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Kjartan Lauritzen; keeping music local?

 

Kjartan Lauritzen; keeping music local?

- Kjartan Lauritzen is a Norwegian pop music phenomenon, with hits about youth, partying, and loving yourself. Sound familiar? Whilst following the traditional stereotypes of what pop music can be, Kjartan pushes the boundaries and brings a fresh, nonchalant approach to a rather serious industry. 

- Of Icelandic descent, (his real name is Per Áki Sigurdsson Kvikne), Kjartan's music is linguistically very interesting. Unlike many Norwegian artists, who are pressured into using Standard Eastern Norwegian for their vocals, Kjartan uses the dialect of his home town of Balestrand, in Sogn og Fjordane, which is in the West of Norway. This is clear throughout his lyrics, which can be very dialectal.

Kjartan Lyric: "Eg ska no fortelle om ei vekentlig rutine: meg og mine venner drikker til vi alle e heilt på tryne. Hadde aldri no' kjemi, men dette her e syre"

Nynorsk: "Eg skal no fortelja om ei vekentleg rutine: eg og mine vener drikk til vi alle er heilt på tryne. Hadde aldri noko kjemi, men dette her er syre"

Bokmål: "Jeg skal nå fortelle om en ukentlig rutine: jeg og mine venner drikker til vi alle er helt på tryne. Hadde aldri noe kjemi, men dette her er syre"

English: "I will now tell about a weekly routine: me and my friends drink until we're off our faces. I never took chemistry, but this here is acid"

I will now tell you of weekly routine
Me and my friends drink until we're off our faces
I never took chemistry, but this here is acid
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/fredag-friday.html
I will now tell you of weekly routine
Me and my friends drink until we're off our faces
I never took chemistry, but this here is acid
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/fredag-friday.html

- Balestrand is a Nynorsk area, in which the majority of citizens use Nynorsk. This is reflected in the local dialects, and this is the same with Balestrand. Notice how some of Kjartan's lyrics are very similar to Nynorsk:

"Eg ska no fortelle om ei vekentlig rutine"

- As you can see, this line is very similar to Nynorsk. The only major difference is the contraction of 'skal' to 'ska', and the verb 'å fortelle', which isn't allowed in Nynorsk. Other than that, it is identical to Nynorsk. These are themes with which much of Lauritzen's lyrics follow; contractions, and Bokmål forms of verbs slipping into the song. Occasionally, there are potentially anglicisms too, as below.


Anglicism: A word or phrase borrowed from English into a foreign language.

"meg og mine venner"

- In English, the phrase 'me and my friends' is acceptable, even if the form of 'my friends and I' is preferred. In Norwegian, the phrasing of 'meg og mine venner' seems very odd, and not a common construction of the sentence. Taking into account Lauritzen's Balestrand dialect, you could expect to see 'eg og mine venner' (I and my friends), which would be acceptable, following the Norwegian grammar system. The fact he omits this is very odd, and suggests that this construction in the song is a possible anglicism.

- In Short, Kjartan Lauritzen is proudly representing his home town and his roots in an industry in which such things are often suppressed. His popularity and relatability for teenagers has subconsciously made speaking in local dialect cool again. Although he does not necessarily always follow Norwegian grammar rules, this can be explained by the need for rhyming or maintaining flow in his songs. Overall, Lauritzen is one of the most important musicians in the Norwegian music industry at the moment.

 




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