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Norwegian profanity

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Profanityin theNorwegian languageis referred to in Norwegian asbanneord(curse words) or simplyupassende språk(inappropriate language). Many words are characterized by dialect. The offensiveness and strength of a word may be very different between regions.

People fromNorthern Norwayin particular are known for swearing in public.[1]Numerous decisions by Northerndistrict courtshave confirmed that saying terms likehestkuk(literallyhorsecock) to a police officer is not punishable, as it is common usage (one ruling said: "[hestekuk] is not more than one should tolerate in daily conversation. ").[2]At the same time, Northerners have been punished for using similar phrases in other parts of the country.[3]However, a 2022 ruling by the West Finnmark district court in Northern Norway, where a man was fined 42 000kronersafter calling a police officerhestkuk,concluded that Northerners swearing was "a stigmatizing and dated idea – and under no circumstance correct", suggesting a reversal of this trend.[4]

Most common profanities[edit]

In 2015, the five most common profanities in Norwegian were, in order:[5]

  • Forbannameanscursed,and is used as an adjective roughly equivalent to Englishfucking;forbanna hestkukapproximatesfucking horse cock. (The second part,bann,is equivalent to Englishban,and is the root of the wordbanneord.[6])
  • Jævel,meaningdevil.In its noun form it carries a meaning similar tobastard.But it is most commonly used in adjective form,jævlig,for emphasis, as injævlig stor(really big).
  • Fuck,sometimes spelledføkk,comes from English. A probable cognate offuckexists in Old Norwegian:Fukka means to have sex, but this fell out of use before the English term was introduced.[7]Fuckis almost always used as an interjection, and rarely refers to sex.[8]
  • Faenis a contraction of the Norwegian wordfanden,which meansthe devil.It is used as an interjection, and usually translated tofuck.Faen ta degcorrespons tofuck youor, literally,devil take you.[9]
  • Helvetemeanshell.Dra til helvetemeansgo to hell.[10]

Other common swear words include:

  • Forpulte,literally meaningfuckedorwhore-like,frompule(to fuck).
  • Satan,same as in English; used as an interjection or to refer to hell:gå til Satanmeansgo to hell.
  • Fittemeanscuntand is used as a noun similarly to in English;jævla fittemeansfucking cunt.
  • Kukorkukk,meaningcock;used as in English.
  • Kuksuger,meaningcocksucker;same as above.
  • Pikk,meaningdick,a generally less severe form ofkukk.
  • Mongo,ormongoloid(occasionallymongis,particularly in theBergenarea). An obsolete medical term for people withDown's Syndrome,it meansretardedorstupid.

In addition, English curse words likeretardandassholehave become increasingly popular.[11]

Norwegian grammar allows forcompound nouns,and therefore virtually infinite combinations of profanities. For instance, the termsfitte(cunt) andtryne(face) may be combined to producefittetryne(cuntface).

Less severe profanities[edit]

Note that profanities considered severe in one region may be severe in others. Most of these terms have been used on normal TV broadcasts, where profanity has become less taboo in recent years.[12]

  • Kjerringrefers to an old woman, usually married. It is considered a compliment in Northern Norway. In many dialects it is simply used to meanwife.
  • Dritt,drit,skitt,skit,are the same as Englishshit.The English spelling is also common.
  • Drittsekk,meaningscumbag(literallyshit bag).
  • Kyss meg i ræva,literallykiss my ass
  • Hestkuk,meaninghorse cock.Considered mild in Northern Norway.
  • Rævhål,meaningasshole.Alternative spellings includerævhøl,rasshøl,rasshull,andrævhull.
  • Helsike,abowlderisationofhelvete(hell).
  • Svenskjævel(commonly spelled in Swedishsvenskjävel) roughly meaningSwedish bastard,is a common way of referring toSwedesused in Denmark as well as Norway.[13]

The following are mild terms considered acceptable for children:

  • Hold kjeft,meaningshut up(literallyhold your jaw).
  • Søren,a bowlderisation ofSatan.[14]
  • Pokker,referring tosmallpox.Pokker ta degmeans(may the) smallpox take you.Often used by people who do not normally swear since it has no sexual or religious connotations.
  • Fanken,a bowlderisation offanden(faen).
  • Fillern,same as above, literallya dustrag.
  • Fy flate,a bowlderisation offy faen.

References[edit]

  1. ^Thonhaugen, Markus (2015-03-15)."Nordlendinger hardest i språkbruken".NRK(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  2. ^Lorentsen, Hilde Mangset (2012-09-08)."Dette får du bot for å si".NRK(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  3. ^"Hestkuk greit i nord – verre i sør".Østlands-Posten(in Norwegian). 2008-10-18.Retrieved2023-06-20.
  4. ^Johansen, John M. (2022-08-30)."Nordlending dømt – ikke lenger lov å kalle politiet «hæstkuk»".inyheter.no - Nyheter og aktuelt - Innenriks og Utenriks.(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  5. ^Thonhaugen, Markus (2015-03-15)."Dette er de vanligste banneordene".NRK(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  6. ^"Banne".Det Norske Akademis ordbok.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  7. ^"Fukk!".Språkrådet(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  8. ^"Fuck".Det Norske Akademis ordbok.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  9. ^"Fanden".Det Norske Akademis ordbok.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  10. ^"Helvete".Det Norske Akademis ordbok.Retrieved2023-06-21.
  11. ^Kvittingen, Ida (2018-06-21)."Norges første banneordbok: Slik banner vi".forskning.no(in Norwegian).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  12. ^"Banning på tv: mer vanlig, mindre tabu".Språkrådet(in Norwegian Bokmål).Retrieved2023-06-20.
  13. ^"TV: Hamrén om tiden i Danmark:" Åk hem svenskjävel "".fotbollskanalen(in Swedish).Retrieved2023-06-21.
  14. ^"Søren".Det Norske Akademis ordbok.Retrieved2023-06-20.

External links[edit]

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