Scanian

This page was elaborated by Camilla Luise Dahl, historian at Copenhagen University, 2010.

Data on Scanian

Alternatives names: Skånsk mål, Skånelandsk, Skånelænska

Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, Nordic, East Scandinavian, East Danish.

Recognising Scanian as a regional language (as opposed to a Swedish or Danish dialect) remains a controversial topic.

SIL International classified Scanian as a regional language in their 2008 publication of Ethnologue. However, in 2009, Scanian was omitted from the list at Sweden’s request. Furthermore, the Bornholmian dialect of Scanian was classified as a Swedish dialect, and Bornholmians are henceforth defined as Swedish-speakers, bilingual in Swedish and Danish.

There has been some opposition to Bornholmian’s status, as Bornholm was never subject to any Swedification process, and Bornholmian therefore does not contain any traces of Swedish in its lexicon. In addition, Bornholmians do not speak Standard Swedish: while Scanian speakers in Sweden attend Swedish schools, Bornholmian speakers attend Danish schools. Although all Danish students do learn some Standard Swedish and Norwegian, these languages are treated as second or third languages.

Area: East Denmark (Bornholm), South Sweden (Scania, Halland and Blekinge).

The name Scania is to some confusion used for both the province of Scania (Skåne) alone, for the province of Scania (Skåne) including Bornholm as well as all four provinces together.
In recent times the term Scania is mainly used for all four provinces together while the province of the same name is referred to by its Scanian name Skåne.

Number of speakers: No data available.

Language status: Language of communication.

Vitality & transmission:

Written records of Scanian date back to long before the Swedish invasion, and have survived to today. Over time it has been heavily influenced by Swedish in the swedish part and lately been influenced by modern standard Danish in the Danish part.

Today, Scanian is mostly spoken by older generations in rural Scania, as Camilla Dahl explains: “I am born in Bornholm and speak both Bornholmian and Standard Danish. Nowadays I only speak Bornholmian with my grandmother.”

For this reason, Scanian is considered to be endangered, and is listed by UNESCO as a “vulnerable” language.

Media/Literature/Education:

In Sweden: no recognition of Scanian. Some music and poetry by Scanian artists. Some online dictionaries and wordlists compiled by non-scholars. A Scanian-Danish-Swedish dictionary was published in 1995.

In Denmark: TV-programs including a language program called “Sprogblomster”, literature, dictionaries, some schooling (for young people but only voluntarily), poetry, newspaper articles, schoolbooks/textbooks and music.

Historical & sociolinguistic observations

Scania (Scania, Halland, Blekinge and Bornholm) was conquered by Sweden in 1658, the island of Bornholm returned to Denmark.

In the Swedish part of Scania all Danish language was banned during the “Swedification” from c. 1680 to the 19th century.

In the early 20th century Scanian was still forbidden in school. Due to the isolation from the rest of Denmark the originally East Danish dialect has become a regional language no longer mutually intelligible with the dialects in the rest of Denmark. The dialect has been more conservative and has developed only slowly compared to standard Danish, Scanian now contain a partly preserved old Danish vocabulary as well as it has partly developed in its own direction. Scanian also contain a significant vocabulary which can be found in Scanian only. This vocabulary is not compatible with the vocabularies known from other Danish dialects. The significant vocabulary already existed when the area was Danish. Much of the significant vocabulary is now lost but much has also been preserved in the language and Scanian still contain terminology not known from any of the other Scandinavian languages.

Due to the Swedification processes in the Swedish parts of Scania a large part of the population no longer speak Scanian but Standard Swedish with some Scanian words or accent. This version of “Scanian” is not a version of the regional language but a Swedish dialect. Officially Sweden makes no distinction between Scanian language and Standard Swedish spoken with a Scanian accent and therefore does not recognize Scanian as a regional language but only as a Swedish dialect.

Denmark recognizes Scanian as a former East Danish dialect now regional language. But the Bornholmian dialect of Scanian is now on the decline. Fewer young people speak the language and due to the influence from tv, radio and media the language has been slowly disappearing since 1950. Only few attempts have been made to preserve it. Teaching children the language has not yet been incorporated as part of the official school system but language classes has been made available for the youth as part of voluntary evening school.

Sources & bibliography

Dictionaries and lists of words and phrases:

Adler, A. P. : Prøve paa et bornholmsk Dialekt-Lexikon. 1ste og 2den Samling, 1856.

Bornholmsk Ordbog udg. af lærere. Rønne, 1873.

Bornholmsk Ordbog – Kortfattet Vejleder og Tolk for Rejsende. Rønne, new edition 2002.

Dahl, Camilla Luise: Degnen Rasmus Ravns anekdoter i Aa kirkes kirkebog 1654-1671. Bornholmske Samlinger, årg. 2008. Bornholms Museum, Rønne 2008, pp. 36-77. (Includes explanation to a number of Scanian words and phrases used by Bornholmian historian Rasmus Ravn).

Hansson, Ake. Ett Österlenmål. Nummer 10 i Skrifter utgivna av sprak- och folkminnesinstitutet, dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet i Lund. Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet i Lund Sprak- och folkminnesinstitutet, 2001. (includes dictionary on words from Ingelstad’s shire.)

Henriksen, Leif: 1000 bornholmske ord – rigsdansk-bornholmsk, bornholmsk-rigsdansk, 2009.

Jespersen, J. C. S: Bornholmsk Ordbog. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 1908. (Bornholmian Dictionary, also includes words and phrases from Skåne (Scania). New editions 1975 and 1994.

Lucazin, M : Utkast till ortografi över skånska språket med morfologi och ordlista. In print, 2010. (Includes wordlist of Scanian terms)

Lång, Helmer och Vide, Sten-Bertil: Skånsk-svensk-dansk ordbok. Skånska Akademien, 1995.

Møller, P.: Det Bornholmske sprog. Rønne, 1918. (Includes dictionary).

Prahl, J. P.: Agerdyrknings-Katechismus efter Bornholms Agerdyrkningsmaade. Rønne, 1777. (Includes list of Bornholmian words).

Sjöstedt, Gösta. Ordbok över folkmålen i västra göinge härad. Nummer 1 i Skrifter utgivna genom landsmalsarkivet i Lund. Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet i Lund, 1979.

Skovgaard, Peder Nicolai: Beskrivelse over Bornholm. Copenhagen, 1804. (Includes Bornholmian wordlist.)

Swenning, Julius. Ordförteckning till Folkmålet i Listers härad i Blekinge. Nummer 54 i Svenska landsmal och svenskt fokliv. Stockholm, 1949.

Urne, Johan Chr.: Ager-Dyrkningens Behandling paa Bornholm 1757-63. Publ. By Aage Rohmann, Copenhagen, 1964. (includes wordlist of Bornholmian terms compilated 1757-63).

Urne, Johan. Chr. Håndskrevet beretning om Bornholm. Unpub. The Royal Library Copenhagen, 1745. (Includes list of Bornholmian words and phrases compilated 1745).

Johan Chr. Urne, Amtmand på Bornholm, håndskrevet beretning fra 1745 på det Kgl. Bibliotek, Exceps of Urne’s 1745 description of Bornholm, in: hos Jørgensen, J. A.: Gamle Optegnelser om Bornholm i svundne Tider. Rønne, 1897.

Johan Chr. Urne: Bornholmsbeskrivelse fra 1774. Bornholmske Samlinger, I. rk. bd. 35, Årg. 1957. (Includes Bornholmian words and phrases compilated before 1774).

About Scanian language, definitions of Scanian,

Gårding, Eva m.fl.: Talar Skåningarna Svenska?, Svenskans beskrivning 8, 1974, pp. 107-114.

Katlev, Jan: Er der et sprog der hedder skånsk? Mål og Mæle, nr. 1, 2006.

Lång, Helmer. Skånska språket, en kultur- och språkhistorisk essä. Litteraturtjanst. Lindfors, 2002.

Scanian language, grammar, pronounciation, schoolbooks:

Andersen, Borge. Rønnemålet, en strukturallingvistisk analyse af udtryksplanet i en bornholms dialekt. Nummer 18 i Udvalg for folkemaals publikationer, Serie A. J. H. Schultz, Kobenhavn, 1959.

Areskoug, Hugo. Studier över sydöstskånska folkmål. Nummer 11 i Skrifter utgivna genom landsmalsarkivet i Lund. CWK Gleerup, Lund, 1957.

Brøndum-Nielsen, J.: Bornholmsk. In: Dialekter og Dialektforskning. Copenhagen, 1927.

Ejstrup, Michael: Danske Talesprog i Begyndelsen af Det Tredje Årtusinde. En Undersøgelse af Danske Talesprog i Vest-, Syd- og Østdanmark med Fokus på Akustisk Undersøgelse af Vokaler. Odense University, 2009.

Henriksen, Leif: Lærebog i Bornholmsk. Rønne, 1999.

Ingers, Ingemar. Studier över det sydvästskånska dialektområdet. Nummer 5 i Skrifter utgivna genom Landsmålsarkivet i Lund. Landsmålsarkivet i Lund, 1939.

Ingers, Ingemar: Undersökningen av folkmål och ortnamn i Skåne, Halland och Blekinge, Fortid og Nutid, 1957, pp. 57-71.

Jespersen, Otto : Lydskriftprøver : Bornholm. Dania, bd. 1, 1890-92.

Lech, Gillis. Skånemålens böjningslära. Gleerupska universitetsbokhandelns forlag, Lund, 1925.

Lucazin, M : Utkast till ortografi över skånska språket med morfologi och ordlista. In print, 2010.

Nielsen, Niels Åge: Dansk dialektantologi I: Østdansk og ømål, Odense, 1978.

Nilsson, Martin P.: Skånes språkliga försvenskning, Hist. Tidskrift række 2, årg. 18, 1955, pp. 169-81.

Ohlsson, Stig Örjan: Skånes språkliga försvenskning I-II, Lund, 1978

Prince, J. D. : The Danish dialect of Bornholm. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 63, 1924.

Roikjer, Folke & Rasmussen, Børge : Skånsk. Addition to : Brøndum-Nielsen, Johs. : Dialekter og dialektforskning, vol. 5, Copenhagen, 1932.

Thomsen, Vilh. & Wimmer, Ludv. : Bornholmsk sproglære. Addition to : J. C. S. Espersen : Bornholmsk Ordbog. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen, 1908.

Comparisons of East and West Danish dialects, Jutlandic and Scanian, Zealandic and Scanian:
Ejskjær, Inger: Er skånsk i familie med jysk? – lidt om fællesgloser i de to dialekter. Ord & Sag, vol. 15, 1995, Århus University, pp. 6-11.

Lisse, Chr.: Nogle østdanske træk i de danske sydømål. Sydsvenska ortnamnssällskapets
Årsskrift, 1965, pp. 87-100.

Links

Presentation by Inge Lise Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen on Bornholmian (in Danish): http://www.dr.dk/P1/udmedsproget/Udsendelser/2007/07/05144922.htm

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) : http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10138/83/

Atlas interactif UNESCO des langues en danger dans le monde.

The SIL data:

http://www.ethnologue.org/15/show_country.asp?name=SE

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=DK

On why Scanian has been rejected by SIL International: http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/chg_detail.asp?id=2009-049&lang=scy

Scanian

This page was elaborated by Camilla Luise Dahl, historian (Copenhagen University).

Data on the language

Alternatives names: Skånsk mål, Skånelandsk, Skånelænska

Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, Nordic, East Scandinavian, East Danish

It is still controversial whether Scanian is to be recognized as a regional language or a Swedish or a Danish dialect.
Latest SIL International included Scanian as a regional language in their 2008 publication Ethnologue, but in 2009 Scanian was rejected after a request from Sweden. Instead the Bornholmian dialect of Scanian has been classified as a Swedish dialect and Bornholmians are therefore defined as Swedish-speakers bilingual in Swedish and Danish.
Some people have tried to make them change the status of Bornholmian as Bornholm was never subject to the Swedification process and therefore do not have Swedish words in the vocabulary, nor do Bornholmians speak any Standard Swedish contrary to the Scanians in Sweden who attends Swedish school, Bornholmians attend Danish school (all Danish students do learn some Standard Swedish and Norwegian as second languages but none of these are first languages).

Area: East Denmark (Bornholm), South Sweden (Scania, Halland and Blekinge).
The name Scania is to some confusion used for both the province of Scania (Skåne) alone, for the province of Scania (Skåne) including Bornholm as well as all four provinces together.
In recent times the term Scania is mainly used for all four provinces together while the province of the same name is referred to by its Scanian name Skåne.

Number of speakers: unknown

Language status: language of communication

Vitality & transmission:
Scanian is attested in written form long before the Swedish invasion of Scania and has survived to these days, though highly influenced by both Danish and Swedish.
Today it is mostly spoken by elderly people in rural Scania as Camilla Dahl testify : “I am born in Bornholm and speak both Bornholmian and Standard Danish. Nowadays I only speak Bornholmian with my grandmother.”
Therefore Scanian is endangered and is listed by UNESCO as a “vulnerable” language.

Media/Literature/Instruction:
In Sweden: no recognition of Scanian. Some music and poetry by Scanian artists. Some online dictionaries and wordlists compiled by non-scholars. A Scanian-Danish-Swedish dictionary was published in 1995.
In Denmark: TV-programs including a language program called “Sprogblomster”, literature, dictionaries, some schooling (for young people but only voluntarily), poetry, newspaper articles, schoolbooks/textbooks and music.

Historical & sociolinguistic observations

Scania (Scania, Halland, Blekinge and Bornholm) was conquered by Sweden in 1658, the island of Bornholm returned to Denmark.

In the Swedish part of Scania all Danish language was banned during the “Swedification” from c. 1680 to the 19th century.
In the early 20th century Scanian was still forbidden in school. Due to the isolation from the rest of Denmark the originally East Danish dialect has become a regional language no longer mutually intelligible with the dialects in the rest of Denmark. The dialect has been more conservative and has developed only slowly compared to standard Danish, Scanian now contain a partly preserved old Danish vocabulary as well as it has partly developed in its own direction. Scanian also contain a significant vocabulary which can be found in Scanian only. This vocabulary is not compatible with the vocabularies known from other Danish dialects. The significant vocabulary already existed when the area was Danish. Much of the significant vocabulary is now lost but much has also been preserved in the language and Scanian still contain terminology not known from any of the other Scandinavian languages.
Due to the Swedification processes in the Swedish parts of Scania a large part of the population no longer speak Scanian but Standard Swedish with some Scanian words or accent. This version of “Scanian” is not a version of the regional language but a Swedish dialect. Officially Sweden makes no distinction between Scanian language and Standard Swedish spoken with a Scanian accent and therefore does not recognize Scanian as a regional language but only as a Swedish dialect.

Denmark recognizes Scanian as a former East Danish dialect now regional language. But the Bornholmian dialect of Scanian is now on the decline. Fewer young people speak the language and due to the influence from tv, radio and media the language has been slowly disappearing since 1950. Only few attempts have been made to preserve it. Teaching children the language has not yet been incorporated as part of the official school system but language classes has been made available for the youth as part of voluntary evening school.

Sources & bibliography

Dictionaries and lists of words and phrases:

Adler, A. P. : Prøve paa et bornholmsk Dialekt-Lexikon. 1ste og 2den Samling, 1856.

Bornholmsk Ordbog udg. af lærere. Rønne, 1873.

Bornholmsk Ordbog – Kortfattet Vejleder og Tolk for Rejsende. Rønne, new edition 2002.

Hansson, Ake. Ett Österlenmål. Nummer 10 i Skrifter utgivna av sprak- och
folkminnesinstitutet, dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet i Lund. Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet
i Lund Sprak- och folkminnesinstitutet, 2001. (includes dictionary on words from Ingelstad’s shire.)