This is a guide to the pronunciation ofNorwegian Nynorsk and how to transcribe pronunciations on Wiktionary.
There is no centrally mandated pronunciation of Norwegian. In Wiktionary, the pronunciation given for Norwegian Nynorsk generally reflects the pronunciation in the parts of Norway where Nynorsk is mostly used, as well as which has the most phonemes. The phonemic transcriptions will ideally differentiate between phonemes that may have merged in some dialects. Other pronunciations may also be possible.
| Letter(s) | Realisation | Examples | Other regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | /b/,[b] | bok,[bu̞ːk],“book” | |
| d- | /d/,[d] | du,[dʷʉː],“you (singular)” | |
| dd | /dː/,[dː] | breidd,[brɛ̝ɪ̯dː],“width” | [ɟ] (Trøndsk, Northern Norwegian) |
| dj | /ʝ/,[ʝ],[ɟ͡ʝ] | rydja,[²rʏʷː.ʝɐ̞],“clean up” | [j] many places |
| dk | [kː] | vidka,[²ʋɪk.kɐ̞],“widen” | |
| f | /f/,[f] | fot,[fu̞ːt],“foot” | |
| g | /ɡ/,[ɡ] beforea,o,u,å | god,[ɡu̞ː],“good” | |
| /ʝ/,[ʝ],[ɟ͡ʝ] beforeei,i,y,øy | geil,[ʝɛ̝ɪ̯ːl],“cow trail” | [j] many places | |
| gj | /ʝ/,[ʝ],[ɟ͡ʝ] | dagen,[¹dɐ̞ː.ʝən],“the day” | [j] many places |
| h | /h/,[h] | han,[hɐ̞nː],“he” | |
| j | /j/,[j] | jord[ju̞ːr],[ju̞ːɽ],“soil” | |
| k | /k/,[kʰ],[k] beforea,o,u,å | katt,[kʰɐ̞tː],“cat” | |
| /ç/,[ç],[c͡ç] beforeei,i,y,øy | kyrkja[²çʏʷr.çɐ̞],“church” | ||
| kj | /ç/,[ç],[c͡ç] | kjapp,[çɐ̞pː],“fast” | |
| l | /l/,[l] | land,[lɐ̞nd],[lɐ̞nː],“country” | |
| /ɽ/,[ɽ] | sol (regional),[su̞ːɽ],“sun” | ||
| m | /m/,[m] | mann,[mɐ̞nː],“man” | |
| mf | /mf/,[ɱf] | heimferd,[²hɛ̝ɪːɱ.fɛ̝ˑr],[²hɛ̝ɪːɱ.fɛ̝ˑɽ],“return homewards” | |
| n | /n/,[n] | nes,[nɛ̝ːs],“headland” | |
| ng | /ŋ/,[ŋ] | lang,[lɐ̞ŋɡ],[lɐ̞ŋː],“long” | |
| ngj | /nʝ/,[ɲʝ] | stengja,[²stɛ̝ɲ.ʝɐ̞],“to close” | |
| p | /p/,[pʰ],[p] | par,[pʰɐ̞ːr],“pair; couple” gapa[²ɡɐ̞ː.pɐ̞],“to gape”. | |
| r | /r/,[r],[ɾ] | rud,[rʊː],[ɾʊː],“(forest) clearing” | |
| rd | /r/,[r] | gard,[ɡɐ̞ːr],“farm” | |
| /ɽ/,[ɽ] | gard,[ɡɐ̞ːɽ],“farm” | ||
| s | /s/,[s] | sol,[su̞ːl],[su̞ːɽ],“sun” | |
| sj | /ʃ/,[ʃ] /sj/,[sʲj] | sju,[ʃʉː],[sʲjʉː],“seven” | |
| skj | /ʃ/,[ʃ] /sç/,[sç],[sc͡ç] | ski,[ʃiː],[sçiː],[sc͡çiː],“ski” | |
| t | /t/,[tʰ],[t] | tal,[tʰɐ̞ːl],[tʰɐ̞ːɽ],“number” gods,[²ɡu̞ts],“goods” | |
| v | /v/,[ʋ] | våt,[ʋo̞ːt],“wet” |
/p, t, k/ are allaspirated and pronounced almost identically to the equivalent English sounds. /b, d, ɡ/ are distinctlyvoiced, moreso than the English equivalents of most dialects.
The pronunciation of/r/ varies in the various dialects. In eastern dialects the pronunciation is more forward,[ɾ] or[r] while the pronunciation in south western dialects is further back,[ʁ][χ]. The northernmost dialects use[ɹ], akin to English and Faroese.
In some dialects/s, t, d, n, l/ merge with/r/ and/ɽ/ intoretroflex[ʂ, ɖ, ʈ, ɳ, ɭ], orpostalveolar[ʃ, t̠, d̠, n̠, l̠]. Some dialects further differentiate between/r/ and/ɽ/ and pronounce/rn/ like[n̠] (while/n/ is[n̪]), and/ɽn/ like[ɳ]. In some dialects,/rɽ/ also merge into[ɻ].
Old Norse/rs/ or/rn/ have commonly turned into/sː/ and/nː/, but some dialects retain/rs/ and/rn/. Loanwords or literary words with ⟨rs⟩ and ⟨rn⟩ have/rs/ and/rn/ in all dialects.
⟨rd⟩ is usually/r/ or/ɽ/ in native words, descending from Old Norse/rð/. Most loanwords, however, and some literary words, have/rd/.
Alveolars following retroflexes may also become retroflex, for instancehuldra/¹hʊɽd.ra/ →[¹hʊɻɖ.ɻɐ̞],hårstrikk/²ho̞ːr.strɪkˑ/ →[²ho̞ːɻ.ʂtɾɪkˑ] →[²ho̞ːɻ.ʂʈɻɪkˑ], andnummertre/ˌnumːər ˈtreː/ →[ˌnu̞mˑəɻˈʈɻeː].
| Letter | IPA | Example and translation |
|---|---|---|
| i | [iː] | ti,[tʰiː],“ten” |
| [i] | tidt,[tʰitː],“often” | |
| ì | [ɪː] | vìta,[²ʋɪː.tɐ̞],“to know”; skrive,[²skrɪː.ʋə],“written (past ptcpl.)” |
| [ɪ] | finna,[fɪn.nɐ̞],“to find”; kiste,[çɪstə],“chest” | |
| y | [yʷː] | ny,[nyʷː],“new” |
| [yʷ] | nytt,[nyʷtː],“new (neuter” | |
| ỳ | [ʏʷː] | yver,[¹ʏʷː.ʋər],“over”; hỳl,[hʏʷːl],[hʏʷːɽ]“pothole” |
| [ʏʷ] | bygd,[bʏɡd],“village” | |
| u | [ʉː] | hus,[hʷʉːs],“house” |
| [ʉ] | butt,[bʉtː],“lived (past ptcpl.)” | |
| ù | [ʊː] | rug,[rʊːɡ],“rye” |
| [ʊ] | full,[fʊlː],“full”; upp,[ʊpʰː],“up” | |
| e | [eː] | ser,[seːr],“see” |
| [e] | rett,[retː],“right; straight; correct” | |
| è | [ɛ̝ː] | vera,[²ʋɛ̝ː.rɐ̞],“to be” |
| [ɛ̝] | hest,[hɛ̝st],“horse” | |
| æ | [æː] | læra,[²læː.rɐ̞],“to learn; to teach” |
| a | [ɐ̞ː] | har,[hɐ̞ːr],“have” |
| [ɐ̞] | mann,[mɐ̞nː],“man” | |
| ø | [øː] | brød,[brøː],“bread” |
| [ø] | søtt,[søtː],“sweet (neuter)” | |
| [œ] | øks,[œks],“axe”; mjølk,[mjœl̥k],[mjœɽ̊k],“milk” | |
| o | [u̞ː] | god,[ɡu̞ː],“good” |
| [u̞] | skodd,[sku̞dː],“shod, shoed” | |
| ò | [ɞ̞ː] | hòl,[hɞ̞ːl],[hɞ̞ːɽ],“hole” |
| [ɞ̞] | golv,[ɡɞ̞lʋ],[ɡɞ̞ɽʋ],“floor” | |
| å | [o̞ː] | låg,[lo̞ːɡ],“low” |
| [o̞] | grått,[ɡro̞tː],[ɡrɔtː],“grey (neuter)” | |
| [ɔ] |
The phoneme/a/ is realised as a lowered near-open central vowel[ɐ̞], or centralised open back unrounded vowel[ɑ̈]. In the dialects ofSolør andHedmarka, it’s[ɑ].
In many Norwegian dialects,/y/ and/ʏ/ are different phonemes, such as inhyl[hyʷːl]“scream” andhỳl[hʏʷːl]“river pothole”. In other dialects,[ʏʷ] may merge with[ø] (compare the spellinghøl from earlierhyl,hỳl), and leave[ʏʷ] as an allophone of[yʷ]. Most Norwegian phonologies, as a result of basing themselves onUrban East Norwegian, don’t treat[ʏʷ] as a phoneme, despite the presence in the Norwegian spoken language. This has not been the tradition with Nynorsk, and dictionaries likeNorsk Ordbog byIvar Aasen differenciate between the “open”[ʏʷ] and “closed”[yʷ]. This is similar to how one differenciates between e.g.[u̞] and[ɞ̞] inhól[hu̞ːl]“low hillock” andhòl[hɞ̞ːl]“hole”.
In some dialects, like the one ofSetesdal, the “closed”y (< Old Norseý,ȳ) has developed into a diphthong. A word likesky (< Old Norseský) is therefore pronounced[ʃuy̯ʷː] or[sjuy̯ʷː]. The “open”y (< Old Norsey) is pronounced like[yʷ] or[yʷø̯]. Example: ONfyl →[fyʷːl]“foal”; ONsynir →[²sʷyø̯ʷːnɪ] (sỳni)“sons”. The latter has also become[²sʷy̯øʷːnɪ] (sø̀ni).
The Norwegian/y/ and/ʏ/ are commonly realised as protruded[yʷ] and[ʏʷ], while it’s common to write them as[y] and[ʏ]. Some dialects, in Western Telemark and North Gudbrand Valley, use the non-protruded, or regular,y[yᵝ] and[ʏᵝ]. Example:syl[syᵝːl]“awl”. The distinction is therefore relevant, not only on an international level, but also on a national one.
Shortå has commonly the more open pronunciation[ɔ], so that the neuter ofgrå[ɡro̞ː] is[ɡrɔtː] instead of[ɡro̞tː]. In Setesdal, the vowel retains its length even before long consonant sounds, and does not change quality.Grått is therefore[ɡro̞ːtː].
The vowelå (from Old Norseá) has some places become a diphthong, most prominently inHardanger,Voss andSogn, with the pronunciations[ɐ̞u̞̯],[ɐ̞ʊ̯] or[ɔ̞u̞̯]. The eye dialect spelling of this is commonlyao oråo, such as insognamaol (sognamål, lit. ‘Sogn language’), the dialect of Sogn.
| Spelling | IPA | Transcription, example and translation |
|---|---|---|
| au | [œʊ̯] | sau,[sœʊ̯],“sheep” |
| ei | [ɛ̝ɪ̯] | nei,[nɛ̝ɪ̯],“no” |
| øy | [œʏ̯ʷ] | døy,[dœʏ̯ʷ],“die” |
The diphthongau is pronounced in various ways, most commonly[œʊ̯] and[əʊ̯], but some places also[æ̞ʊ̯],[æʊ̯],[ɐʊ̯],[ɞ̞ʊ̯],[u̞ʊ̯] and[əɵ]. In Setesdal,Hallingdal,Valdres, and parts ofNordfjord andSunnmøre, it is pronounced[ɐ̞ʉ̯],[a̝ʊ̯] and[ɔ̞ʉ̯].[1] Setesdal also has[a̝u̯] and[o̞u̯], and[œu̯] in the southern part.[2]
The diphthongei has a smaller amount of variations, and is most commonly pronounced[æi̯] or[ɛ̝ɪ̯]. Other pronunciations are[a̝ɪ̯] inSetesdal,Hallingdal,Valdres, Hardanger, Voss,Inner Nordfjord andSouth Gudbrand Valley, and also[æ̞ɪ̯] in the latter two.[1] Setesdal also has[ɐ̞ɪ̯] and[æ̞ɪ̯].[2]
The diphthongøy is almost always[œʏ̯ʷ], with the most common exception being dialects where it’s merged withei due toiotacism. Parts ofInner Hordaland,Sogn, Inner Nordfjord and Inner Sunnmøre have[o̞ɪ̹̯], and other places have[oy̯ʷ],[ɐ̞y̯ʷ],[ɔy̯ʷ],[ɶ̠y̯ʷ] and[œɪ̹̯]. In Setesdal, it’s[ɔ̞ʏ̯ʷ].[2]
Most dialects of Norwegian separate between two distinct tonemes. The way they are realised differs considerably between different dialects. The table gives only a few examples.
| Stress and tone | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPA | Examples | Examples of realisation |
| [¹] | livet [¹liː.ʋə] | Tone 1 / acute accent: |
| [²] | live [²liː.ʋə] | Tone 2 / grave accent:
|