114-576: 1,230,354 (0.4%) Norwegian alone Norwegian Americans ( Norwegian : Norskamerikanere ) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway . Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans, according to the 2021 U.S. census; most live in the Upper Midwest and on
228-596: A 14-week journey. The ship landed in New York City, where it was at first impounded for exceeding its passenger limit. After intervention from President John Quincy Adams , the passengers moved on to settle in Kendall, New York with the help of Andreas Stangeland , witnessing the opening of the Erie Canal en route. After making the journey to Kendall, Cleng Peerson became a traveling emissary for Norwegian immigrants and died in
342-511: A Norwegian Settlement near Cranfills Gap , Texas in 1865. The descendants of these immigrants are referred to as " Sloopers ", in reference to the sloop ship that brought them from Norway. Many of the 1825 immigrants moved on from the Kendall Settlement in the mid-1830s, settling in Illinois and Wisconsin . These "Sloopers" gave impetus to the westward movement of Norwegians by founding
456-777: A Norwegian lutheran identity today. Luther College , located in Decorah, Iowa was founded by Norwegian immigrants in 1861 and is today associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota is also associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and was founded by Norwegian settlers in 1891. Other Norwegian Lutheran colleges include: Augsburg University , Augustana College , Bethany Lutheran College , Pacific Lutheran University , St. Olaf College , and Waldorf College . Use of
570-402: A Norwegian-American journalist recorded that "A newcomer from Norway who arrives here will be surprised indeed to find in the heart of the country, more than a thousand miles from his landing place, a town where language and way of life so unmistakably remind him of his native land." This sentiment was expressed frequently as the immigrants attempted to seek acceptance and negotiate entrance into
684-417: A certain amount of interaction with a larger commercial environment, from working for an American farmer to doing business with the seed dealer, the banker, and the elevator operator. Products had to be grown and sold—all of which pulled Norwegian farmers into social contact with their American neighbors. Norwegian-American debating societies provided opportunities for immigrants to discuss and debate issues of
798-659: A consequence, no fewer than 14 Lutheran synods were founded by Norwegian immigrants between 1846 and 1900. In 1917 most of the factions reconciled doctrinal differences and organized the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America . It was one of the church bodies that in 1960 formed the American Lutheran Church , which in 1988 became a constituent part of the newly created Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Several Lutheran colleges and higher education institutions were founded by Norwegian Americans, which retain
912-435: A distinct dialect at the level of farm clusters. Dialects are in some cases so dissimilar as to be unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners. Many linguists note a trend toward regionalization of dialects that diminishes the differences at such local levels; there is, however, a renewed interest in preserving dialects. Norwegian nouns are inflected for number (singular/plural) and for definiteness (indefinite/definite). In
1026-539: A few dialects, definite nouns are also inflected for the dative case . Norwegian nouns belong to three noun classes (genders): masculine, feminine and neuter. All feminine nouns can optionally be inflected using masculine noun class morphology in Bokmål due to its Danish heritage. In comparison, the use of all three genders (including the feminine) is mandatory in Nynorsk. All Norwegian dialects have traditionally retained all
1140-679: A native of Bergen , Norway, was one of the earliest settlers of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, having immigrated in 1633. Another early Norwegian settler, Albert Andriessen Bradt , arrived in New Amsterdam in 1637. Approximately 60 people had settled in the Manhattan area before the region was taken over by the British Empire in 1664. The total number of Norwegians that settled in New Netherland
1254-441: A new Norwegian language at the age of 22. He traveled around the country collecting words and examples of grammar from the dialects and comparing the dialects among the different regions. He examined the development of Icelandic , which had largely escaped the influences under which Norwegian had come. He called his work, which was published in several books from 1848 to 1873, Landsmål , meaning 'national language'. The name Landsmål
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#17328724154251368-462: A new holiday of patriotic celebration. In American popular culture, Norwegian Americans were the central characters in the popular CBS network television series, Mama (1949–1956). Set in San Francisco around 1900, the weekly program focused on working-class family life. They also form the background to Garrison Keillor 's " Lake Wobegon " series of novels as well as A Prairie Home Companion ,
1482-494: A noun, unlike English which has a separate article, the , to indicate the same. In general, almost all nouns in Bokmål follow these patterns (like the words in the examples above): In contrast, almost all nouns in Nynorsk follow these patterns (the noun gender system is more pronounced than in Bokmål): There is in general no way to infer what grammatical gender a specific noun has, but there are some patterns of nouns where
1596-592: A radio variety show that contains much humorous material from the "Norwegian American Midwest". According to a 2018 paper, Norwegian immigrants who lived in large ethnic enclaves in the United States in the 1910 and 1920 "had lower occupational earnings, were more likely to be in farming occupations, and were less likely to be in white-collar occupations." Today, the traditions practiced by Norwegian Americans are distinct from those practiced in modern-day Norway. Norwegian Americans are primarily descendants of 19th or early 20th century working class and rural Norwegians, and
1710-627: A settlement in the Fox River area of Illinois . A small urban colony of Norwegians had its genesis in Chicago at about the same time. While about 65 Norwegians emigrated via Sweden and elsewhere in the intervening years, no emigrant ships left Norway for the New World until the 1836 departures of the Den Norske Klippe and Norden . In 1837, a group of immigrants from Tinn emigrated via Gothenburg to
1824-499: A silver medal in the slalom race. Eriksen was the first skier from outside the Alps to win an Olympic men's alpine gold medal. He also won three gold medals at the 1954 World Championships in Åre , Sweden , and a bronze medal at the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, Colorado . Shortly after his success in the 1952 Olympics, Eriksen moved to America where he continues to live. He worked as
1938-735: A ski-instructor and ski school-director at various ski schools such as Sugarbush in Vermont, and Aspen in Colorado. He is currently director of skiing at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, and also serves as host of the Stein Eriksen Lodge, a ski lodge in Deer Valley, Utah . Norwegian language Norwegian ( endonym : norsk [ˈnɔʂːk] ) is a North Germanic language from
2052-413: Is Bokmål will study Nynorsk as a mandatory subject throughout both elementary and high school. A 2005 poll indicates that 86.3% use primarily Bokmål as their daily written language, 5.5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7.5% use primarily Nynorsk. Thus, 13% are frequently writing Nynorsk, though the majority speak dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål. Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing
2166-440: Is a pitch-accent language with two distinct pitch patterns, like Swedish. They are used to differentiate two-syllable words with otherwise identical pronunciation. For example, in many East Norwegian dialects, the word bønder ('farmers') is pronounced using the simpler tone 1, while bønner ('beans' or 'prayers') uses the more complex tone 2. Though spelling differences occasionally differentiate written words, in most cases
2280-411: Is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The now-abandoned official policy to merge Bokmål and Nynorsk into one common language called Samnorsk through a series of spelling reforms has created a wide spectrum of varieties of both Bokmål and Nynorsk. The unofficial form known as Riksmål is considered more conservative than Bokmål and is far closer to Danish while
2394-712: Is comparable with that of French on English after the Norman conquest . In the late Middle Ages, dialects began to develop in Scandinavia because the population was rural and little travel occurred. When the Reformation came from Germany, Martin Luther 's High German translation of the Bible was quickly translated into Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic. Norway entered a union with Denmark in 1397 and Danish, over time, replaced Middle Norwegian as
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#17328724154252508-474: Is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) (0.24%) is water. Kendall borders Lake Ontario on its north. The eastern boundary, marked by New York State Route 272 , is the on Monroe County , New York , ( Town of Hamlin ). The Lake Ontario State Parkway parallels the shore of Lake Ontario. North-south highway New York State Route 237 (Kendall Highway) intersects east-west highway New York State Route 18 (Roosevelt Highway) south of Kendall village. As of
2622-451: Is not known. In the period that followed, many of the original Norwegian settlers in the area remained, including the family of Pieter Van Brugh , a colonial mayor of Albany , who was the grandson of early Norwegian immigrants. Many immigrants during the early 1800s sought religious freedom. From the mid-1800s however, the driving forces behind Norwegian immigration to the United States were agricultural disasters which led to poverty , from
2736-468: Is noted for his work in physics. In engineering, Clayton Jacobson II is credited with the invention of the modern personal watercraft . Ole Singstad was a pioneer of underwater tunnels. Ole Evinrude invented the first outboard motor with practical commercial application, recognizable today on modern motorboats . Astronaut Deke Slayton was the docking module pilot for the Apollo–Soyuz mission,
2850-423: Is now considered their classic forms after a reform in 1917. Riksmål was, in 1929, officially renamed Bokmål (literally 'book language'), and Landsmål to Nynorsk (literally 'new Norwegian'). A proposition to substitute Danish-Norwegian ( dansk-norsk ) for Bokmål lost in parliament by a single vote. The name Nynorsk , the linguistic term for modern Norwegian , was chosen to contrast with Danish and emphasise
2964-597: Is regulated by the Norwegian Academy , which determines acceptable spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. There is also an unofficial form of Nynorsk, called Høgnorsk , discarding the post-1917 reforms, and thus close to Ivar Aasen's original Landsmål. It is supported by Ivar Aasen-sambandet , but has found no widespread use. In 2010, 86.5% of the pupils in the primary and lower secondary schools in Norway receive education in Bokmål, while 13.0% receive education in Nynorsk. From
3078-563: Is relatively secular, Norwegian-Americans are among the most religious ethnic groups in the United States, with 90% acknowledging a religious affiliation in 1998. Because membership to the State Church was mandatory until the 19th century in Norway, all ethnic Norwegians have traditionally been Lutheran. Today, many Norwegian Americans remain Lutheran, though significant numbers converted to other Christian denominations. Some Norwegians immigrated to
3192-744: Is rising in the first syllable and falling in the second syllable or somewhere around the syllable boundary. The pitch accents (as well as the peculiar phrase accent in the low-tone dialects) give the Norwegian language a "singing" quality that makes it easy to distinguish from other languages. Accent 1 generally occurs in words that were monosyllabic in Old Norse , and accent 2 in words that were polysyllabic. The Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters. The letters c , q , w , x and z are only used in loanwords . As loanwords are assimilated into Norwegian, their spelling might change to reflect Norwegian pronunciation and
3306-522: Is sometimes interpreted as 'rural language' or 'country language', but this was clearly not Aasen's intended meaning. The name of the Danish language in Norway was a topic of hot dispute throughout the 19th century. Its proponents claimed that it was a language common to Norway and Denmark, and no more Danish than Norwegian. The proponents of Landsmål thought that the Danish character of the language should not be concealed. In 1899, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson proposed
3420-459: Is to write in dialect for informal use. When writing an SMS, Facebook update, or fridge note, many people, especially young ones, write approximations of the way they talk rather than using Bokmål or Nynorsk. There is general agreement that a wide range of differences makes it difficult to estimate the number of different Norwegian dialects. Variations in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation cut across geographical boundaries and can create
3534-534: Is today to a large extent the same language as Bokmål though somewhat closer to the Danish language. It is regulated by the unofficial Norwegian Academy , which translates the name as 'Standard Norwegian'. The other is Høgnorsk ('High Norwegian'), a more purist form of Nynorsk, which maintains the language in an original form as given by Ivar Aasen and rejects most of the reforms from the 20th century; this form has limited use. Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, but not for how to speak
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3648-490: Is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, and also in the upper parts of mountain valleys in the southern and eastern parts of Norway. Examples are Setesdal , the western part of Telemark county ( fylke ) and several municipalities in Hallingdal , Valdres , and Gudbrandsdalen . It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago, it also had strongholds in many rural parts of Trøndelag (mid-Norway) and
3762-770: The Ballard , a district Seattle heavily settled by Scandinavian immigrants, serves as a community gathering place. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to the experiences of a single immigrant population and has an extensive collection of Norwegian-American artifacts. Chapel in the Hills is an exact replica of the Borgund stave church in Norway, located in Rapid City, South Dakota . The church's site also maintains other period typical historical buildings. Although today Norway
3876-622: The Bardahl company, Conrad Nicholson Hilton was the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, Kenneth Harry Olsen co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation , James Trane and Reuben Trane founded Trane Inc. , N. O. Nelson was the founder of the N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co. and Alfred M. Moen founded Moen Incorporated . Gary Kildall , creator of the CP/M operating system , founded Digital Research in 1974. In sports, Knute Rockne became one of
3990-619: The British Isles , France ( Normandy ), North America, and Kievan Rus . In all of these places except Iceland and the Faroes, Old Norse speakers went extinct or were absorbed into the local population. Around 1030, Christianity came to Scandinavia , bringing with it an influx of Latin borrowings and the Roman alphabet . These new words were related to church practices and ceremonies, although many other loanwords related to general culture also entered
4104-590: The European Potato Failure of the 1840s to the Famine of 1866–68 . The agricultural revolution also put farmers out of work and pushed them to seek employment in a more industrialized America. The earliest immigrants from Norway to America emigrated mostly for religious motives, especially as members of the Religious Society of Friends or as Haugeans . To a great extent, this early emigration from Norway
4218-503: The Fox River Settlement , near present-day Sheridan, Illinois . It was the writings of Ole Rynning , who traveled to the U.S. on the Ægir in 1837 that energized Norwegian immigration, however. Throughout much of the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, a vast majority of Norwegian emigration to both the United States and Canada followed a route commonly shared by most Swedish, Danish and Finnish emigrants of
4332-595: The Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Age . Today there are two official forms of written Norwegian, Bokmål (Riksmål) and Nynorsk (Landsmål), each with its own variants. Bokmål developed from the Dano-Norwegian language that replaced Middle Norwegian as the elite language after the union of Denmark–Norway in the 16th and 17th centuries and then evolved in Norway, while Nynorsk
4446-638: The Homestead Act of 1862 promised fertile, flat land. As a result, settlement trended westward with each passing year. The majority of Norwegian agrarian settlements developed in the northern region of the so-called Homestead Act Triangle between the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. Early Norwegian settlements were in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois, but moved westward into Wisconsin, Minnesota , and
4560-486: The Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway , where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish , Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties; some Norwegian and Swedish dialects , in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages , constitute
4674-550: The Maguire Act of 1895 and the White Act of 1898 , ended corporal punishment and abolished imprisonment for deserting a vessel. The Seamen's Act of 1915 included all these and was his main project. Minnesota Democratic Senators Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale served as the 38th and 42nd vice presidents of the United States, respectively, and were nominees for president in 1968 and 1984, respectively. Earl Warren of California
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4788-515: The New York Dolls and Don Dokken of the heavy metal band Dokken have Norwegian ancestry. Paul Waaktaar-Savoy of the synth pop band a-ha is Norwegian, having been born and raised in Oslo . He is a naturalized American citizen and has homes in both Oslo and New York City. In journalism, Eric Sevareid , was a well-known a CBS reporter and commentator. In literature, Ole Edvart Rølvaag wrote about
4902-678: The Norse-American Centennial celebration was held at the Minnesota State Fair . A number of towns in the United States, particularly in the Upper Midwest , are known for their display of Norwegian heritage, including: Stoughton, Wisconsin ; Sunburg, Minnesota ; Ulen, Minnesota ; and Westby, Wisconsin . Starbuck, Minnesota is known to produce the largest lefse in the world. Other regions known for their Norwegian heritage or origins include: Norge, Virginia ; Petersburg, Alaska ; Poulsbo, Washington ; and Lapskaus Boulevard ,
5016-530: The Norwegian language in the United States was at its peak between 1900 and World War I , then declined in the 1920s and 1930s. Over one million Americans spoke Norwegian as their primary language from 1900 to World War I, and more than 3,000 Lutheran churches in the Upper Midwest used Norwegian as their sole language. There were hundreds of Norwegian-language newspapers across the Upper Midwest. However, use of
5130-652: The Sons and Daughters of Norway and the Chicago Norske Klub also serve to preserve their ethnic heritage. Culinary customs (e.g., lutefisk and lefse ), national dress ( bunad ), and Norwegian holidays ( Syttende Mai ) are also popular. Some regional festivals celebrate Norwegian heritage, predominantly in areas with a high density of Norwegian Americans, such as Norsk Høstfest (English : Norwegian Autumn Festival ), an annual festival held in Minot, North Dakota . In 1925,
5244-643: The University of Washington , University of Oregon , University of Wisconsin–Madison , and the Indiana University offer Norwegian as a language within their Germanic language studies programs. Two Norwegian Lutheran churches in the United States continue to use Norwegian as a primary liturgical language, Mindekirken in Minneapolis and Minnekirken in Chicago. There are also several Norwegian Seaman's Churches in
5358-619: The West Coast of the United States . Norsemen from Greenland and Iceland were the first Europeans to reach North America. Leif Erikson reached North America via Norse settlements in Greenland around the year 1000. Norse settlers from Greenland founded the settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows in Vinland , in what is now Newfoundland, Canada . These settlers failed to establish a permanent settlement because of conflicts with indigenous people and within
5472-491: The census of 2000, there were 2,838 people, 979 households, and 794 families residing in the town. The population density was 86.3 inhabitants per square mile (33.3/km ). There were 1,103 housing units at an average density of 33.5 per square mile (12.9/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 97.04% White , 0.63% African American , 0.56% Native American , 0.18% Asian , 0.56% from other races , and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of
5586-457: The 1920s, Norwegian-Americans increasingly became suburban. Norwegian Americans cultivated bonds with Norway , sending gifts home often and offering aid during natural disasters and other hardships in Norway. Relief in the form of collected funds was forthcoming without delay. Only during conflicts within the Union between Sweden and Norway , however, did Norwegian Americans become involved directly in
5700-567: The 1959 standard. Therefore, a small minority of Nynorsk enthusiasts use a more conservative standard called Høgnorsk . The Samnorsk policy had little influence after 1960, and was officially abandoned in 2002. While the sound systems of Norwegian and Swedish are similar, considerable variation exists among the dialects. The retroflex consonants only appear in East Norwegian dialects as a result of sandhi , combining / ɾ / with / d / , / l / , / n / , / s / , and / t / . The realization of
5814-475: The 20th century, being used by large newspapers, encyclopedias, and a significant proportion of the population of the capital Oslo, surrounding areas, and other urban areas, as well as much of the literary tradition. Since the reforms of 1981 and 2003 (effective in 2005), the official Bokmål can be adapted to be almost identical with modern Riksmål. The differences between written Riksmål and Bokmål are comparable to American and British English differences . Riksmål
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#17328724154255928-562: The American Community Survey in 2005 showed that only 39,524 people use the language at home. Still, most Norwegian Americans can speak a common Norwegian with easy words like hello, yes and no. Today, there are still 1,209 people who only understand Norwegian or who do not speak English well in the United States . In 2000 this figure was 215 for those under 17 years old, whereas it increased to 216 in 2005. For other age groups,
6042-642: The Dakotas. Later waves of Norwegian immigration went to the Western states such as Montana , Washington , Oregon , and Utah through missionary efforts which gained Norwegian and Swedish converts to Mormonism . Additionally, craftsmen also immigrated to a larger, more diverse market. Until recently, there was a Norwegian area in Sunset Park, Brooklyn originally populated by Norwegian craftsmen. The upper Midwest became home to most immigrants. In 1910 almost 80 percent of
6156-494: The Dano-Norwegian koiné , known as "cultivated everyday speech." A small adjustment in this direction was implemented in the first official reform of the Danish language in Norway in 1862 and more extensively after his death in two official reforms in 1907 and 1917. Meanwhile, a nationalistic movement strove for the development of a new written Norwegian. Ivar Aasen , a botanist and self-taught linguist, began his work to create
6270-450: The Ministry of Culture, official spelling, grammar, and vocabulary for the Norwegian language. The board's work has been subject to considerable controversy throughout the years. Both Nynorsk and Bokmål have a great variety of optional forms. The Bokmål that uses the forms that are close to Riksmål is called moderate or conservative , depending on one's viewpoint, while the Bokmål that uses
6384-516: The Norse community. The Netherlands, and especially the cities of Amsterdam and Hoorn , had strong commercial ties with the coastal lumber trade of Norway during the 17th century and many Norwegians immigrated to Amsterdam. Some of them settled in Dutch colonies, although never in large numbers. There were also Norwegian settlers in Pennsylvania in the first half of the 18th century, upstate New York in
6498-415: The North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are not mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse , the common language of
6612-482: The Town of Murray became the new Town of Kendall. It was formerly called "North Murray" and was settled slowly due to swampy terrain, being called the "Black North", due to the bogs and forests. The town was named after Amos Kendall , the U.S. Postmaster General under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren . According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 33.0 square miles (85 km ), of which 32.9 square miles (85 km )
6726-438: The U.S. that have services in Norwegian. They are located in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, New Orleans, and New York. Literary writing in Norwegian in North America includes the works of Ole Edvart Rølvaag , whose best-known work Giants in the Earth (" I de dage ", literally In Those Days ) was published in both English and Norwegian versions. Rølvaag was a professor from 1906 to 1931 at St. Olaf College, where he
6840-449: The United States in hope of practicing other religions freely. A significant number of Norwegian immigrants and their descendants were Methodists concentrated especially in Chicago, with its own theological seminary, while others converted to become Baptists . There were also groups of Quakers , relating back to "the Sloopers," and Mormons who joined the trek to the "New Jerusalem" in Salt Lake City, Utah . Most Norwegian immigrants to
6954-416: The United States was begun at the Kendall Settlement in 1825. They settled in a body along the lakeshore in the northeast part of town. Norwegian-American pioneer leader Cleng Peerson subsequently founded a settlement in the Fox River Valley of Illinois during 1834, near the community of Norway, Illinois . The Town of Kendall was incorporated from the Town of Murray . On April 7, 1837, about half of
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#17328724154257068-430: The United States, particularly in the migration wave between the 1860s and early 20th century, were members of the Church of Norway , an evangelical Lutheran church established by the Constitution of Norway . As they settled in their new homeland and forged their own communities, however, Norwegian-American Lutherans diverged from the state church in many ways, forming synods and conferences that ultimately contributed to
7182-425: The age of 40 still spoke Norwegian as their primary language (although many still understood the language). As such, they were not passing the language on to their children, the next generation of Norwegian Americans. Some sources stated that today there are 81,000 Americans who speak Norwegian as their primary language. According to the U.S. Census however, only 55,475 Americans spoke Norwegian at home as of 2000, and
7296-407: The average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.7 males. The median income for a household in the town
7410-551: The center of Norwegian American activity up until the American Civil War , a war in which a number of Norwegian Americans fought for the Union, such as in the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment . In the 1850s Norwegian land seekers began moving into both Iowa and Minnesota , and serious migration to the Dakotas was underway by the 1870s. Norwegian immigration through the years was predominantly motivated by economic concerns. Compounded by crop failures, Norwegian agricultural resources were unable to keep up with population growth, and
7524-508: The city of Seattle , became another center of immigrant life. Enclaves of Norwegian immigrants emerged as well in greater Brooklyn , New York , in Alaska , and Texas . After Minnesota, Wisconsin had the most Norwegians in 1990, followed by California, Washington, and North Dakota. In a letter from Chicago dated November 9, 1855, Elling Haaland from Stavanger, Norway , assured his relatives back home that "of all nations Norwegians are those who are most favored by Americans." Svein Nilsson,
7638-474: The day in an atmosphere conducive to learning while also developing skills useful in American life. Beginning in 1889, both the Wig Debate Society and Forward Debate Society , located in Minnesota, hosted weekly debates. Many topics were discussed including voting rights , women's rights , and racism . These societies helped to develop friendship and understanding. In places like Brooklyn , Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle, Norwegian-Americans interacted with
7752-644: The eighth grade onwards, pupils are required to learn both. Out of the 431 municipalities in Norway, 161 have declared that they wish to communicate with the central authorities in Bokmål, 116 (representing 12% of the population) in Nynorsk, while 156 are neutral. Of 4,549 state publications in 2000, 8% were in Nynorsk, and 92% in Bokmål. The large national newspapers ( Aftenposten , Dagbladet , and VG ) are published in Bokmål or Riksmål. Some major regional newspapers (including Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad ), many political journals, and many local newspapers use both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A newer trend
7866-476: The emigrant over traveling to the U.S. directly. "They moved on from Quebec both by rail and by steamer for another thousand or more miles (1,600 km) for a steerage fare of slightly less than $ 9.00." Steamers from Quebec, Canada brought them to Toronto, Canada then the immigrants often traveled by rail for 93 miles to Collingwood, Ontario , Canada on Lake Huron, from where steamers transported them across Lake Michigan to Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay. Not until
7980-423: The first centuries AD in what is today Southern Sweden. It is the earliest stage of a characteristically North Germanic language, and the language attested in the Elder Futhark inscriptions, the oldest form of the runic alphabets . A number of inscriptions are memorials to the dead, while others are magical in content. The oldest are carved on loose objects, while later ones are chiseled in runestones . They are
8094-494: The first crewed international spaceflight. In religion, Olaf M. Norlie created the Simplified New Testament . Herman Amberg Preus was a key leader in the development of the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Bernt Julius Muus was the principal founder and Thorbjorn N. Mohn was the first president of St. Olaf College . Peter Laurentius Larsen and Ulrik Vilhelm Koren both helped found Luther College (Iowa) . In business, Ole Bardahl founded
8208-496: The forms that are close to Nynorsk is called radical . Nynorsk has forms that are close to the original Landsmål and forms that are close to Bokmål. Opponents of the spelling reforms aimed at bringing Bokmål closer to Nynorsk have retained the name Riksmål and employ spelling and grammar that predate the Samnorsk movement. Riksmål and conservative versions of Bokmål have been the de facto standard written language of Norway for most of
8322-634: The gender can be inferred. For instance, all nouns ending in - nad will be masculine in both Bokmål and Nynorsk (for instance the noun jobbsøknad , which means 'job application'). Most nouns ending in - ing will be feminine, like the noun forventning ('expectation'). Kendall, New York Kendall is a town in Orleans County , just west of the town of Hamlin in Monroe County , in New York State , United States. The population of Kendall
8436-578: The greatest coaches in college football history, while Babe Zaharias was named by the Guinness Book of Records as the most versatile female athlete of all time. Zaharias achieved outstanding success in golf , basketball and track and field athletics . Additionally, Stein Eriksen won the gold medal in the Giant Slalom event at the 1952 Winter Olympics , which were held in Oslo , Norway . He also won
8550-417: The historical connection to Old Norwegian. Today, this meaning is often lost, and it is commonly mistaken as a "new" Norwegian in contrast to the "real" Norwegian Bokmål. Bokmål and Nynorsk were made closer by a reform in 1938. This was a result of a state policy to merge Nynorsk and Bokmål into a single language, to be called Samnorsk . A 1946 poll showed that this policy was supported by 79% of Norwegians at
8664-518: The immigrant experience, especially the Norwegian-American experience in The Dakotas . Rølvaag's home is a National Historic Landmark . Tomi Lahren , is a FOX Nation host and former host of her own The Blaze TV show as well as a FOX News commentator. In labor unions, Andrew Furuseth was largely responsible for the passage of four reforms that changed the lives of American mariners. Two of them,
8778-571: The language declined in part due to the rise of nationalism among the American population during and after World War I. During this period, readership of Norwegian-language publications fell. Norwegian Lutheran churches began to hold their services in English, and the younger generation of Norwegian Americans were encouraged to speak English rather than Norwegian. When Norway itself was liberated from Nazi Germany in 1945, relatively few Norwegian Americans under
8892-467: The language of the elite, the church, literature, and the law. When the union with Denmark ended in 1814, the Dano-Norwegian koiné had become the mother tongue of around 1% of the population. From the 1840s, some writers experimented with a Norwegianised Danish by incorporating words that were descriptive of Norwegian scenery and folk life, and adopting a more Norwegian syntax. Knud Knudsen proposed to change spelling and inflection in accordance with
9006-596: The language. The Scandinavian languages at this time are not considered to be separate languages, although there were minor differences among what are customarily called Old Icelandic, Old Norwegian , Old Gutnish , Old Danish, and Old Swedish . The economic and political dominance of the Hanseatic League between 1250 and 1450 in the main Scandinavian cities brought large Middle Low German –speaking populations to Norway. The influence of their language on Scandinavian
9120-555: The language. No standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most Norwegians speak their own dialects in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in many other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect, whether it coincides with the written norms or not, is accepted as correct spoken Norwegian. However, in areas where East Norwegian dialects are used, a tendency exists to accept a de facto spoken standard for this particular regional dialect, Urban East Norwegian or Standard East Norwegian (Norwegian: Standard østnorsk ), in which
9234-520: The languages in Europe, Norwegian derives from Proto-Indo-European . As early Indo-Europeans spread across Europe, they became isolated from each other and new languages developed. In northwest Europe, the Germanic languages evolved, further branching off into the North Germanic languages , of which Norwegian is one. Proto-Norse is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic during
9348-517: The latter half of the same century, and in New England during both halves. During the colonial period, Norwegian immigrants often joined the Dutch seeking opportunities for trade and a new life in America. The Dutch often took Norwegians with them to the New World for their sailing expertise. There was a Norwegian presence in New Amsterdam in the early part of the 17th century. Hans Hansen Bergen ,
9462-459: The majority immigrating to the U.S., and lesser numbers immigrating to the Dominion of Canada. With the exception of Ireland , no single country contributed a larger percentage of its population to the United States than Norway. Data from the U.S. Office of Immigration statistics of the number of Norwegians obtaining lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. from 1870 to 2016 highlights two peaks in
9576-441: The migration flow, the first one in the 1880s, and the second one in the first decade of the 20th century. It also shows an abrupt decrease after 1929, during the economic crisis of the 1930s. Beginning in 1836, Norwegian immigrants arrived in significant numbers annually. From the early "slooper" settlement in Illinois , Norwegian pioneers followed the general spread of population northwestward into Wisconsin . Wisconsin remained
9690-502: The minimal pairs are written alike, since written Norwegian has no explicit accent marks. In most eastern low-tone dialects, accent 1 uses a low flat pitch in the first syllable, while accent 2 uses a high, sharply falling pitch in the first syllable and a low pitch in the beginning of the second syllable. In both accents, these pitch movements are followed by a rise of intonational nature (phrase accent)—the size (and presence) of which signals emphasis or focus, and corresponds in function to
9804-507: The multi-cultural environment of the city while constructing a complex ethnic community that met the needs of its members. It might be said that a Scandinavian melting pot existed in the urban setting among Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes, evidenced in residential and occupational patterns, in political mobilization, and in public commemoration. Inter-marriage promoted inter-ethnic assimilation. There are no longer any Norwegian immigrant enclaves or neighborhoods in America's great cities. Beginning in
9918-430: The neutral name Riksmål , meaning 'national language' like Landsmål , and this was officially adopted along with the 1907 spelling reform. The name Riksmål is sometimes interpreted as 'state language', but this meaning is secondary at best. (Compare to Danish rigsmål from where the name was borrowed.) After the personal union with Sweden was dissolved in 1905, both languages were developed further and reached what
10032-445: The new society. In their segregated farming communities, Norwegians were spared direct prejudice and might indeed have been viewed as a welcome ingredient in a region's development. Still, a sense of inferiority was inherent in their position. The immigrants were occasionally referred to as "guests" in the United States and they were not immune to condescending and disparaging attitudes by old-stock Americans. Economic adaptation required
10146-549: The nickname of 8th Avenue in Brooklyn . There are a number of museums commemorating the Norwegian-American immigrant experience. Norskedalen is a natural and cultural heritage site near Coon Valley, Wisconsin , spread over 440 acres which exhibits the Norwegian immigrant experience of the late 1800s. Little Norway, Wisconsin is a living museum of a Norwegian village located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin . The National Nordic Museum in
10260-414: The normal accent in languages that lack lexical tone , such as English. That rise culminates in the final syllable of an accentual phrase, while the utterance-final fall common in most languages is either very small or absent. There are significant variations in pitch accent between dialects. Thus, in most of western and northern Norway (the so-called high-pitch dialects) accent 1 is falling, while accent 2
10374-899: The numbers went down. For those who are from 18 to 64 years old, went down from 915 in 2000 to 491 in 2005. For those who are older than 65 years it went drastically down from 890 to 502 in the same period. The Norwegian language is likely to never die out in the U.S. because there is still immigration, of course on a much smaller scale, but they often emigrate to other areas, like Texas, where the number of Norwegian speakers increase. Many Lutheran colleges that were established by immigrants and people of Norwegian background, such as Luther College in Decorah, Iowa , Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington , and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota , continue to offer Norwegian majors in their undergraduate programs. Many major American universities, such as
10488-570: The oldest written record of any Germanic language. East Germanic languages West Germanic languages Icelandic Faroese Norwegian Danish Swedish Around 800 AD, the script was simplified to the Younger Futhark , and inscriptions became more abundant. At the same time, the beginning of the Viking Age led to the spread of Old Norse to Iceland , Greenland , and the Faroe Islands . Viking colonies also existed in parts of
10602-628: The one million or more Norwegian Americans lived in that part of the United States. In 1990, 51.7 percent of the Norwegian American population lived in the Midwest . At that time, Minnesota had the largest Norwegian American population and Minneapolis functioned as a hub for Norwegian American secular and religious activities. In the Pacific Northwest , the Puget Sound region, and especially
10716-928: The period, being via England by means of the monopoly established by the leading shipping lines of Great Britain, primarily the White Star Line and the Cunard Line , both of which operated chiefly out of Liverpool, England . These lines negotiated with smaller 'feeder lines', primarily the Wilson Line , which was based out of the port city of Hull on England's east coast, to provide emigrants with passage from port cities such as Christiania (present-day Oslo), Bergen and Trondheim to England via Hull. Steamship companies such as Cunard and White Star included fares for passage on these feeder ship in their overall ticket prices, along with railroad fares for passage between Hull and Liverpool and temporary accommodations in numerous hotels owned by
10830-522: The political life of Norway. In the 1880s they formed societies to assist Norwegian liberals, collecting money to assist rifle clubs in Norway should the political conflict between liberals and conservatives call for arms. The ongoing tensions between Sweden and Norway and Norway's humiliating retreat in 1895 fueled nationalism and created anguish. Norwegian Americans raised money to strengthen Norway's military defenses. The unilateral declaration by Norway on June 7, 1905, to dissolve its union with Sweden yielded
10944-406: The population. There were 979 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and
11058-460: The present Lutheran establishment in the United States. The Norwegian Lutheran church was a focal point in rural settlements in the Upper Midwest . The congregation became an all-encompassing institution for its members, creating a tight social network that touched all aspects of immigrant life. The force of tradition in religious practice made the church a central institution in the urban environment as well. The severe reality of urban life increased
11172-442: The principles of Norwegian orthography, e.g. zebra in Norwegian is written sebra . Due to historical reasons, some otherwise Norwegian family names are also written using these letters. Some letters may be modified by diacritics : é , è , ê , ó , ò , and ô . In Nynorsk, ì and ù and ỳ are occasionally seen as well. The diacritics are not compulsory, but may in a few cases distinguish between different meanings of
11286-465: The rhotic / ɾ / depends on the dialect. In Eastern, Central, and Northern Norwegian dialects, it is a flap [ ɾ ] , whereas in Western and Southern Norway, and for some speakers also in Eastern Norway, it is uvular [ ʁ ] or [ χ ] . And in the dialects of North-Western Norway, it is realized as [ r ] , much like the trilled ⟨rr⟩ of Spanish. Norwegian
11400-792: The shipping lines in port cities such as Liverpool. Most Norwegian emigrants bound for the United States entered the country through New York City, with smaller numbers coming through other eastern ports such as Boston and Philadelphia. Other shipping lines such as the Canadian Pacific Line , which operated chiefly out of Liverpool, and the Glasgow-based Anchor Line operated routes to ports in eastern Canada, primarily Quebec City , Montreal and Halifax . Because Canadian-bound routes were slightly shorter, lines which disembarked at Canadian ports often provided quicker passages and cheaper fares. The Canadian route offered many advantages to
11514-418: The social role of the church. The official State Church in Norway did not extend pastoral care to emigrants and provided no guidance in the formation of new congregations in the United States. The Church of Norway was seen as an integrated part of the Norwegian state administration with no particular responsibility for people outside of Norway, with the exception of sailors and those who remained citizens. As
11628-606: The southern part of northern Norway ( Nordland county). Today, Nynorsk is the official language of not only four of the nineteen Norwegian counties but also various municipalities in five other counties. NRK , the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all written publications, and Nynorsk in 8% (2000). Like some other European countries, Norway has an official "advisory board"— Språkrådet (Norwegian Language Council)— that determines, after approval from
11742-460: The start of the 20th century did Norwegians accept Canada as a land of the second chance. This was also true of the many American-Norwegians who moved to Canada seeking homesteads and new economic opportunities. By 1921, one-third of all Norwegians in Canada had been born in the U.S. Between 1825 and 1925, more than 800,000 Norwegians immigrated to North America—about one-third of Norway's population with
11856-401: The three grammatical genders from Old Norse to some extent. The only exceptions are the dialect of Bergen and a few upper class sociolects at the west end of Oslo that have completely lost the feminine gender. According to Marit Westergaard , approximately 80% of nouns in Norwegian are masculine. Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages use a suffix to indicate definiteness of
11970-442: The time. However, opponents of the official policy still managed to create a massive protest movement against Samnorsk in the 1950s, fighting in particular the use of "radical" forms in Bokmål text books in schools. In the reform in 1959, the 1938 reform was partially reversed in Bokmål, but Nynorsk was changed further towards Bokmål. Since then Bokmål has reverted even further toward traditional Riksmål, while Nynorsk still adheres to
12084-448: The traditions which these immigrants brought with them represented a specific segment of the Norwegian population and cultural period. As these traditions continued to evolve in an American context, they are today divergent from that of modern-day Norway. Norwegian Americans actively celebrate and maintain their heritage in many ways. Much of these traditions center upon Lutheran-Evangelical church communities. Other organizations, such as
12198-426: The unofficial Høgnorsk is more conservative than Nynorsk and is far closer to Faroese , Icelandic and Old Norse . Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. Each student gets assigned a native form based on which school they go to, whence the other form (known as Sidemål ) will be a mandatory school subject from elementary school through high school. For instance, a Norwegian whose main language form
12312-447: The vocabulary coincides with Bokmål. Outside Eastern Norway , this spoken variation is not used. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the standard written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism , rural versus urban discourse, and Norway's literary history. Historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk
12426-560: The word, e.g.: for ('for/to'), fór ('went'), fòr ('furrow') and fôr ('fodder'). Loanwords may be spelled with other diacritics, most notably ï, ü , á and à . The two legally recognized forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål (literally 'book tongue') and Nynorsk ('new Norwegian'), which are regulated by the Language Council of Norway ( Språkrådet ). Two other written forms without official status also exist. One, called Riksmål ('national language'),
12540-485: Was 2,724 at the 2010 census. The Town of Kendall is in the northeast corner of Orleans County and is northwest of Rochester . The town was part of the Connecticut Tract, also called the 100,000 Acre Tract. The first settlers arrived circa 1812. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, making a ready market for wheat and lumber. It also made the way easier for more settlement. The first Norwegian immigrant community in
12654-872: Was also head of the Norwegian studies department beginning in 1916. As of 2000, U.S. communities with high percentages of people who use Norwegian language were: As of 2000, the ten U.S. counties with the highest percentage of Norwegian language speakers were: In entertainment, Sigrid Gurie , "the siren of the fjords," starred in numerous motion pictures in the 1930s and 1940s. Other Hollywood actors and personalities with one Norwegian parent or grandparent include James Arness , Paris Hilton , James Cagney , Peter Graves , Tippi Hedren , Lance Henriksen , Celeste Holm , Kristanna Loken , Robert Mitchum , Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen , Elizabeth Olsen , Piper Perabo , Chris Pratt , Priscilla Presley , Michelle Williams , Rainn Wilson and Renée Zellweger . Seminal protopunk musicians Iggy Pop of The Stooges and David Johansen of
12768-587: Was born out of religious persecution, especially for Quakers and a local religious group, the Haugeans . Organized Norwegian immigration to North America began in 1825, when several dozen Norwegians left Stavanger bound for North America on the sloop Restauration (often called the "Norse Mayflower "). Under the leadership of Cleng Peerson , the Restauration left Stavanger in July 1825 and ferried six families on
12882-736: Was developed based upon a collective of spoken Norwegian dialects. Norwegian is one of the two official languages in Norway, along with Sámi , a Finno-Ugric language spoken by less than one percent of the population. Norwegian is one of the working languages of the Nordic Council . Under the Nordic Language Convention , citizens of the Nordic countries who speak Norwegian have the opportunity to use it when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable for any interpretation or translation costs. Like most of
12996-734: Was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States . In science, Ernest Lawrence won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939. Lars Onsager won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Chemistry . Norman Borlaug , father of the Green Revolution , won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Christian B. Anfinsen won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1972. Ivar Giaever won the Nobel Prize in Physics 1973. Carl Richard Hagen
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