Norwegian Heritage Series - Speaking the Language

A One Book, One Community Event

Join us Tuesday evenings in October to learn about local Norwegian history, with Petra Gunderson-Leith. This week's presentation will be about the Norwegian Language in Clay County.

Join us to learn about local Norwegian history with Archivist Petra Gunderson-Leith, from the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. This installment will be about the Norwegian language in Clay County. Generations after families immigrated to the United States, the Norwegian language continued to be spoken in communities around Clay County. The language being spoken was not stagnant or stuck in the 1800s; instead, it evolved to become a unique form of American Norwegian that varied from community to community. This phenomenon was documented by Norwegian scholars at universities in Norway and America. In Clay County, the evolution of one language group was documented by Orabel Thortvedt. Words like “fizzle-toot” meant “tattle-tale,” and an uninvited guest was called a “snultre jest.”
The presentation is open to all ages, and free-of-charge. Registration is not required.

This learning series is part of the annual One Book, One Community project. For more information on this year's title and events, visit 1book1community.org/.

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