Introduction to Dalecarlian

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What is Dalecarlian?

Dalecarlian (or, as the natives say, Dalska) is a Scandinavian language of the eastern branch with Swedish as its closest relative. Dalecarlian is regarded to be the most archaic language spoken in Mainland Scandinavia and has many similarities with Icelandic and Faroese, especially the grammar which is quite rich with inflections.

Where is Dalecarlian spoken?
The Dalecarlian language is spoken in the Swedish province of Dalecarlia (or Dalarna/Dalir in Swedish/Dalecarlian - literally 'the valleys') situated in Central Sweden some 300 km northwest of Stockholm. In Dalecarlia, Dalecarlian is mainly spoken around - and particularly northwest of - lake Siljan. In fact, the normalized version used here is mainly based on the dialects spoken in Älvdalen (Dal. Øfdaln), Våmhus (Dal. Vomos) and Orsa (Dal. Ossa), in that order. How many people speak Dalecarlian?
The population of Dalecarlia is approximately 280,000, scattered in an area of about 29,000 sq km. Proper Dalecarlian (Swe. äkta dalmål) is mainly spoken around - and particularly northwest of - lake Siljan. Perhaps 50,000 speak some Proper Dalecarlian dialect, and approximately 10,000 of them in the core triangle Øfdaln-Vomos-Ossa.

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• Dalecarlian
  • Languages