English in Norway (/the world)

Presentasjon om: "English in Norway (/the world)"— Utskrift av presentasjonen:

1 English in Norway (/the world)
Loan-words, influences and other dangerous things

2 Focuses /(/foci) Loan words in Norwegian
The English teacher as Robinson Crusoe English, a Cultural Tyrannosaurus Rex? The myths of English Is Norwegian threatened? Language policy

3 Introduction Norwegian university courses offered in English
Why do Norwegian artists sing in English? Lingua Franca or Lingua Frankensteinia

4 Loan words * Figur 1. Økning i engelske ord i Berulfsen og Gundersens fremmedordbøker, 1953–2000 *

5 Loan words 1 50ies 60ies 70ies Music rock'n roll hit disco
band hitliste cover blues twist punk Clothes / jeans crush-lakk denim fashion duffelcoat mini-skjørt boots hotpants collegegenser Food / Coca Cola broiler burger drink hot dog dip fastfood grille From Anne Line Graedler,”Engelske lånord i norsk 1950–2000” (

6 Loan words 2 80ies 90ies Music hip hop grunge
cd /grønsj breakdance dance Clothes / stone-washed sagge fashion city-shorts club wear wet-look Food / brownie bagel drink (hot) shot sub(marine) donut From Anne Line Graedler,”Engelske lånord i norsk 1950–2000” (

7 Loan words 3 Leisure Sports Offshore / ICT
Cruise, after ski, caravan, aerobics, bad taste-party, filofax Sports The number of loan words in sports related texts has increased considerably from 1993 to 1998. In 1998 there were19,2 English words per 1000 words in newspaper football columns. From Nils Kobberstad, The Influence of English on Norwegian in the Football Columns of Two Norwegian Newspapers: A Synchronic and Diachronic Study ( Offshore / ICT Blowout, jack-up-rigg, roughneck Byte, bug, chip, joystick, harddisk, software, diskett

8 Loan words 4 Music Clothes/ fashion Food / drink Leisure Sports
Music Clothes/ fashion Food / drink Leisure Sports Off-shore ICT Academic life

9 Loan words: positive or negative?
Do you agree? ”Sett i forhold til mengden språk som produseres i Norge i dag er andelen engelske ord sannsynligvis forsvinnende liten. Norsk kan sikkert tåle en mye større andel lånte ord og uttrykk uten å gå i oppløsning eller bli mindre anvendelig for språkbrukerne” (p 22).

10 The English teacher as Robinson Crusoe
Some people argue that the teaching of English has had a “Robinson Crusoe effect”. The reference is to the fact that, when Crusoe set out to teach Friday English, he also assumed authority over the man and taught him a great number of things – other than language - that would make him useful to his master. “The white man’s burden of the modern world is the English teacher’s burden” (Phillipson).

11 The white man’s burden ”The White Man's Burden" is originally a poem by the English poet Rudyard Kipling (1899). The term has been used to refer to the view that white people are superior to and more civilized than other people and that they consequently have an obligation to rule over and encourage the cultural development of people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world by fully adopting Western ways (adapted from Wikipedia).

12 English: A cultural tyrannosaurus rex?
English influence: An example. Advertising A survey of ads in Aftenposten in 1969 and in 1989: 6 times as many ads, 14 times as many English words in 1989. From Grethe Grønli, The Influence of English on Norwegian Advertising (

13 Ten minutes at Byporten shopping centre in December. Oslo, Norway.

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26 English: A cultural tyrannosaurus rex?
Is English a linguistic cannibal that “gobbles up others and eliminates cultural practices”?(Phillipson) Will increased use of English lead to loss of cultural diversity and the rise of a “global monoculture”? Globalization is Americanization ? (Bourdieu)

27 The myths of English English is associated with human progress, development, modernization, wealth English is a symbol of science and technology, efficiency, rationality, a great civilization English is associated with westernization, globalization, internationalization English is natural, neutral and beneficial “The train is leaving. You have to get on it.” Resistance to English is reactionary, old-fashioned (Mæhlum, pp 36-43)

28 Is Norwegian threatened?
”På tross av et økende press fra angloamerikansk språk og kultur er norsk på ingen måte på vei til å bli utslettet. I motsetning til andre språk som virkelig er i fare, har norsk en sterk posisjon” (p 23). Do you agree? What is ”domain loss” (domenetap)? Det er særlig to domener engelsk er i ferd med å erobre fra norsk, og begge har å gjøre med den økende internasjonaliseringen i samfunnet: næringsliv og forskning (p 24) ”Vi er en del av verden og vi bør bli bedre – mye bedre – både i engelsk og i andre fremmedspråk. Men det er ingen motsetning mellom dette og det å ville styrke og verne om norsk språk” (p 29). Do you agree? The language is developed in a number of different fields /Språket er allsidig utviklet There is a rich literature /Har en rik litteratur Is used both orally and in writing by several million people /Blir brukt i tale og skrift av flere millioner mennesker Is supported by the educational system and other important institutions / Støttet opp gjennom skolen og andre institusjoner Most people are quite interested in language questions / Det er stor interesse for språklige spørsmål blant folk flest

29 Language policy

30 Språkrådet ”Det er ikkje sjølvsagt at norsk vil vera eit fullverdig bruksspråk på alle samfunnsområde i Noreg i framtida. For å styrkja norsk som nasjonalspråk trengst det ein samla språkpolitikk. Språkrådet meiner at det overordna målet må vera å sikra at norsk – nynorsk og bokmål – blir brukt på alle område i samfunnet, og at norsk språk er det naturlege valet i alle situasjonar der det ikkje er nødvendig å bruka framandspråk.” The use of dialects in NRK.