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STEPHEN J. WALTON
I a Aasen Ins i u e, Volda Uni e si y College
IVa aasEN aND HE GENEsIs
oF HE NEW No WEGIaN
W I EN laNGuaGE
Le me begin by hanking he a ange s o his con e ence o in i ing me
he e, and enabling me o sha e in you celeb a ions o he 150 h anni e -
sa y o he bi h o Jonas Jablonskis. Some ime du ing he 30 h o Decem-
be I shall aise my glass and wish him many happy e u ns.
I expec ha no e y many o you will ha e hea d o he ounde o
he New No wegian w i en language, I a aasen, jus as, I am a aid o
say, Jonas Jablonskis is any hing bu a household-name in No way, e en
amongs his o ical linguis s. I am emba assed o admi ha I oo had been
igno an o Jablonski’s con ibu ion o he s anda diza ion o Li huanian
un il o ob ious easons I looked him up ecen ly. I am ce ainly no
quali ied o gi e you a de ailed compa ison o he wo k o I a Aasen and
Jonas Jablonskis, bu i does s ike me e en om e y cu so y knowledge
o Jablonski’s con ibu ion ha he e a e in e es ing simila i ies and di e -
ences be ween hese wo men. In my p esen a ion o Aasen, I wan o
ocus on some o he mo e gene al opoi ha p esen hemsel es when we
look a he wo k o wha ha e amously been called he “ isiona y d udg-
es” who e i ed o c ea ed he s anda d languages o Eu ope in he eigh -
een h and nine een h cen u ies. I shall y no o d own you in a long lis
o wo ks you ha e ne e hea d o in a language you do no speak, o in
he minu iae o a poli ical his o y o no signi icance o you.
HIs o Ical coN Ex
I migh none heless be use ul o begin wi h a quick summa y o he his-
o ical con ex in which he c ea ion o he New No wegian w i en language
ook place. as I am su e you know, ea ly No h Ge manic unic w i ing
s. J. Wal oN. I a aasen and he Genesis o he New No wegian W i en language
133
was supe seded a e Ch is ianisa ion by w i ing in he La in sc ip , and a
lou ishing w i en cul u e de eloped in old No se, bo h in No way and
Iceland. This w i en adi ion was based bo h in he Chu ch and in cen es
o secula powe . a e 1319, howe e , he No wegian s a e was weakened,
and No way en e ed in o a se ies o unions wi h Denma k, sweden, o bo h,
in which he cen e o secula powe mo ed ou side he coun y. The Black
Dea h a ally weakened he a is oc a ic basis o medie al No wegian soci-
e y as well as he p ies hood. As mo e and mo e secula w i ing ook place
in Danish, No wegian emained in use in he ca holic chu ch, a leas un-
il he las No wegian-bo n a chbishop died in 1510. he e o ma ion, wi h
i s e nacula bible and inc eased li e acy, was en o ced in No way by he
Danish c own and h ough he medium o Danish. Inc easingly he p ies -
hood as well as he secula adminis a ion o he S a e came o be ec ui -
ed om Denma k, whils ade was in he hands o Hansea ic me chan s.
Whils sca e ed emnan s o popula w i ing in No wegian dialec s can be
ound om he six een h o he nine een h cen u ies, No wegian o all
in en s and pu poses su e ed i ually o al domain-loss as a w i en lan-
guage. No way is howe e a e y la ge coun y wi h a di icul opog aphy,
wi h no na u al cen e and a high deg ee o isola ion. No wegian peasan s
con inued h oughou he pe iod o speak local dialec s, whils hey ead
and w o e in Danish. F om 1739 compulso y con i ma ion in he s a e
Lu he an chu ch was in oduced, which had he consequence ha e e yone
a leas had o be able o ead he ca echism, and om ha yea a uni e -
sal udimen a y li e acy de eloped. An u ban adminis a i e, me can ile and
cle ical eli e a ose which spoke a o m o Danish ha g adually acqui ed
No wegian phonological cha ac e is ics, whils e aining Danish mo phol-
ogy, lexicon and syn ax, mos no ably in he e en ion o he Danish wo
gende sys em as opposed o he No wegian h ee gende sys em.
aasEN’s coN Ex
Wi hin his gene al con ex he e was a la ge deg ee o local a ia ion, bo h
in he de elopmen o dialec -speech and in he de elopmen o local li e -
a e cul u es. I a Aasen was bo n on 5 Augus 1813 in o a peasan amily
in Ø s a, in he egion o Sunnmø e, which comp ises he sou he nmos
a ea o he coun y o Mø e and omsdal, 320 km no h o be gen, 560 km
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no h-wes o Oslo. I is a egion di ided in o a coas al s ip wi h o sho e
islands, whe e ishing o med he basis o he economy, and a moun ainous,
indeed alpine, inne a ea o deep alleys whe e he sun does no pene a e
o mon hs on end in he win e , and whe e he clima e, al hough mild, is
ex ao dina ily we . The p incipal p oblem in his a ea, which was p e-
dominan ly ag icul u al, was how o emo e he ex eme quan i ies o wa-
e ha ell om he sky, cascaded down moun ainsides, o looded om
as - unning o en s. The bes solu ions o p oblems o his ype came by
he eigh een h cen u y o be ound in books.
I is no hen su p ising ha he mos ib an and dynamic peasan li e -
a e communi y in No way was o be ound by he end o he eigh een h
cen u y in Sunnmø e, ag icul u ally sel -su icien and hal way be ween he
ading cen e o Be gen and he cul u al and ecclesias ical cen e o T ond-
heim. Whils in ecen yea s clea e idence has come o ligh o a mo e
widesp ead li e acy han was p e iously hough e en in he se en een h-
cen u y (c . Fe 1995, 2003), he exis ence o a s ong li e a e peasan
cul u e in Sou he n Sunnmø e in he la e eigh een h-cen u y can be linked
o a numbe o iden i iable cul u al en ep eneu s. one is a p ies , Hans
S øm, ano he one o his pa ishione s, he ex ao dina y igu e o Si e
Aa lo . Aa lo used book-lea ning o acqui e knowledge and skills in d ain-
age and cul i a ion echniques, which enabled him i s o imp o e his home
a m so ha i became a model o o he a me s in he a ea and hen es-
ablished himsel on one o he ines and sunnies a ms in he a ea. Aa -
lo hen c ucially se abou a p og amme o popula enligh enmen h ough
li e acy which led by he u n o he nine een h-cen u y o he c ea ion o
a lending-lib a y o 2000 olumes, he i s p in ing p ess, and, om 1810-
1816, he i s newspape in u al No way. hese hen a e he co ne s ones
o he w i en cul u e in o which Aasen was bo n in 1813.
Unlike Jablonskis, Aasen ne e o mally s udied and was ne e educa ed
a a uni e si y, despi e ha ing he oppo uni y o a end a eache s’ semina y,
which would ha e pu him on he pa h o academic ins i u ions. He g ew
up, he younges o se en child en, on a small enan ed a m, bo h his
pa en s dead by he ime he was wel e. He ecei ed he no mal cu so y
educa ion om pe ipa e ic eache s which child en in u al No way ecei ed,
al oge he a ound en days’ ins uc ion a yea , bu he was augh by a sis e
o ead and ead a idly. A eigh een he became a pe ipa e ic eache himsel
o wo yea s and encoun e ed a i s hand he di icul ies child en had
lea ning no only o ead and w i e, bu o do so in a o eign language,
s. J. Wal oN. I a aasen and he Genesis o he New No wegian W i en language
135
Danish. a he age o wen y aasen spen wo yea s ecei ing ins uc ion
in he house o he u al dean on he nea by island o He øy, whe e he was
expec ed o acqui e su icien knowledge la e o be able o a end he
semina y; he did no do so bu he spen se en yea s as he u o o he
child en o an a my cap ain, u he no h bu s ill in he same egion.
as an adolescen , aasen used he lib a y on he aa lo s’ a m a Ekse ,
and he homes o bo h he dean and he cap ain con ained well-s ocked
collec ions o books as well as newspape s and pe iodicals om he capi al
and om ab oad. he yea a e aasen’s bi h, No way’s s a ehood was
es o ed, and i s independence p oclaimed by he assembly o no ables a
Eids oll, one o whom was si e aa lo . al hough he coun y immedi-
a ely ell in o a union wi h Sweden, which las ed un il 1905, i did so as
a ebo n poli ical en i y wi h i s own pa liamen and wi h i s own ela-
i ely democ a ic cons i u ion based on he p inciples o he F ench and
Ame ican e olu ions. By he 1830s he immedia e pos -independence
p oblems o bank up cy and es ablishmen o a unc ioning s a e adminis-
a ion had gi en way o new conce ns, inspi ed by Ge man and Danish
oman icism: wha we e he peculia i ies o he No wegian na ion, and
especially o he No wegian na ional language? Indeed, was he e a No -
wegian na ional language?
On he language ques ion he e was no ag eemen , nei he amongs
poli icians no schola s. he g ea Jacob G imm e en imagined as la e as
1840 ha No wegian peasan s we e le speaking a de o med a ie y o
Swedish a e he depa u e o wha he called “die K a de Sp ache” o
Iceland. his iew was also cu en in he No wegian uling class; one a-
mous legi ima ion o he con inua ion o he linguis ic union wi h Denma k
unde he new poli ical union wi h Sweden, p oceeded om he o ganicis
image y o he No wegian language as a mo ibund ui - ee which equi ed
he g a om new Danish s ock o keep i ali e. his iew was con a-
dic ed by he p oli ic poe Hen ik We geland, who a gued ha he No we-
gian landscape and No way’s his o y we e so dis inc om Denma k’s ha
a na ional No wegian w i en language should include ex ensi e lexical
bo owing om he peasan dialec s which we e supposed o ha e p ese ed
so much om old No se. a hi d iew also b ie ly eme ged in he wake
o he publica ion o a collec ion o ancien ballads in one o he mo e
conse a i e moun ain dialec s; a new w i en language should p oceed om
one o hese dialec s. No wegian should begin again, as he au ho o his
iew pu i , om whe e i le o i e hund ed yea s ea lie . In sho , by
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1832 he amous No wegian language “ques ion” had eme ged, a ques ion
which o he ex en ha we s ill ha e wo w i en o ms o No wegian which
so a ha e s ubbo nly e used o coalesce, is s ill wi h us.
We know ha aasen ollowed he language deba e closely in he 1830s
om his an age poin in his unusual and well-in o med peasan w i en
cul u e, and he pu his i s con ibu ion o i o pen in 1835, a he age
o wen y- wo. Wha was needed, he w o e, was a new w i en language
ha would e lec he democ a ic ideals o he new, pos -independence
cons i u ion, and be uly No wegian in he sense ha e e y inhabi an o
he coun y could enjoy a s ake in i ; ha he cons i u ion called w i en
Danish in No way “No wegian” did no in i sel make Danish No wegian.
Fu he mo e, he ask o cons uc ing he new na ional no m could no be
accomplished by well-meaning membe s o he danicised uling class. This
ask mus all o one b ough up, as he pu i , in a peasan ’s hu .
Aasen’s sho and analy ically b illian ex , w i en as I said in 1835,
was no published un il 1909, hi een yea s a e aasen’s dea h in 1896.
I was simply pu aside, bu i ci cula ed in he eading and w i ing com-
muni y o peasan s in which Aasen g ew up. I also con ains he plan o
wha we would now call language e i alisa ion ha Aasen spen he es
o his li e ca ying ou .
aasEN’s Wo K
Sick and i ed o se en yea s o u o ing child en – and who can blame
him? – aasen was by he ea ly 1840s despe a ely ying o ind a way o
lea e, be e himsel , and es ablish himsel ei he as a bo anis , o as a
language- e i e . Wi h he help o he bishop o be gen, who e e ed
aasen o he di ec o o he No wegian academy o sciences in ond-
heim, Aasen was gi en a g an o s udy he dialec s o he wes e n pa o
No way. since no-one be o e aasen had ac ually s udied he dialec s o
No way, wha hey con ained by way o hidden lexical and mo phological
easu es om he pas and wha ela ionship hey s ood in o each o he ,
was s ill i no en i ely unknown, hen a leas he objec o guess-wo k
and conjec u e. In sep embe 1842 aasen se o on his long ma ch, his
isiona y udge along he highways and bye-ways o u al No way. His
wo king hypo hesis – I am now pa aph asing him - was ha he dialec s
o No way we e epiphenomena o an unde lying diasys em. he idea o

s. J. Wal oN. I a aasen and he Genesis o he New No wegian W i en language
137
he unde lying uni y o he dialec s o No way was no aasen’s; in ac ,
Aasen had e y ew o iginal ideas a all, his success lay in applying o he
people’s ideas b illian ly. His in en ion was o ga he su icien e idence
om he dialec s o c ea e a s anda dized o m o No wegian which would
make he unde lying diasys em mani es and he eby in and o i sel con-
s i u e a uly democ a ic w i en language ha he majo i y o o dina y
people would ind easy o use. The agenda o he Academy in gi ing him
his ini ial g an was di e en . They we e in e es ed in unea hing elics o
a language hey imagined was apidly dying ou ; he an asy ha popula
o ms o No wegian a e on hei las legs is one s ill indulged in by con-
se a i e linguis ic p opagandis s o his day. Aasen se ou hen o bend
he g an he ecei ed o his own di e en and mo e ambi ious pu pose.
be ween 1842 and 1847 aasen a elled jus o e 4000 km, la gely on
oo , o collec empi ical linguis ic ma e ial. Du ing he ea lies pe iod he
de eloped ex emely e ec i e me hods o collec ion which, al hough hey
b oke jus abou e e y ule o la e sociolinguis ic esea ch bo h in e ms
o ep esen a i i y o in o man s, he elici ing o in o ma ion h ough di ec
ques ions e c., none heless enabled Aasen o sys ema ise his as empi ical
ma e ial as he wen along. In my biog aphy o Aasen, I call i Aasen’s “cu-
mula i e me hod” (Wal on 1996: 335-342). o pu i e y b ie ly, his ech-
nique consis ed in es ablishing i s ly he bounda ies o a dialec -a ea. He
would hen c ea e a sys ema ic collec ion o lexical and mo phological ma-
e ial a he lowes possible le el, ha o he “bygd”, o ex ended illage.
When he passed on o a new communi y he would epea he p ocess, and
when he c ossed signi ican isoglosses and ound himsel in a egion wi h a
signi ican ly di e en dialec om ha he had jus le , he would c ea e a
egional dic iona y and g amma o he p e ious a ea. The esul was a
py amidic s uc u e wi h illage-collec ions a he bo om, wo o h ee
le els abo e hem, and he na ional le el a he op. Jus as he illage col-
lec ions we e sys ema ised a he a ea le el, he a ea-collec ions a he e-
gional le el, he egional le el was sys ema ised a he na ional le el.
Now, one consequence o aasen’s me hod o wo king was ha i enabled
him o comple e his p ojec in an as onishingly sho ime. emembe , he
s a ed om sc a ch in 1842, bu by 1847 he had comple ed he manusc ip
o his G amma o he No wegian Popula language, and i was published
he yea a e . emembe , oo, ha o mos o his ime he was on he
oad. This is an ex ao dina y achie emen .
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A second consequence o he cumula i e me hod was ha since he
unde lying diasys em mani es ed i sel in all he a ious epiphenomena, i
ollowed ha once he i s epiphenomena had been sys ema ised, so, by
de aul , had he diasys em. In o he wo ds, he ma e ial which Aasen ga h-
e ed in i s came by i ue o i s place in he p ocess o collec ion and sys-
ema isa ion o play a undamen al ole in he appea ance o his ul ima e
no m. This has been endlessly misunde s ood subsequen ly as an i a-
ional o ideological p edilec ion o a chaic Wes No wegian dialec s, bu
his is no he case. I was, howe e , he case ha Aasen used he w i en
o ms o old No se o a bi a e in cases o di icul y in deciding how o
econs uc a diasys emic o m whe e no such o m exis ed in any li ing
dialec (and i anyone ca es o ask me o an example, I’ll gi e you one).
Unlike Jablonskis, Aasen g ew up in a simple peasan home and ne e
had a o mal academic educa ion. Also unlike Jablonskis, he was ne e
banished. In ac , he ne e once c ossed No way’s bo de s, no e en o
sweden. He ne e su e ed ep ession, bu was ewa ded wi h gene ous
s a e unding om, i s , he academy, hen he Pa liamen which only
ended on his dea h. Also unlike Jablonskis he had no p e ious wo k o
guide him, he e was no No wegian Juška o poin he way. and also again
unlike Jablonskis Aasen ended up no only c ea ing he new w i en lan-
guage, bu was also i s i s majo au ho , bo h o poe y, d ama, and es-
sayis ic p ose. Only he no el eluded him.
On he o he hand, Aasen’s mos impo an wo k was his dic iona y,
jus as was Jablonskis’. he i s , desc ip i e edi ion appea ed in 1850 wi h
no econs uc ed o ms, whils a second, no ma i e edi ion came ou in
ins almen s om 1871 o 1873. by his ime, aasen had al eady published
a no ma i e g amma , ansla ions, he i s play in New No wegian, a
collec ion o p o e bs, and a bes -selling collec ion o e se and was well
on his way o p oducing a hesau us, a b ie encyclopaedia o u al you h
and a Danish-No wegian dic iona y. Jus as Jonas Jablonskis espoused he
cause o wha I lea n om Zigmas Zinke ičius’ e y use ul His o y o he
Li huanian Language is called “žmonių kalba”, aasen a emp ed o c ea e
a uly popula language, no wi hs anding he ac ha la e language e-
o me s ha e seen good easons o disca d some o Aasens’ mo e e y-
mologising econs uc ions. Like Jablonskis and all hei e i alising col-
leagues, Aasen used his own li e a y wo ks o c ea e neologisms. The
s eng h o he Danish w i en adi ion in No way, he pene a ion o many
No wegian dialec s by w i en Danish, and widesp ead and polemical e-
s. J. Wal oN. I a aasen and he Genesis o he New No wegian W i en language
139
sis ance o wha was pe cei ed as comically his o ical o ms, all led Aasen
in he di ec ion o wha is equen ly and co ec ly called a “mode a e”
pu ism. aasen’s New No wegian has no hing like he pu is lexical ex em-
ism o Icelandic, o example.
NoWaDays
I in e p e his con e ence as e idence o an endu ing in e es in Li huania
in he wo k o Jablonskis, bu I am a aid I know no hing abou how he is
conside ed in his coun y oday; I am su e I shall lea n a lo abou his
whils I am he e. As a as Aasen is conce ned, I can ell you ha he e
was a lull in in e es in him a e his dea h and, o many yea s, li le
schola ly in e es in his wo k. His collec ed – bu expu ga ed – le e s and
dia ies we e published in he la e 1950s. S angely enough, only wo doc-
o al disse a ions ha e been w i en abou Aasen, bo h a he Uni e si y
o camb idge, and a hi d one is well unde way a he uni e si y o Ed-
inbu gh, bu none so a in No way. by he la e 1990s, howe e , a enewed
publicis ic in e es in aasen became isible wi h he aasen yea in 1996
(when no ewe han h ee biog aphies appea ed), he es ablishmen o The
Aasen Ins i u e in 1995, which began eaching mas e ’s p og ammes in
2002, and he opening o he na ional cen e o New No wegian W i en
Cul u e a he si e o Aasen’s bi h in 2000 (www.aasen une .no).
EFE ENcEs
a a s e n I. 1848: De No ske Folkesp ogs G amma ik, Ch a.
a a s e n I. 1850: O dbog o e de no ske Folkesp og, Ch a.
a a s e n I. 1864: No sk G amma ik, Ch a.
a a s e n I. 1873: No sk O dbog, Ch a.
F e J. 1995: Lesande bønde . Li e æ kul u i no ske allmugesam unn ø 1840,
oslo: uni e si e s o lage .
F e J. 2003: Sk i ande bønde . Sk i kul u på No d-Ves lande 1600–1850,
oslo: De No ske samlage .
Zinke ičius Z. 1998: The His o y o he Li huanian Language, Vilnius:
Mokslo i enciklopedijų leidybos ins i u as.
Wa l o n s. J. 1996: I a Aasens k opp, oslo: De No ske samlage .
Gau a 2010 11 17
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Kalbos Kul ū a | 83
IVa as aasENas I NauJosIos
No VEGų ašy INės Kalbos KIlMė
San auka
No egas I a as aasenas (osen, 1813–1896) bu o iš ų kul ū os eikėjų, ku ie
xVIII–xIx a. Eu opoje domėjosi als iečių a mėmis i jų pag indu siūlė ku i
naujas a gai in i au ines kalbas.
I. aaseno in elek inę b andą lėmė ai, kad jis augo nuošalioje kaimo bend uo-
menėje, ku i jau nuo xVIII a. pabaigos puoselėjo i in in ensy ią li e a ū inę
eiklą, o gana daug šios bend uomenės na ių p iklausė ilgesnes negu šim o me ų
aš ingumo adicijas u inčioms šeimoms. aigi jau anks y asis mokymas s ip i-
no jo įsi ikinimą, kad no egų als iečių a mės ė a pa i šius, po ku iuo slypi
bend a sis ema, . y. nekodi ikuo a au inė kalba.
Iš p adžių I. aasenas siekė su ienodin i y aujančią aš o kul ū ą, be ėliau
jis sumaniai p i aikė sa o ikslams pag indinių au inio oman izmo skelbėjų idė-
jas, gy a usias xIx a. idu yje. sa o galu inį siekį – naujos i isuo inai p iim-
inos ašy inės kalbos sukū imą – jis de ino su uome inių kul ū os eikėjų no ais
a gai in i senąją als iečių kalbą. Jo sumanymas sulaukė i inansinės, i mo alinės
pa amos, ad naujųjų laikų Eu opoje I. aasenas apo ienu pi mųjų als ybės
išlaikomų in elek ualų.
Viešumoje I. aasenas p isiėmė als iečio-in elek ualo aidmenį, o ai, no s i
skamba pa adoksaliai, leido jam daly au i pla esnėse kul ū os s e ose. apsk i ai,
I. aaseno nuopelnai siejami ne ik su p ak inės i ašy inės kalbos no mos kū i-
mu – jis y a pi masis li e a ū inę i es e inę e ę u inčių a kalba suku ų
eks ų au o ius. Didžiausio pasisekimo sulaukė poezija i pjesės, no s jam neblo-
gai sekėsi ašy i i esė.
Daugelį me ų I. aaseno da bai i nuopelnai bu o nepag įs ai pami š i, i ik
pas a aisiais me ais susidomėjimas jo eikla ge okai išaugo. Nuo 1996-ųjų, paskelb-
ų I a o aaseno me ais, pa eng os ben ys išsamios kalbininko biog a ijos. P a ėjus
da ke e iems me ams jo gim inėje a ida y as muziejus, o susidomėjimas I a o
aaseno eikla i oliau nemažėja. Jo da bai daba y a poli ikos i kalbos iloso ijos
objek as, o a ėjan 2013-iesiems, kai bus minima I a o aaseno 200 me ų gimimo
sukak is, dėmesys, ikė ina, ik s ip ės.
ši publikacija y a Jono Jablonskio kon e encijoje (2010) au o iaus skai y as p anešimas.
Red. pas aba.
s EPHEN J. Wal oN
I a Aasen Ins i u e
Volda Uni e si y College
No way
[email p o ec ed]