. There are only two endings: (zero) in singular and -u in plural regardless of person. The ablaut map: Root past singular past plural 1. Verbs with the radical i: i - e - i:

bita to bite eg bet I bit vi bitu we bit driva to drive,run something, gripa to catch, grip, riva to tear, pull, triva to catch hold , ria to ride, skria to manage with difficulty, svia to singe, scorch; to sting, smart; to suffer, viga/vika to move; to answer. 2. Verbs with the radical , (j)u, o: /u/ju - - u: ba to propose eg b I proposed vi buu we proposed fljuka to fly eg flk I flew vi fluku we flew fljuka to fly; to fly off, fall off, luta to stoop, bend forward, smjuga to slip; to hide away, lopa to run. 3. Verbs with e or i followed by two consonants or one long: i,e - a u finna to find eg fann I found vi funnu we found bresta to rush with a noise, brinna to burn, hverva to toru, rake together, rinna to run, vinna to work Verbs with -nd- and -ng- have irregular singular past tense where the last consonant becomes voiceless and acquires length making the preceeding -n- disappear: binda to bind eg batt I bound vi bundu we bound stinga to stick eg stakk I stack vi stungu we stack hbenda to tie a band round the hough of an animal, springa to burst, break. One verb of this class has a in the root: varda to become. Originally it had -e- in the infinitive, cf. ON. vera. 4. Verbs with e or i followed by one short consonant: e(o,a) a(o) : geva to give eg gav I gave vi gvu we gave vara to be, geva to give, koma to come, geta to beget, get, ligga to lie, rega to drive, chase, sita to sit, sova to sleep, s to see, look, tigga to receive, eta to eat, sjera to cut 5. Verbs with the radical a(,): a - u - u: taga to take eg tug I took vi tugu we took ala to feed, fara to depart, go, lada to be about to die, grava to dig up; to bury, hva to raise, lift; to fling, sl to strike, kick, Similar to English, standa to stand looses the radical -n- in the past: standa to stand eg stud I stood vi studu we stood 6. The most irregular verbs with the radical a, : a - e - e: falla to fall eg fell I fell vi fellu we fell

Similar to verbs like binda, stinga in class 3. several verbs (gnga, hnga and the irregular verb f) receive -kk in singular past: gnga to go, walk eg gekk I went, walked vi gengu we went, walked f to get eg fekk I got vi fengu we got leka to play, grta to cry, halda to hold, keep, lda to emit a sound, ousa to bale; to pour down, s to sew, ga to creep, crawl; to move slowly. This is a very old way to form the past tense which dates back to the so called Common Indo-European language that most of the languages in Europe, Iran and India descend from. Ablaut descends from the original alternation of the main IndoEuropean vowel e with o and zero sound (traces of that still can be seen in forms like bresta-brast-brustu). Exercise 7.3. Translate into Nynorn: I fell off a house. They (M and F) stood close to their (own) mother. Men were burying dead horses. You took my dogs. He gave me a book. A dog bit your (di) sons. She grips your hand. We got fish. Reading Johann og Astrid bua i Hjetlandi. Johann bur i Lervik, men Astrid bur Sandnesi. Johann hever sturan bt. Hann fer ofta ut sju til at fiska. Astrid hever hesta og kr. Hun er bund. I dag skrivar Astrid brev Johanni. Hun sijer at hun etlar at selja honon ku. Johann fekk brev fra Astrid. Hann svarar henni og sijer at hann takkar henni fyri da. Vocabulary: bua vs. (6), 3.sg.pres. bur to live og and Hjetland nn. Shetland Lervik nf. (s2) Lerwick Sandnes nn. Sandness fara vs. (5) to depart sju nm. the sea ut sju out to the sea fiska to catch fish (= vea) ku (kr) nf. (s3) cow bund nm. crofter etla vw. (2) to be going selja vw. (1) to sell brev nn. (s) letter

Lesson Eight.
1. Dative of weak substantives

In singular, the dative form of weak nouns does not differ from the accusative. In plural, the common ending -on is used:
Sg. Nom. - Dat. F. floga flogu Pl. Nom. - Dat. floger flogon

M. drengi drenga drengar drengon N. hjarta hjarta hjartu hjarton

Excercise 8.1. Translate into Nynorn: Im giving food to dogs. Hes telling daughters that they are beautiful. Boys are sleeping in houses. Boats are full of fish (pl.). Hes coming from Faroe Islands (Frjar f.pl.), not Orkney (Orknjar f.pl.). Cats are sleeping under cars. 2. Past tense of weak verbs. Weak verbs form their past tense in a much simpler way than the strong ones, pretty much like regular verbs in English. The stem of the verb adds a special suffix: 1. The verbs in class 1 (gera) add -d after voiced consonants (r,m,n,l,v,b,g) or -t following d or unvoiced consonants (t,s,p,t,k). 2. The verbs in class 2 (kalla) add the suffix -a. The suffix is followed by the ending of past tense: -i in sg. and -u in pl. 1. gera: eg gerdi 'I did/made' vi gerdu 'we did/made' senda: eg senti 'I sent' vi sentu 'we sent' hjlpa: eg hjlpti [jolti] 'I helped' vi hjlptu [joltu] 'we helped' 2. kalla: eg kallai 'I called' vi kallau 'we called' NB. The ending -ai sounds as [aji], -au as [avu]. (The same pronunciation of the endings is used in Faroese.) The verb bua to live (somewhere), inhabit has a strong present, but weak past: eg bui [buvi], vi buu [buvu]. Exercise 8.2. Translate into Nynorn (see also exercise 5.3): A boy called a dog. A girl saved horses. She had dogs. We didn't have dogs. I saved you (sg.). You (pl.) visited us. He built houses. A boy bought balls. 3. Questions and interrogative pronouns Nynorn has at its disposal the following interrogative pronouns: hvar? who? which?, neuter hvat(na)? what?

hvarna? where?, hvagar?/hvartil? whereto? hvaan?/hvarfr? wherefrom? ner? when? hvu? how hvi? why? Hvat? and hvatna? are more or less interchangeable, although the latter variant adds more expression. The word order in an interrogative sentence is the reverse of the normal. The phrase begins with the interrogative pronoun to be followed by the verb in 3 sg., subject and the rest, if any. As with negation (see Lesson X), there is no word for the English auxiliary verbs do(es), did (as in the case of the English verbs to be, shall, should etc). Ner kemer du? When do you come? Hvarna ligga dinar kr? Where are your cows lying? Hvar kallar mog? Who is calling me? Exercise 8.3. Translate into Nynorn: When do they go? Which boat is yours? Where is your brother? How big is their house? Where are you going (fara) to? Where do you come from? Why is your child not sleeping? Reading Hvatna heder du? Eg hedi Harald. Hvarna bur du? Eg bu i Sklavgi. Hvar er her ve djer? Da er Magnus, min vin. Hvarna kemer hann fr? Hann kemer fr Kollafirdi. Hvaron driva di at? Eg er sjofr og Magnus er fiskemann. Hvar ml tala di? Eg tala hjetml (nynorn), engelsk og norsk, men Magnus talar nynorn, engelsk og tvartri kinesisk. Hvi talar Magnus kinesisk? (Hvu ber da til at Magnus talar kinesisk?) Hann fur en dag til Kina til at vea fisk og lerdi dar kinesisk. Da var mukki spennandi i Kina, hans ferdalek stud lengi og hans skip fekk mukki af fiski. Der vunnu dag og ntt og fingu stura ln. Der furu s ve sinon pengon vester og derra bnn vuru mukki gla at sj sina feder atter at dir komu hem. Vocabulary: Sklavg nm. Scalloway vin nm. (2) friendo sjofr nm. driver fiskemann nm. fisherman ml nn. language tala vw. (2) to speak hjetml nn. (s) - Shetland N(yn)orn nynorn nf. (s2) Nynorn engelsk nf. (s2) English language norsk nf. (s2) Norwegian language kinesisk nf. (s2) Chinese language

(engelsk, norsk and kinesisk also can be used as respective adjectives; in this case they take adjective endings) Kina nn. (indecl.) China vea vw. (past veddi) to catch (fish); to Hunt tvartri adv. (from tver-tri '2-3') a little, a bit mukki adv. much hvu ber da til at... ? how come ... ? lit. how is it possible that... ? spennandi adv. exciting; lit. constrained ferdalek nm. (s1) journey, trip standa vs. (6) to endure; lit. to stand fisk nm. (s1) fish mukki av + D a lot of ln nf. (s2) salary s then, so pengar nm. pl. (s1) Money vester adv. west, to the west gla adj. glad, happy atter after

Lesson Nine.
1. Dative of adjectives. Similar to substantives, adjectives take dative, depending on the case in which the attributed noun stands. As with substantives, in plural dative the common ending -on is used. Moreover, it is also present in singular masculine (instead of -i of the substantive declension). Neuter has -u and feminine -ari:
Sg. Pl.

Nom. - Dat. Nom. - Dat. M. gul gulon guler gulon F. gul gulari gular gulon N. gult gulu gul gulon

Possessive pronouns and the word hvar who, which have the same endings M.sg. minon, voron, hvaron, F.sg. minari, vorari, hvarari, N. sg. minu, voru, hvaru, pl. minon, voron, hvaron. Exercise 9.1. Translate into Nynorn: In a yellow house, in your (du sg.) boats, together with a happy girl, off my tables, against kind-hearted boys, out of black buildings (bygging nm.s1), from your (di pl.) fathers, under grey cliffs (klett nm (s1)). girl - dokka nf. building - bygging nm. (s1) cliff - klett nm. (s1) 2. Interrogative pronouns (continued) The interrogative pronoun hvar always takes the number, gender and case of the noun it refers to. This can be any case, including accusative and dative. So if a question is raised about any member of

a sentence, the interrogative pronoun in the interrogative phrase will take the same case, number and gender as the respective noun is supposed to have. Examples: 1. Accusative: Eg kenni hana. -> Hvarn kenner du? I know her. -> Whom do you know? Eh kalla hana. -> Hvarn kallar du ? I'm calling her. -> Whom are you calling? 2. Dative Eg takka dem. -> Hvaron takkar du? I'm thanking them. -> Whom are you thanking? Eg hjlpa dinni syster. -> Hvarari hjlpar du? I'm helping your sister. -> Whom (=which woman) are you helping? 3. Mixed examples: Eg se. -> Hvar ser? I'm seeing. -> Who's seeing? Eg se. -> Hvatna gerer du? I'm seeing. -> What are you doing? Eg se hana. -> Hvar ser hana? I'm seeing her. -> Who's seeing her? Eg se hana. -> Hvarn ser du? I'm seeing her. -> Whom are you seeing? Eg se hana. -> Hvatna gerer du? I'm seeing her. -> What are you doing? Eg takka. - > Hvar takkar? I'm thanking. -> Who is thanking? Eg takka. - > Hvatna gerer du? I'm thanking. -> What are you doing? Eg takka henni. Hvar takkar henni? I'm thanking her. -> Who's thanking her? Eg takka henni. -> Hvaron takkar du? I'm thanking her. -> Whom are you thanking? Eg takka henni. -> Hvatna gerer du? I'm thanking her. -> What are you doing? Eg gev -> Hvar gever? I'm giving. -> Who's giving? Eg gev. -> Hvatna gerer du? I'm giving. -> What are you doing? Eg gev henni fisk. <- Hvar gever henni fisk? I'm giving her fish. -> Who's giving her fish? Eg gev henni fisk. <- Hvaron gever du fisk? I'm giving her fish. -> Whom are you giving fish? Eg gev henni fisk. <- Hvat gever du henni? I'm giving her fish. -> What are you givng her? Eg gev henni fisk. <- Hvatna gerer du? I'm giving her fish. -> What are you doing? Notice also that if there is a preposition between the verb and object, the interrogative word takes the case of the object (as it has to be) and the preposition is moved to the final position in the sentence (as it is normally done in English): Eg tenki um dog. -> Hvat tenker du um? I'm thinking about you. -> What are you thinking about?

Eg driv at di. -> Hvaru driver du at? I'm occupied with it. -> What are you occupied with? Exercise 9.2. Translate into Nynorn: What are you seeing? Whom are you talking with? What are you occupied with? Whom are you writing? What are you writing? Whom are you writing letters? What are you writing to her? 3. Declension of adjectives in -el,-en,-er. Adjectives of this type have almost the same declension as other regular adjectives. The main difference here is that -e- of the last syllable drops if the ending begins in a vowel. Words in -en preserve en in the accusative of masculine singular and replace it with -i in the nominative and accusative of singular neuter. The world litel 'little' is an exception and undergoes the latter change too, swapping -el with i in neuter singular, while all other adjectives in -el have here -elt: gamel 'old':
Sg. M. Nom. gamel Dat. F. gamel N. gamelt gamelt Pl. M. gamla F. N. gamler gamlar gamel gamlar gamel gamlon gamlon gamlon

Acc. gamlan gamla

gamlon gamlari gamlu

NB. -ml- is pronounced here as [mbl]: gamlan [gamblan], gamlu [gamblu] etc. vaksen 'grown, adult':
Sg. M. Nom. vaksen Acc. vaksen Dat. F. vaksen vaksna N. vaksi vaksi Pl. M. vaksna F. N. vaksner vaksnar vaksen vaksnar vaksen vaksnon vaksnon vaksnon

vaksnon vaksnari vaksnu

litel 'little':
Sg. M. Nom. litel Dat. F. litel N. liti liti Pl. M. litla F. N. litler litlar litel litlar litel litlon litlon litlon

Acc. litlan litla

litlon litlari litlu

mager 'lean':
Sg. M. Nom. mager F. mager N. magert Pl. M. F. N. magrer magrar mager

Acc. magran magra Dat.

magert

magra

magrar mager

magron magrari magru

magron magron magron

Exercise 9.3. Translate into Nynorn: Old buildings and old houses look beautiful. My dogs are slack (doven). She came with a drunk (drukken) man. She has a little child. We have lean horses. Wolfs (ulv) are greedy (hjrken). slack doven drunk drukken wolf - ulv nm. (s1) greedy - hjrken Reading Da er mitt hus. Da er ikke sturt, men ikke liti helder. Min brui er ikke uppvoksen i voru husi, hann bui hema hj abba og ammu, hjejer vorer foreldrar vuru ung og ikke ttu sitt hus ennd. Vorer foreldrar buu d sjlver hj abba og ammu. Hjejer min brui vard voksen, kptu de vort nuvarandi hus og fluttu higar. S hvad heder du? Eg hedi Gunnbjrn. Og du? Eg hedi Gunnar, nesten da sama. Hever du bnn? Ja, eg hevi liten son og voksna dotter. Hvat ve djer? Da er dvars imut hj mjer, eg hevi litla dotter og voksen son. Vocabulary: helder either uppvoksen part. grown up bua vs. (past bui) to live hema adv. at home hj prep. + Dat. at, by abbi nm. (w) grandfather amma nf. (w) grandmother hjejer conj. when (is only used in subordinate clauses and never in questions) foreldrar nm. (s1) parents ega vpp. (past tti, ttu) to own (a preterite-present verb, to be explained in detail in Lesson Twelve) ennd part. still, yet sjlv pron. oneself (declines as an adjective) kpa vw. (1) to buy nuvarandi adj. (indecl) current, today's flyta vw. (1) (past fluttu) to move higar adv. hither, hereinto, over here nesten almost da sama the same hvat ve djer? what about you? dvars imut adv. opposite, on the contrary

hj mjer for me, with me

Nynorn dialects
As pointed out on the introduction page, Nynorn is mostly based on Shetland Norn. This does not mean though that the other dialects, such as West Norn (which differs from Shetland Norn mostly phonetically) and Orkney Norn are valued any less. If you are up to it, you can use those versions instead and on this page we give you a sketchy insight into what it could look like. It should also be mentioned that the creation of 'Nynorn dialects' allows us to include those real features of Norn that we have rejected from the main 'dialect' (apart from eventual lexical distinction between Shetland and Orkney). As an example, we can take the case system. Nynorn has 4 cases, which seems to be present in the Shetlandic version of Lord's Prayer and the Ballad of Hildina. On the contrary, the only known specimen of Orkney Norn, the Orkney Lord's Prayer, shows a reduced number of cases, if any. Most probably, Orkney Norn had 2 cases, common and genitive, like f.ex. in English, Scots and Danish. Someone would even argue that a similar 2-case system, as presented in Orkney Norn, should be chosen for the 'default' (Shetland) Nynorn instead of the 4-case one. This view can be supported with plenty of evidence from the existing Shetland Norn texts (s. Grammar of Shetland Norn, A.1.1.1.4.), cf. also the mixing of nominative and accusative in the ballad of Hildina (the ballad also features sporadic vacillations between accusative and dative, accusative and genitive). As a compromise solution, we have chosen the 4-case system for Shetland and Foula/Westside Nynorn and the 2-case system for Orkney Nynorn. The same logic should apply for other dialectal features that cannot be included within the same reconstruction. Below you will find a list of the main distinctive features of Nynorn dialects with a few 'live' examples (see General for more detailed information on the difference between the three 'real' dialects). This is just a rough sketch and at the moment we have no plans to further develop this section. Of course, if any of our readers come up with new ideas on this matter, we will not object in any respect. Shetland Nynorn: ON ll,nn > llj,nnj, a > before llj,nnj, -in(n) > -en, -i(t),u > -i,u, ON hv > hv, 4 cases system; West Nynorn: ON ll,nn > dl,dn, -in(n) > -in, -i(t),u > -e,o, ON hv > kv, > w, h- is dropped in pronouns, occasional postvocalic -g inserts, 4 cases system; several distinctions from Shetland Nynorn: Sh. er, eg, mukki, lengi - W. jar, jag, mege, linge; Orkney Nynorn: ON ll,nn > ll (occasionally llj),nn, ON hv > v, partial preservation of diphtongs and the ON / (marked as to distinguish it from the silent ), 2 cases system (common case and genitive), weak feminine nouns end at -o.
Shetland Nynorn Shetland Mainland Foula/Westside Orkney Nynorn Nynorn Old Norse English

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Nynorn

Bnni sat i Bnnji sat i Bjadne sat i Banni sat i Barnit sat The child sat grasenu. grasenu. grasino. grasi. grasinu. in the grass. Dokka (stolka) fell i hrug sen stud ve hjogen. Dokken (stolken) hever kalla hvita hesten. Dokka (stoljka) fellj i hrug sen stud ve hjogen. Dokken (stoljken) hever kllja hvita hesten. Stulka Dokka (stolka) Stjlko fell(j) i (dokka) fell fedl i hrug hru sin stud heyhrgu sen stug ve vi houen. sem st vi hjogin. hauginn. Dokken (stolken) hever kadla w kvita hestin. Stjlken hever kall(j)a vita hesten. A girl fell into a hey stack which stood near the barrow.

Stulkan hefir The girl has kallat called hvta (upon) the hestinn. white horse.

Hnnj Hann glemdi glemdi um tegen og tegen hjogen. hjogen.

Hann Ann glemde um glaimde um tegin og og taien hjogin. houen.

He forgot Hann about the en gleymdi um field strip og teiginn ok and the hauginn. barrow. The horse does not fall, the boat is onshore [in land] and I have slept for a very long time [much long].

Hesten feller ikke, bden er i landi og eg hevi sovi mukki lengi.

Hesten felljer ikke, bden er i lnjdi og eg hevi sovi mukki lengi.

Hestin fedler ikke, btin jar i lande og jag heve sove mege linge.

Hesten fell(j)er ikke, bten er i land og eg heve sovi [miki lenge].

Hestrinn fellr ekki, btrinn er landi ok ek hefi sofit mikit lengi.

Dictionary of Nynorn
The dictionary is based on Jakob Jakobsen's Etymological Dictionary of Shetland Norn. Words from Norn texts (from the same dictionary), as well as both versions of the Lord's Prayer, The Ballad of Hildina, Hugh Marwick's Orkney Norn and existing Nynorn texts will be added later on. ABDEFGHIJKLMNOPRSTUVY Remarks: nm. - masculine substantive

nf. - feminine substantive nn. - neuter substantive adj. adjective adv. Adverb. pron. pronoun vs. - strong verb vw. - weak verb vpp. - preterite-present verb prep. preposition conj. - conjunction Default grammatical classification: - Masculine substantives belong to the 1st strong class ("hest"), when they end in a consonant or to the weak class ("skuggi") when they end in -i. - Feminine substantives belong to the 2nd strong class ("ferd") when they end in a consonant or to the weak class ("voga") when they end in -a. - Neuter substantives belong to the strong class ("lamb") when they end in a consonant or to the weak class ("joga") when they end in -a. - Weak verbs belong to the 2nd weak class ("kalla"). Other classes are explicitly specified. Grammatical keys are subject to revision.

A
ag nn. movement forward, drift; ag nordesten fr wave-motion from north-east; norden-/sudenag; hannj er ag her; da er ikke ag fiskenon the fish will not bite aga vw. 1. to have feelings of sickness; 2. be obliged to vomit agga vw. to incite; sudenvinden aggai fisken til strandanar agbnd nn. care for and interest in something; at taka mukki agbnd i e-u agisom adj. frightful agla vw. to dirty; at agla ve lorgi [skiti] agla vw. 1. to get to blaze; at agla upp birteken get the fire blaze up; 2. to work energetically;at agla inn i hvara vinnu agment nn. anxiety, unrest aker nm. 1. corn(field): aker og h corn(field) and hay; 2. stalks of corn; 3. something destroyed; at leggja i aker to crush, destroy akkel nm. shoulder ala vs. 1. to feed; du hever ali kuna; 2. to rear, support; 3. to entice ali nn. young domestic animal all pron. 1. all; 2. neu: over: da er alt it is over; alt i sennall at once altra vw. to hesitate; at altra at gera e-t, hann myn ikke altra at gera da amla vw. 1. to make little progress; 2. dabble at job; at amla at e-u

amos nn. 1. alms; 2. pitiful creature; hannj myn vinna at amosi ut inn under sten; jift kirkjan Nesi vinner amos so at vi f sikken fisk amp nn. restlessness and nf. 1. breath; 2. last breath; to blag de a. at blaga andena to die, to draw one's a. to worry one to death andelukknn. 1. accident, misfortune; da er andelukk falljen upp d they met with an accident; 2. sudden ilness; jift ikke andelukk ber til [kemer , sker] kuanar andi nm. 1. strong smell; 2. breath andor nn. small porch, penthouse; hannj lagdi da upp andor hussens andu vw. 1. to oppose; 2. to keep a boat against stream with oars anker nm. dry measure; anker taatiss annjehvar, fem. acc.sg. adrahvara 1. pron. every second one; 2. annjehvart adj. irregular, changeable, unsteady, chopping; hann bleser annjehvart ansa vw. to heed, look after, mind, care about; aldri ansa hannj! nevermind him!;eg (myn) ansa ikke idag I don't care today; ansa dog! look out! be on y. guard! ansilig adj. helpful ansperr nn. stiffnes in the limbs; at f ansperre ante, ende adv. even, yet, still aper adj. sharp, distinct apra vw. 1. to sharpen; 2. to liven up; 3. to get to blaze; at apra up birteken to get the fire to blaze apra vw. (ON aptra) 1. to detain, hinder; 2. to change one's mind; 3. to obey orders: hunden myn ikke apra; er hannj en gud aprandi hund?; devilin apri dog devil take you! apta nn. eve of a feast; Tammasmessapta; Toljegsapta ar, erk (Ork) nn. small particle ar nn. scar, scratch ard adj. covered with scratches ark nf. chest; case arra vw. to move feebly and lifelessly; at arra um [gnga arrandi um]to walk with difficulty, totter about; da var alt, de kundu kenna, da var arrandi they could just tell that the tide was moving arg adj. 1. evil, bad; arg upp e-t; 2. very desirous of something, eager arga vw. to talk ill-temperedly; de argau en muti adron argeri nn. angry, importunate crowd argosi nn. malice, anger arm nm. 1. arm; 2. tail-end arm adj. poor, wretched arv nm. inheritance arvhus nn. large or high-class house asek nm. a closely woven straw-basket aska nf. 1. haze; 2. mist; aska upp [ver] landi assu nn. rough, rainy weather at prep. at, to, by; at hava ilt (illvilja) at e-on to bear ill will; hvat hever du at honon? what have you against him?; at vara vel at sjer sjallon to be in good condition; at standa at sjer to move aside; upp at - up; against, alongside: at standa upp at veggenon; geve mjer tag at give me a helping hand/push the boat; tage hannj at!stick her (the boat) at! - after landing (pull); nord at in a northerly direction, northward; sud

[sr] at in a southerly direction; upp at upward, northward; up against, up by; vinden er faren upp at the wind is gone a little more to the north; ballestenen er sten fyri elden til at seta balla upp at (see balli) at conj. that; eg kennji at du myn gera da atbr nm. behaviour; gera illan adbrd [illa adbrdi] atdraga vs. to draw towards oneself = at geva e-on atdrag atfer nf. behaviour, conduct, manners; often pl.: atferer atkoma nf. appearance, arrival; fyrsta atkoma av grundeni impression formed of the fishing-ground attel nf. 1. arrangement; 2. entertainment atlaga nf. taking hold vigourously, performing a task strongly attaljosnn. 1. daybreak, dawn, twilight; 2. daybreak in the summer;attaljos i mynni attekasten adj. (ON kasta aptr) cast off, rejected attekast nn. 1. queer, foolish, helpless person, rejected; 2. resistance atte, ita (ON aptan) 1. prep. G at the back of; 2. adv. behind; en kemer atten drilljande one (tail) comes dangling behind av prep. of avboden adj. distasteful avbreg, avbrig nn. 1. sheep-mark; 2. variant avbregget adj. marked anew, altered avgeng, avgng nm. 1. accomplishment; 2. conclusion; 3. departure avhenta vw. to assign, transfer avhyda vw. to flay avkleda vw. to undress avkom nn. offspring avada vs. to unload avlag nn. fluency of speech avljuta vw. to make ugly, defacing avlynns adv. at sea fishing avldna vw. to unload, discharge avr vs. to dissuade: at afr e-n fr e-u, at afr e-n ikke at gera e-t avrk nn. offshore tide avsadla vw. to unsaddle avsetten adj. repulsive, distasteful avskerri nn. remote skerry, rock avtak nn. improvement: aftak i vedri improvement in the weather avtekja(avtesja) vw. to unthatch avunavara adj. at random, haphazardly < vun og vara; at gera e-t (upp) avunavara avvinning nm. finishing (of a a work)

B
ba vw. (Far. paa) to pick (the flesh from the bones) bad nn. garment baffa vw. 1.to warm; 2.to poultice bag nm. purse bak nn. high and long wave bakbrd nn. port-side bakk nm. 1. bank, slope; 2. edge, bank

bakkalist nf. edge of the sea; at gnga [fara] um helu bakkalistena to search far and wide, everywhere baklengja nf. back-strip of halibut baklim nm. hindleg of an animal baklins adv. backwards baksr adj. sore on the back; esp. of a horse bal nn. noise bald adj. 1.bold; 2. quick; 3 skilful, good ball nm.a round lump balla vw. throw, fling; strike against so that it resounds; dokka (stelpa) stud ballandi skuna a girl was cleaning the boots with all her migth balla vw. to roll together balli nn. small cake of oatmeal balti nm. struggle bambusla vw. 1. to turn upside down; 2. to confuse; bambuseld confused band nn. band, bundle; bunch a b. o' pilteks banda to tie fish bang nn. 1. crack, noise; 2. sudden violent movement; at koma ve bangi to come with violence banga vw. to knock; bang til srs (south) highest of the wind; banga at dronon [upp drnar] to knock at the door bani nm. 1. death;2. bad treatment bank nm. 1.edge; 2. bank, ledge banna vw. to swear bar nn. fins of fish Bardasoga (ON Bardolsvaka) nf. St. Bartholomew's Day; da myn vara Bardasoga til d du fer da grt barfljuga (ON -fleygja), past. fljugdi vw. to separate corn from straw basla vw. 1.tosplash; 2. to work hard, struggle; at basla burt at; basla muti vindenon bati nm. great pile, mass; du heverfengi bata av honon (fish) i morgen belget adj. greedy ben nn. bone ben nn. bleat (of a sheep) Bena, *Bna nf. Prayer-Sunday, 4th Sunday of Advent bend nn. preparedness; at vara upp bend to be on the point of undertaking something; hvat er du upp bend um? where are you going, what are you about? benda vw. to equip benidju nn. clenched hand, fist T benigrind nf. 1. skeleton; 2. skeleton of a dead animal benk nm. bench benling nm. 1. definite are in the sea, esp. of fishing; 2. boundary bennla vw.to tie together benwerk nn. gouty pains bera vs. to carry; at bera byrdek; at bera rana to use oars while rowing bera at vs. to get fastened to; de line br at in a pluk and was made op (smapped in two) bera av vs. 1. to bear off, induce someone to give up a purpose; 2. to decline; avberin having desire to decline or withdraw; 3. to apologize bera fyri vs. to occur in ones dreams or thoughts:da bar fyri mjer

bera in 1. to stick in; 2. to occur to one (= bera fyri); 3. to agree, sympathize bera sog 1. to behave in a certain manner; 2. to move; 3. to drive bera til 1. to happen, take place; da bar til, at...; 2. to chance bera upp 1. to arrive at destination; 2. to introduce a topic or conversation; at bera upp e-t til e-s to introduce, address bera samen 1. to match; 2. to harmonize bera um to bear in one's mind bera um vs.to happen, occur, take place bera ut 1. to execute, accomplish; 2. to colloborate, confirm; du myn bera ut hvat eg segi; 3. to differ, disagree, quarrel about something (ON bera sundr);de hava bori ut um da they have disagreed about it (begun to quarrel about it); bera ut av monnjenon to try to stop the subject and direct the conversation another way bera vel at e-on 1. to be kindly or unkindly disposed at someone; du mtt ikke bera ilt at di don't be offended; 2. to entertain bera ve to make the best of, to bear bera [upp] 1.to endeavour; 2. to take pains; hannj bar [upp] at hra da berer nm. carrier berg nn. mountain, rock bergfallj nn. crash of somethingfalling; da gav bergfallj bering nf. 1. act of carrying; 2. dense snowfall berk nm. 1. bark, exterior covering on trees; 2. skin on the surface of a liquid berket adj. covered with a skin berja vw. 1. to beat; 2. to thrash corn bersket adj. unpleasant, stale, strong (of a taste) bersugget adj. variegated, with faded colours best adj.superl. best; see gud bet nn. something to bite; geve kronon bet!give some good grass to the cow! taati-bet - seed-potatoes beta vw. (ON beita) to get to bite, let bite; at beta sedviti to set a dog on a sheep; drive sheep with the help of a dog; beta tuni vi hundenon to drive the sheep away from the homefield; beta roddeken to plant a snigle row of potatoes betri adj.compar. better; see gud bid nm. short piece of line biding nm. small line, fastened to the main-line biker nm. wooden cup binda vs. to bind; jarden er bunden op the earth has become quite hard due to wind binder nm.cold, dry north-east wind birk nf.1. birch; 2. species of aquatic plant birta vw. to quicken a fire; at birta upp elden [birteken] to quicken a fire or light; opp. to at birta ut elden [birteken] let the fire out birtek nm. 1. fire;2. bright spot; 3. enlivenment bisnakka vw. to be busy with something without doing use bist nn. partly bad characteristics; der er ilt bist i honon bit nn. a bit taken before breakfast bita vs. to bite bitel nm. large tooth bitlek nm. 1. broken tooth; 2. small tooth bjak adj. weakly, having little physical strength

bjakk nm. small person, physically weak bjark adj.little, insignificant bjar adj. (ON berr) 1. bare; 2. with no fish; da er bjart bjart adj. 1. cold (of wind); 2. biting, sharp (of weather) bjenek nm. dogT bjert adj. miserly, sparing, stingy bjog nn. (ON bauka) 1. disorderly heap; at ligga i bjogi (of things disorderly flung together); 2. mass bjog nm. (ON baugr) 1. ring; 2. ring around the sun or moon; 3. collar; 4. circular stripe bjoget adj. having a circular stripe bjokl nm. high dorsal-fin of a whale bjorg nf. 1. city; 2. house T, esp. of the manse; uppstanders bjorg bjrg nn. rocky hill of a fairly great height bjrga vw.1. to save; 2. to put away; 3. to hide blad nn. blade; devils blad no news at all (on inquiry on news) blada vw. 1. to reap, cut heather for thatching; at blada heddreken (heather);2. to cut peat;at blada videka = at fla mrena;3. to strike bladd nn.pl. very large raindrop; hannj ligger bladd vindoganu, da sama som da var kavi blag nn. 1. interval; 2. breathin-space; 3. rest; take blag! blaga sog vw. to breathe, take a little rest; at blaga andena to die; blaga dog! rest a little! = take blag! blaga vw.to throw (away); fling b. dee doon! - throw yourself down! to b. de sail - to lower the sail blag(et) adj. dead blan nn. wind, breath of wind; ikke blan i seglenu not a breath of wind, not a breeze bland nn. mixture; blandablirek [-bliri] thick gruel; blandakjlek thick water-gruel blanda, blanjda nf. "dredge" mixed with oats and barley blannablura adj. mixed in a conspiracy or bad deed blasmek nm. thin cake of barley, oat or wheatmeal blattra vw.to flicker, flutter bleg adj. light and rather drab, colour bleget adj. of a whitish, drab colour blen nn. 1. spot of cloud; 2. light smoke; 3. fig. spot, blemish; ikke blen av guveni not a sign of a smoke; da er ikke blen honon blett nm. spot blettet adj. spotted blid adj.1. gentle, kind; 2. mild; hannj er ikke blid i bruneni he is looking angry, in bad humour blik nn. shine, something gleaming, pale or white blikkna vw. to turn pale; hannj blikknai ve he turned pale (on account of something) blind adj. blind blinda vw.to make blind blink nn. 1. wink, flash; blink jognana, fyrst blink dagsens, 2. a wink of sleep, doze; hannj hever taki sjer blink he had a short good sleep blinka vw.to gleam, flash; at blinka jogen; at blinka kolena to light the open train-oil lamp blinker nm.eye; star (tabu) blode nm. liquid blohonning nm. sheep with wooly hair growing out of the tip of its horn

blokka nf.1. buttercup (plant); 2. large leaf blurar nm.pl. something kept secret and brooded over; at hava [halda] e-t i blura; da er komi i blura it has started to leak; fre da ikke i blura! don't let it be seen!; da er i blura it is just in sight; i blura ve e-n in partnership with somebody; hannj var i blura ve hannj um da blynd nn. 1. somethingvery dense and dark; da er ikke blynd av ljusi innen drana;vi kann ikke f blynd ut av eson torvi; 2. a wink of sleep, doze; eg hevi ikke sovi et blynd i nitt I have not slept tonight blda vw., (past blddi)to bleed bldfrind nm. kinsman bldsdropi nm. drop of bload; hannj er ikke bldsdropi til min he's in no blood relation to me blva vw.(past blvde)to perish, die (of people or animals; to die at sea); pp. blvddead; hannj blvde igr he died yesterday; hannj er faren at blva he is going to die bl adj.dark blue blh nm. large shark = blgah blster nm. 1. strong wind, blast; 2. violence; hannj var i blstri he had anger; 3. hasty speech blstra vw. to cough bo nm.old fellow; gamel bo bo nm. sunken rock bod nn. 1. message; 2. offer; 3. invitation boda vw.to proclaim, announce, bode; hannj bodar fyri ilt bodabid: at gnga bodabid to share catch equally bodda nf. my dear (endearment to children); hjarta bodda! mammu piri bodda mother's little darling bodek nm.old boot bodra vw.to exceed boittn nm. 1. bottom; 2. little round valley; Vgboittn bolljet adj. round, clumsy bofi nm. 1. rogue; 2. an exclamation in swearing; bofi take dog [mog]!(d)evil take you/me! bofskit adv. headlong, precipitately bogi nm.: i bogacrushed, crumbling; at vara [liggja] i boga to crumble, crush, destroy completely bog(r)i nm. a little boy bogel nm. large cake (of oat- or barley meal); Bogladag - March 29th, when the field-work (de vor) began bogi nm. 1. creek,small bay; 2. curve boka vw. to squeeze, press down, stamp; at boka upp landi to trumple the ground down; at boka um 1. to stamp about; 2. to walk clumsily boki nm. ghost, bogey for frightening children; devils boki bol nn. 1. beacon; 2. blazing fire bolbak, -ek nm.(ON bilbugr) 1.upperhand, advantage, benefit; du myn ikke taka bolbak ver mog you shall not get the upperhand of me;2. opportunity; at taka [f] bolbak; hannj tuk bolbak ver mog bolfra vw. (past bolfrdi) to hide away, put aside, keep safe bolfrding nm. object preserved in a secret place bolljasog nn. violent shower bolk nn. large lump, bundle bolket adj. lumpy, bulky bollek nm. (sl. bull) 1. foolish talk, nonsense; 2. incoherent talk

bollet adj. round; bollet sten bolli nm.darling; min piri bolli! bolman nm. farmer, lessee, small holder bolsa vw. to press, squeeze, to nip (in wrestling) boltin adj. 1. big;2. round; 3. lumpy (head; cod) bolts nn. 1. anxiety, irritable state of mind; 2. preevishness; at vara i boltsenu to be irritable bomfisin nf. (ON *bumbfsn) one's fill of food, abundant meal bon, bonfrost nn. severe frost; at frsa sen boni to freeze very hard bor nm. breeze bor nf.hole bord nm. point of land, promontory de Bord o' Musa bord adj. young; brood (of birds) borek nm. short breaking wave borg nf. fort (Pictish forts) borl nn.strong wind borrisk nm. (ON bordiskr) 1. wooden tub; 2. large wooden bowl bord nm. (ON burr) 1. distance a boat is carried away by the tide; 2. distance between two boats bost nn. attack of peevishness, bad humour; da var ilt bost honon bost vw. to speak harshly or angrily; hannj bosta at honon brag nn. incision as an ear-mark in sheep braga vw. to incise; cut an ear-mark in sheep bragasten nm. a heavy stone one tries to lift as a test of strength braktin adj. recently enclosed or cultivated ground bran nn.: at vara upp bran to be on the point of going out or doing something brand nm. burning piece branjd nm. stripe branjdet adj. striped bred adj. broad breda vw. (past bredde) to melt; at breda sina bta to idle away a while, to do nothing useful bredband nn.: at liggja bredbandi to lie spread for drying bredd nf. breadth brek nm. stripe (trough) brejda to sprout, grow (of a corn) brennja nf. fire brennek nm. 1. mock-sun; bright spot near the sun; 2. end of the rainbow brest nm. 1. crash;2. violent storm; 3. hard struggle; brest hvala shoal of whales bresta vs.1. to come rushing with a noise; 2. to come or go at great speed bri vw. (past bride) to sharpen; at bri skni to sharpen the knife T brigda vw. to braid, twine, twist brim nn. surf brimi nm. 1. wave of heat or smoke from fire; 2. aurora borealis brinna vs. to burn brintek adj. indecl. with strong or dry wind (of weather) bris nn. 1. crack, fissure; 2. defect; da er ikke bris or skamm di brismek nm. cusk (a species of cod) britta sog vw. to strecht oneself in the warmth (or the sun) brod nn. 1. a piece of something broken; 2. capable, vigorous person

brodda vw.1. to come in sight; de hill-top just brodds in sight; de gish brodds i' de skrf - near the surface; 2. to begin to sprout (of plants) brodda nf. thefirst view or appearance; koma i broddu come in sight, leak brolk nm.protuberance, knob brolli nm. brother (tabu name for sea) bronget adj. dark-coloured with light breast or vice versa brosek nm. bold, quick active person broser nm. stout, vigorous person, woman brugg nf. edge, border brui nm. 1. brother; 2. gnome; 3. devil; haltu sjaft drengi, brui myn koma og taka dog! (NB: sjaft < ON kjaftr 'jaws' like sjag < ON kjaka 'to move jaws') bruk nn. 1. mass, heap; 2. multitude of a crowd bruksa vw.to have a bad cold and cough brults nn. crash, noise; eg hrdi brults av hans komu brun adj. brown bruni nm. 'the brown one', tabu for otter T brunka nf. brown mare or cow brunket adj. brownish bruski adj. frank, bold-looking brydda vw. to begin (to be floodtide); opp. toat nugga brusti brygg nf. bridge; brygg av noseni; rse bryggena at ber dog ver (proverb) praise the bridge you safely cross (= praise nothing before it has been tried) brynda vw.to desire a male (of female animals) brynnja vw.to give domestic animals water brytja vw. to cut up, cut into pieces (fish) brd nf. opened road; at braka brdena to clear the way; brdbrakandi pathfinder (Icel. brautryjandi, Far. slbrtari) brlek nm. 1. cow, loving one; 2. tabu name for sea brniskolt nn. banquet, feast; vildi du ikke stansa [stoppa] og taka purt [vera ve] i voru brniskolti? brsk nn. gristle brst, brs nn.(ON brjst) breast br nf. bubble of foam;hon hever biti bren suddenly becoming ill or taken offence, felt offended (without reason) br nn. 1. characteristic likeness or feature; 2. resemblance; hon hever ikke br av sinnari modershe has no resemblance to her mother br nf. liver of halibut brka nf. tangle, disorder; brka i sjuenonheavy sea with choppy waves brka vw.1. to speak badly or unintelligibly; hann kundi brka um engelsk; 2. to walk in a careless manner brket adj. behaving in a strange manner brri nm. 1. bugbear, scarecrow; 2. repulsive person bu nn. abode, farm bu nm. 1. shoulder of an animal; 2. the bow of a vessel bua nf. cow (petname); gnge og binde buena go and tether the cow buffla vw. to push, shovel bugga nf. barley buhelli nf. 1. 5th day before Christmass; 2. sexual continence between the reading of the banns and the wedding itself; at halda buhelli

bulag nn. 1. family, breed; 2. special kind of breed or cattle bulder nn. rumble, noise, quick unintelligible speech buli(g) adj. healthy, vigorous, robust bulk nn. 1. bump; 2. breast, bosom; at gnga ve bjaron bulkon; bjarbulket; stikk da i ditt bulk! put into your bosom! (stikk - imperativ of stinga) bull nn. measure for fluids bulla vw. to run rapidly, stream forth bulta vw. to push buman nm. brownie bund, bundsman nm. farmer, crofter; en gud bund upp landi bunderi nn. crofter's allotment bunga vw. to strike, push bunki nm. a round wooden tub bunkset adj. short; stour, awkward bur nm. porch, porch-door burta vw. to kindle; at burta upp eld; burta ut elden let the fire go out; burta kolena bus nn. 1. precipitation;2. excessive haste; 3. blazing fire busten 1. big boulder; 2. stone bringing good luck buster nn.bolster, cushion bygd nf. collection of houses; vre og nedre Bygdenar = villages Taft and Nisthus bygg nn. barley bygga vw. to build; at bygga hus, h (in stacks) byggarablanjdanf. (ON bygghafrablanda) "dredge", a mixture of barley and oats bygging nf. cluster of houses bylki nn. a (bare, naked) breast; at gnga vi bjaron bylkon byr nm. 1. strong sudden breeze; 2. haste; at vara i byri to be in a hurry; da var mukil byr honon he dashed away (in excitiment); hannj er i byri doghe is embittered against you byrdek nm. heavy burden byrra vw.(ON byrja 'to set going') 1. to commence to blow; 2. to begin, start byrsten adj. angry byster, buster nm. (ON blstar) collection of farms b nm. farm; hus barens = sea-term for Kjorkabi b nn. [ON bo] bid b inn vs. [ON bja in] to invite; katten byr inn the cat is raising one hint-leg and licks its tail b ut to call out bd nf. booth, tent, shed bl nn. 1. litter, restingplace for animals; 2. residence, farm bli nn. 1. ominous warning: unlucky word; 2. tremendous oath; hannj lagdi ut bli he swore a tremendous oath bnhus nn. church brd nn. board, plank bken adj. baked bla vw. to blaze, flame (of fire); blandi eld blk nm. partition-wall in a house (de but; de ben) bnabegnm. 1. dwindling; 2. misreable state (because of hunger); faren til bnabegs miserable,vanished, lost bng nn. 1. ball, ball of the foot; 2. stroke, blow

bnga nf. 1. knock, knocking at a door; oba drna, da er bnga! open the door! somebody is knocking! 2. rocky cave, where the breakers roar bnga vw. to knock; at bnga at dronon to knock at the door bnnj nn. child bnnjbunden adj. hindered by having a child (of a woman) bnnjhogi nm.1. childhood's home; hannj er faren after til hans bnnjhoga he is gone back to his childhood's home; da var bnnjhogi millja derra it was understood without mentioning; 2. a good trip (iron.); de hava gert bnnhjogi idag they have got nothing of their trip or errand today bnnjdom nm. childhood bnnjsvammnn. sickness, labour pains bt nm.boat bt(s)tiind nf. fishery tithe

D
dadderi nn. tiresome work daddet adj. (ON dagsetr) tired-looking, faint, weary sunset da pron. it; da var en dag at... dafa nf. otter dag nm. day; goden dag, Tammasmessdag 21. December; Todlessdag 23. December; jldagChristmass day, dags vinna a day's work daga vw. to break (of a day), hannj dagar the day breaks dagalig adj. badly done or prepared dagalien nf. (ON dagalan) decline of day; da er komi til dagalienar the day declines; da myn vara dagalien til d de koma atte [itte] it will be long before they come back; du hever vari djer dagalien you've been long away dagaljus nn. daylight dagdvelja vw. (-dvaldi) to while away a time uselessly dagdvelj nf. 1. lounging; 2. fruitless occupation; da er ikke men dagdvelj this is nothing but a fruitless occupation; 3. pl. dagdveljar toys for pastime; bnnjen mynu f knipptu [vermdu] diskana fyri [sen] dagdveljar the children will get the borken dishes as toys dagg nf. dew, moisture dagset nn. the close of day, sunset dakk nf. (ON kk) thanks dala vw. to descend, go down, become calmer; hannj dalar there's a lull dala vw. to iddle about dal nm. 1. valley (ON dalr); 2. strip of level land (Gael. dail) dalamjork nn.mist in the dales dalark nm.mist rising from the water dalka, djalka vw. to walk heavily damp nm. end (of a fishing line) dampa vw. to wear off the end of fishing-line; linan er dampa (upp)the end has been torn off the hand-line; at dampa pipena to break asunder the pipe darg nn. mass, large portion dask nn. thickness, misty clouds; dask ver landenon misty clouds over the place

dasket adj.exhausted, worn out dat pron. that; ve dat sama 1. at once, at the same moment; 2. immidiately davra vw. to abate, diminish;vinden davra the wind quitened down defna-jora nn.deaf ear degi nn. verywet piece of ground, hollow dekk nn. 1. sea-bottom (tabu); 2. tyre del nm. deal, part densk adj. Danish; densker pengar Danish money derg nn.somethingimportant and valuable derga vw. (ON dara) 1. to poke with fire persistently and violently; 2. to flirt derl nm. tail (of a sheep or pig) desja vw. to heap up hay in stacks desket adj.exhausted, worn out deva vw. (devdi) 1. to deafen; 2. to soften devilin nm. the devil; til devils! oh! the devil! di vw. to warm up di vw. to abate, calm di pers. pron. you 2 pl dibjasafit adj. weak, ailing, wretched digger nf.1. firmness of texture; 2. strength dikk nm. drink; f mjer dikk!give me a drink! dilda vw. 1. to disfigure; 2. to be unbecoming = afljuda;esi hatt dilder dog this hat disfigures you dimma nf. 1. dusk; 2. twilight;da myn vara dimma til d de komma atte [itte] it will be twilight before they come back; du hever vari djer burt ena dimmu you have been a long time away dimma vw. to make or grow (somewhat) dark; hannj dimmar om nittena it's growing dark in the night dimmra vw. to darken, become nightfall dimmodali adj. (ON dimm-ok-dali) (a good while) away dimmriv nm. dawn in the summer dimmset nn. nightfall in the summer dimska nf. fog, bank of fog; da er dimska gngandi ut fr sjunon there is a fog coming from the sea dirda vw. to stamp (with the feet); to d. de feet - with the feet dirdla vw. to shake, swing dirl nn. vibration, swinging; at seta e-t i dirl; at f dirl; at vara i [upp] dirli; hannj kom ve dirli; hvatna dirl er da at du hever itte dog divlek nm. large piece of bread djag nn. dough, lump of dough djarf nm. boldly, fearless, bold djarf nf. 1. hardiness, courage; 2. absense of fear in the dark djeld nf. (ON deild) 1. plot of ground, strip of grassland; grasdjeld; 2. deal, part djubek nm. small, undeveloped ling djup nn. depth djur nn. 2. animal; 1.pl. cattle djur nm. "brick", excellent fellow, dear (mingling of djur) dodd nm. broken nail dof adj. stale, having lost its strength

dofna vw. 1. to become slack and feeble person; 2. to abate, calm (of a storm); hannj hever dofna i vedrenu the storm [rough weather] has calmed dofning nf. calming; hannj er dofning i vedrenu doger nn. intense anxiety or waiting, hon var i dogri doi interj.: doi tak dee! devil take you! doitt nm. dull, indolent person doitta vw. to nod froms sleepiness; at sita doittandi ver e-u doker nm. 1. firmness os texture; 2. strength dokk adj. gloomy, depressed, discouraged; hannj er mukki dokk upp da dokka nf. young girl; min dokka, min piri dokka! my (little) sweetheart! doli, dwali nf. soft hollow in sea-bottom dolk nm. a big bulky person dolsket adj. foolish, half-witted domra nn. (ON dmrof) fine paid for absense from the court domsket adj. dejected, silent, melancholy dona vw. to boon, din don nn. 1. dust; 2. grain, particle donare nm. fierce blazing fire dongja nf. heap, pile dor pers. pron. you pl., you polite; gen. dora; kwar gnga dor? where are you going?, Goden dag til dora! - reply to Goden dag! dorafel nf. board of a door; faren i dorafelar broken into pieces dordek nm. portion of something dorga vw. to fish with an angling line dorro nf. fishing line < *dorg dos nf. (ON dys) small stack of corn dost nn. grain, particle dotter nf. daughter;Jamesdotter, Jonsdotter doven adj. slack, feeble, numb dovna vw. to become slack and feeble dover nn. doze, light slumber not speak for sleepiness or weakeness dovra vw. to be or become drowsy orsleepy; dovra ver to fall into a light sleep; ordi dovrai fyri hans monnji he could not speak distinctly, either for sleepiness or weakness dradska nf. slowness, tardiness drag nn. 1. dragging, pulling; geve oss drag ve djer, drengi! give us a hand, boy!; 2. quantity of milk; mjlka drag ut ur kuni; draga vs. to draw, pull; draga fisk to catch fish with a hand-line; at draga mjlk (ut or kunni) to milk a cow draga at to stick fast (to the sea bottom);hannj dreger at dekkenu draga fr to draw line a little from the bottom draga ned draw to the night; hannj dreger ned til nittar draga sog ver to begin courting draga til to steer the boat up into the wind draga upp to educate; rear; pp. draget upp, uppdragen; eg var uppdragen i Bress draga upp sog: 1. to approach; 2. to draw near (of time); hannj dreger sog upp til jla/til tolv draga upp 1. to draw out, make long-drawn; 2. to speak very slowly draga ut to take fish out of brine, wash and prepare it draga ut upp e-n to excite a kind of preternatural anxiety; da byrrai at draga ut upp mog

draga to put on an article of clothing draga ver to overhaul dranga vw. to tie firmly dratsa vw. to move heavily and slowly drav nn. 1. drift; 2. shoal of young fish dravin adj. 1. decomposed, being rotten; 2. out of sorts dredlet adj. that trails something, f.ex. garment while walking drega vw. to troll with a fishing-line, keep it in motion up and down, to and fro drenga vw. 1. to draw tight, strangle;2. to make it up after quarrel; 3. at drenga at [til] to recover from illness drengi nm. 1. boy; 2. halibut T drift nf. drift, speed drilla vw. to upset, knock over drilla vw. to lag behind drinj nn. cat T drintel nm. 1. man with baggy clothes; 2. poor worthless article drintelskiti nm. dirt driplet adj. spotted, having irregular spots drita vs. (past dret, pp. dritten) to evacuate, cacare drit nn. excrement driv nn. 1. hurry, excitement; 2. agitated haste driva vs. to drive driva at to work or be occupied with something; hveron driver du at? what is your work? ungu mennener aldri drivu havi sen gamblu mennener the young men did not attach importance to deep-sea fishing as the old men did drog nn. person who carries heavy burdens droga vw. to carry heavy burdens droga upp to work for a long time without being able to finish it droll nn. 1. slowness in movement; 2. hesitation drolsket adj. 1. slow; lounging; 2.dilatory drong nm. high rock in the sea droinnja vw. (past. drundi) 1. to drone, emit a hollow, long sound; 2. speak slowly droinnj nm. the hindmost part of the back of an animal drog nm. (ON draugr) gnome, troll drukk nm. drink, something to drink drukken adj. drunk, intoxicated drumba vw. to emit cross sounds, talk crossly and unwillingly: hannj drumbai tvartri ord ut or sjer drummer, drummi nm.snipe, common snipe drums nn. gloomy, peevish mood: Hvat sette dog i sikket drums? drumsa vw.to be peevish, sulk: Hvat drumsar du um? drumset adj. sulking, peevish, morose drumsket adj. out of sorts, in a gloomy mood drunga vw. to draw firmly together, tie fast: at drunga til e-s drung adj. 1.narrow; 2. troublesome, heavy, difficult to force onward; 3. fatiguing; drung bt; tung drung vinna heavy troublesome work drupa vw. (ON drupti) to stoop, bend, lean over: veggerne drupa at hans sidu the walls stooped to his side drupsjag adj. 1. quite exhausted; 2. depressed; 3. very rainy drus nm. person who works well and energetically

drusla vw. 1. to chase; 2. to drive away in a harsh manner; drengi, drusla burt ditt svin! boy, drive away your swine! drusla hannj upp! move it (the horse) quicker (in ploughing) drusla vw. to sprinkle; at drusla salt fisk drypa vw. (drypti) 1. drop slowly down; 2. to collapse drg adj. (ON drjgur) 1. substantial, abundant; 2. large T; at sni neberten ver drgan to cut the bain into too large pieces (sna nirburinn of drjgan) drri nn. (ON dreyri) blood (esp. from a wound); at draga drri to wound somebody dritta vw. to come lagging behind du nf. dove dua vw. to address familiarly du pron. pers. thou, you, serdu! looks-to! look here! duk nm. 1. duck; 2. fabric, cloth dulk nn. night cap dumbvillja nf. Holy Week days; dumbvilljadagavoga Holy Week, week before Easter Sunday dumm adj. 1. deaf, hard of hearing; 2. stupid dun nm. down, soft plimage of birds dunder nn. rumbling sound; Dondri - waterfall (cf. Dynjandi) dunter nm.eider-duck dura vw. 1. do doze; 2. to move drowsily durasuk nm. draught between doors or through narrow passage duster nn. quarrel, angry dispute; de havde duster they had a quarrel, da var duster mellja dera; at storta [mana] duster to wrangle, dispute angrily dvala vw. 1. to sleep lightly; 2. to fall into a light slumber; at dvala ver dvali nm. 1. light slumber, nap; 2. short lull in rough weather: hannj grdi dvala fyri tiena a lull in the storm for awhile dvelja vw. (past dvaldi) 1. to idle away the time; 2. dawdle about dvang nn. piece of wood dvarg nf. 1. haste, speed; 2. passing shower; hannj gekk ve dvarg sjer dvarga vw. to move speedily, rush dvars prep. across: de nail is driven in d. dvarsa vw. to place crosswise; dvarsa grundena to set long-line acros the fishing ground dvavra vw. to doze dvetla vw. to wash slightly, rins dvimmsa vw. to dwindle, diminish dvg nn. (ON vag) 1. urine; 2. mud dy nf. calming of the weather, abatement of storm; hannj er dy i vedrenu dy nn. heave, swell; at finnja landi ve dyi dyba vw. (past dybdi) to dip, to be constantly at sea dyba sog vw. to strive, soil, slave dyba intil vw. to indulge (into gossip) dyba vw. to constantly soil oneself dyba ut vw. to stay out long, away from home; krna liggja dybandi ut til heveds av dimmu the cows stay away till midnight in summer dyppa vw. (dypti) dip, bend oneself d nn?. 1. miry place; 2. swamp dlos adj. lazy, inactive, unwilling to work

dm nn. example dms, a-dms as, for example dr nf.pl. (Gen.pl. dra and dura) door drka vw. to hold out, continue work or project as long as possible; vi drka hannj ut; de drkau hannj vel ut dagen they stay long today on the fishing-grounds despite the bad weather drkalig adj.usable, serviceable Dt nm. him you know, aforemenshioned (see also hannep, hannister, haipernor, Ovik, Og);mannen upp Dt d [do] nf. 1. strength, energy; 2.solidity, quality; 3. durability ddda interj. bless us! ddda mog! 'bless' < dtt dlos adj. slow, inactive, wanting in energy and ability dma nf. sensation, taste; da er ikke dma fiskenon dr nn. drop dren nm.: ill dren to the devil! hold your tongue! drska nf. 1.daring, foolhardy action; 2. lack of sense, delusion

E
ebb nn. (L.Sc. ebb, ON fjara) foreshore ed nn. 1. isthmus; 2. neck of land, narrow strip of land between 2 seas or firths eder nn. 1. venom, poison; 2. sharp [cancer, bitter] cold; 3. a mythical fish, 'sea-serpent'; at fljuka sen eder to make rapid headway edjek nm. eddy, branch from a main current efter prep. (D) 1. after: at bia efter e-on to wait for someone; 2. towards, along; nord [sud] efter in northerly direction;ver efter towards that side, in efter inwards, 'ut efter outward; ut 'efter all the time after, right through, from beginning to end: lat deir reda da upp, sen de kunna, or sibba efter let them arrange or settle it as they're able to, or are related; efterbt nm. 1. boat which can't keep up with others; 2. person inferior to another efterkast nn. afterclap eftergerd nf. 1. forgery, imitation, counterfeit work; 2. discoveringof stolen goods by witchcraft efterman nm. folower; successor efterstander nm. something left standing eg pron. pers. I: A mog, D mjer, pl. vi, AD us eg nm. 1. chastisement, correction; 2. deserts egg nn. 1. egg; 2. birds egg egg nf. edge egga vw. 1. to egg; 2. to drive; 3. to incite; at egga samen ei interj. eh! ha! eing nf. property eken adj. thin, meagre eld nm. fire elderin adj. elderly el nn. (ON l) strong current of air or draught elska vw. to love elsket adj.: elsket eg! wearied I! elta vw. (past elti) 1. to squeeze, handle too roughly; 2. to pull about; 3. to chase, pursue; at elta smor to be very long aboot doing something;

at elta e-t to dig ground; de elta at taatis they are eagerly occupied in taking up the potatoes elta vw. to spew, vomit en num. one; neu. et ende part. yet, still, even now; cf. ante endlang adj. at full length, from end to end endmark nn. the farthest boundary enfald adj. 1. single, of a single part; 2. simple eng nf. meadow engskipti nn.pl. 1. ameadow-lot; 2. allotted piece of meadow enjd nm. breath; at draga enjdena enk, jenk nf. 1.possesion;2. dedication; 3. sweaheart; hon havdi aldri jenk she never had a boyfriend enka vw. 1. to dedicate; 2. to allow; at enka djuri upp et mannligt namn to give an animal a human name ennji nm. steep projection or slope ent a vw. to heed, care for entig adj. obedient er nf. (ON ra) honour, glory; alt veri er til din (jer)! may all your wishes be fulfilled! ill er veri til hans!shame to him! er nf. flat sand-bank erdros nm. old Shet. wooden plough erendlos adj. without errand; da er sagda ikke erendi at hava sent dog heryou have surely not come here exept on an important errand erga vw. to irritate, tease;at erga upp e-t erik nm. yearling ering, hering nm. a boat rowed by oars ern nm. eagle erpa, jarpa vw. 1. to be prudish, turn up ones nose, 2. to constantly becomplaining; at erpa um e-t to be always asking for something; 3. to harp upon the same subject; at erpa upp e-t to keep on asserting something incorrect; at jarpa upp to repeat the same question erski nn. mouldboard (of a plough) erta vw. 1. to irritate, tease; 2. provoke erta vw. to strive forward es nf. fiercely blaming fire esing nm. lower, interiour part of a roof Essja nf. ash-coloured cow esten adv., adj.subst. 1. east; 2. eastern, from eastside esterkop nn.fine paid every third of a year estra vw. to become easterly (of a wind) esterlig adj. easterly et nn. 1. agitation; 2. excited state of mind; at vara i eti ver e-t et nn. eating:da er et fiskenon eta vs. to eat; etandi - eadible; at eta upp to penetrate, worry, make envious or malicious; uppeten filled with angry eter nn. 1. venom, posion; 2. cancer, bitter cold eterkap nn. large spider eterskab nm. bitterly cold weather

etersom adj. bitterly cold Eti nm. name for a goblin (Eater?); Eti [Gonni] myn taka dog! ettri adj. (ON eptri, aptari) latter (half): dimsens ettri the later half of midsummer night ev nn. doubt, irresolution eva vw. to doubt evalig adj. doubtful, not to rely upon evla vw. to master, be able to even nn. 1. material;2. matter, means; hannj hever gert da ut av litlu evni he's done it out of (with) little resources ever nn. (ON rinn, yfrinn 'excessive') being or thing of a very large size eviltu interj. live it alone! (exclam.) < ei, viltu!

F
fadabrod nn. old, partly broken object fader, fair nm. father fallj nn. current in the sea; infallj flowing tide; utfallj ebbing tide fallja vs. to fall fallja at to fall asleep, slumber fallja fyri to occur to one: da fellj fyri mjer! it came into my mind fallja fr 1. to fall off; 2. to forsake; 3. to die falljaupp to begin to lose freshness (fish, meat); fisken er falljen up fallj nn. 1. fall; 2. downfall, lameness fanga vw. to tie a knot; at fanga upp linena fang nn. 1. grasp, hold; 2. knot; 3. prize, booty, profit fann nn. heap fo drifted snow de snaw lies in fanns far nn. epidemic far nn. vessel, boat far nn. time, round;fyrsta fari! annar (fari)! first round! second (round)! (in children's games) faren adj. gone, passed away, old-fashioned, obsolete fasgerd, fasgrd nm. 1. wall of peats; 2. length of pleated straw; 3. long rag dragged behind: hvatna fasgerd er da, at du dreger efter djer? fasgrda vw. to repair a straw-basket (kessi) sewing a new bottom fallsjon nn. epidemic Fasten nf. Quinquagesima fasta vw. to fasten fatgud nm. butter and train-oil, paid as a tax to a feudal feda vw. to have a severe, fierce look fedek nm. 1.bucket; 2. waterpail fedmel nf. thick woman feg, fg 1. beautiful; 2. sun T feg, fej adj. dying fegska nf. supernatural vision portending death fellj, fjellj nn. 1. mountain; 2. height

fellja vw. to strike felljo nm. 1. mate, an equal; 2. companion fema vw. to float as a layer on the water (of oil) fena vw. to show delight, receive hospitably; eg fena hannj ikke I could not bear him fenlig adj. pleasant, attractive ferd nf. 1. travel, journey; da kom til ferdar [ferdeks] it was a nice journey (ironically);2.speed, great haste (also fjerd); at gnga ve muklari fjerd; da er fjerd honon ferd, fjrd nn. 1. a person of value or importance; 2. good compensation ferda vw. to walk quickly; at gnga ferdandi; hvarna ferder du til? sjuven ferdai burt ve sinu fragi ferdalek nm. journey or errand resulting badly; da kom til ferdaleks ferdebord nm. great haste or bustle ferdig adj. 1. in good condition; 2. still active; 3. ready, prepared ferdimet nm. provisions for a journey fifla vw. to act foolishly fifler nm. foolosh person fillafjoga nf. nothing turning out; da gekk fiflafljoga ve honon everything gone wrong with him filska vw. 1. to make fun; 2. to make fun; at filska ve stoljkon filska nf. 1. foolery, sillyfun; 2. flighty behaviour finna vs. 1. to find; 2. to feel; eg fann guvi av hans anjd I felt his breath; at finna kalt [gott, ilt]; fu finner du? how do you feel? firdet adj. lost, disappeared (in spite of search) firl nn. ridiculous new fashion in dress fisk nm. fish fiskafjel nf. fish-board, partition in a boat to prevent fish from slipping fiskalig adj. suitable for fishing; da er ikke fiskaligt i dag the weather is not good for fishing today fiskarroe nm. unlike or unbecoming a practical fisherman fisket adj. out of order, tangled fitgeng, fitgng nm. cattle track fitja vw. to plait or twist into each other fivla vw. to cover thinly; at fivla upp kost fjagers interj. hang it!; fy upon it! = exclamation of annoyance fjala vw. 1. to hide oneself; 2. disappear fjaldrekar interj. exclamation of surprise fjalsgrd nm. fence, division, marking boundary parts of a out-field fjandi nm. devil; fjandin siter i dinon hanjdon! confound it! hang it! fjansken interj. oath, exclamation: confound it! hang it!; fjansken upp ita ting! may fortune attend that child! fjarsken 1.nm. devil; 2. interj. outburst, anger: hvatna er fjarsken ve djer? fjasken adj. desirous, greedy; fisken er ikke fjasken the fish won't bite fjedemor nm.poor butter fjel nf. board, esp. plank in a boat fjoda nf. short skirt; esp. skirt with a bodice fjog nn. loose substance, dust fjoga vw. to grind, crush fjomtan num. fifteen, 15 fjora nf. edd, foreshore

fjorahvarf nn. absense of ebb fjord nm. 1. firth; 2. extensive fishing-ground fjord nm. 1. crowd; 2. multitude fjorek nm. pet name for a little child: oh du piri fjorek! darling, my little life! fjorken adj. 1. nimble; 2. active; fisken er ikke fjorken fjosket adj. slovenly, untidy fjrka vw. to move nimbly in a wheedling orcoquettish manner fla nn. (ON flag) thin, pared off heather- or grass-turf flakra vw. 1. to play fond pranks; 2. to fool; at flakra ve stoljkon flatja vw. 1. to flatten, press down; 2. strike to the ground flemper nn. passion, excited state of mind flemster, flemter nn. a rushing along in a confused hurry flet nm. patch of cultivated land, strip of arable or grass land flinder nn. splinter; shaving; thin slice flingset adj. giddy, wild flinsja sog vw. to lie basking in the sunshine flitja vw. 1. to move aside; 2. move oneself; 3. to carry flitman nm. porter flo nm. 1. swampy place, morass; 2. sea T floga vw. to throw, let fall floga nf. fly; longafloga, swartafloga flogadriftnf. (confused) haste, speed flokk nm. crowd, multitude flokner, flukner nm. (ON rflognir 'raven poet.', *flognir) fowl T floraskit nn. unsuccessful work flosa vw. to flirt, coquet, dally floti nm. small ferryboat, raft fluka, fljuka vs. to fly off, fall off fluki nm. little fellow; to a child: min piri fluki! flukra nf. 1. quantity of big snowflakes; 2. occas. snowflake flurakavi nm. dense snow flda vw. (past flddi) to reach high water fld, flrd nf. speed, great haste fldferd nf. great hurry, speed foga vw. to drift (of dense snow); fogandi [murandi] kavi dense falling snow, snow-storm fogbord nm. dense snow-storm folekar nm. folk, people, esp. men T folgja, foldja 1. annual pension; 2. abundant provisions; 3. long time, eternity foiljda vw. to wrap oneself in clothes; foiljdet; foiljdet um andliti fomma vw.1. to smoke; 2. to drift; 3. to escape (of a smoke); guven fommar ut um drnar; hannj fommar ut guvena; fommandi kavi foni nm. fire T for() nm.(ON fori) a find of great value for prep. (Dan, Nor for) for; hvat for mannj er hannj? what kind of man is he? ford nf. poor result;da kom til prligara fordar it didnt succeed forgeng, forgng nm. foreboding, supernatural appearance of a person; see fegska forken-metet nm. delicious, savoury food forkop nn. 1. lawman's salary; 2.taxes constituting the lawman's salary forlegen adj. thoroughly exhausted, weakened

forrum nn. forehold in a boat fors nm. waterfall forsend nf. snell on a fishing-line formela vw. (ON fyrirmla) to consecrate, sanctify forspoken water (holy water) forsukn nf. piece of iron or whalebone fixed to a sinker on a fishing-line fosens interj. exclamation of surprise: oh min fosens! oh my gracious! foud nm. (ON foguti) 1. bailiff, prefect; 2. president of supreme court foudr nn. (Dan. fogderi) 1. bailiff's district, bailiwick; 2. office of bailiff (great foud) frad nm. fart fradavw. to fart frek nm. feeble, delicate person frsaga 1. tale, narrative; 2.rumour frag nn. 1. person or thing of value; 2. good bargain; da er frag that's a great deal; at gera frag ut av e-on to make a good profit (partly ironically) fram adv. 1. forward; 2. forward to the stem of a boat; 3. away from the shore out to sea; at seta ut fram to head towards the high seas; hannj er fram setting seawards (tide); fram ve (forwards) along; at vara frammito be out at dep-sea fishing; fram av in front of, farther out at sea; in games: at vara frammi to be forward; comp. framer farther out at sea opposed to hemer: fremer Sedeken - hemer Sedeken framhav nn. deap-sea fishing grounds; at gnga til framhavs = at gnga fram framsida nf. foreside fremd nf. foreign countries fremd adj. strange, not akin frend nm. kinsman, relative;see bldfrind frest nn. poor attempt to carry out a piece of work frest nn. respite, time spent in waiting fresta vw. 1. to afford; 2. to attempt, try; 3. to dispense with fresta vw. 1. to delay, postpone; 2. to have a respite;3. to wait (Conn.) fro nn. 1. seed of a plant; 2.anthers in a flower frod nf. froth, foam, esp. sea-foam frolik nm. (ON frleikr) old magic rigmaroleor formula fromli adj. neat,orderly fron nm. superstition, magic formula fru nf. 1. woman; 2. wife T frtt nf. (ON frtt) 1. sooth-saying;2. superstitious belief, customs and spells; 3. news fr prep. from; at sija fr fugl, ful nm. bird fuglekavi nm. dense snow-storm ful adj. 1. foul, uncertain; 2.angry, annoyed fullek nm. fool force, speed fumlig adj. big, unshapely, gross in appearance fund, fynd nm. a find, something found fungli adj. 1. generous; 2. open-handed fusom adj. eager, industrious futra vw. 1. to check; 2. to prevent; 3. stand in one's way futvark nm. 1. pain in the feet; 2. much trudging about

fyrering nm. four-oared boat fyri prep. for; alt fyri et just this minute (Fr. alt fyri eitt) fyrebord nm. apparition coming as a (supernatural) warning; gekk til fyrebordar came to nothing, vane hope fyrfoder nm. cat T (the four-footed one) fyrsm nf. 1. contempt, outrage, neglect; 2. small triffling present, triffle fyrsm vw. 1. to diminish, lessen; 2. disregard; 3. insult;a firsmjoin body fyrst num. first fra vw. (ON fra) to convery, carry; du mynt fra sen du finner be content with what you have or get frd nf. 1. hurry;2. unsuccessful result (=misfrd); de vuru muklari (mis)frd frda vw. (ON ferask) 1. to wander; 2. to get on [along] in a certain manner; 3. to thrive; at frda gott/ilt to behave; hannj frdai vel he was well received f vs. 1. to get, receive; 2. procure; f mjer dykk! fng nn. embrace fngsnra nf. violin (old-fashioned) = gju [gu, g] 2-stringed violin fngstrng nm.the first string of a violin fren adj. 1. gone away; 2. set off; fu er du fren? what luck have you had? eg er fren ver vel I've fared very well

G
gallj nm. mock-sun gab nn. 1. gap, opening; 2. idle talk, nonsense gaba vw. to be talkative; gab(s)et gaba nf. cave, grotto gabel, gevel nm. (ON gafl) 1. gable, end-wall; 2.steep headland gabi nm. talkative, tattling person gad nn. hole, opening gadd nm. large nail, spike galafert adj. wild, frolicsome galdragonanf. scorceress, witch gall adj. 1. hard, difficult; 2. bad gama vw. to make fun gamari nf. (ON gaman-hr) 1. wild, noisy mirth, loud talk; 2. laughter; at halda [gera] gamari gammel adj. weak decl. gambli, gambla old gander nm. sudden feeling of powerlessness, sickness at heart (< sickness from witchcraft?) da er ilt gander upp mitt hjarta gang, gjang nn. 1. going, gait; 2. passage;3. throughfare, floor; 4. turn, times gansel nm. 1. qualm;2. vomiting; 3. strange appearance ganska adv. very well, quite well T gard nm. 1.enclosure, fence; 2. halo around the sun or moon gardbalk nm. ridge of earth marking the boundary between two pacthes of arable land garm nm. : roffatu-garm - with an untidy hair like gart nm. (ON garr) 1. enclosed uncultivated patch of land; 2. farm gelaegit adj. (ON *ga-litkar?) coloured (of animals)

geng nm. 1. going, gait; 2. throughfare; 3. times, circuit, row genga nf. long walk genger nm. sunrise T; gengerenon of the sun, at sunrise gera vw. 1. to do; gera so! do it! 2. to make,produce; 3. to raise, let blow (weather); 4. to assist, further; hannj gerdi ri; at gera veder to forecast weather (ON gera r - interpret); gera ilt to cause bad blood between friends gera efter 1. to copy, counterfeit; 2. to discover (by magic) where stolen goods are hidden gera til 1. to fashion, form; 2. to arrange, prepare gera um 1. to change places; 2. to pass from hand to hand gera upp (sog) to get ready to set out on a journey gest nm. guest geta vs. to beget, get; hannj gat hana ve bnni he got her with a child getling nm. pig, young hog geva nf. (Nor. givnad) 1. natural ability; 2. correct manner of behaviour or carrying out something; see also gva geva vs. 1. to give; 2.fail T; 3. give away geva 1. to urge on; 2. to work energetically at something geva upp to give up; hannj gav upp dem he gave it up owning to exhaustion and withdrew from the game; bten gav upp dem the boat was no longer serveable geva til 1. to give much to (intense desire); eg myndi geva e-t til (cf. ON ek vildi gefa mikit til); 2. to drub, cudgel gidli nn.knife T gil nn. 1. ravine, ghyll; 2. small narrow dale gild nn. (ON geld, gjald) payment, compensation gild adj. 1. payable, valid; 2. valuable; 3. capable, good at work; 4. excellent, notable gilet adj. having whitish or yellowish belly girja vw. 1. to press, squeeze; 2. to be squeezed or pressed givamild adj. 1. generous;2. open-handed gjo nf. cleft in a rock gjoger nm.species of sea-perch gjomek nm. stripe, esp. on animal's forehead gjomet adj. faded, pale, sickly-looking gjord nf.1.income; 2. large gift, fine present; hvar rsar gjordena everyone praises what he gets; da er gjord gjot, gjut nn. 1. defile, hollow; 2.small dale; 3. narrow cleft gjnga nf. in compounds: something given to someone on errand gjnger nm.steed, horse glab nn. 1. opening;2. space, esp. a cleft; 3. hollow; 4. small dale glerla nf., glerhellek nm. sheet of ice glib nn. 1. large quantity; 2. iron. good exchange; 3. good reward glans nn. brightness, shine glansa vw. 1. to shine, give light (of bright metals) glant nn. 1. amusement, mirth; 2. pleasantry and jest glegg adj. 1. sharp-sighted;2. acute; 3. clever, quick to learn; glegt er gestsens joga (Fr. glggt er gestsins eyga, sl. glggt er gestsins auga) glepa vw. (past glepti) (ON gleypa) 1. to swallow; 2. to dry up; 3. to address somebody crossly glerel, glerhellja nf., -ek

nm. smooth, glassy sheet of ice gljoger nn. foam on the surface of the sea gljur nn. 1. deep cleft; 2. darkrocky cavern; 3. grotto globeren nm.def. the moon T gloder nn. 1. glow of heat; 2. reddish light; sulen var uti ve glodri; da er gloder ve suleni; da er gloder uti; gloder fyri [under, av] suleni glodret adj. 1. dense, large, dark (of a cloud); 2. charged with clouds (air) gloga vw. to cast furtive watchful side-glances about gloitta vw. 1. to slide, to slip; 2. to become loose gloitt nm. 1. large portion of food; 2. meal between regular meals, snack; also glutning (glot-, gloit-) - a glutton gloma vw. to grasp, gather;at gloma samen [op] taatis glomek nm. paw, large hand glomet adj. dirty, with begrimed face (striped with dirt) gloming nm. daybreak glonsa nf. additional meal, between regular meals glont nm. 1. big well-grown boy; 2. large jelly-fish, medusa glopen adj. gluttonous, greedy, hungry glu, glua? vw. 1. to glow, give light; 2. shine glub nm. 1. gap, ravine; 2. appetite T da er ikke glub fiskenon gluggi nm. small round cake glukast nm. 1. large heap, quantity (of potatoes); 2. snack; hannj lagdi i [var ve] glukasti gluma vw. to suspect, be suspicious; at gluma upp e-t; at illgluma to scowl glums nf. pit, hollow, depression in sand glupni nm. glutton, greedy person glura vw. 1. to stare, gaze; 2.shine in the dark; fisken glurar i myrkenu glygg, glegg nm. hole in a wall, small window glb, glbi nm. good mouthful, large portion gld nf. red-hot embers glma, glema vw. (past glmdi) 1. to forget; 2. neglect glm nm.1.moonlight; 2. low fire; 3. white stripe; 4. lamp T goda, gda nf. road, path godek nm. riddle, something to guess godet adj. minded, tempered goiljd nf. strong heat, short period of heat goiljtinm. 1. hog, (fatted) pig; 2. stupid person gojek nm. 1. snowman; 2. young coalfish gola nf. wind, blast goljdet adj. decayed, beginning to putrefy gollja nf. 1. godmother; 2. young woman attending a mother gong(s)ja vw. 1. to swagger, swing; 2. to walk aimlessly; hvar(na) genger du gongsjandi til? goni, gonni nm. 1. supernat. being (elf); Gonni myn taka dog!; 2. ugly woman gopn, gjopn, gjopem nf. handful, hollow of the hand gorja vw. (past gurdi) to plant too closely gosen adj. slightly dried in the wind gotek nm. 1. fissure, cleft; 2. gutter grabb nn. grab, grasp gram adj. 1. very desirious of; 2. delighted, overjoyed (ver) gramisa vw. (past gramisti) to bewitch; cf. fommis

granda vw. to hurt by witchcraft granderi nn. 1. witchcraft, sorcery; 2. magic grandori nn.septennial court granni nm. 1. neighbour; 2. address my friend! comrade! grava vs. 1. to dig up; 2. bury; sjuen grever av boitnenon gred, gre nm.coll. 1.objects; 2. implement; 3. matter, object; da er greden! pretty thing! (iron.); 4. sort, kind gref nf. 1. grave;2. sea-bottom; also as -grf [grof] in bakkagrof grefster nm. 1. digging up; 2. burial gremja vw. (past gramdi) 1. to be embittered, enraged; 2. to swear horribly; 3. to grieve; 4. to complain (ver, um) grep nf. 1. fork;2. forked implement, manure-fork gresi adv. excellently; gresi ger carefully [excellently] done grimm adj. 1. grim, fierce, harsh; 2. ugly grind nf. 1. gate;2. frame; 3. shoal of whales grinda vw. to shut the gate in a fence grindhval nm.'caaing' whale grip nn. 1. robbery;2. taking hold of grip nm. valuable object, excellent of its kind gris nm. pig, (young) swine grist nm. 1. force, strength; da er ikke grist i honon; 2. hypnotizing, witchcraft;at kasta grist ver e-on groinnj nm. shallow fishing-ground groinnjing nm. cod; tanngroining gronan nf. 1. presentiment, suspicion; 2. casual mention of something;eg havdi gronan av di I heard it incidentally; I got a hint of it grot, grut nm. porridge grund nf. 1. ground, soil; 2. foundation; 3. sea-bottom grunnka nf. shallow bank in the sea gryk nn. dawn grbi nm. 1. small, feeble, incapable person; 2. naughty child grflingsadj. adv. face downwards, prostrate grli, grlek nm. 1. bugbear; 2. witch; 3. masked or disguised person grn adj. green grning nf. dawn grnska nf. green heads of turf turned up by digging grt nn. 1. stone, species of stone; 2. stony ford grta nf. pot grtsta, grot- nm. porridge gr nf. 1. wind; 2. gentle breeze gr adj., weak grgi (A.S. grg?) grey grga nf. the grey one (mare or cow) grget adj. grey(ish) grgi nm. grey stallion or bush grkollj nm. mouse T < "grey head" grta vs. (past gret, pp grten) to weep grtsa nf. weeping girl grtsi nm. weeping boy grtska nf. crying and noise gu, gud adj. (neut. goitt) good guen, guin nf. improvement in the weather guv, gov nf. (ON gufa) 1. steam, smoke; 2. strong smell;eg fann guv av di; 3. heavy breathing; 4. hurry; 5. anger; hannj kom i guv guva vw. 1. to steam, smoke; 2. tobreathe heavily; 3. to hurry on

gulsa nf. jaundice; gulsagras - a remedy against jaundice gum nf. 1. mind; temper; 2. feeling; at hava illja gum at e-on guma vw. to pay attention, to notice; = enta (anta) gykerl nf. 1. ogress, sorceress; 2. tall, stout woman g nf.(ON ggja) old-fashioned 2-stringed fiddle; see also gju gdasi nf.(Fr. gska?) good thing put by for a certain occasion; at halda e-t fyri gdasi; 2. quality gr nf. (ON ggr) 1. unusually tall woman; 2. masculine woman g vs. (Danicism, Fr. ballads g, st) to go, only in: st or g gva nf. 1. natural ability; 2. gift git nn. hole, opening in a roof gnga, genga vs. 1. to go, to walk; 2. to flow,to stream, to roll (of nature phenomena); hannj genger ikke at koma he will hardly come; gngandi kjonki [sga] infectious cold gnga av 1. to go off, pass away; 2. leave off (mood, temper); 3. to accomplish a heavy piece of work; 4. to leave a surplus; at gnga av vrenu gnga at to set upon, attack, go at; at gnga upp [nord] at (of a wind) gnga fr 1. to be taken from (as a part), make an exception of;2. to die (cattle) = gnga til gnga fram to go forward to the stem of a boat; see fram gnga fyri 1. to descend; 2. fall from something steep and perish in the sea; 3. to perish by falling gnga saman to settle (agreement) gnga til to perish, die (especially of young weak animals) gnga um to shift about or turn (of wind) gnga under 1. to take a burden on one's back; 2. to pledge someone to, submit to gnga upp 1. to rise; 2. to heave, break high; 3. to increase; 4. to come to an end; gngen upp = gngen ut come to an end gnga ut 1. to begin the field work in spring; 2. to come to an end or be worn out, dagen gekk ut the day passed; 3. to have a (definite, foretold) result; 4. to be verified (of a prophecy) gnga ve 1. to go on (in spite of opposition), endure; 2. to decline; 3. to waste away; 4. to perish, die; 5. to own up, confess gnga ver 1. to heave; 2. to go beyond all bounds [too far], exceed; 3. to overflow gngbit nn. (ON gagn-) mark in a sheep's ear gnn nn. (ON garn) yarn, thread grd nm. yard, fence grdsendi nm.place where an old fence ends grdsimi nm.one of the thick straw-ropes grdsta nm. ridge of earth from an old fence gitt (gitek)nf. doorcase, doorway; threshold; de vuru ikke ut ver dragittena; gakk ver giteken!; legga gitt inn under heli btsens

H
habagoitlek nm. (Eng. habit + ON kot) miserable dweling, hut, small house habbi-gabbi nm./adv. haphazard, chance; at leka [kasta] habbigabbi

hada vs. (ON hata) 1. to hate; 2. to treat smb as a thief hadersvisi, -vissi nm.stunt; miserable lean animal hads interj. at him! (to a dog); see hauts/hawots hag nm. 1. state, condition; ill hag komi til din!; 2. order; du hever gert prligan hag av di; 3. management; at hava hag ve e-t to economize; de havdu ikke hag upp da they lived beyond their income; 4. control; eg heve ikke hag djer I can't manage you!; haga vw. 1. to manage (well); 2. to keep house economically; 3. to save; 4. to cease; 5. to decrease hag(a)lig adj. 1. careful, convenient; 2. proper; 3. fine; neg. uhagalig haglig adv. 1. carefully, conveniently; 2. properly; 3. finely; du er komi hagligt isa ti you've done it finely this time haglos adj. 1. wanting in economy; 2. immoderate, wasteful; 3. boundless; haglosa havi hagmark nn. boundary mark hagri nf. (ON hagra, hagrei) ride on the hill, beating the bounds hagri, hageri, hgri nf. 1.a long list of something; 2. flow of words; 3. memoirs; 4. use; 5. application; 6. advantage; 7. (bad) conclusion or use hakka vw. 1. to hack, hew asunder; 2. to dig up hald nn. 1. hold, grip; 2. handle halda vs. (imp. halt!) 1. to hold, keep; at halda hus; 2. to steer, head; at halda nord [sud, imuti] etc; 3. to maintain, mean; at halda gngandi 1. to handle roughly; 2. to fling aside; 3.to keep going; 4. to celebrate; at halda jl; halt dina hanjd!stop that! Halt dinar henjder and take blag! Stop work and keep a rest! halt(u) gngu! stop your gait [speed]!; halda sog: haltu dog at djer! move aside a little! haltu dog stilt! be silent [stand still!, stop!]; pp. halden 1. in a state; 2. treated halda af to stop execution of something halda at to persist eagerly in an undertaking halda fr 1. to steer away or aside; 2. draw off halda fram to head towards the high seas halda innj to pull towards the shore halda til 1. to frequent; 2. to stay in a place; 3. to last, continue; 4. to be the same; fu helder du til nu?; 5. to head, set off in a direction; 6. to keep shut halda upp 1. to support for life; 2. (cf. Fr. halda uppat) to cease halda ut 1. to endure; 2. to hold out halda vi 1. to endure; 2. hold out, go on; 3. to consent, agree with somebody halda to stop; haltu liti! haldkessa nf. large straw-basket with handles each side hali nm. 1. tail; 2. cow T hallj nm. (ON hallr) rock, stone hallj nm. (ON halli) inclination (of a heavy boat); da er hallj btenon hals nm. 1. neck; 2. bottom-board halsband nm. collar halsgirt nf. neck-lock halslokk nm. neck-lock halt nn. halting, limping gait halta vw. to halt, limp haltadans nm. halting dance (of fairies); at halda haltadans halt adj. lame, limping; halti nm. lame or limping person hams(t) adj. 1. confused; 2. unruly;3. queer; 4. foolish

hana, hannja (ON hrna, arna?) interj. here! come here! hanjd nf. 1. hand;2. handful; 3. side, edge; 4. five in number; i hanjd, at henjdi, anjdi 1. at hand, near; 2. fast approaching; at koma i hanjd/til hanjdar to be at hand, happen, appear, to arrive on the spot; at koma vel/ilt til hanjdar to turn out well or not; de eru komen ilt til hanjdar they didn't succeed; gu hanjd, upp mina hanjd! upon my soul [honour]! hanjdaklapp nn. loud noise; halda hanjdaklapp um e-t hanjdalos nm. without a hand/arm; hanjdel nf. 1. objects;2. belongings; 3. gear; 4. goods; 5. luggage hanjdla vw. to handle hanjd(a)gripp nn. firm grip with the hand hanjd(a)kruppan nf.def. 1. slap on the hand; 2. children's game hanjdi nm. 1. (unnamed person) he whom you know; 2. shark T hanjdmel nn. (ON handml, -mli) 1. certain quantity of corn; 2. handmeasure hanjdrista vw. (ON handhrista) 1. to separate corn by rubbing it; 2. to overhaul hanjdsel nn. something given with good wishes; eg myn geva djer mitt hanjdsel hannj pers. pron. he; hannj dagar; da er hannj fram fyri henni there's a boat ahead of ours hannana interj. look out! keep clear! hanvaga vw. (ON andvaka; past -vakti) 1. to lie awake at night; 2. to steal; 3. to be doubtful, hesitate; eg l og hanvagti I lay and hanvaged hanvaging nm. slight impression of something hap nn. handle, loop-shaped band happ nn. good luck, success; hava (goitt) happ happ adj. healthy, in good condition hardi nm. (ON harr 'hard') sea-bottom harikel nn.remnant, fragment harka vw. 1. to hawk; 2. cough up phlegm harliben nn. skeleton of an animal harm nm. sorrow, grief, distress harpa nf. harp-shell harsk adj. unpleasant, disaggreeable, coarse hatra vw. to bully, plague, persecute; illhaterd neglected, in a poor condition hatraviti nn. person who is always persecuted; = ulaviti hatt nm. 1. scum, skin (on the surface of liquid); 2. hat hattra vw. to detain, stop, hinder hatter nn.hindrance, drag; da er ikke hatter fyri mog at gera haust interj. hoy! hallo! hausta vw. to shout hoy! hallo! especially in driving away a sheep hav nn. 1. the open sea; 2. deap-sea fishing-grounds; 3. ocean hava vw. 1. to have; 2. bring, carry, move; at hava bort hem/in/ut; 3. talk, spread rumours; de hava da, at... there's a rumour afloat...; hava sog av to move aside (oneself); have dog av! hava at 1. to find a fault with somebody; 2. to reprimand; 3. to chastice, punish; have dog at djer! move a little! hava fr to set off from the shore hava imuti to have an objection to, contradict hava up 1. to lift, raise; 2. introduce a subject, mention; at hava upp efter 1. to repeat; 2. to hark back upon (Fr. hava upp aftur) hava ve to remark upon or find a fault with something

havbt nm. large open boat havr nm. oats he nn. hesitating/evasive manner of expressing oneself/answer hems and hes; du needno ha'e sae mony hems and hes aboot it he vw. to speak/answer hesitatingly/evasively hed nn. (ON heiti + L.Sc. hate, haid) 1. name; 2. grain, particle; ikke ett hed (Fr. ikki eitt eiti) hedemu nn. heathaze hefta vw. to fix heft nn. handle, grip heftet adj. 1. provided, well supplied; 2. well off hegri nm. 1. heron;2. tall person hei interj. ho! aha! hel adj. 1. whole;2. strong, healthy hela vw. 1. to become whole; 2. to be healed hellja nf. flat rock; glerla, glerhellek sheet of ice helljahvarv nn. 1. disease, injured death; 2. jok. bad cold helljakrs nf. churchyard helljamet nm. 1. Holy Sacrament given to a dying person; 2. small portion of food heller nm. cave helli nf. 1. holyday; 2. festival; hellidag, jlahellidagar; hellilamb; at halda helli to keep a festival hellig adj. holy; hellig muld consecrated earth helma nf. stir, disagreement, quarreling; da er ikke men helma melljan dera helsa vw. 1. to talk or receive kindly; 2. to greet; 3. to entertain; 4. to agree, harmonize; at helsa mann to greet a man; de helsa ikke vel; helsast helsin nf. 1. congratulation; 2. kind address or welcome hema adv. 1. at home; 2. nf. wife T. heman she who stays at home; hemer nearer at home, opp. to framer; hemest nearest at home hemfer nf. 1. journey home; 2. feast by newly married man hemkomannf. homecoming hemli adj. homely, familiar hemsket adj. foolish, silly hengsa vw. to place in a better position; hengsa byrdek [kessu] baki e-s henta vw. 1. to fetch; 2. gather up, pick up hent nn. 1. fetching;2. collecting; 3. gleaning; 4. raking hermel nn. 1. remnant;2. small fragment; 3. particle; 4. pl. remnants herms nf. 1. lamentation; 2. cries of woe; 3. noisy quarrel; herms og vallova herra nn. limited district built on; Innjherra, Utherra hest nm. horse, stallion hevdi nm. (ON hfi) 1. promontory;2. high steep point of land heved nn. obs.1. head; 2. object formed like a head; 3. lump hikra vw. to delay, hesitate; hannj myndi ikke hikra um da hilek nm. hollow in a rock hillfolk nn. (ON hulduflk + L.Sc. hill) fairies hillisom adj. attractive, amiable, having kind manners hilmongen nm. silly, odd-looking person

himinsferd,himmelsferd nf. 1. ascension; 2. fruitless journey; da er himmelsferd upp dem they're in a great hurry hind nf. (ON hinna < hin-?) 1. film;2. thin covering, skin, thin layer hinda vw. to form a coat hinsin nf. impatience, restlessness hinta vw. 1. to vanish suddenly; 2. snatch away hint nn. glimpse, moment hintet adj. peculiar, not right in the head hippa vw. to earth; hippa taatis hipper adj. fortunate, lucky; hannj war aldri hipper efter da [derefter?] he was never lucky after that hirda vw. (past hirti) to keep, guard hirs interj. away with you! hits interj. at him! hallo! (to animals) hitta 1. to find; 2. to meet with hjada nf. (ON eta, jata) carcass (of an animal), remains hjarta nn. 1. heart;2. my treasure! Hvar er du faren, hjarta! hjegel nm. hard stone, quartz; also hjigel,sjoggersten hjog nm. (ON haugr) hill hjogelbennnn. shoulder-blade hjogfinni nn. (ON haugfunnit?) strange, odd-looking object or person hjogfinni adj. 1. odd, strange; 2. old-fashioned;3. mysterious hjogga vs. 1. to cut; 2. tear, pluck hjokk adj. small T; opp. to d large hjolsa nf. health; illja hjolsa! ill luck take you! hjonsa nf. hen hjunamenn nf. (< ON mynd?) savage-like person hjrken adj. greedy, very hungry hnaga, gnega vw. 1. to gnaw; 2. pinch; 3. wrench hneppa vw. to tie, clench hnif, hnjif, hnof adj. 1. clever; 2. active; see knif hnolt nm.strong, well-knit young person hobba vw. (ON yppa; past hobbdi) 1. to bring into conversation; 2. to accuse somebody of something =at hobba upp; de hobbdu hannj fyri sjuv; hobbt ut av sta driven away hobbastju nn. 1.stir, tumult; 2. great dilemma, difficulty hobbaviti nn. notorious thief hobbelskjuadv. wrong, reverse (boots, shoes); at hava skugana hobbelskju;s. hgelsku hofna vw. to swell; at hofna upp hofsa vw. to cause anything to swell (bread) hofset adj. 1. excitable;2. hasty hogg nn. (ON hgg) blow, push (games) hoggja [dz] vw. (past hogdi; ON heykjask?) to bend down, crouch; hannj hoggar sog ver eldenon; hoggje dog inn til elden! hoid nf. (ON h) 1. ridge of a height, top part of a hill; 2. height; 3.floor (in a house) hoiding nm. clergyman T < the one who threatens (ON hta) hoisa nf. haddock hoitt nm. (MHG htte, ME hotte) hut hoitt nm. (ON tti) fear of something supernatural; da er hoitt mjer hokken nm. horse, small horse holberd adj. (ON hold) 1 . fleshy;2. full-figured

hola nf. hole holjket adj. deep, roomy; round-bottomed (boat, pot) homs adj. 1. sulky;2. irritable; 3. touchy; 4. capricious honjdigru adv. in crouching position: at ligga honjdigru hondsja vw. 1. to incite; 2. to set a dog on; 3. to drive by means of a dog honkla vw. to heave upwards, raise; at honkla sog to raise [shrug] shoulders honnjadu interj. attention! stand still! (to the cow) honnj nn., honnjek nm. horn honnjek nm. girl, a slatternly girl;er da lngt sien du sst honnjeka? honning nm. sheep with woolly hair out of its horn hoppa vw. to hop, jump hord nm. (ON urr 'great quantity') crowd, great multitude hord nf. (ON ur) 1. big boulder; 2. large object horlos adj. (ON heyrnarlauss) 1. deaf; 2. deafened with noise horn nn. 1. horn;2. high mountain; 3. wind-instrument horni nn. corner, nook horpa vw. to contract, shrink;pp. horpet too much dried up or burnt horra, hurra nf. 1. great noise or confusion;2. ardour, high spirits horsgok nm. (ON hrossagaukr) snipe horrus(j)a vw. to urge one on (by noisy shouting) hospra, hosta nf. (ON hsfr) wife T host nn. coughing hu nf. hide, skin; ve hu or hri at all costs; take kuna inn um ve hu or hri! make the cow go! drive it along at all costs! millja huar og hrs with great difficulty;millja huenar og hrsens that's very strange! =millja honnjs og hrs, millja hlsens og heveds hub nm. (ON hpr) 1. crowd;2. great number, flock hudin nf. hint how to do something; at gnga upp (fyrstu) hudinena at once; hannj gekk ve fyrstu hudineni at the first hint; hannj tuk ikke hudin he went at once; at bia hudinena to await the opportune moment hugfellja vw. (past hugfeldi) to like, to be charmed with a person or thing huket adj. curved, bent hul nm. hillock huleferdal adj. 1. very uneven; 2. alternately thin and lumpy hulm nm. holm, islet hum nn. gloomy sky huma vw. to grow dusk humska nf. black pudding hun nm. wooden-handle, door-handle hund nm. dog hunek nm. hen T; kyrr hunekana! shoo the hens away! hus nn. 1. house, dwelling; 2. family circle; da vuru hoittahus fyri hannj there was much anxiety for his fate in many families husa vw. to lift a child up to make it stop crying husa vw.1.to house; 2. bring into the house; 3. to cover; at husa taatisi husfolk nn. inmates of a house hushald nn. housekeeping, management of a house husrum nn. 1. houseroom;2. shelter husvirdin nf. 1. clever housewife; 2. hostess hvada nf. foam

hval nm. whale hvalbak nn. back of a whale hvalben nn. whalebone hvalgrinddnf. shoal of whales hvalp nm. whelp (puppy) hvalslb nm. jelly-fish, medusa hvamm nm. small dale hvar pron. every, each, any hvar pron. 1. where?;2. whither? hvar til whither, where; 3. for what (purpose), why hvarl nn. whirl, something circular hvarva vw. 1. to move quickly, to sweep along; 2. to work at high hvas nn. wheezing sound hvasa vw. 1. to wheeze; 2. to be asthmatic; 3. to whistle (of wind) hvekk nm. 1. start;2. sudden fright hvelja nf. 1. whale-skin; 2, tough skin; 3. outer covering hverma vs. 1. to pass on quickly; 2. disappear; hannj hvarm ut av minari soind; hannj hvarm ned gegnen golvi; 3. vanish, to be lost hverva vs. to turn or rake together; at hverva hi hvessa vw. (ON hvesti) 1. to sharpen; 2. speak harshly at somebody hvev nm. tidal eddy hvida vw. to turn head or body in different directions hvid adj. white hvider adj. lost; in expression: hvikk og hvider completely disappeared, lost hvidet adj. 1. looking around; 2. turning in different ways hvikk 1. adv. entirely, completely; 2. adj. entire, complete hvild nf. repose, state of rest hvirel nm. 1. twirl;2. disk; 3. the crown of the head; 4. the central point hvisa vw. to whisper, speak in a low voice hvista vw. 1. to whistle; 2. to blow hvisterest nm. 1. crack; 2. blow; 3. box on the ear hvitna vw. to whitten, become white- or light-coloured hvumla vw. to turn upside down hvumpra vw. 1. to murmur; 2. tomake a slight remark h nn. (ON h) downy hair or beard h nn. (ON hey) hay; eker og h h vw. to compose oneself, take it easy; h dog! hbet adj. (ON hpinn) 1. cohesive, substantial (drink); 2. nauseating; 3. having disagreeble stale taste hda vw. (past hddi) 1. to hint at something; 2.tothrow out hints; hannj helt hdandi at mjer hlig adj. 1. leisurely, comfortable; 2. sad, depressing, uneasy hlig adv. leisurely; slowly hma vw. to darken hming nf. evening twilight opp. to mirknin hra vw. to hear; at hra upp e-t to listen to something; at hra til e-s to listen to somebody, esp. imperatively hsapann, -pallj nm.1.skull (jokingly); 2. head hslek nm. 1. hut;2. straw-thatched house T hva vs. (ON hefja) 1. to raise, lift, f.ex. of the wind going in a northerly direction: hannj hever sog upp til nordvests; 2. to cause to rise; 3. to throw, fling

h nm. shark h adj. high; neu. hitt, also adv. - out for deep fishing; at gnga ut til dess h to go (to the high seas) by boat totry the deep-sea fishing hbenda vs. to tie a band round the hough of an animal hbiter nm. horse T hg, hch [ho] nm. 1. ability; 2. fitness; 3. skill;4. handiness; 5. condition, state; da er pr hg upp djer = hag hgi nm. pasture, out-field hgaliv nn. (ON hagaleyfi) 1.leave; 2. payment for permission hgelsku nm. worn-out shoes; at gnga i hgelskun hg nm. (ON hagr) 1. (bad) state or conditions; 2. profit, result; hun gerdi prligan hg av honon; da kom til prligs hgs; cf. hag hkilling nf. large shark hls, hwls nm. neck hnga vs. to hang hnger nm. kettle, pot T hrd adj. hard, severe hskerri nm. very large shark htask nf. (ON htaska) species of small shark hitt nm. 1. strange behaviour; 2. (queer) condition, bodily form; da er hitt djer idag you're behaving queerly hittabor nm. mode of behaviour, strange conduct hittafer nf. = hittabor hitted adj. (ON httar) conditioned, of certain condition; illhitted hitten adj. (ON htta 'to cease') 1. accomplished; concluding; 2. finished;hitten ferd finishing harvest work hitti adj. 2. touchy; fretful; 2. irritable, easily offended

I
i prep. in, into; at gnga i husi, kirkena; jogoni i drenganon [dukkoni, honon] (Fr. eyguni honum) ibit nn. bite, small meal ida nf. whirlpool; eg s idu av hvalenon idin adj. 1. diligent;2. persevering; 3. assiduous in work ifarek nm. shoes T ifetlek nm. mouse T < light-footed ifuding nm. cat T < light footed;intensive of fuding igga vw. to incite igrip nn. ear, loop (on a basket) ikke part. not ill adj. 1. wicked, bad, ill; 2. hostile; 3. harmful; 4. painful; 5. difficult; 6. troublesome; illi mannen devil; da er ilt vam ve honon [henni] there's bad commotion; ill doren! ill er! ill stonjd! illa hjolsan! ill til pass out of sorts, indisposed, unwell (Dan. ilde til pas) illberin adj. unable to bear illness or fatigue illbyrstet adj. 1. angry; 2. cross; 3. malicious illbyrsta vw. to threaten to do harm; hannj illbyrstai fyri honon illfena vw. to show unkidness to someone illgevin adj. continiously complaining illgluma vw. to have a suspicion, scowl illgru vw. to suspect

illgdet adj. being in a bad temper illhagerdadj. 1.unattractive; 2. mishandled illhitted adj. ill-grown, deformed illkynt adj. 1. wicked by nature; 2. of ill repute illlek adj. (ON ill-legr) 1. of an ugly appearance; 2. with unhealthy complexion illlukket adj. unfortunate illminnjet, illmonjdet adj. 1. evil-natured; 2. malicious; 3. rancorous illraget adj. ill-used, bullied illsetten adj. (sl. illa settur) ungraceful, clumsy, awkward illsnitteret adj. (ON snerta 'to touch') malicious and obstinate by nature, wilful and quarrelsome illsnsket adj. 1. cross; 2. peevish; 3. dissatisfied illtriva vs. (Nor. illtrivast) to thrive ill illveder nn.bad weather illvan nf. slight hope of something illvilji nm. ill-will, rancour illvillet adj. ill-natured illviket adj. 1. malicious;2. intractable, troublesome illvirken adj. 1. wretched;2. sickly-looking illvirket adj. 1. malicious;2. bent on mischeif; 3. tricky ilska nf. 1. malice;2. hatred; 3. anger; 4.severe illness; 5. damage, misfortune; hannj gerdi da imuti ilsku; da var ilska upp honon ilta nf. (< ilt) 1. spite, enmity; 2. ill-will; 3. malice; at hava iltu at e-on; gert igegnen iltu; fullj av iltu; hannj gerdi da iltufullj inn, innj adv. in; inn efter inward, farther in; inn til more to land and northerly; vinden er faren inn til; upp inn under hidden inn nn. dwelling, haunt innbygget adj. 1. reserved; 2. obstinate; 3.selfish < built up innb nn. (ON innbo) hospitable reception; hannj myndi ikke f mukki innb her innb vs. 1. to welcome; 2. give a hospital reception innerlig adj. 1. rather far in; 2. affectionate, confidential; 3. hearty, very friendly innerliga adv. somewhat far in or near the land; at fiska innerliga innfallj nn. shoreward setting tide; opp. to utfallj innhaf nn. deep-sea fishing grounds near the land; opp. to uthaf, framhaf innhald nn. contents innkomin nf. 1. coming in, arrival;2. occas. beginning; inkomin nya rsens innri, innari nf. diarrhoea innsog nn. shoreward-setting tide = landfellj; cf. avsuk inntak nn. taking in, bringing home ira vw. to cry, shriek irepi nn. (ON r-) 1. diminutive creature; 2. small thing isa, iska vw. 1. to fall; 2. to snow; hannj iskar (ut av sjer) istek adj. (ON sttr) cold, rainy issi, essi dem.pron. (neu. itta, jada) this, that (Hild. eso)

ja interj. yes ja well! jabba vw. to harp upon the same topic; at jabba (upp) e-t jader, jar [jaar] nm. 1. uppermost row of green turf; 2. layer; border, edge; at taka jaar to take a slanting course jakkel nm.(ON jxl) molar jalka vw. 1. to yelp (dogs); 2. tobabble, talk noisily (of persons) jamald nm. (ON jafnaldri) 1. person of equal age; 2. twins jaraman nn. (ON jararmagn) 1. extent of landed property; 2. ilk person according to his jaraman jard : ut av jardenon: 1. out of the house; 2. over, at an end; jl er ikke ut av jardenon til d tuttu og frdu nittena Christmass is not over before the 24th night (to gard?) jarda, jerda vw. (ON jara) 1. bury; 2. press down, squeeze; 3. hide: at jarda sog jardbind nf. (ON jarbinda) cold dry continuous worth-east wind jardfast nm. stone by means of which something is weighted down jardfast adj. fixed in the earth (of a stone) jark nm. 1. edge of the sole of the foot; 2. instep; 3. handful jarma vw. 1. to bleat (cow); 2. to mew (cat) jartfallj nn. 1. nausea; 2. inclination of vomit jasp adj. smart, active, eager jatlin adj. that indicates noble descent, pure and strong je nn. a low-lying spit of land covered by water at tide jeder nn. 1. venom, poison; 2. evil-speaking words; 3. biting cold jederpadd nf. (ON -padda) venomous malicious person jeling, eling nm. 1. slight shower; 2. frosty-looking cloud, dark cloud (in frosty weather) jenk nf. (ON eign) 1. property, possession; 2. sweetheart; 3. dedication jenka vw. (ON eigna) to dedicate, make over to someone jetel nm. gland joga nn. (On auga, gen.pl. jogna) 1. eye;2. pool of water, snall hollow jognakoddi nm. small basket where horses (mussels) are gathered jokel nm. icicle jokl nm. 1. shoulder;2. crag; 3. steep end of a ridge jokll interj. yes!, yes man! jolagrt nn.Christmass weeper (child who weeps when everybody is cheerful) Jonsmessgras nn. 1. ribwort plantain (Jonsmess - Midsummer Day 24 June) jora nn. (gen.pl. jorna) ear; uppomjora up around [behind] the ear josa, hjosa nf. ladle ju interj. yes affirmative jugla nf. owl; kattjugla julter nn. (ON igulker) sea-urchin jungi nm. 1. young animal; 2. hen jusa interj. well, yes! jl nn. pl. Christmass festival;halda jl

K
kadel nm. string tied around the neck of a lamb as a mark

kaka vw. 1. cacare; 2. to go to stool (mostly to children) kald adj. cold kaldkrogen adj. susceptible to cold kaldvard, -vrd adj. chilly kallj nn. 1. crying;2. screaming; 3. business, calling, vocation: du hever ikke kallj at gera da kallja vw. 1. to call; 2. to scream ( < L.Sc.); da er min moder sen kalljar mog kamb, kmb nm. comb, sharp-crested mountain ridge kann nf?. (ON kanna) can (measure) kannj nn. 1. inspection;2. counting up (cows) kannja vw. 1. to inspect; 2. count up; 3. to try to identify; 4. to clear up, throw light upon kant nm. 1. edge, corner; da var ikke en stur kant btenon the boat was not very deeply or heavily loaded; 2. way of treating person; 3. humour;4. spirits; hannj var rngon kanti ennan morgen kanta vw. to turn over, capsize kappa vw. cut off (fish) kapsvivla vw. to capsize kara vw. 1. to mix; 2. to root in something; 3. to work with hands in somethingdirty karl nm. 1. old man, fellow; 2. big bulky person karm nm. 1. frame;2. heap; 3. state, condition; 4. humour, spirits; at vara i prligon karmi kassmelt nm. collaspe, collision kast nn. 1. cast;2. handiness, skill; goitt kast i hans hanjdon; at hava kast um e-t; hannj hever ikke kast at gera da; 3. handling over of something; 4. attack of illness; 5. habit (esp. bad); 6. change, occurrence; 7. opportunity kasta vw. 1. to cast, fling; 2. to hand one something; 3. to reject kasta um to make an exchange; de kastau um sinar kr; ner nitten og dagen kasta um kasta upp 1. to propose; 2. come to light kastel nm. castle; de castle o' Munes kasten adj. 1. rejected;2. unserviceable; 3. no longer fresh, stale sour kaitthus nn. porch in front of the door kattaram nm. 1. cat's paw; 2. small cloud kattmoget adj. light-coloured, dirty-grey kava vw. 1. to press on one's way; 2. be troubled; at vara kavandi to be out of breath; sugen kavai ver uss; 3. to rush about; 4. to eat greedily; 5. to insist; 6. to snow in drifts; hannj kavar og ber; kavd under [in under]; hun kom kavandi upp efter kava nf. 1. eagerness;2. hurry; 3. violence kavabor nm. dense snow-storm =fogbor kavi, kava, kav nm. 1. somethingdiving, sinker; 2. low land; 3. dense snowfall Keddhonjtla nf. kind of ogress, sort of trolls, half cat-half bitch kefsa vw. to be unhandy kefset adj. 1. unhandy;2. awkward, spilling what one is carrying keka vw. (ON keikja) to bend or twist backwards (keka ver); hann genger ve sinu hevdi kekau ver kela vw. to bring forth young (rabbits) keljda nf. source, spring of water kelva nf. well-developed, not quite half-grown ling

kenna vw. to know, be aware of, feel, be sensible of; eg kenndi da mjer; sugen kenner i (di) (Fr. sjgvurin veit ) there's commotion, approaching storm, forebod kenning nf. 1. feeling, sensation; 2. identification; 3. knowledge kennmark nn. identification mark kent adj. 1. well-known;2. skilful, well acquainted keppa vw. (ON kepti) to compete ker adj. dear kerling nf. 1. crone; 2. big woman kervi nn. 1. bunch, bundle; 2. truss; 3. certain quantity of grass kessa nf. carrying basket ketling nm. kitten keva vw. (past kavdi) 1. to struggle with something; 2. to wrestle in fun; 3. to contend in an eager manner;3. to interfere; 4. to fall on the wrong side; 5. to be overcome with sleepiness kibig adj. lively and alert, quick and clever;du ert kibig at deri vinnu, men du myndi ikke gera hvat du vart biin at gera kidi nn. small lamb kik nn. 1. peeping, peep; 2. very short visit kik nn. 1. gesticulation;2. crick, stiffeness kika vw. 1. to peer, keep a sharp look-out; 2. to pay a short visit kiljka vw. to be full of joy andlife kilseta vw. (past -setti) to chase obstinate sheep by driving them into a corner kilsket adj. 1. excessively merry; 2. wild and wanton kimtjagg [tj] nn. 1. continuous teasing; 2. putting obstacles; at halda en i kimtjaggi kimtjagga [tj] vw. 1. to tease continually; 2. to put obstacles in one's way kinga vw. to mend something, esp. broken objects kings nn.1.quarrel; 2. dispute kingsa vw. 1. to quarrel; 2. to dispute;3. to grumble kinks nn. offence, fit of bad humour, touchiness kinks adj. easily offended, touchy kinn nf. cheek kinnpuster nm. cheek-muscle kirka nf. church kirkasukn nf. 1. parish; 2. great crowd, multitude; 3. the buried dead of a parish kirkfolk nf. church-goers/-people kisek nm. cat T kist nf. (ON kista) chest kitla vw. to tickle, irritate kittelsom adj. ticklish, sensitive kjob nn. (ON kaup) 1. compensation;2. reward; 3. good gift kjoba vw. (ON kaupa; past kjobti) 1. to compensate, reward a service;2. to induce, bribe kjost nm. tumulus kjud adj. (ON kgar) beginning to get a sour taste kjlk, kjlki nm. jaw kjlkakast nn. facility in using one's jaws; hava goitt kjlkakast to have a good appetit klakk nm. 1. fragment of a rock; 2. mountain hill klakk(a)skorr nf. fishing-ground

klaksa to strike, smack; klaksa ned klappa vw. to tap, strike; hannj klappai hannj ned i mukla stulen (arm-chair) kleda vw. (ON kla; past kleddi) to dress, put on; at kleda bnnji; at kleda sog; at kleda skvek to put something on the feet klednabun nm. (ON kl(n)abnar) garment klestra vw. to paste on, smear on klett nm. rock, cliff klima, klina vw. 1. to paste; 2. smear (butter) klingra vw. to turn round; klingra dog! klining nm. piece of bread and butter klippa vw. to clip klipitenger nf. pl. pair of tongs klister nn. butter klokk nf. (ON klukka) beetle; vatnklokk, honnjklokk klovi nm. cleft tool, tongs klud nm. neck-cloth, neckerchief kluka vw. to build up loosely or temporarily, esp. a fence kluk adj. 1. wily, sly; 2. ingenious, dexterous, nimble klumsa vw. 1. to become or make speechless, deprive one of speech; 2. to expire, die; klumsen - also blocked klunk nm. the top of a wall or fence klur nn. scratch, mark made by a cat's claw klura vw. 1. to scratch; 2. to harrow the earth by spade or plough; at klura upp grundena; klurd grund klurer nm. cat T klut, klud nm. 1. cloud, rag; 2. sail T kl nm. (pl. klr) stone; piece of steatite klf nf. cleft hoof knag nn. (Norw. knag 'trouble') 1. sore, wound (metaph.), grief; 2. foul, stale taste knapp nm. round button; knapp elbogsens [knes]bone of the elbow [knee] knava vw. 1. to gnaw off; hunden knavar beni; 2. to scrape off kne nn. 1. knee;2. ear-mark knippa vw. to pull to pieces, break asunder knippek nm. small bunch, bundle, parcel knirka vw. to creak kniv adj. clever, active, able knoggi nm. short, square-built, well-knit fellow knoggjet adj. small in stature, but stout knor nm. vessel, boat knott nm. 1. roundish lump; 2. person with short but stout figure knotti nm. ball knubbi nm. potato T knurra vw. to whisper, murmur knyrja [rdzj] vw. to squeeze, press knyrk adj. scant, short (applied to measure) knyta vw. (past knytti) to tie, knit (corn, cows) kobb nm. (ON kobbi) young seal kodd nm. (ON koddi) pillow, cushion kod, kjod adj. ingratiatingly kind, confidentional koga vw. to swallow, drink in large draughts kojakka vw. to chatter, have a long gossip; to sit kojakkin

kokkel nm. compass T kokkeluri nm. daisy kokra, kjokra vw. 1. to cheer up; 2. torevive; 3. to talk gently; 4. to fondle, caress; 5. kjokra upp: to become revived, recover kol nn. small brand, small piece of partly burnt peat kola nf. small, cup-shaped, open lamp kollj nm. 1. head, head of a fish; 2. hay-stack; see alsomerkol kollja nf. buoy T kolla vw. to take off the top kolljyvirbollji adv. (ON koll fyrir bll?) headlong, topsy-turvy kolmyrk adj. pitch dark koma vs. to come koma at 1. to come to an end; 2. to happen koma fr to become loose, slip out koma til 1. to grow, become greater; 2. to recover, retain strength; 3.to com off (badly) koma upp to get on, become known koma upp 1. to meet, run across; 2. to come over one (mind); da er ilska at kom upp hannj kom ve to occur in certain manner (well/ill) koma to happen, occur;also koma upp komin adj. suitable kongalu nn. bush, heather-bush konk, kjonki, kunk nm. 1. illness; 2. very bad cold konn adj. 1. acquainted with, familiar with something; 2. accustomed to something konna vw.1.to become acquainted or familiar with something; 2. to become accustomed with something konnjmerki nm.(ON makr) cornwarm kopp nm. precipitous koramussinm. "curly mouth", endearing term korgla vw. to tell strongly exaggerated stories korki nm. oats; korkakost oaten bread korn nn. corn korngild nm. payment for damage done by sheep on corn korr nf. (ON kyrr) quietest part of midsummer-night; korr dimmonar kors, kross nm. 1. fiery-cross; 2. express message; 3. swearing exclamation; at senda kors; kors! kors upp dog [da]!; Korsmess May 3/September 14 (ON Krossmessa) kort adj. 1. short;2. scant kost nm. (ON kostr 'maintenance', Ork. cost, coist) bread kotla vw. (ON kitla) 1. to tickle; 2. to put aside secretly kovla vw. to dress oneself warmly; hun kovlar sitt heved upp krabbi nm. crab krag nm. (ON kragi) 1. collar;2. throat, neck kraget adj. very lean and miserable kragklut nm. cravat, neckerchief krakk nm. 1. three-legged wooden stool; 2. foot-stool kram nm. paw, cat's paw or claw krama vw. to pack into a heap kramma vw. 1. to grab; 2. scrape krammek nm. the paw of an animal krank adj. sick, feeble kranset adj. 1. cross;2. fretful; 3. malicious

kransi nm. coral krapp nm. 1. angular space in the interious; 2. narrow place (Icel. komast hann krappan) krapp adj. 1. close;2. scant; 3. choppy (of the sea) kravi nm. 1. large flock or crowd; 2. heap, mass kreka vw. to spit, hawk, cough up phlegm kreksa vw. 1. to hawk, cough up phlegm; 2. to grumble krema vw. (ON kreima or kremjask?, past kramdi or kremdi?) to be ailing, unwell and sulky kresta vw. to exert oneself, walking wearily krestin nf. hard toil and struggle kriel, krier nm. (Nor. kria) cock T kriga vw. to hook, grip and let loose again krigga nf. cover or shelter against bad weather krigi nm. corner, sharp angle in a wall or fence krigiseta vw. to drive animal into a corner krik nm. narrow pass, cleft krimma vw. to cough slightly, clear one's throat; at krimma ut av kvarkeni (throat) krimpa vw. 1. to squeeze;2. to shrink; 3. to narrow, restrict;4. to be too stingy; 5. to wince, complain; du mst ikke krimpa dog you must not sacrifice yourself; 6. to whimper; 7. to emit a low sound (cow); 8. to desire, long for kring nm. 1. cricle, ring; 2. a halter round the neck of an animal; 3. two animals tied together kring 1. prep. around; 2. adv. about kringa vw. 1. to tie twoanimals together; 2. to become entangled (rope) kringlkost nm. round loaf krista vw. to exert oneself, take great pains without making progress krobb nf. (ON krubba) small enclosure krobba vw. 1. to narrow; 2. to confine;3. to pinch for room; 4. to keep (a child) in check krobbet adj. 1. narrow, confined; 2. pinched for room krobbi nm. 1. small hollow, hole in which plants are planted; 2. confined space krod(d)a, krdni, krodni vw. to cram together, crowd kroga vw. 1. to crouch against bad weather; at kroga fr skuri; at kroga inn under; 2. to spy; de hava kroga um annjehvaran kroga nf. shelter against bad weather; at taka krogu to take shelter; at standa i krogu; at koma inn i [inn under] krogu krogabl nn. enclosure for giving to animals shelter against bad weather kroinjta vw. to whimper, complain krok nm. (ON hraukr, hrga) heap, cluster (esp. potatoes) kroka vw. 1. to be in utter exhaustion, misery; 2. to starve kroma vw. to whimper, complain about bad health kroppen adj. (ON kroppinn < kreppa) 1. shrunk, contradicted; 2. doubled up; 3. crooked, dent krossmarknn. the sign of the cross; at gera e-on krossmark to maltreat; at ligga krossmark to lie helpless, disabled kru nf. enclosure, fold, esp. sheep-fold krubbet adj. narrow, confined

krug nm. thole in a boat T; hon bleser itte fari [bten], guda lukk vari at krugenon! it (the ling) 'blows' behind the boat, good luck at the thole! kruget adj. 1. crooked;2. bent; 3. stooping kruk nm. curve; kruk bandenu krukseta vw. to drive an animal into a fence to catch it krumpet adj. 1. curved;2. crook-backed krumpin nf.sharp curve krumplikin nm. colding krun nf. (ON krna) 1. crown;2. garland; 3. circular hill-top krupen, kropen adj. (ON kropinn < krjpa) crawled, crept; bnnji er krupi burt krupp nm. 1. body;2. man, person; Blessinar vari upp din krupp!bless your body! du ert krupp you are a queer one; prlig krupp! poor fellow! sikk krupp! what a queer person!; fy upp dann [ennan] krupp! fy falli (befalli) dann [ennan] krupp! may misfortune befall him, shame krusa vw. to collect, drive together kr nf?. 1. cluster; 2. dense assembled crowd kr vw. to flock together in a dense crowd; de vuru krd samen krkni nf?. crowd, multitude, large flock kr nf. 1. corner, nook; 2. space of 'de but' to store potatoes krga nf. crow krgupil nm. kind of testaceous animal on the shore krguting nn. gathering of crows holding conference and judgement krkling nm. (ON krklingr) small mussel krnk indisposition, malingery krnk adj. (ON krangr) 1. sick, indisposed; 2. cross-grained, disobliging krs nf. nice gift ku (ON k, pl. kr) nf. cow; tidd ku cow with young, cow on the point of calving kub nm. young seal kuba nf. small basket kuk nn. excrement, esp. of a cow dried in the sun kul nn. light, breeze kula nf. 1. a protuberant little round swelling; 2. the prominent part of the face (nose); 3.roundish hill kumet adj. misty, hazy kumla vw. to turn upside down kummer nf. godmother kuna nf. woman, wife T kunki, kjonki nm. 1. attack of illness; 2. severe bad cold kura vw. 1. to stoop, crouch; 2.to doze; 3. to be unwell, be dejected kuralag nn. confused, noisy assembly kurf nf. 1. (rough) surface; 2. epidermis kurr nm. 1. casual remark; 2. slight rumour kuss, kjos nm. kiss (kiss on the mouth) kussa vw. (past kusti) to kiss kuva vw. to cough slightly kvag nf. (ON kaka) round cake kvaka vw. 1. to quiver, quake; 2. to creep (about small animals); 3. to swarm kvala vw. to abate, calm (wind) kvark nf. 1. throat; 2. narrow pass kveg nf. (ON kvga) heifer

kven nf. (ON kvein) lamentation, sorrow kverk nf. throat kvern nf. 1. quern, hand-mill; 2. water-mill (placenames) kvi nf. enclosure for cattle, milking-place kvikk, hwikk adj. 1. living; 2. swarming, teeming; eg heve se grundena kvikka ve honnjklokkon I've seen ground alive with nasicornous beetles kvikkrepp nm. misery, want, lack of the necessities kvikna vw. 1. to get the fire to blaze; 2. to begin to run quicker (tide), increase kvilling nm. 1. hermaphrodite, young non-prolific ram; 2. stunt, feeble wretch kvolka vw. to swallow quickly or greedily kvlv nm. calf kykin adj. all alive, animated and vivacious; livandi og kykin kynsked nm.(ON kyn + skai) accident happening to oneself or to a relation, one of the same clan; gektu ve dinon kynskedi! du mynkanske f din kynsked ante! kyrkar nm. pl. scissors T kyrra vw. 1. to quieten; 2. to check; 3. to scare away kyrr! interj. hush! be quiet! kirrabaw - lullaby kbnn.bargain, bargining; compensation kd, k nn. well-developed half-grown fish, esp. coalfish kda vw. to become liquid, deposit oil (of fish livers) kdi nn. liver-oil; see also gti kf nn. value, bargain; ikke vert kf kl nm. (cool) breath of air, fresh breeze; klvind kla vw. (ON kylja, koela; past kuldi) 1. to cool; 2. to blow faintly kllja vw. to fondle; at kllja (um, ver) bnnj klsin adj. 1. cold, chilly; hannj er mukki klsi uti; 2. susceptible to cold; klsin i hanjdon cold about one's hands krka vw. (ON kyrka; past krkti) 1. to squeeze, pinch; 2. to take hold and shake (in fun); eg myn krka dog I'll punish you (jokingly) krra vw. to scare away krrnrrinterj. keep quiet! be silent! kttikel nn. tough, difficult (work) kllj nm. man, old man klljgrt nn. lead with a rope attached for finding the deap of the sea < kaal krr adj. (ON krr) small, lively, cheerful, quick; mit piri krra ting!; krri small fellow

L
lagbrd nn. footboard lada vs. to be about to die, draw one's last breath (esp. of animals) lag nn. 1. layer, place, position; 2. usage, order, condition; 3. state of health; 4. frame of mind, mood, temper; at vara i lagi to be excited; at vara i illu [prligu] lagi to be depressed or worried; 5. layer; 6. crowd, assembly, company; i gudu [prligu] lagi;da er prligt lag honon he's very slow (esp. grinding); 7. a push forward; 8. long voyage; 9. long time; 10. chat, long talk; hvat er ditt lag dagsens? What news do you bring today?

laga vw. 1. to move (a little); 2. to execute something piecemeal; 3. to draw a boat up; 4. to carry hay; at laga upp bt [h, korn] laga vw. to chatter, gossip lagafer nf. (ON lakfer?) slow pace or performance; to mak' a l. ower a ting lagd nm. 1. tuft (of wool); 2. handful, esp. for corn or hay lagda adj. sluggish, lacking energy, listless lager adj. keen, eager, greedy lagman nm. chief judge lagretman nm. 1. member of public court; witness; 2. assessor, assistant of underfoud Vard-thing - district court lagting nn. the Law-ting lagd adj. destined by fate (pp. of legga); sjulagd, havlagd; fyrilagd thoroughly exhausted (Fr. firilagstur < leggjast fyri - to become exhausted) laks nm. salmon laksigerd nm. (ON laxagarr) trap for catching salmon or trout in a stream lali nm. playing for a little child lamb nn. lamb; lamb mitt! my dear! lambari nf. (ON lambahr) bad weather in the spring during the lambing time lambatiindnf. "lamb's tithe": tithe paid in wool, kind of a clergy tithe lamin adj. lame, powerless land nn. land landa vw. to arrive at an ultimate place of destination; de horse landed me upo de braid o' my back; throw/let fall in cert. direction; landbrim nn. surf, breaking of waves landfell nn. "land current", tidal wave in shorewards landamri nn. pl. boundary-line, -mark landlopernm. (ON -hlaupari) tramp, vagabond landseterkop nn. (landsetr(s)kaup) fee paid for leasehold of a farm landskap nm. landscape; landskapi er fari 'the lanfscape is moving', atmosphere is floating near the ground (summer) landskyld nf. landrent langdregenadj. 1. long, thin and slender; 2. long-drawn, tedious; 3. dilatory langlegg nm. (ON langleggr) shank, bone between thigh-bone and foot langsedi nn. (ON langsti) "long-seat", resting chair, a broad wooden seat with arms and support for the back langsom adj. slow, dilatory; long-drawn, tedious langspel nn. ancient kind of cithern, a stringed instrument langvordenadj. 1. long-shaped, extended; 2. long-drawn, slow lapp nm. (ON lappi) patch lappa vw. to patch, mend lappa vw. to walk heavily and clumsily lar nn. (ON leir) kind of hard clay; Larvik; see also lera last nf. 1. area of arable land; 2. certain measure lasta vw. to have an aversion to, unable to take food latsa vw. 1. to idle; 2. to walk lazily lav nm. (ON hleifr) piece of dough made into a thick cake; konglalaven lavenrd adj. (ON laf-eyrr) having hanging ears

laverni nn. 1. life, living; 2. mode of life; 3. crowd, gathering lavi nn. (ON lag?) long story, nonsense lrited nm. (ON lrittar-eir) oath taken by a man to prove his guiltlessness leanger, leanger nm. tax lebek, lebbek nm. spoon led, ld nn. load, pile ledi nn. (ON leiti) outlook, point of view, height (point of vantage) ledli adj. indolent, lazy-looking lega nf. 1. lying;2. (fish.) interval, rest, stay; 3. distance between boats; at ligga legu to lie long in bed; hannj hever teki sjer legu he has taken a good rest legga vw. 1. to lay; 2. to drift, be carried off (by the wind); 3. at leggast: to retire to rest, go to bed; at legga e-t i hugi to keep something in mind; eg lagdi aldri min hug efter di I never applied myself to learn [remember] it; at legga vinden fr jardeni to turn the wind into another quarter (with magic) legga af 1. to talk in verbose manner; 2. to desist from, cease; 3. to kill, slaughter legga at to push or press forcibly; at leggast at to lie down, be unwilling to rise legga efter to leave behind; at legga sin hug efter e-uto apply oneself to some task, study or learn something legga fr 1. to put aside; 2. to work speedily, make headaway legga inn 1. to unship the oars; 2. to enclose a piece of ground; 3. to rain finely; he is layin in legga ned 1. to calm an agitated sea (magic); 2. to kill, slaughter;l. doon de sea; hannj legger ned kava there's much snow falling (Fr. hann leggur kava) legga til 1. to add;2. to close (a door with a latch); at legga sog til to set eagerly about doing a task; at leggast til to lie down in a sleep; at legga sin hug til e-s to apply oneself to a subject trying to impress it upon one's mind: legge din hug til dess! legga upp 1. to load, put a load on a horse; 2. to build, raise; 3. to exhaust; at legga upp skiplag (pl) to build castles in the air; at legga upp goddek to put a riddle legga ut 1. to set off [out] to sea; 2. to interpet, explain legga ve 1. to exert efforts on the outcome of a matter; 2. to make a dictinct declaration; 3. to make a condition of something; at legga sog ve to work eagerly legga 1. to increase force/violence (weather); 2. to make promise of alms legviser nm. (ON leivsari) compass; at soina legviseren to look at the compass leka vs. 1. to leak; 2. to be leaky lembi nn. (ON tvlembi) twin-lamb lemin adj. powerless, faint, sluggish lemm nm. 1. part of a loft-floor; 2. shelf len nf. row of houses under one roof lengi nf. strip or length lepel nm. small spoon, hornspoon lepp nm.1.part, piece, patch; 2. rag, flap lepp nn. 1. grain, small quantity; 2. something to lap or sip; telepp leppa vw. 1. to lap (with the tongue); 2. to sip slowly

leppa vw. to walk feebly or slowly, shuffle (aboot) ler nf. (Fr. lra) learning; instruction lera, lerka nf. clay, clayey soil lerdom nm. learning, knowledge lesna vw. to lower oneself lesning nm. stake for the line by which a man lowers himself; de lesninrep let nn. 1. little winsome thing; 2. endearment to children (my treasure!) lett nm. 1. part, quantity; 2. small quantity, particle lev nf. (ON leif) remnant lev nm. (ON hleifr) dough (from which a single loaf or cake is made); see also lav levingar nf. pl. leavings, what is left over li nf. slope, mountain side lid nf. 1. reliance;2. eagerness, diligence; 3. zeal in executing a work lida vw. (ON hlta) to have a confidence in, trust; eg led honon at koma ve, men twit upp hans ben, jift hannj kom I trusted he would come, but shame upon him, he did not come lidfullj, lidsom adj. 1. confident; 2. eager, active lien nf. (ON lan) the decline of the day, evening twilight; cf. dagalien ligga vs. 1. to be subdue (of wind); 2. to repose, be at rest; 3. to lie in bed ligga fyri: da ligger fyri mjer, da ligger minni tungu is on the tip of my tongue ligga efter to be left undone or neglected ligga ned 1. to be settled (wind); 2. to lie dormant ligga upp to lie up; bten ligger upp ligga vi 1. to appear close at hand (something in sight); 2. to be at stake, on certain condition; da ligger ve (ON liggja vi) ligga 1. to be fixed or appointed; 2. to depend on; 3. to be essential or constant (weather) lik nn. 1. corpse, dead body; 2. burial district likisom adj. agreeable, amiable liklig adj. having a sound, healthy appearance likstigi, -ggi nm. protecting wall in a cemetry wall lilla vw. to make neat and tidy, brush up; at lilla upp to put in good order: at lilla upp husi lim nm. 1. limb of the body; 2. thigh of a slaughtered animal; 3. member lina vw. to decline, grow dusk (of a day); dagen linar linka vw. to make loose, relax linn adj. 1. soft to the touch; 2. somewhat loose; 3. mild inna vw. (ON linna; past linti) 1. to stop, cease; 2. to become softened, abate, calm;hannj linner upp; 3.to lean, incline; linn dog ned! sit down for a moment! at linna at to lean linnati nf. 1. short cessation from the pain; 2. abatement of storm lispund nn.weight, orig.16 pounds lit nm. 1. colour;2. now mostly blue colour litel adj. little liv nn. 1. life; 2.living being (fish); 3. live coal for fire liv nf. (ON hlf) 1. temporary state of rest, interval; 2. favourable occasion of doing something livd nf. (ON hlf) 1. sort rest after hard work; 2. calming of bad weather

liver nm. 1. living being; 2. coll. small living creatures; 3. bacteria livandi nn. living;ikke i minu livandi livi! li [li] nm. joint (in the body) ljori, ljuri nm. opening in the roof, louver lju nn. mood, humour ljud nn. (ON lj) 1. sound; 2. sound of voices; eg hrdi ljud derra tunga, til d eg s de ljud adj. (ON ljtr) 1. ugly;2. hideous ljumet adj. 1. likewarm;2. close and damp ljus nn. 1. light;2. = ljori lodd nm. thick covering of hair or wool lodden adj. covered with sparse and coarse wool (on sheep) lofta vw. to ascend, rise log, ljog nm. 1. sea T; 2. piece of open sea; 3. strong current; faren i ljogenon lost overboard, gone to the bottom log, ljog nf. (ON lg) hollow, depression in a landscape log, ljog nm. (ON lkr) small stream of water loga, ljoga vw. (ON lauga) to bathe, wash loga, ljoga vw. (Fr. loka) to be broken (of somethingthin); at loka syndri logis adj. 1. lukewarm (of a liquid); 2. vapid in taste logjek, lodjek nm. filth, excrements lokka vw. 1. to allure, entice; 2. pet, fondle lomma vw. 1. to grow light; 2. to clear up; hannj lommar upp its clearing up loml, luml nn. (ON hljmli, -*mli) 1. silence; 2. secrecy;at halda alt i lumli lond nf. (ON lund) 1. sound;2. melody, song; 3. singing out; 4. noise; 5. complaining; 6. mood, spirits, humor londi nm. (ON lundi) puffin longa vw. 1. to listen; 2. to be undecided lonjdilag nn. 1. noisy complaint; 2. a long time spent in doing a thing; da myn vara londilag til d hannj kemer itte lonna vw. 1. to lurk, be on the watch; 2. to listen secretly; 3. to eavesdrop; 4. to be undecided lopa vs. (ON hlaupa) 1. to leap, jump (run); 2. to get into sudden violent passion; lopen mjlk lorg, lord nm. (Fr. lortur) heap, dirty mass lorga vw. to dirty, soil los adj. loose, free lu, lju nn. 1. good performing orexecuting, skill in handling; 2. fine appearance (thing) lu vw. 1. to hang loosely together; 2. to stick to, follow ones heels; 3. to desire the opposite sex;at lu um [ver] e-n to stick to somebody; hunden luar um tiki luderhorn nn. fog-horn luget adj. 1. exhausted, enfeebled; 2. faint, limp lukk nf. fortune, good luck; at gnga upp lukkarheved to go at haphazard lukkabor nm. my treasure! (to child) lukket adj. lucky, fortunate; vel/illlukka nf. my dear! (to a woman) lukksom adj. lucky, fortunate luma vw.1.to clear up, lift;2. to pass over, cease (rain)

luma, ljuma vw. to warm up; at ljuma upp lungasott nf. lung-disease lunk nn. (ON logn) calming, clearing up in the weather lunka vw. to calm, clear up;hannj lunkar upp lura vw. (past lurdi) to sleep lightly;at lura ver to fall into a ligth slumber luraferi nf. 1. feigned illness; 2. disappointment; cf. ferdalek, -t lureli adv. indolently and slowly lus nf. louse luta vs. to stoop, bend forward; lute ned! stoop down! luts, lutsa nf. honey, sweet, darling lyfta vw. 1. to lift;2. to put in question, mention; 3. to set in circulation; du ert ikke at lyfta da don't let it go any further lyfting nf. 1. lifting;2. small bite of food lyftmur nn. dense snowfall = mur, mur(a)kavi lyll nn. 1. monotonous song; 2. narrative, news; hvatna er lyll dagsens? lyng nn. heather lylla vw. 1. to sing monotonously; 2. to tell news lynn nm. (ON hlunnr) runner (1 of the wood pieces) l vw. 1. to listen (also spying); 2. to whisper, hint at, mention slightly;at l at; hannj lr at; l aldri! keep your mouth shut! l adj. slightly warm, lukewarm (esp. of liquid) l nn. 1. sound, noise; 2. narrative, news; 3. tone; 4. manners; l vw. 1. to give a hearing; 2. to be silent and still l adj. 1. abundant; 2. great; we're gotten a l corn l nn. a warm drink l nm. (ON lr) flock crowded together, esp. disparagingly l vw. to warm up, make lukewarm lbergroinnjing nm. cod caught at the close of February lbersmess nf. leap day, 24 Feb.; Kertumess (2 Feb) lbing nm. small fish found in a stomach of a bigger one ld nn. 1. sound, tone, melody; 2. low singing; 3. whimpering; 4. humour, temper, mood; 5. news lda vw. (past lddi) 1. to emit a sound; 2. to whimper; 3. to talk, chat;4. to be quiet, silent lmet nm. small additional meal ldska nf.shouting and crying lf nm. 1. palm of the hand; 2. handful llig, lleg, llek adj. (ON hlgiligr) 1. merry, playful; 2. lively; 3. with queerful temper lnhus nn. secret depository for keeping various things lr nn. pollack, gadus pollachius lsa vw. 1. to loose; 2. to break, burst, start (weather) lda vs. (hlja) 1. to emit a sound; 2. to howl, whine, cry; 3. to talk;4. to flute; 5. to be silent ldament nn. 1. sound, noise; 2. crying, howling lder nm. clergyman T lda nf. corner in the living room for holding commodities, esp. potatoes; taatislda ldi nn. 1. noisy sound; 2. load complaint; 3. poor circumstances; 4. miserable state of things; at halda ldi um e-t; da er ldi ve honon; sikt ldi hannj var i! ldigrt nn. (ON ltugrt) feigned weeping without reason lmek nm. 1. paw, big clumsy hand; 2. handful

lnga nf. ling, gadus molva lngafloga vw.small, long-shaped fly lngaldnn. long-winded complaint lngvi nn. (ON langve) guillemot, uria troile lr nn. thigh of a human or a large animal ltska nf. noisy talk, prating; at gera ltsku to make a noise in talking

M
mag nn. damage, wear maga vw. 1. to gnaw, wear; 2. to damage by friction magdom nm. 1. shape, characteristic feature, form; 2. resemblance in features mager nn. 1. power, strength; substance; 2. good quality mager nm. starvation, misery mager adj. very lean, miserable magerlosadj. powerless, without substance mak nm. (ON mak) match, an equal; du ert ikke dess mak maklig adj. 1. easy to handle, manageable; 2. gentle, fair, suitable malldska nf. (ON margltska, marglti) 1.loud, shrill; 2. noise mama nf. 1. wet-nurse; 2. woman acting as a mother to children in the mother's absence mami nm. subsoil of the ground mamma nf. mother mammgollja nf. 1. godmother; 2. midwife mana vw. to shake, tremble (esp. the head) owing to paralysis or weakness mana nn. (ON ma(g)ni?) land, mainland manjuggelti nm. 1. magic art; 2. juggling tricks manket adj. exhausted mann nm. 1. man; 2. married man; 3. master of the house manndomm,manndum nm. manhood manndyr nf. 1. manliness; 2. doughtiness; 3. strength, bravery mannferdig adj. marriageable mannfolk nn. male, man mannsvit nn. human intellect Mansmessss nf. 19 Dec. (old style); 31 Dec. (new style) mar nm. 1. the sea, deep-sea; 2. mire, mud, clay; 3. desolation, great sorrow, depression; hannj lagdi mog i maren he laid me in the clay > he troubled me with bad news mara nf. nightmare mardestinkel nm. (ON -stkkva? 'to jump') 1. a great feverish haste; 2. a great excitement mareld nm. phosphorescent light in the sea marfloga nf. water-flea marg pron. much, many marglit adj. 1. variegated;2. having shades of differentcolours; 3. speckled, mottled Marimesss nf. Lady day, 25 March; Mar(i)messri rough weather on M. mark nn. 1. mark; 2. ear-mark;3. matter of consequence; 4. reputation,esteem; 5. prominent person mark nn. mark (weight, land)

marka vw. 1. to mark; 2. to indicate; 3. to denote, notice; da er ikke at marka drm dreams don't signify anything (ON at er ekki mark at draumum) marksten nm. stone forming a boundary-mark marsgum nm. (ON -gumi) angler marul nm. (ON mrulfr) angler marvit nm. 1. stunt,2. miserable creature mask nm. (ON mskvi) mesh, loop in plaiting maska nm. 1. to make meshes, loops; 2. to catch in a net mast nm. mast of a boat or ship matlo nf. common fly, also Ork. mattismess nf. St. Matthew's mess, 21 Sep. meg nn. unsuccessful execution or result megem, megom nf. light, a streak of daylight megerdomnm. illness, slight illness megg nn. 1. doubtless strength; 2. ability; 3. good condition; 4. welldeveloped state megin nn. 1. centre, central part; 2. the darkest time at midnight; upp megini av nitteni mel nm. sand-bank mel nm. 1. certain weight; 2. measure for weight mellkavi nm. dense heavy snow-storm = mellmurin mello vw. to crash into small pieces melta vw. to injure, hurt men nn. 1. hurt, disease, pain; 2. injury mena vw. 1. to hurt; 2. to cause pain, injury; menga vw. to mix, mingle menget adj. mixed (with another colour) ment nf. (ON ment accomplihment; good quality) trial or feat of strength merd, merdj, mergj nf. (merg) crowded mass of things or creatures mergi nf. (ON mergr f.) marrow (in bone) mergiben nn. 1. marrowbone; 2. breastbone (?) merki nn. mark, boundary-mark; esp. between 2 pieces of arable land; merkisten merkigr nm.ridge or strip between 2 pieces ofarable land merkisdag nm.day of mar, 1 of the masses or saint days merkismet nm. abundant meal, much and reach food merkisti nf. the point of a time when a festival takes place merkol nm. a piece of wood to which the ploughshare (sokk) is fixed mesel nm. unsuccessful carying out of something, unsuccessful result mesi nm. an open straw-basket mester-treeeenn. plough met, mat- nn. 1. measure, boundary; 2. mark; 3. limit; 5. moderation; 6. print, impression meta vw. to make a mark or print; hans skugar metai golvi his shoes left dirty marks on the floor meta vw. (past metti) 1. to feed; 2. to kernel, become ripe metla vw. to hurt, injury; hannj fellj og metlai sog mid nn. 1. landmark;2. fishing-ground mida nn. to mark, locate, esp. in boat-fishing midrum nn. the midmost space in a boat mikkel, mukkel adj. great, much Mikkelsmess nf. Michaelmass 29 Sep (old), 12 Oct (new)

milda vw. to crush into small pieces, crumble; hannj mildai kost inn i mjlk millja prep. G between milljablanjda vw. 1. mixed oat- or barley-meal; 2. untidy mixture or heap of things put together; tingen vuru i milljablanjdu the things were all flung together confusedly min pron. my mink nm. diminution minka vw. 1. to diminish; 2. tocause a visible decrease; 3. to grow less; at minka burt minki adj. diminutive minnamgi nm. foremost part of a stomach of a fish minnjet adj. minded, of a certain disposition mind, minud nf. midnight mirr nn. slight vibration misb vs. 1. to underbid; 2. to wrong; misboden underbid, wronged (ON misboinn) misfr nf. 1. misfortune; 2. accident; 3. injury misfra vw. 1. to miscarry; 2. to be injured; 3. to meet with misfortune; da misfrdi it didn't succeed; 4. to perish at sea, capsize, wreck; misfren gone wrong misgenga vs. to miss each other, go different ways, pass each other without meeting;de misgingu annjehvaran misglma vw. to neglect or forget to do a thing mishandla vw. to ill-treat, hurt by rough usage miskenna vw. 1. to mistake one person for another; 2. to undervalue, fail to appreciate mismand adj. (ON mismannar or mismenntr) weakened, exhausted by exertion miss nm. loss, loss by death of a person or animal missa vw. (ON misti) to lose (by death) missin nf. slackening, decreasing mistru nf. mistrust mistru vw. to mistrust, disbelieve mjappa vw. to lap, produce a sound when licking a milk mjava vw. to mew (cat) mjavi nm. cat T mjoget adj. yellowish-brown mjork nm. dense fog mjget adj. lean, gaunt, sickly looking moder [mara, mora] nf. mother; moder alen adv. quite alone moggjek [dzj] nn. (ON m) gnat moinjd nn. (ON mund) 1. period, long while; 2. spirits, temper; 3. excited state of mind moinjdi nn. feeling, sensation moinnj nm. mouth; monnlipp, monnmgi moinnjvik nn. corner of the mouth moinnjkast nn. good appetite mol nf. pebble-ridge molten adj. 1. decomposed; 2. coagulated mon nm. (ON munr) 1. marked influence upon something, marked change; 2. progress;3. difference; da ger mon mona vw. 1. to move a little; 2.to bring about a changeor progress; vil du mona djer liti?

mona upp 1. to add; 2. to fill up; da monar upp it's a good addition; it's filling (food) monali, munali adj. 1. considerable; 2. really good or large morkin adj. 1. somewhat spoiled or rotten; 2. misty; 3. wet; moskin(d) most nm. 1. vapour;2. mist mu nf. 1. weakening;2. wasting away mu nf. froth, saliva mu nm. kernel (esp. in a corn) mua vw. 1. to be weakened, waste away; 2. feel hungry mud, md, m nm. mood, temper mud nn. 1. indistinct shape of something; 2. likeness, shape, form mugga nf. soft drizzling rain mukkelevinm. (ON mikil afi 'big grandad' or nukkel afi < nykr) devil, seadevil mulig adj. diminutive mulikin nm. a sock reaching a little above the ankle mumla vw. 1. to munch, chew; 2. to mumble murod adj. (ON mraur) reddish-brown murkavi nm. dense snowfall, snow storm murt nm. small object or being, small coalfish (1st year) mus nf. mouse musker nn. whisper, murmur; eg hrdi aldri et musker um da muskra vw. to whisper, murmur muskerod adj. 1. dark-grey with reddish-brown shade; 2. light brown musket adj. dark coloured (sheep) mutna vw. 1. to be decayed; 2. to be dried up; 3. to rot slowly muttel nm. small knife mynnji nn. 1. mouth, opening in a firth; 2. strait, sound, bay mynni: mynni tomorrow (ON *myrgni) mynt nf. something as ornament, distinction, honour; hon tinker da vara mynt upp sog mynta vw. to endeavour to form or shape of something mynveg nm. (ON myndvegr) 1. outline; 2. form; 3. outward marks of distinction (f.ex. in the dark) myrdin adj. 1. of un unusual circumference; 2. very tall and long; 3. huge myrk adj. dark myrkabrod nn.(ON mjrkvabrot) mist covering the hill-tops myrker nn. darkness myrki nn. deep, dark cave myrkna vw. 1. to grow dark; 2. to become evening myrkning nf. twilight ml nn. a sultry heat mld nf. earth-mould mli adj. wearied, languid mlk nn. the milt of a male fish; ON mjlkvi mlos adj. sluggish and weak, with slack unhandy hold mlos adj. 1. chary of words; 2. reserved; 3. weak-minded and dull mn nn. 1. might; 2. strength; 3. energy mna nf. spinal marrow mr nm. (ON mr) heath, moor, pasture in common mr, mri nf. (ON mri) bog, swamp mratu(g) nf. (ON maurfa) 1. the ant; 2. ant-hill mrin nf. disagreeable pricking or tingling sensation in the body

mger nm. 1. poor, feeble physical condition; 2. bony miserable animal mgra vw. to become lean, emaciated mgi nm. stomach (fish) mjfj nn. 1. absurd fun; 2. mad pranks; 3. little merry-making, party min, mien nn. 1. power, display of energy; 2. activity of mind; 3. noise, confusion minlos adj. week, feeble, having no energy ml nn. 1. voice, speech; 2. matter, case; in: loml, uml; 3. limit;sommerml, sjurml mliskop nn. certain land-measure mni nm. moon mnnjskab nm.power, ability (esp. physical)

N
nab adj. (ON hnappr, knappr) scant, stingy, that gives short measure nada, njada vw. to decay, waste away, moulder nadi, naddi adj. undeveloped, checked in growth (esp. corn) nagg, njagg nn. 1. importunity, troubling or teasing by reiterations; 2. nagging; 3. prop. gnawing nagga, njagga vw. to importune, trouble; at njagga burt at e-on nakket adj. immature (esp. of corn); pp. of nakka to check in growth nalta nf. grain, particle namngeden adj. (ON nafngitinn) well-known, famous namn nn. name Narulsa nunn, Nirelsa nnn nn. the name of an old fairy song or melody nasems nn. intercourse with women, esp. vulgar natig adj. (Nor. natig) 1. small and neat; 2. vivacious, energetic, active nava vw. to gnaw (off) navarbor nf. (ON -bora) a hole in a piece of wood naver nm. (ON nafarr) auger naversben, navarben nn. the uppermost vertebra of the neck naverd adj. necked, having a neck of certain description nebb nn. 1. beak or neb of a bird; projecting point (of a stone) nebbet adj. having a beak nebord nm. (ON nirburr) 1. bait; 2. a fish cut into pieces T ned adv. down; set dog ned! nedfalljklokk nn. large species of beetle, klokk nedlag nn. heavy snowfall nedlega nf. couch, resting-place nedlop nn. heavy downpour of rain nedset nn. haunt, domicile nedtak nn. taunt, disparaging reference to a person nedra vw. 1. to lower; 2. to depreciate Nedra adj. the lower of two; vs. vra negga vw. to neigh (of a horse) neggt [net] nf. 1. rancour; 2. ill-will nei interj. no neppa vw. (past nepti) to join together;at neppa hanjdena to clench the hand ner pron. inter. (ON nr) when?

nes nn. (D.pl. nesjon) ness, promontory neti adj. 1. (neat) comely; 2. quick and agile; 3. smart nettla vw. to triffle with one's work nev nn. 1. nose; 2. beak, point; 3. the handle of an oar nevi, njavi nm. 1. fist; 2. clenched fist; 3. fistful, handful; hannj kneppti [hneppti, sneppti] sin nev he clenched his fist nevatag nn. a fist-grip; at taka goitt nevatag never adj. (ON snfr/snoefr; noefr) narrow and steep nevgrip nn. 1. as much as can be gripped or held in the closed hand; 2. fistful = nevlok, njevlok (ON hnefalok, Ork. (Hoy) knevslok) niba vw. 1. to stand or sit in bent position; at sita nibandi ver eldenon; 2. to hang the head nibeldis adj. 1. niggardly;2. avaricious nid nn. shooting pain in the body from straining or spraining nida vw. 1. to ache; 2. to strain, sprain nidra vw. 1. to lower, check; 2. to disregard; 3. to waste away, diminish; bnnji er nidra ned; de animal es nidra burt nidderd adj. checked in growth, poor, not having reached its full size nidderet adj. 1. wasted away; 2. miserable nidi adj. 1. stingy;2. avaricious; 3. greedy niga vw. (ON nia) to ache, pain;a nigin pain nigda nf. wife T nigga vw. 1. to trouble smb with repeated inquires; 2. to annoy; 3. to worry niggel, njiggel nm. 1. hard substance; 2.hard, tough matter, tough soil nigla vw.1.to gnaw; 2. to chew; 3. to work without progress nigli adj. hard, tough (of soil) nikk nn. 1. jerk, snatching; 2. sudden pain nilda vw. 1. to beat, thrash with the hand; 2. to buffet; 3. to keep one down; 4. to take advantage nilda vw. 1. to bite, chill; 2.metaph: to ache, smart nilda vw. 1. to press, squeeze; 2. to knead (dough) niu-mdra-met nm. popular belief about food, collected from nine mothers whose first-born were sons, and used as a remedy for a very sick child; sonamors-met nip nm. 1. a steep overhanging crag; 2. a steep mountain top nirl nm. a cold biting wind nirla vw. to rub; at nirla (burt) at gnni to scrape away at the fiddle nirlig adj. bitter, cold nirt nm. 1. closeness;2. stinginess nisa vw. to sneeze nisek nm. porpoise, dolphine nist nm. (ON (g)neisti) 1. spark of fire; 2. morsel of something nistra vw. to creak, produce a loud penetrating sound nivla vw. 1. to squueze, pinch; 2. to press; 3. to seize and shake somebody, knuckle njad nn.hard wearisome work, drudgery njoga vw. to whine and complain, moan njuggel nm. water-nixie - supernatural being njuling nm. fool, simpleton nokki nm. hook, fish-hook nombrastobbnm. (ON -stubbr, -stubbi) a quiet place, esp. at the sea nombrastom nf. 1. very thick mist; 2. deep pondering

norden adj. 1. from the north; 2. belonging to the northern part of Shetland nori nm. 1. puffin;2. barnacle; Tommi nori norn nf. Norn language norn adj. (ON norroenn) Norn, of Norn or Old Norwegian origin; norn visek a Norn song or ballad; norna tungan nos nf. 1. rocky point, tongue of land; 2. prop. a nose nossker nf, nosskerding nm. deep cut or mark on a sheep not nn. pl.? use, benefit; neg. da eru ingen not i di not nn. 1. cow T; 2. blockhead novnf. high point of land, promontory nov, njov adj. smart, clever, active nu adv. now; da er nu og so it's neither good nor bad; nu, nu! stop that! keep quiet! nukki nm. 1. twisting, tangle; 2. knot null nn. cipher 0 numskoljt nm. stupid fellow, numskull nunna vw. to hum a tune nup nm. a steep crag nurtrus adj. cold, disagreeable, inclement nust nn. boat's shed nut nn. 1. cow T; 2. cattle; 3. stupid person; nutfot cow-bone < ON nautftr nuv nm. (ON hnfr) steep promontory nyr nn. (ON nra) kidney n nf. (ON ng/nau) excessive fatness; at vara i n nda vw. 1. to whimper, complain; 2. to desire, long for; at nda og krimpa nnna vw. to hum, sing low to himself = nunna nnn nn. song, tune ntskel(t) nn. (ON kntill + L.Sc. knitchell) bundle, parcel nla vw. to sew firmly nma vw. (past nmdi) to touch or take food nmen adj. quick of apprehension, intelligent, shrewd and capable nni nm. dwarfish person, boy too small for his age nralegg nm. big needle with broken eye

O
oba vw. to open; oba dnnar! obadalig, obadjalig adj. 1. incapable, weakly; 2. useless obder nn. (ON uppdyri or ofdyri) 1. wooden lintel or shelf above a door; 2. penthouse obo nn. 1. appearance, pretence; 2. something done for the sake of appearances oddi nm. point, tongue of land ogelsku nm. old, worn-out shoe; at gnga i ogelsku ogga vw. 1. to satisfy; 2. to give one good and dainty food ohoitt, uhoitt nm. (ON tti) sudden owerhelming fear of the supernatural ok- adj. prefix (ON auka-) additional okenli adv. often, frequently

oknamn nn. nickname, (mocking) epithet okra vw. (ON okra, auka) 1. to augment, increase; 2. to raise old nf. 1. hazy, sultry weather; 2. oppressive heat olg nf. (ON lga) heavy commotion in the sea olg nn. poppressive heat olljapluck nn. (ON ullar- + L.Sc. pluck) remains of wool olljastu nm. (ON -stfr) sheep's carcass found in the outfield ollemos adj. poor, wretched, bony olm nm. (ON almgi/-mgr) large assembly of people, gathered crowd ombod nn. (ON umbo) 1. factorship;2. vicar's tithe ombodsland nn. crown property, national property omgordinn adj. surrounding omgording nm. (ON umgyringr) border, thick rope around the mouth of a basket ompastobb nn. 1. confusion; 2. disorder; 3. untidiness omujjem pron. 1. two objects of the same kind; 2. nothing else onjd nf. heat (sun, atmospheric); see also nn onjdali adj. 1. strange, doubtful, mysterious; 2. wicked, evil; 3. forebodding bad weather onjdelokk nf. accident, misfortune; da er onjdelokk falljen upp de they've met with an accident onjder nn. 1. small porch; 2. penthouse; 3. wooden shelf onjder prep. and adv. under onjdergjud nf. (ON undirgjt) under-current in the sea onjdergr, -gru nm. (ON -gri/gri?) swell in the sea, indicating storm onjderhvigg, underhvigg nn. under-current in the sea onderstenn nm. 1. 'under-stone', stone forming a base; 2. metaph. author, esp. of something bad onjgdi nm. (ON andi) 1. stink; 2. strong and disagreeable smell onglabiter nm. ling biting the line onnj nf. (ON nn) eagerness, love of work opantil adv. above, on the heights ord nf. (ON ur) 1. a heap of fragments of rock; 2. big boulder orm nm. 1. vermin;2. swarm; 3. dense shoal of small fish orma vw. to creep, crawl ormel nn. pl. (ON rmul) remnant, particle, fragment ornaskap, -skepp nn. form of ear-mark orta adj. (ON rtak?) rare, occurring at long intervals; uttakin taking out; selected osta vw. 1. to waste, disappear; 2. to melt, cause to disappear ostmjlk nf. ost-milk ousa vs. 1. to bale; 2. to pour down; 3. to lift feet high in walking ousml nn. quantity of water in the bottom of a boat ousterrumm nn. well-room of a boat overgengen adj. 1. imperious, tyrannical; 2. violent; intractable overgeng vs. 1. to exceed the right measure; 2. to become overfilled overgeng nm. 1. excess of measure; 2. violence, arrogance; 3. aggression overgrip nn. 1. the upper hand (in wrestling); 2. sprain overgripa vs. to sprain; hannj overgrep sina hanjd overi(n), veri nn. 1. the last cake; 2. something left over overli adv. excessively

overlig adj. 1. excessive, too big; 2. exaggerated overskodd nn. 1. rebound of a wave; 2. too great haste overteken adj. overwhelmed overtak nn. the upper hand

P
pada vw. to tell somethingsecretly, in a few words padd nf. (ON padda) toad pakk nm. (ON pakki) certain quantity of vadmal, pack pakki nm. collection of lines (fishing) pallj adj. smooth and flat; legge fisken palljt inn i fadi! pallj nn. head (jok.) pallj nm. rocky ledge pannjabrod nn. a piece of broken pot pansjad nn. excitement, confused hurry parl nn. gritty excrement (esp. of sheep) patla, paitla vw. to push, poke, rake in something pengar nm.pl. money, coin perskit adj. 1. very accurate, punctual; 2. very formal, polished, ceremonious in behaviour pillj nm. (ON pll) buoy T pilk nm. (ON piltr) little child pina vw. to pin, fasten pinka vw. to decorate, trim; at pinka upp pinket adj. stiff and dressed up, affectedly neat pinnast vw. to suffer distress (starvation, cold) pintlek nm. short petticoat piri adj.indecl. (Nor. pirre) small; also Ork, Caith. pirket adj. 1. shrunk; 2. shrivelled; 3. very thin and lean pirket adj. 1. curly; fizzly; 2. bristly pirla vw. to void excrement (mice) pirmin adj. very angry, furious pirna vw. to shrivel, waste away; at pirna upp pirrena nf. 1. a little ailing creature, sickly child; 2. girl pistra vw. 1. to utter a faint sound; 2. to squeak, screech; 3. to whimper; eg kan nmen pistra I can hardly speak for exhaustion pisterliti nn. (ON -lti) person who constantly complains pita nf. tiny, fragile creation, poor thing pja nn. pulsation of life, breath; da er ikke pja i honon he is exhausted pja vw. 1. to stir faintly, show signs of life; 2. to breathe faintly; hannj pjadi aldri mere he never never breathed anymore pjag nn. 1. breath of life; 2. vital power; 3. capacity for work pjaga vw. 1. to move faintly; 2. to breathe (faintly) pjagin adj. 1. upon the point of expiring; 2. quite exhausted pjakk nm. physically weak but active in work person pjakket adj. 1. small, undevelopped; 2. weakly, having little physicalstrength pjarki adj. small, unsignificant pjolet adj. ragged pju nn. faint pulsation of life, breath; da er ikke lengre pju i honon pjurem nm. (ON rjmi) perfectly calm weather and sea

plagg nn. garment (= bad) plakk adv. entirely planka vw. to measure land, divide into planks plinga vw. to produce a tinkling sound (violin); at plinga gnni plousi nn. halibut T plu nm. (ON plgr) plough; (also ar, er(d), rd- < arr) pludisom adj. persevering in efforts, plodding poki, pjoki nm. 1. bag, poke; 2. small paper-bag pollj nm. 1. a small roundish land-locked bay or creek; 2. pool poittabrod nn.piece of broken pot poittek nm. pot for holding train-oil poitti nm. 1. pot; 2. tea-pot poittsker nn.piece of broken pot porta vw. to get to burn pos nm. (ON posi) bag, esp. money-bag posi, pusi, pudj nm. swamp, morass pottisidna nf. swine, pig T pramm nn. gruel of milk and meal pramm nm. small flat-bottomed boat, pram, esp. Norwegian-build; Norva-pramm pramma vw. 1. to squeeze, press; 2. to stuff, cram predikanter nm. clergyman T prestengolva nf. clergyman T prett nm. 1. a mean trick, mischievous act; 2. iron. a good example; 3. trial of strength; 4. rogue prigga vw. 1. to poke, prod; 2. to irritate, tease proggja, prodja vw. 1. to prod with a pointed stuff; 2. to try to coax something out of a person proggjek nm. great feat of strength; hannj var uppi fyri proggjek i nitt prud adj. 1. stately;2. magnificent; 3. of the best kind prummek nm. 1. nipple (fem.); 2. round flatcake; 3. prummekar: female breasts prunk, prunket adj. 1. shining; 2. fine and smart; 3. splendid and strutting prunka vw. 1. to shine; 2. to give a fine appearance; eg myn prunka mog upp I'll put on fine clothes prus interj. shout used in driving cows and horses pr nn. (ON brag/br?) somethingremarkably good, excellent thing prg nf. 1. oil from melted fish-livers; 2. fish and potatoes served with melted liver-oil puka vw. to push, strike puki nm. infant dying unbaptized (according to an old Shetlandic belief, salvation only can be obtained by baptism) pultri adj. 1. very restless; 2.unruly, wind pund nn. pound punder nm. steel-yard pung, pong nm. testicle purlkildi nm. a person easily teased or offended purt nm. stagnant pool, dirty puddle purta vw. 1. to part, divide; 2. to fall into two or more parts, suffice for dividing purt nm. part, share purtning nf. insufficient quantity of any kind of food pusk nm. great anger, excitement

puster nm. 1. violent wind, storm; hannj kom ve pustri a storm arose; i pustri og gustri; 2. great anger, excitement; 3. vital power, capacity for work; da er ikke (mukkil) puster i honon putta vw. to push, nudge with the elbow pyrr nm. breath of wind pytti nn. small broken pot pla vw. to make fun of somebody pbi nm. 1. foster-father; 2. head of a family; 3. old man; 4. pope; 5. evil spirit, devil pn nm. piece of green turf for thatching

R
ra nn. (ON r) 1. a rank, row; 2. a certain length; 3. furrow ra vw. (ON raa) to shorten animal's tether by a certain length rab nn. 1. precipitation, fall (of a mass of rock); 2. crashing sound raba vw. 1. to tumble down (rocks); 2. to pour down; 3. to speak incoherently rabl nn. 1. scrapings, refuse; 2. unsuccessful attempt rad nn. (ON r, r) 1. order, tidiness; 2. (good) management, good execution; at hava goitt [ilt] rad ve e-t; du hever ikke rad ve da; hannj hever rad upp sina vinnu rada vw. (ON raa, ra) 1. to arrange/execute things in some order; 2. to be thrifty, save; at rada upp husi; hannj kenner ikke um radin he has no sense of economy, lets things go anyhow; midi var ikke rett rada the situation of the fishing-ground was not rightly determined raff nn. boast, nonsense rag adj. lean, wretched (animal) rag nn. low fellow, loose in habits or character rag nn. 1. wandering about, walk; 2. idle aimless strolling; 3. vagrant; 4. something that drifts, driftwood rag nn.1.disorder, untidy state; 2. untidy person raga vw. (ON hrekja) to ill-treat, bully; raget, ill-raget raga vw. (Sw. raga) to wander, stroll idly about = ragast um raga vw. (ON raka) to scrape or scratch over a surface raga nf. 1. scrapings;2. refuse; 3. wreckage; 4. confusion; 5. ruin; 6. misfortune;7. skeleton; da er ikke efter men ragan; faren i ragu ruined; raga vw. woman ragabet adj. 1. very talkative; 2. long-winded ragi adj. slight, passing rakki nm. dog T; skitirakki rallja vw. to chat in a long-winded, noisy way ralli nn. 1. a quick turning; 2. sudden faltering or reeling; hannj gerdi ralli upp sog he lost his balance, reeled suddenly ram nm. paw, provided with claws (esp. that of a cat); kattiramar, see also krammek rama vw. to scratch, tear; grab ramaklagg nn. screaming, shouting, clamour ramist adj. (LSc ramish + No. romsen) 1. out of sorts; 2. peevish; 3. fretful ramsekka vw. (ON rannsaka) to ransack, search thoroughly ramsk adj. 1. sharp, rancis; 2. sour; a r. taste ramska nf. fit of merriment or wantonness

ranjd nf. 1. margin, border; 2. stripe, strip randra vw. to spread around, scatter randra vw. to rob, plunder rang nm. roe, spawn rang adj. 1. wrong, crooked; 2. incorrect rangsida nf. wrong side rank adj. 1. crank, apt to heel over; 2. brittle, fragile Rann nf. sea goddess ransla vw. (ON rannsaka) to search house in order to find stolen goods ranselmann nm. investigator rasa vw. to walk undsteadily;rasin ve sgu [megerdomi] rasa vw. to eat off (about cattle leaving no grass) raska vw. to grow very rapidly and lusuriantly rats nm. buttock, posteriors ratska nf. long-winded story (esp. in telling news) rebdiskit nm. worthless fish red nm. boundary line of fishing-ground at sea red nm. (ON reii) 1. order, tidiness; 2. implements reda vw. (ON greia; past reddi) 1. to put in order, make clear; 2. to manage, pay one's way; at reda sina hanjd 1) to manage, pay one's way; 2. to extricate oneself; hannj reddi sina hanjd ve di redskab nm. (ON reiskapr) fishing-line or -tackle rega, raga (ON reka) vs.1. to drive, chase (of clouds, wind); 2. to blow hardor full on rega nf. driving, drifting; at ska e-t ut av regu to search in all possible places regenvista, -vosta nf. 1. an open place greatly exposed to wind or rain; 2. wind blowing on an open place reget adj. streaked reka vw. (ON reika) to saunter about; at reka um; hvarna reikar du til? reka vw. (ON rekja) to unwind, unfold rekka vw. (Nor. rekkja, Dan. rkke) to reach, stretch (hand for something) reksa vw. 1. to stretch out, lengthen; 2. to stretch the limbs; 3. to hand, pass; at reksa upp sog rekster nm. 1. rapid growth; 2. exageration in counting; 3. pulling by the ears rekster nm. 1. driving, chasing (after); 2. long journey; haste, speed; hannj gerdi prlan rekster he didn't gain much rem nf. 1. strap, strip; 2. streak (of light); 3. thin, narrow board rena vw. (Fr. rena (eyguni)) to let one's eyes rove reng nf. 1. knee-timber in a boat; 2. seat for the steersman renga vw. (ON rengja) to distort, wring rennaviti nn. vagrant rep nn. (ON reip) rope, line (esp. clothes) repa vw. to fasten with a rope repibandvw. rope or band to which to fasten the mouth of a basket resa vw. (ON reisa; past resti) to pile up resa vw. (ON rsa; past resti) to set off at a run rett nm. enclosure for cattle ri nf. (ON hr) 1. spell of bad weather; 2. attack of pain or illness; lambari ria vs. to ride rib nn. 1. strip (of ground); 2. a thin piece of wood

ribbek nm. extensive fisning-ground ridl nn. long story ridla vw. to exaggerate or intersperse a story with falsehoods ridli pebble on the shore rift nf. 1. rift (in a landscape); 2. fissure in a rock rifta vw. to belch rikla vw. to cut a herring into pieces rimska vw. to set bad rumours afloat, talk scandal rimska nf. noisy mirth rina vs. (ON rhna) to shriek, squeal (ofswine, pigs) rinjd nf. 1. setting off a run; 2. sudden start, jump ring nm. ring rinna vs. (ON renna) 1. to run; 2. to be able to stand: at rinna veteren; at rinna at to run up tightly (of a knot) rinna vw. (ON renna; past rinjdi) to let run, to set off at a run; at rinna i boittn to run the line to the bottom (Fr. renna botn) riska vw. to cause a scratch rispa vw. 1. to strip; 2. to scratch; 3. to cut rist nf. 1. instep; 2. wrist riv nf. (G.pl rivja) reef riva vs. to tear, pull rivek nm. cleft, fissure in a rock rivet adj. careless and negligent in work ro vw. (ON ra) to remain at rest in one place rod nm. (ON roti) crowd rod nm. (ON hroi) refuse, waste rof nn. damage, destruction, confusion; rof og spli (spoil) damage, destruction, confusion rogg nm. bog, stout and strong person rogga vw. to raise or shrug one's shoulders rogget adj. big, stout, strong (person) roggisomadj. well developed and strong rolli nm. mackerel T ronalent nn. 1. liquid manure from cattle; 2. gutter; 3. mire, mud roni nm. boar ronnek nm. 1. small watercourse; 2. channel ronzji nn. an urging on; at geva e-on ronzji 1. to urge one on [to] drive; 2. to chase away rora vw. to injure the health rossajoga nn. horse's eye rotta nf. rat T rovek nm. cleft between the buttocks rovek nm. 1. rump (of an animal); 2. tail ru vw. to hurry with one's work ru nf. rest, quiet; uru rug nf. (ON hrfa, hrga) 1. a heap, pile; 2. crowd rugget adj. hard, stiff (tide, wind) ruglet adj. insecure, rocking ruk nn. spoondrift rukka nf. 1. good while, short period (longer than riid - ??); fairly long way ruksnaviti nn. fool, simpleton rum nn. 1. room;2. space between 2 thwarts in a boat;3. allotment, small holding

rum adj. roomy; rum vind following wind, opp. to krapp vind rumla vw. rumble rummelfat nn. depository for all kinds of trifles rummelhaljd nn. 1. muddle; 2. confusion rummikel nm. (ON -karl) rude, boisterous person rums nn. 1. stirring, sudden movement; 2. tumult, swell in the sea rumsa vw. 1. to stir, turn round; 2. to root (of swine) rund adj. round rungklovarnm.pl. tongs rus nn. 1. onrush, hurry; 2. strong wind rusk nm. (ON rskr adj.) 1. stour, strong person (boy, young); 2. active energetic person ruskalig adj. strong, healthy, well developed russa nf. mare russ nn. 1. horse; 2. hardy child running running bear-headed in all weathers rust nf. iron-rust rust nf. strong tidal current; (in Ork. saga current = rstin) rusta vw. to rust; rustet rustju, ruskju nn. 1. great disorder; 2.great confused haste ruta vw. to bellow loudly ruth nm. (rr) 1. a rowing;2. a rowlock in a boat rygg nm. 1. the back; 2. ridge ryggagitel nm. high curved part of a swine's back near the neck ryggben nm. backbone rygget adj. having a different colour on the back (svart-, r- etc.) ryggriva vs. to tear (scratch) ryn(n)a vw. (ON hrynja) to fall, slide (earth, rocks) rd, r adj. red; weak forms: rdi 1. red stallion [bull]; 2. fire (in a riddle); rda red mare [cow] rda vw. to build up hurriedly and temporarily; at rda upp [samen] rdastabbb nm. (ON reyrastabbi, reyr - whale) block of wood rdelek adj. foreboding the fine rain (weather); hannj er rdelek there's a prospect of rainy weather rdret adj. reddish (white) rllet adj. in heat rmi, remi nm. (ON rjmi) a dead calm weather at sea rni nn. (ON hraun) 1. stony hill; 2. stone-heap rs nn. (ON hrs) 1. praise; 2. recommendation rsa vw. 1. to commend highly; 2. to boast rslet adj. 1. impetuous; 2. hasty; 3. heedless rta vw. to root rvaskerri nn. 1. a worthless thing; 2. worthless objects r nn. (ON hr) carcass (of an animal) r nf. (ON hra) bugbear, scarecrow r nn. advice; goitt at taka gamla manna r ra vs. (ON ra) to desire the boar (male), of a sow rgi nm. (ON r) kind of evil spirit rnga vw. (ON hrang) to rign, resound rnka vw. to clear up (storm, bad weather) rra nf. (ON hra) bogey, esp. a scarecrow rsa vw. (ON rsa, past rsti) to run the fishing-line down the bottom rsigat, rsihol nn.pl. limber-holes in a boat rss nn. (ON rxn) knot on an animal's tether in order to short it

rth nn. (ON ri) rights or authority (over a property); ryt and roith(t) [r] rights rthman nm. man with full rights over his property, odaller rvilt adj. (ON rvilltr) 1. puzzled, vacilating; 2. in a dilemma; 3. utterly mad

S
sabba vw. to saturate (esp. with water) saga nf. 1. tale, narrative; da er ikke at gera sagu um; 2. saying; da er komi til minnar sagu it happened just as I said it would (ON at er komit til sgu minnar) saga vw. to slacken, cease (tide) sagda adv. (Fr. saktans) indeed, certainly sagg, sjagg nn. close, drizzling rain sagta, sakta [-xt] nf. 1. easy gait, gentle rowing; 2. ease, gentleness sagta adv. gently, slowly sagtna vw. to slacken, abate, cease (of wind, tide) sallja vw. 1. to move, sail; 2. to creep along sallj nn. ocean current saklos adj. blameless, guiltless salh nm. large full-grown shark = bl(ga)h salt nn. salt salt adj. salt sambord nm. place of joining together = samfast(in) samkenn adv. interj. (ON sannkenna v.)certainly! truly! sand nm. sand sanjda vw. to say yes continually; at sanjda ve sandvarpet vw. thrown together in a heap and mixed with sand sang nm. 1. song;2. singing sangster nm. cake made of barley-meal kneaded with fish-livers sann interj. assertive exclamation, truth! upp min sann! upon my word! (Fr. (upp) mn sann!) sannja vw. to prove true, accuse justly sarablind nn. a large spider with very long legs saraslb nf. abig jelly-fish, medusa saren adj. not able to walk steadily sed nm. full-grown fish; sillek, murt, piltek, hol(-piltek), drlin (droljen), stivin, beli, benki, welsi, kegga-piltek, kd, sjaper sedek nm. seat sedek nm. a fishing-ground near the coast sedel nm. saddle sedesup nn. (ON -spa/saup) sediment of butter-milk sedviti nn. sheep (Low) segel nn. sail segla vw. (ON segldi) to sail; segle burt til strandar! sekk nm. sack seksering nm. six-oared boat sel nf. (ON sla) happiness selihu nf. (ON sluhfa) caul enclosing a child's head at birth sem nm. nair, iron nail sema vw. (ON seyma) to nail down;to s. a boat

semek nm. sewing-needle T semla vw. 1. to fit, suit; 2. to return to a normal state, regain equilibrium; 3. to smooth; 4. to collect, gather; at semla seng send nf. 1. a gift sent to one (far away) < sending; 2. slight kick seppalama interj. (ON sta lambit 'sweet kid') address exclamation ser adv. south, to the south; his son guid s. serinsten nm. (ON sigrsteinn) victory-stone, brings a happiness, talisman seta vw. (ON setja; past setti) 1. to set; 2. to plant; 3. to put to rights; 4. to arrange, place; 5. to receive in a certain condition; at seta dr opna to leave the door open; 6. to treat, entertain (goitt, ilt); 7. to ferry over; 8. to head, steer in a settle in a place; 9. at setast to take a seat; sete dog ned; sete dog inn til eldsens; at seta sin fud til eldsens 1. to make oneself at home; 2. decide to remain: sete din fud inn til eldsens! make yourself at home! hannj setti sin fud til eldsins og vildi ikke rumsa he settled himself down comfortably and would not stir; at seta inn sin fud 1. to withdraw, set aside; 2. break a promise: du hever set inn din fud; at seta ut fuden at gera e-t to undertake a performance of a piece of work; seta at 1. to set oneself comfortably; 2. to exert oneself, push on; set at djer! seta efter to pursue seta fr sjer: to take vigorous pills seta in to pledge seta over to ferry over; set mog ver sundi! seta til to raise a young animal to a winter = seta seta samen to put together, compose seta upp 1. to drive a boat ashore; 2. pull freash peats on the fire; at seta upp birtek seta ut 1. to move farther out; 2. to compose (a book); 3. to translate; at seta ut buk seta 1. to raise a young animal to winter; 2. to strain; 3. to fix, appoint a time or day seter nn. (ON setr) homestead, farm seter nn. (ON str) pasture for cattle setning nm. a year-old lamb reared at home in the winter si vw. (ON sa) to clear by straining sid adj. (ON sr) long, reaching low down; sid jakki; da er ver sitt siderep nn. one of two ropes by which a harrow is drawn sigg nn. piece of hard skin; lean, tough meat sigga vw. 1. to press together; 2. to join twoobjects together sigga vw. to incite a dog sigget adj. hard and tough signavw. 1. to make the sign of the cross; 2. to bless; 3. to practice witchcraft siggra vw. 1. to press twoobjects into one; 2. to heal (wound) sija vw. (past sagdi) to say, tell; at sija fr (ON segja fr); at sija til to give instructions; sannjsagd (ON sannsagr, -mltr) sil nn. small fry (esp. of herring) sila vw. 1. to strain; 2. to ooze, leak; hesten silar vatni um sin monnj sild nf. herring silek nm. young sow silek nm. young coalfish, first year sill nn. 1. the milt in male fish; 2. fry (esp. of herring) sillaland nn. (ON slent land?) small piece of field difficult to plough

sima vw. to heed, notice; aldri sima da! hannj simai mog aldri he pretended not to see [hear] me simm nm. 1. a trace, indication of something; 2. a faint suspicion; 3. a hint, vague report; 4. morsel; eg hevdi simm av di simma vw. to hint, mention vaguely; eg simmai aldri at eg kendi um da I never gave a hint that I knew anything about the matter simmi nm. plaited straw-band sin nn. sinew sinna nf. long old and tough grass sinter nn. small quantity, particle sirpin badly prepared sita vs. 1. to sit; 2. to remain (at rest); 3. to reside, live in place;eg hevi siti mitt hela liv esu landi; at sita inn under e-on 1. to have one sitting on a knee; 2. show one greatest life affection; jift de kundu hava siti inn under honon; at seta ut elden to sit (talking) without heeding the fire on the hearth and letting it go out siverka nf. 1. ahard disagreeable work, toil; 2. soil prepared for planting of potatoes sjafer nm. a large marine animal sjaga vw. 1. to gnaw, chew; 2. to talk incessantly sjaga vw. to worry, fatigue with hard work; sjaget, sjaget ut - knocked up, entirely exhausted sjageri nn. hard, wearing work sjagla vw. to cut unevenly with a blunt knife sjald nm. oyster-catcher sjalti nm. (ON hjalti, hjaltr = hjaltlendingr) 1. water-flea < springer?; 2. horse, Shetland pony sjamma vw. 1. to make faces, showing the teeth; 2. to mutter, speak undistinctly; 3. to stutter sjaphus nn. small porch, penthouse sjara vw. to creak (door) sjask nn. 1. trouble;2. toil and moil sjasket adj. 1. troubled, worried; 2. exhausted, worn out sjava vw. to gnaw sjela vw. to fall (frost, dew); at sjela ned, upp, av sjela vw. 1. slight frost, hoar-frost; 2. dew on the ground; 3. dense mist; 4. dark colour sjera vs. (ON skera) to cut, reap corn sjiner nm. sun T sjodd, sjdd nn. 1. loud humming or rushing sound; 2. noise of many footsteps sjogg nm. close drizzling or misty rain sjogg adj. (ON jukkr) thick, luxuriant growth (grass) sjoggersten nm. hard stone, kinf of quartz sjoggisom adj. exhausting, laborious, very tiring sjol nf. (ON sl) 1. soul; 2. address to a cow during milking; sjolin sjota sweet soul < ON slin soeta sjoljga, -lga nf. mist laying over the sea sjonn, sjnn nf. 1. small lake, tarn; 2. pond, pool, swamp sjorg nm. (ON saurr, saurga) wet gravel-soil, esp. sub-soil sjorgig adj. gravelly; s. land sju nm. 1. the sea; 2. waves sjugeng nm. heavy surf sju vs. (ON skjta?) to bark the oars in rowing

sjukka vw. (ON *jukka) to become filled with dense mist sjukkola nf. (ON jukk-kla) cod, "thick-head" T sjukni nf. thick atmosphere, dense mist sjupilti nm. 1. sea-demon, water-nixie; 2. triton sjurml nn. (ON sjfarml) high-water mark, edge of the foreshore sjuski nm. (ON jfskr) 1. a dog (nickname); 2. an unruly boy; 3. devil;4. clergyman T sjni nn. (ON sni) queer individual, poor person sjnibsn nn. (ON sjnar-bsn) a queer, odd-looking person Sjlma nf. (ON Hjlma) name for a white-headed (dark-coloured) cow sjlmarket adj. born with a mark in the ear (of a calf) sjna vw. (ON skjna) 1. to dwinddle; 2. to shrink; 3. to waste away sjnin nf. shrinking = sjonament nn. skaplag nn. (ON skiplag, skaplag) plan (unmatured), castle in the air; at legga upp skaplag [skiplag] skad nn. 1. a great haste; 2. excitement; 3. noise and disturbance skag, skegi nn. (ON skagi) point or tongue of land skal vpp. shall skal, skelli nf. (ON skel) rock-moss, esp. of korki skalljet adj. 1. bald; 2. losing hair; 3.imopure, mixed (colour) skallji nm. 1. a bald head; 2. a bald person; 3. a bare hill-top skalv nn. (ON skafl) 1. wet snow; 2. large wet snowflakes skalva vw. to fall (wet snow) skam nn. a small cloud skamlos adj. shameless, insolent skammjok, -jukk nn. 1. a yoke carried by the two middle oxen; 2. a shorter yoke (opp. to utjok) skanta vw. to probe with a measuring staff skatt nm. tax, tribute, esp. to the Crown skatta vw. 1. to impose tax; 2. to pay tax skattald nn. (ON skatthald) 1. hill-pasture, out-field; 2. land taxed for its use skavlos adj. unshapely, ugly ske vw. to happen; hvatna er sked djer? skedru vw. (ON skaa-rja?) to pluck the wool from a sheep far too early skef, skev adj. oblique, askew skegi nm. 1. sail T; 2. small quantity of wool skekel nm. 1. bogey, fabulous monster; 2. masquerader skekla vw. to disguise oneself on a dress of straw skel nn. (ON skjall + Eng. scale) film growing over the eye, impairing the sight skela vw. to squint skelk nm. loud mocking laughter, guffaw skelka vw. to laugh loud and mockingly skellj nm. 1. crash, cracking sound of something hard falling or breaking; 2. roar of laughter skelter nm. (ON skjlfti) (great) commotion in the sea skena vw. to cut or picka shell-fish out of the shell skepta nf. 1. something shaken; 2. a porridge-like substance skepting nm. razor-fish skerpa vw. to make hard and dry; skerpet skerping nm. wind-dried fish (sillek, piltek) skerra vw. to frighten, startle

skerr adj. 1. shy, apt to be startled; 2. loose, slack (of a rope); a s. horse ski nm. (ON sk(r), Fr. skggi) adipose membrane in intestines of an animal ski nn. (ON) wooden plough skiba vw. (ON skipa) 1. to bring to light, disclose; at skiba e-n (upp) sen sjuv; 2. to introduce a subject; 3. to strip a debtor skift nn. (ONskipti) sharing out; at gera skift to divide equally skikk nn. 1. order, state of things; 2. good management, economy, thrift; at hava goitt skikk (ve e-t) 1. to manage well; 2. to be economical, save skikka vw. 1.to keep in order; at skikka husi, mjlk; 2. to manage well; 3. to be economical (esp. food) skilm nn. 1.a film of milk; 2. a slime scraped from fish skilseta vw. to separate, part (from a companion/flock) skilter nm. 1. dispersion;2. scattering; 3. spreading skiltet adj. changeable, wavering skiltra vw. to saunter about skimpa vw. to mock, jest, make fun skimper nm. a mocker, teaser, jesting person skimpsomadj. good-humoured mocking, jesting skindoger nm. 1. a slight peal of thunder; 2. a supernatural vision skink nf. (ON skinka) ham, loin (anim.) skinkben nn. shank of an animal skinnalepp nm. 1. a strip, remnant of skin; 2. remains skinnraga vw. to backbite skipa vw. to steer (esp. a boat) skiplaga vw. to make plans or arrangements out of season, build aircastles skir adj. pure, holy; skirfursdag shire Thursday (ON skrrsdagr) skit nm. 1. dirt, filth; 2. excrement of clothes skita vw. 1. to evacuate; 2. toeject liquid skita vw. (ON skjta + Eng. sheet) to play duck and drake skiva nf. 1. slice (bread); skivek: 1. thick slice; 2. a dry piece of turf; also skivrin/skivrik skjag nn. something loosely built up, f.ex. a fence, as a shelter against bad weather skjag nn. pen, esp. for geese; see also stjag skjoget adj. (ON skjttr) greyish, muddy-grey skjogla vw. 1. to make askew, twist out of shape; 2. to walk crookedly skjol nm. a broad discolouring streak (red, black etc) skjona vw. (ON skynja) to examine by touch whether hens are about to lay eggs skjons nn. (ON skyn) eye accuracy in performing work skjonsin adj. 1. oblique, slanting; 2. obliquely, aslant skjotta vw. to peer, peep; see skotta skjul nn. (ON skjl) shelter skjut, skjud nm. (ON skjtr) horse T skjldra nf. (ON *skjaldra, skjldr) hoar-frost, layer of hoar-frost skjrt nm. (ON stjartr) tail; see stjrt sko nf. turf from the greensward sko vw. (ON skoa) to examine skodler nm. 1. master or pilot of the skuda boat; 2. master of ceremonies or festivals; 3. leader skog nm. shoe

skoitt nn. peeping, look-out, sight, view skoitta vw. to peer, peep, steal a glance skoitt nn. 1. peering, glancing; 2. look-out; sight, view; at taka skoitt to steal a glance at; at standa skoittenu to be on the look-out; i skoitt in sight [view]: at koma i skoitt skolp nn. jelly-fish, medusa skolt nm. 1. skull;2. head skolta vw. to strike one on theh head skonjda, skoinjda vw. to make haste, put on speed; skonjd dog! skonzja vw. 1. to thrust, push; 2. to chase, drive away or out; 3. to scrub, scour; 4. to run quickly skor nn. 1. score, crevice; 2. fishing-ground close to the shore; 3. mood, temper skord nf. great number, swarm skord, skjord adj. having sharp edges, notched (of ram's horn) skord nf?. stay, prop, shore < skora skorda vw. 1. to prop, support; 2. to shore up a boat; 3. to keep somebody upright by supporting him skorkna vw. to shrink, get a hard crust, dry quickly; skorknin, see also skorpnskorm nf. egg-shell skorn nf. very small quantity, scrap skornfullj adj. slippery with frost skorpi adj. shrunken, dried up skorping nm. very lean, thin creature (< shrunken, dried up) skorpna vw. 1. to shrink, dry up;2. to bake too hard skot nn. a great speed, hurry skothr nn. pl. 1. short, soft, downy hairs; 2. hair beginning to glow skotnaruth nm. (ON skottanar-rr?) special kind of rowing (< rowing by backing) skot nn. liking, inclination skottel nm. movable board in a boat skre nf. (ON skrei) large flock in motion skre nf. (ON skria) a slide in a mountain side, landslip skreling nm. small, feeble and insignificant person skri vs. (ON skra) 1. to manage with difficulty; at skri to get on; 2. to be just able to keep alive; 3. to be barely sufficient; da myn skri ver hellina it will last over Sunday (from Saturday evening till Monday morning) skrib nn. 1. a mark, left by scratching; 2. a slender object; 3. a lean creature skrid, skrig nm. a flock (crowd, shoal) in motion skrida vw. 1. to move in a dense crowd; 2. to shoal; 3. to teem with maggots or vermins skrift nf. 1. a crack, fissure; 2. a thin object skrima vw. 1. barely to distinguish; 2. to peer, see with half-closed eyes skriva vs. to write skrivl nn. scribbling, esp. poor handwriting = skrutl skrivla vw. 1. to scrape, scratch; 2. to grope about; 3. to write very badly skrog nn. (Etym. uncertain) a large, flat wooden spoon, a skimmer skrogtjadd nn. (Etym. uncertain) kitchen skr nf. 1. a dry piece of skin; 2. an itching part of the skin; 3. sensation of itching

skr vw. to become (far) too dry; at skr upp skrfla nf. itching sensation in the skin skuda nf. (ON skutla) a 12-oared boat, see skodler skuggalig adj. 1. spying; 2. subst. sneaking, stealthy person who watches from a hiding place skugga vw. 1. to shade, cast a shadow; 2. to give a shelter skuggi, skjuggi nm. (ON skuggi) 1. a shade; 2. dimness;3. shelter, hiding-place, ambush skulding nn. (ON skuldaing) thing for civil debts = meeting at which men settle their mutual debts Skundi nm. name for a dog Smart, Swift, Quick < skundi speed skur nf. 1. squall of wind; 2. rare a heavy shower of rain skurdebogi nm. a jocular term for the youngest member of a family skuta vw. 1. to jut out, project (rock, foot); 2. to stick out (foot); at skuta ut; at skuta ut ver to beetle, project; hvatna skutar du ut din fud fyri? skutek nm. 1. a piece of wood in a boat; 2. prop. added piece skuta nf. a small flat-bottomed boat (ship's boat); Norvaskuta skygga vw. to startle, frigthen skyl nn. (ON skli) 1. covering; 2. boat's sail T skyl nn. a slight surf, wash of waves skyla vw. (ON skla) 1. to place a cover; 2. to shade one's eyes with the hand skyla vw. to lap, wash (of waves) skylling nm. coin worth nearly a half penny skdilepp nm.old, worn-out shoe skla vw. (ON skla) to shade one's eyes with one's hand sklbrugg nf. (ON skjl-brekka) shelter, place (esp. a bank, slope) affording shelter skn nn. (Gael. sgian) knife T skna vw. to cut up (bait, worms in trout fishing) skrd nf. great number, swarm; skorr skrra vw. to frighten, scare away; see skerra skv nn. tail (anim., large flat-fish) skl nf. big wooden bowl skld nn. 1. scalding; 2. intense heat of the sun sklda vw. 1. to scald, burn on the outside; 2. to prepare something hastily and badly; 3. to scorch one skrd nn. (ON skar) deep depression in the ridge of a hill slag nm. 1. a slovenly, negligent state; 2. an untidy, loose dress slag nn. 1. a flock, swarm; 2. indefinite quality slag nn. beating, drubbing slaget adj. (ON slakr?) 1. slack, loose, flapping; 2. shapeless and too long owing to long use slagi nf. hollow in the ground sleb nn. slackness sled nf. (ON sleja) sledge slefset adj. 1. careless;2. slovenly; 3. untidy slemet adj. 1. smooth, ingratiating; 2. prop. slimy slep nn. rough, smacking kiss slepa vw. 1. to lap, lick with a smacking sound; 2. to kiss in a rough way sleppa vw. to let slip, leave hold of; at sleppa anjdena to loose one's breath

slett adj. (ON slttr) flat, smooth; he is s. i' de ljog - the sea is smooth and calm sletta, skletta nf. level field slettbak nm. the Greenland whale sleva nf. 1. salive from the mouth; 2. slush, mire; 3. foolish talk, nonsense sleva vw. 1. to slaver; 2. to twaddle sliddra vw. to slip, slither slidri adj. slippery slobret adj. soft and slimy, glutinous slod nn. 1. a lull or interval in rough weather; 2. sweetheart < chance sweetheart (more recent) sloder nn. great quantity; bten hever fingi sloder slogg nf. (ON sloka) a full draught sloinjda vw. to incline, slant slokka vw. (ON slokkna) to be extinguished, go out (fire); at slokka ut; birteken slokkar ut; utslokket slokka vw. (ON slkkva) 1. to extinguish light or fire; at slokka elden (ut); 2. to thicken water or soup with meal; at slokka upp, at slokka vatni; da er syrpa, til d de slokka da upp ve meti slokking nf. 1. extinction; 2. heavy rain sloinjda vw. 1. a long rigmarole; 2. a great deal, considerable portion; 3. multitude slu nf. (ON sl) 1. track made by footprints; 2. a spread layer; 3. a strip of arable land sluga, sljuga vw. (ON slka?) 1. to slip, hang to far down; 2. to slant gradually; 3. to lounge about; 4. to slink, steal slui nm. (ON sli) contrivance (basket weighted with a ground) slumet adj. 1. slow, shy; 2. retiring; 3. suspicious-looking;4. sly, cunning; 5. lean and poor slumin adj. 1. having sloping shoulders; 2. sneaking; 3. slimy; 4. difficultto get hold of slunket adj. lank, empty, flabby sluta vw. to incline, slant; grunden er sluta fyri hulenon sl vs. to strike, kick (horse, mare) smakka vw. to taste; at smakka upp e-t smal adj. narrow, thin, slender; ikke da smalasta not the least smali adj. slender and fragile sme vw. (ON smeygja) 1. to ingratiate oneself; 2. to sneak about smed adj. cunning, unreliable smi nn. small things, a collection of such; a lock o' s. (heap of small potatoes) smi nf. (ON smija) smithy smid, smig nn. 1. a furtive smile; 2.smirk; 3. mocking smile smida vw. to smile furtively or mockingly, smirk smiket adj. half-drunk (person) smitt nf. (ON smitta) infection smitt adj. infectious; smitt sott smitta vw. to infect; smittin smjongni nm. (ON hinn smeygni) eel T smjuga vs. 1. to slip (burt//av); 2. to hide away; 3. to steal away; at smjuga seg av/burt smoga nf. 1. a narrow passage; 2. a small sheepfold smoiljta nf. dense stifling smoke (inside) smoiljta vw. to melt (in the mouth)

smoitti nm. woolen night-cup smoitti adj. very small; piri smoitti diminutive smornalta nf. a small lump of butter smuti adj. 1. hidden, secret; 2. cunning smu adj. (ON smr) small, far too small or short smyrr, smorr nn. (ON smjr, smoerr) butter; krump og smortek buttered cheese-cake smra vw. 1. to smear; 2. to grease; at smra jogen to smear the eyes with a miraclous ointment giving the power of seeing hidden things (fairy tales) smli adv. slowly, piece by piece, by degrees; so lunka vi so smli so we trudge slowly on (Swed. S lunka vi s smningom) smra nf. a (white) clover snagg nm. 1. wooden pin or bolt; 2. projecting point; 3. metaph. obstacle snapp nm. (ON hnappr) small heap of sheaves of corn snapp nm. (ON knappr) knob, round top snapp adj. (ON knappr) short in speach, answering in few evasive words snara vw. 1. to twist; 2. to turn about rapidly or quickly sne vw. (ON sneia, sna) to cut; he snid his finger; at sne av snegga vw. (ON hneggja) 1. to neigh, whinny (horse); 2. to snigger snell, snill adj. 1. pure, clean (esp. white); 2. keen and biting (cold); 3.sharp, shrill, piercing snell, snill adv. hastily sneppa vw. (ON hneppa, kneppa) 1. to tie, clench; 2. to span, reach (round, over); at sneppa hanjdenar; at sneppa mesan snevra vw. 1. to poke nose into, be bent upon getting something; 2. to ingratiate oneself sni nn. 1. a cut; 2. correct mode or usage snibba vw. 1. to snipp off, cut right off; 2. to cut hair too close snibbet adj. stumpy, too short snika vs. (ON snkja) 1. to sneak; 2. to sponge on, continue aksing for something: at snika upp e-n to sponge upon one, esp. for food snikka vw. to cut out, chip snikkel nm. wooden hook snikla vw. to cut (with a single cut) snild nf. 1. correct behaviour, tact, courtesy; 2. ingenuity; 3. shrewdness, innate sense; hannj havdi ikke so mukla snild, at... he had not so much innate sense, that... snit nn. 1. a morsel or piece of bread; 2. child with a good appetite; 3. cusk snita vw. (ON sna, Swd. snjta) 1. to eat (with small appetite); 2. to poke or root in the food or fodder snittra vw. to contract, wrinkle (the nose in snappishness) snjag nn. 1. (animal's) sniffing; 2. appetite (neg.); 3. snack, light meal snjaga vw. (ON snaka) to sniff at the fodder without eating for the lack of appetite snjaga vw. (ON gnaga) 1. to nag, grumble; 2. to taunt snjalder nn. loud yelping, barking snjaldra vw. to yelp, bark (of a dog) snjuful nm. (ON snjfugl) snow-bird

snjug nf. (ON knjkr, Icel. hnjkr) 1. a mountain top; 2. projecting height; 3. slope of a hill-top; 4. crag snjug nn. 1. offence;2. insult; 3. aversion (at) snjuga vw. to get ready for attack (esp. cows) snjuger nm. 1. disagreeable odour; 2. ill-smelling vapour or smoke snjukavi nm. heavy snow-storm, dense spoondrift snjuket adj. malicious and cunning snjrga vw. 1. to grumble; 2. to complain constantly snjrga, snjarga vw. (ON *knarka) 1. to nar, grumble; 2. to scold snogg adj. 1. smooth, short-haired; 2. scanty, short; 3. stingy, niggardly snogga vw. to make tidy and neat;at snogga upp husi snoggin ??? derisive term in addressing or mentioning a person snoljk nn. a lump between the eyebrows; at seta snoljk to brown, be angry [offended]; hannj havdi snoljk sjer he was angry [offended, fretful] snoljket adj. 1. turning up the nose; 2. hurt; 3. offended; 4. sulky snora, snura vw. (ON snora) to have a bad cold snort, snork nn. rheum snoska vw. 1. to sniff; 2. to be displeased and peevish snoittel nm. (ON kntr) a lump between the eyebrows snoittla vw. to frown, make a lump between the eyebrows snott nm. (ON knttr, hnttr) a wooden button, small wooden pin snutt nm. (ON kntr) slip-knot (fish.) snygg nf. (Swd. snugga) bite, snack, light meal snypret adj. contracted, pinched snyps adj. short, brusque snyta vw. (ON snta) 1. to blow the nose; 2. to snuff a candle sndi adj. 1. agile, dexterous; 2. smart, active; 3. sly; 4. offended; 5. touchy sndli adv. (ON snliga) hurriedly, suddenly snlda nf. a high, narrow, detached rock sob nn.(ONsaup) buttermilk soba vw. 1. to sleep lightly; 2. to doze, rest sodden adj. 1. boiled; 2. sodden sodiskrvedek nm. (ON sauskr-) a stone fence built out from a sheepfold sogga nf. 1. sow;2. a fat animal or fish soggi nm. sucking-disk of a testaceous animal soina vw. (ON sna; past soindi) 1. to see, look at; 2. to peep; 3. to like, 4. to take pleasure in; hannj soinded um sog; eg soindi da I've caught a sign of it; at soina landi; at soina legviseren (compass); eg soindi hannj ikke; de soindi hannj ikke mukki vel they didn't care well for him soinjd nf. (ON sjn [sn], sjnd [snd]) 1. a sight, view; 2. pleasure, good will; landi fer ut av soinjd(eni); at koma i soinjd.; eg hevi ikke soinjd fyri honon; 3. legal investigation by thingmen < inspection of property soinjda vw. 1. to see, look at; 2. to like soinjdelek, *soinjdek nm. eye, prop. a small eye soinjdis adj. that which is lucky to see or meet Soinjdla nf. a woman with a poor eyesight < who strains her eyes to see sokk nm. sock, stockings sola vw. to sole: tread on the earth = recover after illness; hann/hun myn aldri s. jard atter solji adj. warm and damp (waether)

soljtadikk nm. a kind of medicinal drink, given to an animal sommer nn. summer sommerml nn. beginning of the summer, 14 April sommisa vw. to confise, overwhelm, render speechless son nm. son song nm. 1. a song; 2. favourite topic, hobby; da hever vari min song i tv r I've talked about it constantly for 2 years songi nm. 1. hermaphrodite;2. non-prolific male sonnj nn. (Gael. sorn) kiln, esp. at the end of a barn sorar nm.pl. (ON saurr) scaly pieces of skin when it's plicked off the sheep sorna vw. to become a firm mass, form a crustation on the bottom of a pot sostring nm. (ON systrungr) a relative, esp. in pl. sotskin nn.pl. 1. brother(s) and sister(s), 1st cousins; 2. a near relative; 3. members of the same church: sotskin i kirkeni sott nf. sickness sova vs. 1. to sleep; 2. to sink into a stupor, swoon spadi nm. an old worn-out spade spann nn. 1. a water-pail;2. form. measure for dry goods (= Ork. lispund); 3. a measure with the hand, span spanna vw. to measure with the hand spe nm. (ON at speja, v.) 1. a scout, spy; 2. an inquisitive, prying person spe, spje nn. 1. derision;2. fool sperra vw. 1. to sprain, exert muscular force;2. to stride; at sperra to hasten, set off (at full speed) speviti nn. a person who is an object of derision spi vw. (Dan.dial. spi) to make fool of, to mock spila vw. (ON spila, Fr. spla) to stretch out spilla vw. (past spilti) 1. to spill; 2. to slacken spilt adj. leprous spirda vw. 1. to kick; 2. to stride, take great leaps in running spjala vw. to sprawl, struggle spjaler nm. cat,occ. dog T < sprawler, player spje nn. 1. a scorn, disparaging talk of a person; 2. fool spjel(l)a vw. to thrust out arms and legs spjelmann nm. (Dan. spillemand) a fiddler, violin-player spjeskab nm. a person exposing himself to derision spjetak nn. 1. a fool;2. spectacle, absurd, foolish person spong nf. a metal plate or band spord nm. 1. a tail;2. the top of a fish-hook; 3. edge of something sprag nn. strutting, gesticulation in one's walk spraga vw. 1. to stretch out the legs; 2. to sprawl; 3. to spread, extend; 4. to strut, swagger spretta vw. 1. to rip up; 2. to loosen; 3. to become loosened, come undone (seams in clothes) spretta, spritta vw. 1. to leap, jump, run lightly; 2. to sprout, grow; at spretta um spri nn. a spray spri vw. to spray; vatni spriddi ver mog springa vw. 1. to burst, cause to break; 2. to cause injury springa vs. to burst, break sprn nn. ejected liquid, esp. excrement sprna vw. to eject liquid, esp. liquid excrement (birds)

spunda vw. to run fast, gallop spundikrabb nm. (ON -krabbi) a heart-shaped crab < spoon-crab spun nm. (ON spnn) spoon spyt nf. (ON spta) a tod, spit spra vw. 1. to ask, consult; 2. to ask a young girl's hand of her parents; evasive reply when one does not wish to answer: hvarna fer du i mynni? Spr! sprner nf.pl. (ON spurn + L.Sc. speirins) information, news; at f sprner av e-on [til e-s] to get news about one sp vw. 1. to forebode, foretell; 2. to have intercourse with a girl before marriage spnga vw. 1. to put a metal plate or band on something; 2. to rivet sta nm. (ON star) domicile, farm, now only as a place-name stab nm. (ON stapi) an insulated rock or hill, sea-rock stabb nm. (ON stabbi) 1. a stub, block of wood to sit on; 2. a small bank, elevation; 3. a grassy clod staga vw. to stagger stak nm. (ON staki) a wooden stake stakk nm. a high rock in the sea stakka vw. to build up in stacks stamron, -reng? nf. (ON stafnrng) a knee-timber in the stem of a boat; -reng, ring stand nn. 1. erect or vertical position; 2. set, number of objects standa vs. 1. to stand; 2. to last; ita veder myn ikke standa lngt; 3. to take place, be held; 4. to be decided; 5. to be constituted; 6. to head; imper. stitt vw. stand still! standa at sjer to move (aside) a little standa efter 1. to remain, be left behind; 2. to aspire for; 3. to strive for standa fyri 1. to manage, have a charge of; 2. to stand for, balance; 3. to make a strong impression; da stu fyri mjer it made a great impression upon me standa i 1. to be occupied with something; 2. to be engaged in something standa til 1. to give expectation of; 2. to be entitled to something; 3. to depend on standa ve 1. to stick fast; 2. to keep one's point of view; 3. to admit, acknowledge; 4. to wait, stand waiting; 5. to hesitate, have a misgiving; da stendur ve da ra or hvita red or white is the main colour; 6. to feel a strong disgust to something; 7. to approach nearly; hannj stender ve skuri i nordvesti there's a shower is threatening from north-west; standa 1. to head, steer, make a good headway; 2. to be contrary; 3. to stand firm, insist; 4. to persevere; 5. to be very exhausting; 6. to be imperative, necessary; 7. depend on stanga vw. 1. to sting; 2. to ache, sting (pain) stansa vw. 1. to stop, stand still; 2. to stop, cease star nn. cataract (disease of the eye) stara vw. (past stardi) to stare, gaze staragoit nn. a poor, lean cod stark adj. 1. strong, vigorous; 2. clever stav nm. 1. a staff, stick; 2. a streak of light from the sun; stavar ned fr suleni;at fallja [gnga] i stava ver e-u 1. to fall into pieces; 2. become

confused, speechless; da lagdi mog i stava - it made me quite confused [speechless]; stavalu nf. quivering motion in the atmosphere due to heated ground stedi nm. anvil stedja vw. (ON steja) 1. to lay the foundation; 2. to gather in a dense flock or shoal stedet adj. stationary stemnbod nn. (ON stefnubo) fiery-cross sten nm. 1. a stone; 2. rock, large stone; 3. sea-rocks; 4. sinker of a fishing line; da er ikke sillek or piltek i sjunon stenbiter nm. wolf-fish stenblind adj. stone-blind steng nf. mast T < pole; see stong stenga vw. (ON stanga) 1. to sew together, stitch; 2. to plait stengl, stingl nn. a (high) boot, water-proof boot stengla, stingla vw. (Nor. stangla, stingla) 1. to close, shut up (door); 2. to shut up (grice) sterna nf. 1. star; 2. blaze on the forehead of an animal; Sterna name of a cow with a star on the forehead sterti nm. tail of a large fish (esp. halibut) stett nf. a steep path with small ledges stev nn. refrain (in an old song) stid, sti nf. (ON staa, st + L.Sc. steed) 1. foundation, basis; 2. a place where a boat is drawn along or to the shed; 3. shoal stidna vw. (ON stana) to stand fast, get foothold; at stidna ve to stop, stand still, get caught stig(g), stiggi nm. (ON stgr) a path, neck of land connecting a small piece with a large one stig nn. (ON stig) a (visible) mark, track stiggi nm. (ON stigi) 1. stile;2. steps leading over a fence; 3. a small ledge; 4. metaph. stand, stopping stikka vw. to (construct a) dam (across a stream) stilli nn. enclosure, (sheep)fold stiltra vw. to stand still, stop, halt stinga vs. 1. to slaughter, kill by sticking; 2. to insert, put into stinta vw. to live in extreme economy, barely to support life stirna vw. (ON stirna) to become stiff stiva vw. to steady; at stiva bten to keep the boat steady on a straight course stiv adj. stiff, firm; steady; at gnga stiv to be having a rigid bearing stivaler, stavaler nm.pl. (ON styfill) (sea-)boot, T boot stivla nf. dam, milldam stivli adj. 1. strong, durable; 2. of good, fundamental quality stivna vw. 1. to stiffen, become stiff or rigid; 2. to make stiff; stivnandi met too heavy meal stjag nn. 1. a pen (for geese); 2. assembled crowd (of children) stjaga vw. (ON staka) to stagger < to push stjaga vw. (ON sta, *stga) to pen (esp. geese); at stjaga gsenar but at bla sodena stjagi nm. 1. a rod; 2. fence stjura vw. (Dan. styr, Sw. stra) 1. to stir, turn upside down; 2. to search for a thing in disorderly manner; at stjura um e-t (through) stjurla vw. (ON sturla) 1. to stir, rummage; 2. to turn upside down in searching

stjurma vw. (ON styrma?) to rake up, rummage stjda vw. (ON steyta) to walk indolently, trudge stjrt nm. the tail of a large fish T stobb adv. (Dan. rub og stub, L.Sc. stoup and roup): stobb og robb completely stodig adj. (ON stugr) 1. steady, (standing) firm; 2. stationary, motionless; stodigt veder settled weather (No. stdugt veder, Fr. stuveur) stodja vw. (On styja, also steja, stva) 1. to begin to walk; 2. to carry a burden; 3. to build up loosely stokk nm. 1. piece of timber, log; 2. standard (in the old spinning wheel) stokkstov nf. (Fr. stokkastova) 1. log-room/house; 2. house with timber frameworks stokkstovavw. to build up the frameworks stol, stul, stl nm. chair stol nn. (Gl. sgeul??) saga, legend stoljka nf. (ON stlka) a young girl, esp. as a pet name stomna, stimna nf. (ON stofn) 1. strength, ability; 2. essential quality in somebody or something stonjd nf. (ON stund) certain length of time, moment stong nf. mast of a boat T stonga vw. to set a mast in a boat; at stonga bten stonra, stunra vw. to support, prop up; at stonra (upp) kessa, bt storkna vw. (ON storkna) to coagulate, become thick (of liquid) storr nm. (ON styr) stir, disturbance storra vw. to make a stir storta vw. to set in motion, push, shake, exert stoittek nm. 1. a short stout person; 2. small stack straks adv. (L.Germ ) at once stranjd nf. sea-shore, coast stred nn. (ON strti) streat, passage strekka vw. (Nor. strekkja) to stretch strind nf. 1. edge;2. streak; 3. vein, dispisition, temper; da er illj strind honon 1. he has a bad temper; 2. there is something wrong with him strinka vw. to heed, notice, mind; hannj strinkai aldri 1. he never minded; 2. it made no effect on him strogg nn. (Nor. strok) 1. dilemma, difficulty; 2. difficult laborous work; 3. a moving croud of people strogga vw. (ON strjka + Nor. strok) to struggle through a piece of work strom nm. (ON straumr) stream, current strud nn. (ON skr) suit or outfit of new clothes < *skrud str vw. (ON streyja) to drop, strew (esp. in raping the corn) strdiment nn. great hurry and agitation stubb nm. (ON stubbr, stubbi) stub, stump stuggisomadj. loathsome, repulsive, disgusting stuk nf. (ON stka) a piece of churchland stuka nf. (ON stka) 1. jacket; 2. fence stukki nn. 1. stub, block of wood; 2. half-grown cod stumpi nm. 1. churn; 2. bottle (Edm.) stums nn. 1. perplexity; 2. speechlessness; 3. musing; 4. intense pondering; 5. hesitation

stumsa vw. 1. to be perplexed, speechless (from surprise); 2. to be silent, stop speaking; 3. to muse, ponder; 4. to hesitate; 5. to consider; 6. to confuse stund nf. a while, moment; ill stund til hans! stupa vw. (ON stpa) to fall forward; hun stupai i elden stur adj. (ON strr) 1. big; 2. tall stura vw. (ON stra) 1. to be sad, sit dejected; 2. to doze (with stooped head); 3. to gaze in absent-minded manner stuts nn. show, ostentation; hannj hever stuts ve sjer stutset adj. 1. abrupt; sulky; 2. unwilling stygg nf. (ON stygg, Nor. stygg) loathing, disgust; at f stygg at e-u stygga vw. 1. to disgust, nauseate; 2. to feel loathing; stykki nn. point of a cape, holm; anarticle of dress styver nn. strength, durability styving nm. 1. a half-grown coalfish (piltek - 3 or 4 years old); 2. a child, boy (endearment); 3. stocking T st nn?. wind T; cf. ongast contrary wind stb nn. 1. a place of road trampled by animals; 2. drinking-vessel (glas?) stbadorro nf. (ON *steypidorg) 1. short hand-line (inshore fishing); 2. sinker on a short line stda vw. (ON styja) to steady, support (by staying) stl nm. (ON stull) 1. resting-place for cattle; 2. milking-place; 3. dairy land; 4. enclosure stra vw. (ON stra) to steer a boat stri nm. (ON staurr) one of the thick bands st vs. (Dan. st) to stand; only in the phrase: hannj hverki str or gr stbi nn. (Dan. st bi, bi-st) 1. resource; 2. refuge; 3. a person who can de depended on stnjd nn. standing or upright position stnga vw. to stitch, sew stnga vw. to fill, stuff < prick, goad stnger vw. sting-ray stnka vw. 1. to breathe heavily; 2. to sigh deeply; 3. to complain; 4.to carry a burden su nf. (ON sr, acc. s) 1. sow;2. wrasse; 3. large mussel sud nn., adv. 1. south; 2. in the south, southwards sudin nn. southern part; nordin suk nn. 1. sucking, suction; 2. draught of wind; suk inn under kava dry wind preceding snowfall; suk upp inn under under-current going against the wind; 3. small marine creatures; da er goitt suk linonon suka vw. 1. to suck; 2. to blow through, to dry (wind) sukka vs. to sink; pp. sukken sunk sukkrabor nm. sweet little child, darling sukn nf. 1. drag;2. a big iron hook; 3. a large gathering of creatures; occasionally of people: kirkasukn(i) sul nf. the sun sula nf. (ON sla) a cleft wooden implement sulbriga nf. basking shark sulbr nn. (ON slbor, slbyri) a board in a boat's side sulpa vw. to put out of order, ravel sulpatjen nm.def. (ON sjpiltr) sea-demon, water-nixie sulsittandi adj. not fresh, too much exposed to the sun sulta nf. salt liquid kneaded from butter

sum nn. 1. swimming; 2. inundation; 3. air-bladder; jarden er i sumi the earth is quite flooded with water suma vw. to swim, float sund nn. air-bladder in fish, sound sund nn. 1. a narow sound; 2. inlet, narrow bay supa vw. to sweep sur adj. 1. sour; 2. in the first stage of decomposition surna vw. 1.to turn sour; 2. tomake sour suselmann nm. (ON sslumar) estate-agent svager nm. 1. brother-in-law; 2. swagers, men married to sisters (Edm.) svagja vw. (ON svelgja?) 1. to swallow; 2. to gorge oneself; 3. to digest svak nn. shaking svaki adj. shaking, tottering, undteady sval nn. slight motion in the sea sval, svar nn. the dimmest part of midsummer night svalta vw. 1. to hunger, starve; 2. to suffer from thirst svamm nm. (ON hvammr) depression, round hollow svapa vw. to wrap up svar adj. (ON svarr) heavy, stoutly-built (boat) svara nf. 1. thick, soft worsted; 2. thick woollen underclothing svarf nn. small shallow bay, head of a bay svarma vw. to swing, turn (pot half way round over a fire); to s. de kettle; to s. upo de kettle svart adj. 1. black; 2. misplaced svarta nf. blackness, something dark and black, esp. extinguished fire svartati nf. 1. evil time or hour (oath); 2. in an evil hour; svartati fylgi [lui] djer! bad luck to you! svartbak nn. black-backed gull svarva vw. to turn hay on the field svarva vw. 1. to turn, swing; 2. to pull off; 3. to eat greedily; 4. to perform work carelessly svel nf. (ON svla) thick smoke (rare) svela vw. (ON svla) to belch forth (of smoke) svela vw. (ON skvla?) to cry loudly svelt nm. lean poor fish (cod) svelta vw. (ON svelgja) to swallow greedily; at svelta inn svelting nm. a starved creature svenga vw. to become hungry svi vs. (ON sva) 1. to singe, scorch; 2. to sting, smart; 3. to suffer; 4. to keep close to the fire; pp. svidden svi nm. (ON svii) 1. a smarting or stinging pain; 2. something that stings, esp. a strong drink; svi i monnjenon svifta vw. (ON svipta) to reef a (boat's) sail sviga vw. 1. to ooze; 2. to let liquid ooze or leak out; at sviga ut vatni sviga vw. to give way under pressure svim nn. (ON svimi swoon, unconciousness) (giddiness) indisposition sviml, swumbl, hwuml nf. (ON sveifla) eddy, swirl, place where two branches meet svimmer nn. swoon; svimmer kom ver mog svimmra vw. 1. to swoon; 2. to become giddy svin nn. swine, pig svipta vw. (past svipti) 1. to snatch; 2. to pull; 3. to remove quickly; svipte av djer! (clothes) svird nn. small longish object

svird nm. 1. grassy piece of ground, greensward; 2. poor soil svirta vw. 1. to snatch; 2. to pull; 3. to remove quickly svisterkaster, hvisterkaster nm. thrashing, defeat, fall (in a contest, esp. wrestling) svivl nn. 1.whirlwind; 2. gust of wind svivla vw. to swing round, whirl svumra vw. 1. to keep balance with difficulty;2. to swim or float heavily; svumrandi fullj 1. full to the top; 2. heavily laden, just floating synamor(s)met nm. (ON *sonarmursmatr) food given to a woman after a birth synjd nf. 1. a sin; 2. injury, harm; 3. something to be regretted; at tinka synjd fyri [um] e-n to think that one has to be pitied syndra vw. to sunder, separate, disperse syndog exclam. (ON synd og daui ('sin and death')?), esp. in swearing; = dorgan doga! sga, sgi nf. (ON ski, Fr. sjka) 1. epidemic; 2. severe cold, illness caused by cold ska vw. (ON skja; past. skti) to trouble, overwhelm; skandi exhausting, heavy sl nf. (ON sla, sli) intense heat of the sun slfeng nn. (ON suflfang 'store of meat') butter T sr adv. 1. south; 2. in or towards the south st adj. sweet, dear stskin [stshkin] nn.pl. 1. brothers and sisters; 2. first cousins, near relatives s vs. to see, look; sndi part. pres./adj. worth seeing, splendid s efter to look after (sj eptir) s til 1. to see to; 2. to look at [listen to] s vs. (ON s) 1. to spit or throw out half-boiled; 2. to sow; spread sd nf. 1. rock on the sea-shore; 2. "rocky seat" sda nf. (ON sta heystack) a big stout woman sdi nn. (ON sti) 1. seat; 2. a big piece of sod or turf; 3. a big peat slja [soa] nf. (ON sla, forsla) a brilliant transient sunshine snfiddel interj. (ON sann-) slight oath: upon my words sngra vw. to begin to boil, rise up, seethe at edges snkra vw. to boil slightly sr adj. (ON srr) sore, that feels pain sick and sare sta vw. to drive (cattle) slowly sva vw. (ON svfa; past svdi) 1. to stun (with a blow); 2. to injure svd adj.1. stunned, senseless, unconscious; 2. exhausted and sleepy

T
taggoda nf. inner lower gable-edge of a house tahellja nf. (ON akhella) flat stone tak nn. 1. grip, pull, push; 2. taking up, catch (fish) taka vs. 1. to take; 2. to fetch or catch fish; 3. to reach, hand; 4. to take effect; 5. to attack (also pain to fight (esp. animals) taka at to pull up (boat); take at btenon!; take at djer! taka av to abate (of storm, wind) taka efter to imitate, learn from others taka fr 1. to take from; 2. to except taka inn to take in, shorten an animal's tether

taka inn under 1. to take hold underneath (to lift); 2. to be obedient; take inn under! taka til: teken til 1. much spoken of, known for something; 2. excellent, above others, clever; 3. pretty < favourably mentioned, famous for something? taka sog til: 1. to begin with energy, resume; 2. to set to work eagerly; hannj tuk sog til; hannj teker ikke sog til vinnenar taka upp to apprehend, understand; teken upp 1. having appearance of certain kind; 2. dressed in a certain way taka upp efterer 1. to repeat one's words; 2. to imitate, follow one's example taka upp fr sjer: to pull harder (oars); hannj tuk upp fr sjer; take upp fr djer ve di! taka upp inn under to pay attention to, learn taka upp ve 1. to take up with, take charge of; 2. to attach oneself to taka upp 1. to affect one; 2. sog: to take a burden on one's back taka ut 1. to take out, select; 2. to point out taka ve 1. to receive somebody or something; de vuru vel [ilt] veteken they were well [ill] received; 2. to assist (in burden) taka 1. to take hold of; 2. to continue in certain manner; 3. to begin to blow = at taka (sog) upp (of wind) tamminori, tomminori nm. puffin tana (ON enja) to stretch, extend tang nn. (ON ang) seaweed tannjek nm. tooth, esp. newly-grown in a child tanngroinning nm. slender cod with sharp teeth tant adj. (ON andr?) too high and steep (house, roof, boat) tanta vw. to refuse food (of cattle) < show teeth?? tantfelling nf. shedding of teeth (young animals) tantfelling nm. a young animal, shedding its teeth tantfysen(d), tantfst adj. 1. disinclined to take food; 2. fickle, wavering tantjek nm. a newly grown tooth taragrep nf. (ON aragreip) dungfork < fork for gathering seaweed tari nm. (ON ari) seaweed, tang tartfysen adj. (ON tart-fsinn) 1. particular, nice, affectedly reserved, selfwilled and shy; 2. having independentfancies teja vw. (ON egja) to be silent teg nm. strip of field tekk nf. (ON ekja) heather mingled with coarse grass (lobba) tekka vw. (ON ekja; past takti) to thatch a house with dried heather or straw; at tekka hus tekn nn. (ON teikn) 1. token, mark; 2. queer person telja vw. 1. to count; 2. to tell; at telja fr 1. to tell, relate, repeat gossip; 2. to become evident, be establish temba nf. prop. (ON emba) tension; upp tembu1. in a dangerous position on the very edge; 2. on the tiptoe of expectation; 3. on one's guard; a t sita [standa] tembu to wait anxiously; be on one's guard teng, teing, tngi, tjngi nm. 1. tang of a knife; 2. a (low, narrow) tongue of land tennjemav nn. (ON ernu-) species of small-gull tepin (ON tpr) scarce, occurring in very small quantities

ti nf. (ON t) 1. lucky time, short period of good fortune; 2. occas. good luck; 3. sudden fit; a t. is ta'en him - fortune skmiles upon him for once; he's got a fit of activity; of activity tili adv. (ON tliga) early tilig adj. 1. in time, opportune; 2. convenient; 3. lucky, indicating good luck, comely; 4. successful; 5. early; ikke tiligt impracticable; ita er ikke tiligt this is a bad sign; hannj er ikke tilig he's not pleasant to meet with tigga vs. (ON iggja) to receive alms, to beg, ask for tik nn. 1. a bitch (also of a woman); 2. otter T; 3. a big animal tiksa nf. dispute, quarrel til prep. to, till; at vara til to exist, to be found; da er ikke til there's nothing left tila vw. (ON tila, tilja) to make headway (of a boat) tilberdskatt nm. 1. small tax; 2. small share tilfer nn. (ON ilfar) movable bottom boards tilja, tillja nf. (ON ilja) movable board in the bottom of a boat tillag nn. 1. taking hold pull; 2. supplement, addition tillaga nf. 1. (adding) patching; 2. short time tiltak nn. 1. taking hold, (good) start; 2. remedy, useful thing; 3. person much spoken of tilvid nn. substitute tilvik nn. helping hand tinda nf. (ON na 'to thaw') thawy snow ting nn. 1. court, assize; 2. jurisdiction, district tingvoll nm. place of assize tinna vw. (ON tna) to pick, pluck tinni nn. (ON *ilni?) a wooden partition wall in a house tinsket adj. 1. offended;2. displeased; 3. peevish tirma vw. to tremble, shake titt nn. (ON tr, neu. ttt 'that is happening; usual, frequent') news, tidings; hvat er dit titt? hvat titt er i dinon monnje? (sl. hva segiru ttt?) titta vw. to tell news tittra vw. to shiver, esp. with cold tivli adj. 1. strong, firm, durable; 2. of good fundamental quality < stivli? tjo adv. (ON j?) certainly! tjog nn. (ON tog) 1. draught, gulp (in drinking); hannj tuk goitt tjog (av mjlk, vatni); 2. a band tied round a cow's head tjoga vw. (ON toga) 1. to draw, pull, haul; 2. to work eagerly without success; 3. to keep on asking; he tjoged at me - with repeated questions tjoga, tjogga nf. species of sea-bird: guillemot; razorbill tjogi, tjuggi nn. (ON *tygi, tog?) small rope, band tjordin nn. (Dan. torden) thunder tjub nn. the deep; see djub tjug nn. (ON j) thigh todseta vw. (ON *otsetja < sitja t 'to be in dread of being attacked', jta 'to attack one') to pursue, surround and catch an animal being attacked toft nf. thwart, former site of a house togem nf. (ON oku-mi/mi/ma?) 1. mist, thick haze; 2. a dense swarm of insects; sen togem which gets on well (of a work) toilkekast nn. (ON tiltki?) 1. art of carrying out something; 2. odd behaviour

toitlig adj. comely, neat tokkih nm. small shark, smooth dogfish tola vw. to endure, suffer tolbit nf. (ON tilbt 'addition') 1. by-piece of anything; 2. extra meal; 3. a gift tolem nn. (ON olinmi f.) patience; at hava tolem ve e-on tolin adj. 1. patient, perservering; 2. steady and somewhat slow Tolljegsmess nf.the day [eve] before the St. Thorlak's day (22. Dec.); Tolljegsdag - 23. Dec Tomasmess, Tammasmess nf. St. Thomas day, 21. Dec; Tammasmessapta - 20. Dec torket adj. 1. constipated;2. dried up torvkr nf. small enclosure for the piling up of peats torvsker nm. narrow spade, used in peat-cutting trakk nn. (ON trak) 1.tramping, stamping; 2. oath (esp. one trampled by cattle) trakka vw. (ON traka) to (tread) tramp, stamp; hvat du trakkar! trang adj. 1. close-fitting, tight; 2. restricted, limited; 3. laborious, difficult trapp nn. (ON rep) 1. ledge, step; 2. ladder tre nn. 1. wooden materials; 2. mast treksa vw. (Dan. trkke + Nor. dragsa) 1. to trail something behind; 2. to drag oneself along; 3. to set out (jockingly) trel nm. person who executes menial or durty work trelfangi nm. (ON rlfangi) odd-looking, undersized person < thrallprisoner trenel nm. wooden nail trett adv., interj. (ON rtt) well! < to return to the subject, as we were saying tretti num. thirty trettin num. thirteen trettind num. thirteenth; trettind dag 13th day after Christmass, Epiphany trid num. the third; trids o' kyn relatives in the 3d generation tridjek nm. the third landmark which is brought in line with teo other marks; tvar komu upp til tridjeken trift nf. 1. activity, enterprise; 2. manufacture of wool trifter nm. capable worker with wool trink adj. narrow (cleft, fissure); a t. gjo trista vw. 1. to press, squeeze; 2. to wring, twist; 3. fig. to pinch, gripe tritla vw. to trip, step lightly triva vs. to catch hold; triv(e) i! catch hold! trivl nm. (ON trefill) rag, tatter trod nn. (ON tro) 1. trail, track; 2. remains of a carcass troga vw. (ON rka) to have a great desire for, strive for troitt adv. and interj. (ON rtt) used to intensify a statement or exclamation, especially negatively: na, troitt, ser krabbi no, certainly not, says the crab troitti nm. (ON rttr strength): pikka inn i troittan! keep up! get along! trokka vw. (ON rka, *rkka) to desire, long for trokkin nf. (ON rkkan) desire, longing trollj nn. (ON trll) troll trolljamist nm. very thick, dense mist = trolljet mist trolljamog nm. (ON -mgr) insignificant little person

trolljanitt nf.the night before Christmass-eve = trolljavitanitt trolljaskod nn. 1. person bewitched by trolls; 2. a witch-like woman trolljamann nm. wizard, sorcerer; trolljamann, trolljamann, tak vara! troll-man, beware! trolljhitted adj. troll-like, like a troll in gait and behaviour trollklling nf. (ON trllkerling) hermaphrodite: non-prolific animal, esp. a sheep trolljslaget adj. queer, bad-looking trolset adj. careless, slovenly trolsket adj. 1. indisposed; unwell; 2. drowsy; 3. displeased; 4. peevish; 5. offended trotska nf. (ON rjzka) 1. obstinacy;2. bad temper, peevishness; hannj kastaist upp i trotsku he became peevish trotska vw. (ON rjzkask) 1. to be obstinate, unwilling to do what one is told; 2. to sulk, be peevish tru nf. (ON r) a small oblong wooden box for fish-bait; = kilpek? tru nf. faith, trust tru vw. to believe in somebody or something; trudu mjer! trur du di? trubelt nn. (ON trufla?) rubbish truna vw. (ON rna, r'na) to have a great desire (for animals) trusti adj. substantial, firm and close, lasting well trba nf. (ON threppa?) 1. small piece of land not included in the division; 2. surplus of seaweed trg adj. (ON rekr) rude, coarse trni nn. (ON trni) muzzle, snout tr nf. (ON r) 1. desire, great longing;at hava tr efter e-u; da var mukkel tr honon; 2. a place where profit may be expected; bten er faren upp (ena) adra tr tr vw. 1. to have a great desire for; 2. long for; kuen trr efter henni! (kl); tr nm. (ON rr) thread tritt adv., interj. (ON rtt) certainly not, to intensify a statement or exclamation trittfallj interj. upon my word! tu nn. (ON t) wool, worsted, coarse wool, thick worsted tudelep nm. (ON *tulaupr) closely-plaited basket, bdi or small kessi tufi nf. (ON tfi + Eng. dial. tuff) 1. a large long tuft or tassel of hair or grass; 2. head of hair tu(g) nf. (ON fa) mound tum nm. (ON umi) 1. thumb;2. glandulous lump adhering to the liver tun nn. 1. a homefield belonging to a farm; 2. a farm-house with the home-field tunga nf. 1.tongue; 2. tongue-shaped cake tungefallj nn. a palsy of the tongue tungekramp, -krapp nm.disease (cramp, palsy) of the tongue = tungefallj tungestt nf. (ON tungustt) = tungefall and tungekramp tunkel nn.pl. (ON tlkn) 1. the gills of fish; 2. gill-arches tunki nm. 1. (thought for) desire, inclination; 2. favour, kind disposition tunvel, tunmel nm. piece of pasture near the house turkasott nf. disease in cattle, drying the skin tussi nm. (ON urs) wry-mouthed animal; see also trussibelt tutsom adj. 1. sensitive;2. easily offended tvar adj. (ON var) placed crosswise, running athwart

tvargrd nm. old fence, remains tvart adv., tvart en (ON um vert): across, opposite, contrary to common sense; = tvart fyri; see dwars twartra (L.Sc. thwarter) to oppose, thwart tvispora vw. (ON tv + L.Sc. twa) 1. to run at full speed, gallop; 2. to hasten; at gnga tvisporandi tveitla vw. (ON *vtla) to wet, soil tvit interj. (ON tv) fie! tvit se djer! fie upon you! (ON tv s r); tviti var(g)i djer! (ON tvtt ver()i r!) tvivl nn. 1. twisting, tangle; 2. disagreeable position; 3. irresulotion, uncertainty tvo interj. shout by which horses and esp. cows are driven away ty nf. (Nor. tya) strong and healthy constitution, thriving state tynder, tand nn. spark, small piece of red peat for kindling a fire tynna, tynnja vw. (ON ynna) to disperse, clear, lift (of clouds, mist) tyrel nm. (ON yrill) the trundle of a water-mill tyrl nn. 1. whorling round, rotation; 2. excited state of mind tyrla vw. to whirl round, turn; at tyrla ver tyser nm. (ON ysja?) strong, capable and energetic person="heeler" tyvla nf. (Nor. tovla, tavla) dorsal vertebra; eg kenni vara tivlu hans ryggsI know him through and through = eg kenni varn lid [li] hans ryggs t nn. (ON t + Eng. toe?) fleece, thin soft wool ta nf. (ON taa) old, long and withered grass td nm. (ON ytr) slight gust of wind tl nn. tool tm adj. (ON tmr) empty tma vw. to empty; pour down; at tma ned tvakoddi nm.(ON f (far)-koddi) rounded rock by the seashore tvd nf. (ON f) foolish talk, nonsense t nf. small, low point or tongue of land titt nm. (ON ttr) tuft, lock of hair tngi nm. tongue of land, point

U
ub nn. (ON p) plainitive sound, howl uba vw. to emit plainitive sounds, howl, moan ubadalig, ubjadalig adj. (ON bataligr) 1. incapable, weakly; 2. useless ubreg nn. additional earmark udal nn. (ON al) allodial, immovable property udalborenadj. odal-born udalland nn. old allodial property udalmann nm. tenant of udal property, udaller udalred nm. (ON alrttr; hardly alri) allodial right, right to freehold tenure udmilig adj. 1. unexampled, extraordinary; 2. dreadful uvilt adj. (ON villtr) wild and frolicsome, unruly; du is turned u. ufiskalig adj. 1. unsuitable or unlucky for fishing; 2. that does not become a fisherman, heedle, inattentive ufjomlettadj. ill-shapen, ungraceful

ufsahellja nf. (ON upsarhella) flat, stoping stone ugga vw. to satisfy (esp. with food) ugjv adj. (ON gfr) incapable, weakly, useless = ubjadalig uhagali adj. 1. untidy; awkward, clumsy; 2. immoderate; 3. uneconomical ukjodadj. incapable, weakly, useless ukonn adj. unknown, strange ula vw. 1. to spoil one's appearance; 2. to bully; 3. to worry; 4. to persecute; (ON: ef mar sker hr af hfe manne ea lar honum nkkur til hungar ea rfr hann kli af honum) ula vw. (ON la, la) to cry, wail, bleat, weep loudly (children) ulet nn. (ON lti) 1. a peevish person; 2. a quiet, gentle and lonely person ulid nf. (ON hlt) 1. unreliability;2. unreliable person ulltigger nm. beggar of wool; ull- is obscure, see ollja- instead umbodsmann nm. factor, steward umgeng, umgong n. 1. border; 2. band. umgenger nm. (ON genger um) vagrant umgongen adj. running round (of weather): umgongen wind umkast nn. change, alternation umond nf. slight feeling, sensation umitt nm. (ON mttr 'swoon, faintness'): ilt umitt se i dinon hanjdon! a plague upon you! uml nm. silence; at halda e-t i umli to keep anything secret [ones mouth shut on a subject] un nn. small piece of field or meadow undalig adj. (ON undarligr) strange, queer under prep. under; under land near the land; at gnga under 1. to dive; 2. to subject oneself to one underdrag nn. undercurrent; = -gjud, -hwigg, -shot, -suk underland nn. land situated at the foot of a mountain or below a promontory or high coast undermannnm. subordinate ungadreng nm. young unmarried man upp adv. (ON upp) up; at blsa upp to begin to blow, increase; at vara upp (ve fiski) to be finished upp , upp : at hra upp to listen to; at tinka upp to think upon;at vara upp hennji to be out fishing upp at up towards the north, northerly (wind); vinden er faren upp at upp ver adj. impetuous, too pressing and eager upp ve northerly or westerly, veering from south to west or north uppadga adj. (ON uppidagar) 1. very uneasy in mind, anxious; 2. unwell; 3. unsuccessful; 4. early to work; at vara uppadga um e-t 1. to be on the lookout for something (to see one);2. to be bent on something uppastju nn. (ON st + Nor. uppstyr) great disorder, confusion uppatil, opantil adv. put aside secretly uppbrak nn. (ON uppbrag?) fear, anxiety; at tinka uppbrak to be afraid that some misfortune may have happened to one uppdrag nn. apprehension, understanding uppdraga vs. 1. to overtake, come up with; 2. understand uppdraget adj. educated uppdroitt adj. (ON uppreyttr) 1. tired, exhausted; 2. laid up, not quite well; 3. suffering from an imagined ilness

uppeta vs. 1. to eat up; 2. to make one angry uppfostra vw. to rear, foster uppger nf. (ON uppger) change for the worse in the weather uppge(f)ster nm. odal-born person who surrenders his property to another uppgiven adj. given up as hopeless uppglopenen adj. 1. hasty; 2. choleric; 3. aggressive upphald nn. support, maintenance upphalda vw. to support, maintain, esp. with food; = halda upp (= to cease, of rain) upphelli nf. (ON upphelgr, upphelgi) the 5th day before Christmass upphellidag nm. Upphelli-A', the 24th day after Christmass = Antonmass uppi adv. (ON uppi) above; at vara uppi to be alive; da er ingen uppi at kan sija uppilagst adj. (Fr. uppilagstur) ill, unwell uppkast nn. 1. bringing into discussion, putting forward an opinionor proposal; 2. a reproach also coming to light uppkomin nf. appearance, coming to light upplopen, -lupen adj. 1. that easily flares up; 2. impetuous upplsa vw. 1. to bring forward; 2. to reveal somethingsecret uppumjora, -ra adv. (ON upp um eyra) up around the ear; at halda e-t uppumjorato have something kept aside or hidden (prop. behind the ear); at legga uppumjora to put aside;at ligga uppumjora to lie hidden uppset nn. 1. spring (of water); 2. setting up, raising; 3. support; 4. assistance; 5.enrichment, embellishment; 6. good catch; 7. iron. sweetheart uppskod nn. place where sea-bottom rises (shoots up) uppslag nn. 1. sudden thaw; 2. great disturbance; 3. end of a difficult journey uppspre(i)tta nf. 1. a spring (of water), which suddenly spings up; 2. disturbance in a house uppstander nm. one or something standing erect uppstiklet adj. stiff, naughty in manners uppst nf. (ON uppst?) fishing buoy attached to the end of a lone upptak nn. 1. change for the worse (in the weather); 2. an ability to understand; hannj hever ikke upptak i sjer; gud at upptaki; glegg i upptakenu; 3. pl. accounts, expenses ura nn. (ON eyra) hillock < ear; flitandi upp hvart ura moving about from hill to hill (of a sheep) uram nm. (ON hrhamr, hrhamr) grain of leather, hairy side of skin urd nf. 1. a heap of fragments of rock; 2. a big boulder urek nm. (ON r-) a very small creature or thing urek nm. (ON r) bolge-water urekura vw. (ON rakra) 1. to doze, be half-asleep; 2. to be unwell and dispirited urt nf. (ON *urpt, vurpt) casting, laying of eggs uru nf. (ON r) commotion in the sea us nm. (ON ss, 'ss) 1. extensove bank or elevation in the sea-bottom us nm. (Nor. os) place in the sea where the tide runs swiftly usjuna nf. (ON Nor. utjona) insufferable or unwelcome people uskablig adj. unshapely, deformed; ugly in shape uskepta nf. 1. progress; 2. successful performance of a work uskjoggalig adj. carelessly and improperly performed

usoinjdalig adj. 1. that is unlucky to see or meet; 2. unsightly, repulsive usoindig = 1. usoindalig; 2. unpleasant uster nm. (ON austr) 1. bailing out water; bilge-water in a boat; 2. check, discipline, authority ustra vw. to act with (too great) authoritativeness ut adv. out, out from land or to sea (= fram); ut efter; at f ut inn under to recover from illness; hannj fekk vel ut inn under it he got well after it; ut inn under! gently! go easy! ut 1. later; 2. gradually; ut dagenon later in the day; ut til to the very last; ut til helljar the last of a series of Sundays; vinden er faren ut til the wind is gone outward; ut ve 1. south-easterly or southerly (wind); 2. outwards, alongside; du ert ut av minon jogon you're so changed that I can't recognize you utavedeks adv. (ON utangars + Shet. Sc. uta-dike's) outside the fenced home-field; innavedeks utavidd adj. (ON tvdd) odd-looking utbord nm. row of peats uterlig adj. outer utfallj nn. outward tide from the shore at the setting in of ebb utful nm. (ON tfugl) 1. a wild bird; utfulegg utgeng nm. 1. setting out, departure; 2. exit; 3. end, termination; utgeng rsens uthaf nn. fishing-grounds on the high seas = framhaf uthus nn. outhouse uti adv. ouside; mitt heved er uti my head is aching; at vara uti after eu to meet with bad luck; da var uti fyri honon he had bad luck all the time uti adv. (ON t) untimely utia(r) adj.indecl. (ON tar) 1. that comes or does his works at the wrong time; 2.slow, indolent utilig adj. (ON tligr) 1. that usually comes too late; 2. untimely; unlucky; 3. harsh, unpleasant; 4. dull utlandisk adj. (ON tlenzkr) 1. foreign; 2. not born in Fetlar (Fe.); 3. ugly, repulsive-looking utmaga, -mjaga, -mga vw. 1. to exhaust; 2. to weaken, tire out utmanket adj. utterly exhausted, weakened utnes nn. projecting ness, point utoitlig adj. (ON yligr) 1. uncomely in appearance, bad-looking and undersized; 2.peevish, fretful utrg nn. (ON trk) 1. backwash of the waves; 2. offshore tide; 3. row of something spread out (peats) utrollet adj. 1. untidy, careless about dress; 2. sulky, peevish utset nn. extension of a cultivated allotment, new land bought utskattalernm. one who is outside skattald utsk(j)umpet adj.: fishing-ground too much exploited > bare of fish; utskjumpet grund =bren grund utslokket adj. extinguished (of fire); utslokket eld, birtek uttak nn. 1. taking out (things bought on a credit); 2. expense(s); 3. durability utvidd adj. strange, peculiar; see utavidd utvinna vs. 1. to accomplish (work); 2. to cultivate soil in spring ut adj. (ON r) uncomely, bad-looking uvar adj. 1. unnoticed; 2. not fished for a long time; uvar grund - opp. to bren [reket, utskjumpet] grund uvara adv. unaware(s), sudden(ly)

uvard adj. 1. unaware, heedless, headlong; 2. unawares, having too great speed; 3. unnoticed, not exploited, not visited (place) uvedrevatsgar nm. (ON ver(a)-vatnsgarr) 1. halo round the moon; 2. heavy rain uvild nf. close, drizzling rain uvirpalig adj. (ON vrpuligr) hard-handed, rough and careless

V
va nn. 1. ford in a stream; 2. small mill-dam; holeva - ON holuva? vadel nm. (ON vaill) shallow place in water vadmel nn. (ON vaml) thick woollen, home-vowen stuff vaga vw. to waddle vaga vw. interj. swim on top, cake! Oh vaga piddi! vagdum nm. 1. shape, form (esp. of a person or thing passing); 2. glimpse of a person or thing vaitem nn. (ON vatn?) slimy fluid, thin matter vakavw. to be awake vakhus nn. watchhouse vakna vw. 1. to awake; 2. to stir, come to motion; 3. to loosen (peats); hannj er vakna itte the wind has begun to blow vakt nf. watch-hill vallja vw. (ON valla) to wander about valska, vjalska nf. loquacity, noisy talk, fluent chatter full of fun; da er vjalska djer you're merry and talkative valska, vjalska vw. 1. to talk indistinctively and imperfectly; 2. babble vam nn. mysterious, magic or hypnotyzing influence from a person; hannj hever vam ve sjer; at kasta vam(i) ver e-on to cast spell, hypnotize vama vw. to bewitch, unnerve Vama nf. name for a big-bellied cow or sheep vamd adj. 1. strange, queer; 2. unattractive, disagreeable = illvamd vamgert, vaim- nm. (ON vmb?) belly-band, saddle-girth (of a packhorse) vamp nm. (ON hvammr; cf. skump < skum) hollow, depression van- prefix: lack, unsufficiency; vanvun, vantru van adj. lacking, destitute of something; eg kom van af fiski I had a fish on the hook, but lost it van nm. (ON vani) 1. habit, custom; 2. usage vana vw. to deprive one of something vanfrdig adj. (ON vanfrr) infirm, unable vand nm. (ON vndr + L.Sc. wand) fishing-rod vanga nf. noisy and troublesome flock vanhjolsanf. (ON vanheilsa) delicate health vanhulig adj. (ON vanhfligr) forbidden, not allowable vanjd nm. (ON vandr adj.) 1. care and ability in working; 2. shape, form vanjda vw. 1. to form, shape; 2. to put in order, arrange; 3. to to take shape; 4. to adapt, fit vanjdet adj. (ON vandar) 1. having a certain shape or form; velvanjdet; 2. of certain kind or nature

vanjdlos adj. 1. having no ability to execute fine work; 2. lacking handiness, awkward vanjdlosi nf. (ON vandleysi) awkwardness, lack of judgement and handiness vanlig adj. 1. promising, helpful; 2. that makes good impression; 3. convenient, agreeable;hannj er meri vanlig [vanligere] I value him more, like him better; da er meri vanlig [vanligere]I like that better vanlos adj. 1. hopeless; 2. lonely, friendless vanlukk nf. ill-luck, misfortune vantrivenn adj.ill-thriven vantru nf. unbelief, mistrust = mistru vanvird nn. (ON vanviri) 1. thing of little value; 2. poor creature, orphan; hannj fekk da fyri vanvirdi; prligt vanvirdi vanvirdig adj. worthless vanvorden adj. 1. slightly deformed;2. sad-looking; 3. exhausted; 4. unwell var nf. (ON vr) 1. lip; 2. edge of the lip of a fish var nn. the first observation or perception of something var adj. 1. aware, attentive; 2. wary, cautious; at vara var av e-u; sjuen er var av honon [di] the commotion in the sea indicates rough weather vara vw. (ON vara(sk)) 1. to be careful, wary, attentive; 2. to beware of; 3. to show one attention, to care; at taka sog varan; take dog vara(n)!; 4. to have a suspicion of something; vara hana! vara hannj aldri! have nothing to do with her! don't mind him! vara vw. (Nor. vara) 1. to row the boat a short way on or back; 2. to drift a little to one side vara, varga vs. (ON vera 'to be', vera 'to become') 1. to be; 2. to become (future of 'to be'); ve vare djer! woe to you! shame upon you! (ON v veri r!) tvit varge djer! (ON tvt veri r!) varbak nm. (ON varmakr?) species of larva varg nm. 1. unruly animal; 2. greedy person; 3. large and ungraceful object varga vw. 1. to soil, defile; 2. to perform dirty work vari nm. heed, attention, taking heed of something; at taka vara to heed, pay attention to a warning or reminder varigad nm. (ON L.Sc. ware-)small cod varisa vw. to be doubtful, hesitate varp nn. cast, throw varpa vw. (ON verpa vs., varpa vw.) 1. to cast, throw; 2. to make a stroke with the oar; 3. to cast out seed, sow varsna vw. (ON versna) to get worse varla vw. (ON varlokka?) to take away the profit of a piece of land by witchcraft varlin nf. (ON varlna) spare line (in fish.) varlos adj. 1. unaware, inattentive; 2. careless; 3. awkward varnagl nm. (ON varnagli) wooden nail or pin vatl nf. (ON veizla) kind of a tax vatn nn. 1. water; 2. lake; 3. sea, wave vatnsdollja nf. water-pail; vatnsdudla (Foula) vatnsfer [vatshfer] nf.: fyri vatnsfer = temporarily, quickly and loosely; du hever lagt da burt fyri vatnsfer you have put it aside for a meantime vatnsgar, -gr nm. halo round the sun or moon, indicating rain vaittaband nn. (ON vttr mitten) woollen band < mitten-band

vav nn. worsted tied round soft bait vava vw. (ON vefja) to tie worsted round soft bait vavra vw. (ON vafra to roam) 1. to shake (from weakness or cold); 2. to move with a slow gait vavla vw. to cause to tangle ve interj. (ON vei) to invoke evil upon somebody;ve vari woe betide; ve vari djer! woe to you! veda nf. (ON veita) wet, water T vedek nm. 1. ditch for draining water; 2. narrow stream; 3. stripe vederbiter nm. mock-sun vederdag nm. day of (fine) weather ve prep. 1. with;2. along; 3. in a line with; upp ve to west/north-west; ut ve to south/south-east, prop. along the outward side (Nor. utmed); fram ve in a line with something farther off; inn ve in a line with something farther in; litli helljer fram ve [in ve] a little cave in a line with something farther in veg nm. (ON vir) crooced piece of wood vegavw. (ON veikjast?) to fal into swoon, faint veggvol nm. (ON veggvlr) wooden post stuck into the byre-wall vek adj. (ON veikr) weak; vek ok vanvrdig vel nn. choice, selection velavirdi (ON vel veri (r)) thanks God! velja vw. (ON valjdi) to choose, select veljta nf. strip of field prepared with spade or ploughed; see also attavelta, attivelt veljta nf. 1. overturned position; 2. mire, mud, morass veljta vw. to trudge laboriously through mire and mud vell nn. rain of moderate force and density vellin nn. (ON vlendi) oesophagus velsi nm. (ON vlsi) large cylindrical figure velvilljet adj. (ON velviljar) obliging vemba nf. (ON *vemba) stomach of a ling ven adj. (ON vnn) fine, bright and calm (of weather); hannj er mukki ven i nitt; ven nitt vender nn. turning venjda vw. to turn; at venjda sog to turn oneself; venjde dog! 1. turn around! (Da. vend dig!); 2. move a little to one side!; 3. make room (in the boat)! = ve venjd dog! (ON vi vend r!) venjdra vw. to turn in a certain direction venlig adj. fairly good, not bad (weather) vept nm. woof veptaslu nf. anything useless and of poor quality ver nn. (ON ver) skerry where sea-birds breed verdi, virdi nn. (ON varlokka?) superstitious formulaor custom versmoja nf. sister-in-law vestren adj. (ON vestroenn) western vetring nm. a one years old cow-calf vev nn. wooden bolt of a door vid nm. 1. wood, timber; 2. growth of trees vidja [dzh] nf. (ON vija) 1. crooked piece of wood; 2. withy, small tree; 3. tall cabbage-stalk viga vs. (ON vkja) 1. to move, stir, wag; 2. to answer, reply viggelju adj. (ON *viguligr?) noisy, troublesome vik nf. inlet, small and mostly open bay

vik nn. 1. inclination, deflexion, spirits, disposition (for evil); 2. curve, corner; vik monnjsens vika, vikka vs. (ON vkja, Fr, Nor. vika) 1. to move (a little); 2. to get to move, drive; 3. to entice, seduce; 4. to answer; 5. to fit, suit vill nm. (ON bylr?) squall of wind vill nf. (ON villa) the state of having lost one's way vill adj. (ON villr) having lost one's way villa vw. (ON villask) to lose one's way, go astray villar nn. foolish talk, nonsense villi nm. (ON verlamb?) male lamb vil nn.pl. small intestines villsom adj. misleading, that leads one astray vindli nm. wisp, bundle (of straw) vindog nn. window vingsnju nm. (ON vng-kni) the wing joint < wing-knuckle vinna vs. (past vann) 1. to perform a laborious work; at vinna vri to perform the spring work; 2. to earn profitor wages; 3. to manage to do something; eg kann ikke vinna at di I can't manage to get it done this time vir nn. (ON ver 'weather') scent, feeling vir nm. excelent person (animal, thing); virin (def.) the best or most prominent; hannj var virin av sinni ; 2. a great beauty (Edm.) virda vw. (ON vira) to value, estimate virdek nm. small cairn, pile of peats virdi nn. (ON viri 'value') 1. good essential quality, strength; 2. strong taste of something; da er ikke virdi i di; 3. calculated quantity of hay virdlos adj. incapable, feeble and awkward virka vw. (ON virka) to knit virma vw. (ON hverfa) to break; at virma rana virna vw. (ON vera?) to become; hvat er virna av di? what has become of it? virpa nf. very sour milk or bland < something that cast its proper taste virpa vw. 1. to cast; 2. to throw up, vomit; hannj virpai upp sinn mga virpet adj. acrid, sour virsammoder nf. (ON Fr. vgsmir + L.Sc. wirsam) "boil-mother", core of a boil virslin adj. 1. poor, loose worsted; 2. feeble; 3. languid;4. powerless virt nf. infusion of malt, wort visa vw. (ON vsa) 1. to show out; 2. totry to get rid of something with tricks; at visa burt/fram; give honon sikket at visa honon burt visek nm. (ON vsa) folk-song, ballad visna vw. 1. to wither, shrivel; 2. starve; 3. plague, annoy, worry vister nf.pl.: illar vister: slight oath, wish for something vita vpp. 1. to know; 2. to keep to one's opinion, insist; 3. to express, utter; hon mundi ikke vita she wouldn't insist upon anything else vitra vw. (ON vitra) to inform (one of something) vitsja vw. 1. to visit; 2. to go from house to house gathering gossips; at gnga vitsjandi (um) = at gnga millja husa vitsjfer, vitjfer nf.: fyri vitsfer: for a short time, temporarily, loosely vjoget adj. (ON Nor. bogen) 1. somewhat sour, half-sour; 2. half-rotten, spoiled voga vw. (ON vika) week; santa voga 1st week in June, the holy week; pasavoga Easter-week, Passions-week (L.Sc. pase, pays) voksen adj. grown-up

vokster nm. (ON vxtr) 1. growth, thriving; gud i vokstri; da er vokster honon; hannj hever fengi voksteren he grows faster than boys usually do; 2. physical form; 3. deportment, (right) mode of bearing; 4. enterprise, energy; hon kleddi sog ve vokstri she dressed herself quickly vol nm. (ON vlr) piece of wood, stick, post; see veggvol vollj nm. (ON vllr; Dat.sg. velli, Nom.pl. vellir) flat, low-lying piece of ground vorda vw. (ON fora?): vorda sog to move aboot feebly and wearily; eg kann ikke vorda mog ut vorden adj. (ON vorinn, pp. of vera) 1. of a certain form or kind; 2. in a certain state; 3. conditioned voss nn. (ON Da. os) 1. juice; 2. lye, water in which somthing is bioled vun nf. hope, expectation; at hava i vun to have in prospect vunavw. to hope, expect vyrr nf. (ON vrr, varar) wharf, paved landing-place; bten kom ver vyrrena vyvdi nm. (ON vvi) 1. muscle; 2. wind-dried meat vyvdet adj. wind-dried v nm. (ON vgr; Dat.sg v) bay, creek (somewhat more indented than vik) vd nf. (ON vaa) shoal of fish on the surface of the water vga vw. (ON vaka) 1. to wake; 2. to stay long on oneplace, be out very late vga vw. (ON vgen < Germ. wagen) 1. to dare, venture; 2. to venture to go from 1 place to another; at vga (sog) ut; hannj kann ikke vga seg ut fr eljdenon; ingen bt kundi hava vga ut til Estramynnis vker adj. (ON vakr) 1. brisk, active, strong; 2. in good condition, wellfed and healthy vla vw. to howl, wail (esp. of the cat) vlin adj. 1. insipid; 2. stale; 3. nauseous;4. too fresh (fish) vlhard nm. (ON allharr adj.) sea-bottom T, fishing-ground vlka nf. (ON lka) auk, alca vlmenn adj. common (subst.) vlmenning nm. a common vlm nm. (ON almgi) 1. large assembly of people; 2. great number of things vmd adj. 1. sourish (fish); 2. half-rotten vng nm. piece of pasture for a cow vr nn. 1. spring; 2. digging of the soil in spring vrd nm. (ON vari) mountain-top; large prominent hill vring nm. seal < hring vrlek nm. small oar < r vrm nn. (ON vrmi?) great weariness, exhaustion vsta nf. (ON vasta) unsheltered place

Y
ymper nn. low sound, murmur ympra vw. 1. to make a slight remark; 2. hint at something;3. murmur; 4. to venture, attempt; de kundi aldri ympra at gnga til havsens so prligon [illjon] dagi


nf. island; also heon vw. to mutter inarticulate sounds d adj. 1. large and good in quality; 2. exaggerated da vw. (ONask?) to long for, wait impatiently (of cattle) dlr adj. medium, middling; Vuru hestarne feter [sjogger]? Bara dlrer. dna nf. (Nor. ydnad) waste, dissipation f nn. (ON ofhiti?) intense heat, hot current g, jog nf. (ON aa) horse-mussel ja nf. (ON ia) whirlpool, receding tide ja nf. (ON eyja) island, stretch of fertile land l, ul nm. (ON ylr) 1. great heat; 2. hot vapour, moist heat, warm vapour la vw. (ON ylja) to evaporate ljd great heat outdoors ma vw. to smoke, steam mta vw. (ON ymta, mta) to hint, mention njd nf. corner, nook ni adj. warm, sultry nnj nf. (ON nd?) oppressive or sultry heat ra vw. (ON rga) to raise, lift up; ra da upp itte!; at ra upp djuri to revive an animal ter(li) adj. (ON ytri) outer; terli gamelt ord one exceedingly old tna nf. destruction; at legga e-t i tnu to destroy, lay waste ver prep., adj. over, upper verhand nf. (ON yfirhnd) upperhand, power over another

, v nf. (Gen.sg r) stream l nm. (ON l) eel bregd nn. additional mark in a sheep's ear brigda nf. basking shark < hbrigda d nn. (ON va) a shoal of fish; d silleka; silleksd dbor nm. 1. mode of behaviour; 2. strange conduct ga vs. 1. to creep, crawl; 2. to move slowly; 3. to be infested with vermin gagot nn. a little child (weak, ill-thriven); piri gagot gedu nm. vapour rising from and lying low down over the earth gedu nn. weeds growing among the corn gemuld nf. mould (of fiellds) ger nm. sea-foam ita adv. (ON aptr) at the back of, behind kregrd nm. . fence around fields; 2. pasture-land inside the fence (utbet); at sleppa kregrenon to open [let go] the fence l nm. 1. a strip of meadow or field; 2. a channel in the sea-bottom lament adj. (ON hleikmegnr?, hleikr 'height') situated high up; lamenta loften 1. the highrer strata of air; 2. the zenith region; sulen er i lementari loftthe sun is very high up in the sky; du hever bygt skruna

upp i lamentu loftena you've built that cornstack to high; ketlen er uppi i lamentu lofteni the plot is hanging far too high up over the fire llek nm. small ling lmenn, lmark nm. a common; see vlmenning njd nf. (ON nd) warm current of airor breeze nda vw. 1. to breathe; 2. to produce a faint, warm breeze njdi adj. small T njdibit nn. small piece of bait ngast nf. (ON and-ga-staa?) contrary wind kast nn. attack of illness (caused by witchcraft) lup nn. (ON hlaup) downpoor of rain, deluge set nn. 1. great pressure; working hard at something; 2. metaph. pressure, necessity tak nn. 1. effort, exertion; 2. taking on, scolding; at vara i taki to be excited p nn. (ON aptann) eve of a feast, day before a holiday;jlop, Toljegsp; Tammasmessp rdedoit nn. morning nap, heavy sleep till late in the forenoon rdiklov nm. (ON klovi) ancient Shetl. wooden plough rli nf. (ON rhl) opening in the base of a stone wall where a burn runs rn nm. hearth, hearthstone sker nm. animal breaking into tje home-field tterskodd nn.1. great haste, speed; 2. backwash of breakers (waves) vedek nm. dam by which water is lead in another direction veljter adj.indecl., adv. fallen or turned over and unable to rise; kuen er falljen veljter vi nm. pieces of wood laid between or across the laths (de langbands) in a roof vi nm. (ON vir?) punishment vik nm. he or she whom you know; cf. Dt, haipernor, hanjdi, hannister, hannepaa