Bergensk, or the Bergen dialect, is a dialect of Norwegian used in Bergen, Norway. It is easy for Norwegians to recognise, as it, perhaps particularly phonetically, is more distinguishable from other dialects in Hordaland than for example the Stavanger dialect is from the dialects of Rogaland and the Trondheim dialect is from Trøndelag dialects.
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Proto-Germanic, the common ancestor of all Germanic languages, in the 1st millennium BC evolved into Proto-Norse and later Old Norse. This subsequently developed into Western Norse and finally Old Norwegian about 1300. From 1350 to 1525, Norwegian went through a Middle Norwegian transition toward Modern Norwegian, partly fuelled by the devastating impact the Black Death had on Norway.
Bergen's strong foreign influence, such as Hanseatic League merchants in the period from about 1350 to 1750, has had a profound impact on the Bergen dialect. The Hanseatic merchants spoke variations of Low German. Also, Bergen being the major Norwegian city during the Dano-Norwegian union from 1536 to 1814, Bergensk absorbed more of the Danish than other Norwegian dialects. Being the origins of the written language and thus having higher status, Danish continued to have an impact on bergensk into the 20th century, and a Dano-Norwegian koiné sociolect, resembling Riksmål, is still spoken, although it in recent decades has become much more similar to Bokmål. Some originally Low German words found their way to the Bergen dialect through Danish. The long history of multi-lingual coexistence in Bergen has made the dialect more susceptible to simplifications, in order to ease communication. The influence of Danish and Low German are apparent in the modern Bergen dialect's phonetics.
Many, but not all, influences from these languages since spread from Bergen to parts of or the whole of Norway.
It is one of two dialects in Norway with only two grammatical genders, the other being the dialect spoken in Lyngen, all others have three (excepting sociolects in other Norwegian urban areas). The feminine gender disappeared in the 16th century. This was partly fuelled by an influence from Danish, which became the written language and already had abolished the female gender, and as a simplification to ease communication between Norwegians and Germans.
In Norwegian, common nouns may be indefinite or definite, while proper nouns are always indefinite. In the Bergen dialect, however, proper nouns of persons' given names are often definite, giving a less formal tone. For example, Kåre Willoch may be called Kåren (or Kåre'n, no written convention exists) or Willochen in bergensk, whereas this wound be considered incorrect elsewhere in Norway, excepting only some rural dialects in the proximity of Bergen. The reason for this emerging in Bergen is thought to be that titles, which are common nouns, were more or less used the same way as names, as Bergen, formerly Norway's megapolis, inhabited many people with the same given names, but a wide range of titles. For example, "Aleksander Skomaker" (in English "Aleksander Shoemaker"). As titles gradually were perceived as names, and could be in the definite form (as they were common nouns), after some time surnames and eventually given names were also used in the definite form.
The "r"s are Uvular trills, as in French. It probably spread to Bergen (and Kristiansand) some time in the 18th century, overtaking the Rolled r in the time span of about 2-3 generations. Until recent decades' developments in neighboring rural dialects, this was an easy way of distinguishing them from the Bergen dialect.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the literacy rate improved, which gave a strong influence from Riksmål, and later Bokmål. (Nynorsk, Norway's other written language, was considered rural and thus unprestigeous, and has not had a strong influence on the dialect). Subsequently, large parts of the German-inspired vocabulary unique for Bergen disappeared. Plural endings are used less frequently, for example huser (houses) has become hus, which is correct Bokmål. Also, pronunciations have shifted slightly towards standard East Norwegian (Standard Østnorsk), probably as a result of the shift of power towards Oslo. For example, "pære" (pear), which was formerly pronounced as péræ, is now pronounced pæræ.
Like almost all Norwegian dialects, Bergensk cannot be said to be either Bokmål or Nynorsk. While the vocabulary shows traits of both Bokmål and Nynorsk, it has characteristics that are not covered by any of these written languages. Also, Bokmål is often associated with Eastern Norwegian Standard Østnorsk pronunciation - although no official affiliation exists. This gives the claim that oral Bergensk "is" partly Bokmål ambiguities.
Although Nynorsk (Neo-Norwegian) has its stronghold in western Norway and the areas surrounding Bergen, most of the inhabitants of Bergen itself write Bokmål, and Bergen is genereally considered one of the strongholds of the Bokmål written language.
When English verbs are used as substitute for Norwegian verbs, in the past tense they are given an -et ending, like walket and drivet. This is different from the other Norwegian dialects, which often use an -a ending.