Gøtudanskt accent
Gøtudanskt/Dano-Faroese (pronounced [ˈkøːʰtʊtaŋ̊kst], Faroese for "(Norðra)gøta Danish" or alternatively "street Danish") is a name for a variant of Danish language spoken in the Faroe Islands. Its intonation and pronunciation are influenced by Faroese.
Etymology
Poulsen (1993) attributes the term to a teacher (1850–1930) from the small village of Gøta on Eysturoy who spoke Danish with a lot of Faroeisms.
Definition of Gøtudanskt
Gøtudanskt/Dano-Faroese is highly proficient (L2) Danish spoken mainly as the written Danish standard by Faroe Islanders with Faroese interference at all levels of language processing. It is characteristic for the elder generation. The younger generation usually (but not always) uses standard Danish pronunciation.
An example of Gøtudanskt is the jingle children use when sledging: Væk af vejen! Konge skrejen. ‘Away from the road! The king is sledding’, where skrejen comes from the Faroese verb skreiða ‘to sled’. Another is from Poulsen (1993): De store for flesen, de kan brække traver, where for flesen corresponds to Faroese fyri flesini and traver to Faroese tráður, ‘The big ones (coalfish) outside the skerry can break fishing rods’.
The traditional Faroese way of singing hymns (the Kingo song) uses Gøtudanskt. The metal band Týr's songs "Ramund Hin Unge" on the album Eric the Red and "Sinklars vísa" on the album Land are also sung in Gøtudanskt.
References
- Petersen, H. P. (to appear) Væk af vejen, konge skrejen. Gøtudanskt or Dano-Faroese. RASK
- Poulsen, J. H. W. 1993. Gøtudanskt. Odense University Press. — Twenty-eight papers presented to Hans Bekker-Nielsen on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, 28 April 1993.