Ka Du Gjør?
“Mamma. Ka du gjør? Ka du gjør?!” I couldn’t answer – I had no idea what Lilu was trying to say.
“Ka du gjøøøør?! Mamma!” I looked at Moose, feeling a little hopeless.
He said with a smirk, “She’s asking you what you’re doing.”
Had I missed something? I thought that to ask someone what they were doing you say “Hva gjør du?” Not only was Lilu saying ‘ka’ instead of ‘hva’ but she had the sentence all mixed round – or so I thought. But Lilu was speaking dialect! Tromsø dialect to be exact. Oh no. Not only do I have to learn Norwegian, as hard as it may be, but I also have to learn Tromsø dialect! Gosh, can Norway make it any harder for me?
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Flower Show Series: Arctic Botanical Garden Selection – Tromsø
Large wooden racks called hjell are for drying fish.
Runes were the written language of the Vikings.
Norwegians are starting to get adventurous with cooking on the barbie.
Autumn is Fårikål season in Norway.
A little like teaching my Norwegian friend–whose English is perfect–the intricacies of “Southern Slang”- redneck-style!! Hang in there!!!
My day isn’t complete without at stop in to read your latest post!!! Thanks !!!!!
Yep, the dialects of Norway vary widely, even within regions of similar dialects, like north Norway. I’m from Alta, Finnmark, and was recently speaking with someone from Bodø, Nordland, who remarked at my use of the word “kas” (which) as in “kas dag….” (which day). Of course, in Bokmål Østlands dialect, the word is “hvilken.” The word “kas” is used in Finnmark, but evidently not in Nordland, whose dialect is closer to Finnmarks than Østlands dialect.
English: “Which day are you traveling?”
)
Østland: “Hvilken dag reiser dere?”
Finnmark” “Kas dag reise dokker?” or even “Kas dag ska dokker fære?”
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from L-Jay:
And Aussie English: “Ween ya go walkabout, mate?”
Must add that Finnmark’s dialect is far more pleasant than American “red-neck” drawl. (The accent of Georgia accepted — very nice!)
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from L-Jay:
It’s always fascinated me how red-neck dialect came about…lol.
I’m afraid I would need a translater if I was to visit Nordland as I never heard of the word “kas”. I have my hands full handling the dialects in Bergen and Oslo which I was used to some sixty years ago when I lived there. It gets easier after a week or two when visiting now, but “kas” would stump me for sure, just like “Ny Norsk” does.
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from L-Jay:
Anyone from the South I can’t understand even when they speak very slow bokmål to me….lol.
“Kas” might be a contraction of “ka slags” (“what kind” or “which”). Say it at normal conversation tempo, “kaslags” and it’s easy to see the road to “kas”.
I’m from Hammerfest, Finnmark, and I’ve never heard of “kas” either even though I have plenty of friends and family in Alta. Are you sure it’s as common as you think? As far as I know most Finnmarkings would say “kossn” not “kas”.
But, yes, I agree, Norwegian is definitely a tricky language – and that’s part of what makes it fun
Kossen = how
Kass = which
That’s the difference
I’m from the north west coast, and I use them both. And I would also pose the question “What are you doing?” in the same manner as Lilu did.
“Ka ta e?” is another question that people from the eastern part of Norway have difficulties understanding (at least out of context). It means “What is it?”, literally “What that is?”, standard Norwegian “Hva er dette?”
I’m so glad I’m a native speaker…
“Kas” actually gets used in Bergen too. That or “kalla”
Tricky language, Norwegian!
Oh my this story is soooo funny!!! It’s hilarious! I think it’s a pearl and you should definitely keep it somewhere safe for in a few years because this will make an amazing story to remember years from now!
Sure we can make it harder for you. Try the Rogaland dialect. ;o)
Ha ein grævla kjekke dag!
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from L-Jay:
grævla? I can’t find that in my dictionary…lol. I think it is very fascinating how such a small country can have so many different dialects. The world is getting smaller and yet dialects seem to still very strong in Norway. It’s great, but is sure makes it hard to learn the langauge.
Hee, no I don´t suppose you will find it anywhere… I believe it is a type of slang word from the Rogaland area. I think it´s equal to “kjempe” if that makes any sense… it basically means “Ha en kjempe fin dag”.
But I was very unsure then I heard “grævla” myself for the first time, because it does resemble another not so nice word starting with “j” if you know which one I´m thinking about…
But there you have it – live and learn! ;o)
I’m an American who’s lived in Norway for more than 44 yrs. now–eats, west, and north of the capitol, Oslo. I have also lived temporarily on the west coast when expecting my first child, so I have been exposed to both Bokmål, West coast dialect (which made it easier to understand ‘Ny norsk on TV afterwards)!
Anyway, the reason we have so many dialects is because of all the physical hinders between one and another settlement–high mts. and wide rivers etc…And that we still have to cope with the influences of dialects / Ny norsk today is probably because Norwegians are a proud and stubborn people. 3½ yrs. ago I met a MAN and have moved up a valley (the drive is only 2 hrs. from the Oslo+Drammen area)–My guy speaks a dialect that can be ‘demanding’ to say the least…but with so many yrs. of language experience now, I get the gist of most everything…;) You will, too–all of you. It’s such fun reading what other “Ytlendinger” have to say here.
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from L-Jay:
I find it is much harder to learn the language when you move about the country. I was used to Oslo dialect and then moved to Harstad. It felt like starting all over again. Now I’m in Alta – I can understand some people but others I have no clue what they are saying…lol. Just down the river from us there is a little village that speaks a different dialect. It is amusing that people so close can speak so differently.
Oh god, I’m from Australia, boyfriend is from uh, just out of Harstad… Bokmol.. This is going to be a laugh and a half D:
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from L-Jay:
Ah, I lived in Harstad for a while. Good place but a little wet. Trondenes was my favourite. Lots of history there. Farfar was evacuated there during the war by the Germans.