Appendix:Norwegian Bokmål pronunciation
This is a guide to pronunciation of Norwegian. There is no centrally mandated pronunciation of Norwegian. In Wiktionary, the pronunciation given for Norwegian Bokmål generally reflects the pronunciation of Central Eastern Norway, in and around Oslo. The pronunciation given for Norwegian Nynorsk generally reflects the pronunciation in the parts of Norway where Nynorsk is mostly used. Other pronunciations may also be possible.
Consonants
editPlosives
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
p | par, [pʰɑːr], "pair; couple" |
b | bok, [buːk], "book" |
t | tam, [tʰɑmː], "tame" |
d | dam, [dɑmː], "pond" |
k | katt, [kʰɑtː], "cat" |
ɡ | god, [ɡuː], "good" |
/p, t, k/ are all aspirated and pronounced almost identical to the equivalent English sounds. /b, d, ɡ/ are distinctly voiced, moreso than the English equivalents of most dialects.
Fricatives
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
f | fot, [fuːt], "foot" |
ʋ | våt, [ʋoːt], "wet" |
s | sol, [suːl], "sun" |
ʂ | sju, [ʂʉː], "seven" |
ç | kjapp, [çɑpː], "fast" |
j | jord, [juːr], "soil" |
h | han, [hɑnː], "he" |
/r/
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
r | rød, [ɾøː], [ʁøː], "red" |
The pronunciation of /r/ varies in the various dialects. In eastern dialects the pronunciation is more forward, [ɾ] or [r] while the pronunciation in western dialects is further back, [ʁ] [χ].
In some dialects /s, t, d, n, l/ merge with /r/ into retroflex assimilations [ʂ, ɖ, ʈ, ɳ, ɭ].
Laterals
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
l | land, [lɑnː], "country" |
Nasals
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
m | mann, [mɑnː], "man" |
n | nese, [ˈneːsə], "nose" |
ŋ | lang, [lɑŋː], "long" |
Vowels
editPhoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
iː | ti, [tʰiː], "ten" |
yː | ny, [nyː], "new" |
ʉː | hus, [hʉːs], "house" |
eː | ser, [seːr], "see" |
æː | være, [ˈʋæːrə], "to be" |
ɑː | har, [hɑːr], "have" |
øː | brød, [brøː], "bread" |
uː | god, [ɡuː], "good" |
oː | nå, [noː], "now" |
Phoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
ɪ | litt, [lɪtː], "a little, a bit" |
ʏ | hytte, [ˈhʏtːə], "cabin" |
ʉ | munn, [ˈmʉnː], "mouth" |
ɛ | redd, [rɛdː], "afraid, scared" |
æ | vært, [ʋæʈː], "been (past ptcpl.)" |
ɑ | mann, [mɑnː], "man" |
œ | brønn, [brœnː], "well" |
ʊ | tok, [tʊkː], "took (simple past)" |
ɔ | toll, [tɔlː], "customs" |
ə | påle, [poːlə], "pole" |
Phoneme | Transcription, example and translation |
---|---|
æʉ | sau, [sæʉ], "sheep" |
æɪ | jeg, [jæɪ], "I" |
œʏ | gøy, [ɡœʏ], "fun" |
Stress and tonemes
editMost 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 |
[ˈ] | bønder [ˈbønːər] [ˈbønːəʁ] |
Tone 1 / acute accent: |
[²] | bønner [²bønːər] [²bønːəʁ] |
Tone 2 / grave accent:
|