‘Nornomania’ in the research on language in the Northern Isles

Gunnel Melchers | University of Stockholm

‘Nornomania’ refers to the alleged obsession with the Scandinavian (‘Norn’) heritage in research on the dialects of Orkney and Shetland, as first addressed by Smith (1996). This paper explores the impact of a ‘Norn bias’ on dialect research devoted to the Northern Isles, from Jakobsen’s monumental investigation at the end of the 19th century to ongoing projects. Whereas the commitment to rescue and single out the Scandinavian element in Shetland and Orkney dialect has resulted in massive and valuable data collections, it has also, to some extent, flawed the analysis and presentation of the material. The ideal researcher of these dialects should, in fact, not only be well versed in Old Norse and Norwegian dialects but also in Scots.

Published online: 18 April 2012
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.321.11mel

Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

No author info given

2015. In Norn im keltischen Kontext [NOWELE Supplement Series, 26],

Dance, Richard

2018. Words derived from Old Norse inSir Gawain and the Green Knight: An etymological survey. Transactions of the Philological Society 116:S2 ► pp. 1 ff.

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