An Exploration of tonal features in some East Norwegian Dialects: Fintoft & Mjaavatn (1980) revisited

Abstract

In this paper we report on our findings in an investigation of the recently rediscovered recordings made by Fintoft & Mjaavatn in their frequently cited study from 1980. They found that the Norwegian word accents, or ‘toneme curves’, based on average measurements are of four types, and presented a map which shows how these curves are distributed as tonal isoglosses across Norway. Later investigations have indicated that their description of East Norwegian tonal realisations seems to be incorrect, at least their description of the dialects in Trøndelag and North Gudbrandsdal. We will present some data from Fintoft & Mjaavatn’s original material, as well as some new analyses, in order to check whether their description of Norwegian tonal curves holds water, or whether their methodological approach leads to an erroneous picture of the Norwegian tonal dialectal landscape. Our findings raise the question of the relation between models and measurements.