Help Save Elfdalian, the Ancient Viking Forest Language of Sweden

Help Save Elfdalian, 

the Ancient Viking Forest 

Language of Sweden

Help Save Elfdalian, 
the Ancient Viking Forest Language of Sweden

The ancient Viking language of Elfdalian has been almost entirely wiped out, with only 3,000 people in a tiny forest community in Sweden currently keeping it alive. People having been fighting to revive the historic tongue by bringing it back to schools before it vanishes completely. However, the Swedish Government still treats it as a dialect only, and campaigners are pushing for the ancient Viking tongue to be officially recognized as a language. A petition in support of its language status is rapidly gaining momentum.

The Conversation reports that the ancient dialect of Elfdalian ( älvdalska in Swedish and övdalsk in the language itself) was a vigorous language until well into the 20th century. Sounding to listeners like a beautiful and complex language as spoken by the Elven race in fantasy epics, Elfdalian is actually derived from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. However, it is radically different from Swedish, writes University of Copenhagen linguist Dr. Guus Kroonen.

Viking patterned woodwork.

Elfdalian is unique among Nordic languages, expressing itself with different tones and sounds. Even the grammar and vocabulary are unlike Swedish. So while speakers of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are able to have simple conversations and understand each other, not so with Elfdalian. So far removed from Swedish, (even while originating from the same region,) it is completely unintelligible to non-local Swedes.

The language originated in the forested region of Älvdalen, Sweden, and remained robust for centuries. Elfdalian served the people of Älvdalen as trade and economic networks were mostly local, and no other languages were necessary
In order to save the swiftly-disappearing language, activists started a campaign of awareness and preservation. The group of language activists, called Ulum Dalska (“We need to speak Elfdalian”) have seen some success in attempts to revitalize the language. Several children’s books have been translated into Elfdalian, and programs have been introduced in schools encouraging and incentivizing the learning of the language, reports news site The New Daily .

However, campaigners are fighting and losing battle. TheLocal.Se reports that while the Swedish Government still considers it a dialect and not a language, children who speak Elfdalian feel a sense of inferiority about their mother tongue.
“Once Elfdalian is recognized as a language the community would have the chance to apply for financial support to help it. The state would feel more obliged than now to fulfill its duty and see that Elfdalian speaking children could develop their language in preschool and school,” Yair Sapir, an associate professor of Swedish language at Kristianstad University, told The Local.

A petition in support of a motion handed in by the Green Party asking parliament to reconsider Elfdalian’s language status is beginning to attract widespread attention

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