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Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Scandinavian Languages (Part Four) - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we learned some Danish words. This week we're going to learn a few more words. Hope you enjoy digging in!

    Question Words:
  • When? - Hvornar?(vornor)
  • Where? - Hvor?(Ivor)


    Numbers:
  • 0 - nul (nool)
  • 1 - en(ain)
  • 2 - to (toe)
  • 3 - tre (tray)
  • 4 - fire (feerer)
  • 5 - fem(fem)
  • 6 - seks (sex)
  • 7 - syv (soo)
  • 8 - otte(aw-der)
  • 9 - ni (nee)
  • 10 - ti (tee)


    Days of the Week:
  • Monday - mandag(Manda)
  • Tuesday - tirsdag(teers-da)
  • Wednesday - onsdag(ons-da)
  • Thursday - torsdag (tors-da)
  • Friday - fredag(fray-da)
  • Saturday - lordag(ler-da)
  • Sunday - sondag (sern-da)


References:
Just Enough Scandinavian

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Scandinavian Languages (Part Three) - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we learned some Danish words. This week we're going to learn a few more words. Hope you enjoy digging in!

    Health Words:
  • I have pain here - Jeg har ondt her (Yigh har ont hair)
  • I'm ill/sick - Jeg er syg(Igh air soo-oo)
  • I feel dizzy - Jeg er svimmel (Yigh air svimmel)
  • I'm pregnant - Jeg er gravid (Yigh air gra-veethe)


    Body Parts:
  • Ankle - anklen (ank-len)
  • Arm - armen(armen)
  • Back - ryggen (rooggen)
  • Foot - foden (foe-then)
  • Head - hovedet (ho-erthet)
  • Leg - benet(beenet)
  • Shoulder - skulderen (skoollern)
  • Throat - halsen (hal-sen)


    Other Health Words:
  • I have a toothache - Jeg har tandpine(Yigh har tann-peener)
  • My child is ill - Mit barn er sygt(Meet barn air soo-oot)
  • Doctor - doktor(doktor)
  • Dentist - tandlaege (tann-layer)


References:
Just Enough Scandinavian

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Scandinavian Languages (Part Two) - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we learned some Danish words. This week we're going to learn a few more words. Hope you enjoy digging in!

    Introductions:
  • My name is ... - Jeg hedder (yigh hither)
  • What's your name? - Hvad hedder De? (va hither dee)


    Meals:
  • breakfast - morgenmad (morn-mathe)
  • Lunch - frokost(fraw-kost)
  • Dinner - middag (medda)
  • Thank you very much - Mange tak (mung-er tuck)


    Other Food Words:
  • Bakery - bager(bay-er)
  • Yeast pastry - kringle(krengler)
  • Mints - pebermynte(pev-er-moonter)
  • Ice - is (ees)
  • Lemon - citron(citrone)
  • Candy - bolsjer(boll-sher)
  • Caramel - nougat(nooga)
  • Ham - skinke (skinker)
  • Grapes - vindruer(veen-droo-er)


References:
Just Enough Scandinavian

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Scandinavian Languages - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we learned a little Old Norse language. This week we'll start learning some Scandinavian languages starting with Danish. Hope you enjoy digging in!

These words are modern Scandinavian that we're learning just for fun. The words that Vikings would have spoken would be considered Old Scandinavian which we will analyze at a later time. For now, let's learn some basic words!

    Basic Greetings:
  • Hello - Dav (dow)
  • Hello - Hej (hi)
  • Good Morning - Godmorgen (go-morn)
  • Good Day - Goddag (go-day)
  • Goodbye - Farvel (far-vel)


    Useful Words:
  • Yes - ja (ya)
  • No - nej(nigh)
  • Thank you - Tak (tuck)
  • Thank you very much - Mange tak (mung-er tuck)
  • Excuse me - Undskyld (on-skool)
  • I'm sorry - Desvaerre (desvair)


    Communicating Words:
  • Do you speak English? - Taler De engelsk? (tayler dee eng-elsk)
  • I don't understand - Jeg forstar det ikke(yigh forstor day igger)
  • Please can you repeat that? - Vii de vaere sa venlig at gentage det? (vil dee vair saw venlee at ghen-tay day)
  • Thank you very much - Mange tak (mung-er tuck)


References:
Just Enough Scandinavian

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Old Norse Language - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we took a quick look at Old Norse and Scandinavian place names throughout the United Kingdom. This week we'll learn some Old Norse. Hope you enjoy digging in!



Old Norse geographical words:
  • ey - "island"
  • staup - "steep"
  • meols - "sandbank or sand dunes"
  • -by, -byr - "settlement or farm"
  • stein - "stone"


Old Norse food and drink words:
  • bjórr - "beer"
  • blymingr - "bread"
  • porskr - "cod"
  • skadd - "herring"


Old Norse common words:
  • dorg - "fishing line"
  • geit - "goat"
  • kirk - "church"
  • skyrta - "shirt"
  • brók - "trousers"
  • knappr - "button"
  • rannsaka - "ransack"


Old Norse ship-related words:
  • skip - "ship"
  • skeid - "warship"
  • dreki - "dragon ship"


Anglo-Saxons borrowed many Old Norse words which eventually became English. Examples include their, they, them, die, egg, cast, knife and window.

References:

"Everyday Life in Viking Times" by Michael Gibson, ISBN#0-7500-1472-5

Cultural Atlas of the Viking World American Archaeology Uncovers the Vikings
What Life Was Like When Longships Sailed: Vikings Ad 800-1100 National Geographic Kids Everything Vikings: All the Incredible Facts and Fierce Fun You Can Plunder
Leif Eriksson: Viking Explorer of the New World (Great Explorers of the World) The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (Oxford Illustrated Histories)
The World of the Vikings Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age
The Vikings: Voyagers of Discovery and Plunder (General Military) The Vikings (Journey into civilization)
Vikings, a Dark History Vikings: Warriors, Raiders, and Masters of the Sea (Oxford People)
 
The Vikings  
Historical Atlas of the Viking World Cultural Atlas of the Viking World

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Old Norse and Scandinavian Place Names - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we learned about the many languages the Vikings spoke and wrote. This week we'll take a deeper dive into Old Norse and Scandinavian place names. Hope you enjoy digging in!

As we learned last week, Old Norse languagewas derived from the West Norse (Scandinavian) dialect and is also known as Old Icelandic. Eventually it was replaced by other languages such as English. Through place names we can still see the Old Norse influence.

 

The word "viking" may have come from the Old Norse word "vÍkingr" which meant seafarer from the vÍk arean of Norway. You can see in the map above the Vik municipality that still exists off the Sognefjord.


Ireland is littered with Old Norse place names uch as Wexford, Fota, Selskar, Tuskar, Dursey, Wicklow, Howth, Carlingord, and Lambay.

 
 

Scandinavian and Old Norse place names are scattered throughout England as well. The suffix -by means "settlement" in Old Norse. "Lund" means "grove of trees" in Old Norse.

 

Scandinavian -thorpe meant "village, hamlet".


Close to the city of Birkenhead, on the peninsula of Wirral, there are several Old Norse place names.
Tranmere - "sandbank where cranes gather"
Irby - Irish settlement
Thingwall - "field where the thing meets" where thing refers to their assembly
Meols - "sandbank"

 

The Vikings called the very top tip of the United Kingdom "hvarf" or "turning point". Today it's known as Cape Wrath. They called the Hebrides "Sudreys" or "southern islands".


Scotland contains many Viking place names as well. Scandinavian -ness meant "point, headland". Words "Ting" and "Tyn" both repesent "Thing" or assembly.

Picture References:
Ireland, England Maps - Google Maps
Hebrides - By Kelisi, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=541156

References:

"Everyday Life in Viking Times" by Michael Gibson, ISBN#0-7500-1472-5

Cultural Atlas of the Viking World American Archaeology Uncovers the Vikings
What Life Was Like When Longships Sailed: Vikings Ad 800-1100 National Geographic Kids Everything Vikings: All the Incredible Facts and Fierce Fun You Can Plunder
Leif Eriksson: Viking Explorer of the New World (Great Explorers of the World) The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (Oxford Illustrated Histories)
The World of the Vikings Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age
The Vikings: Voyagers of Discovery and Plunder (General Military) The Vikings (Journey into civilization)
Vikings, a Dark History Vikings: Warriors, Raiders, and Masters of the Sea (Oxford People)
 
The Vikings