Russenorsk
Facts
- Language: Russenorsk
- Alternate names:
- Language code: drusn
- Language family: Indo-European, Classical Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East Slavic
- Pidgin language
- Dialect of: Russian
- Number of speakers: Extinct
- Script: Latin script
More information:
Introduction
Russenorsk (Norwegian for "Russo-Norwegian") was a dual-source pidgin language in the Arctic combining elements of Russian and Norwegian, created by Russian traders and Norwegian fishermen from northern Norway and the Russian Kola peninsula. It was used extensively in Northern Norway for about 150 years, the 19th century was the main period of its use.
The verb
A special morphological feature is the verb ending -om, probably taken from a (poorly attested) Russian-English pidgin in Arkhangelsk.
Samples
- "Kak sprek? Moja njet forsto." - What are you saying? I don't understand. (How (R) speak (N)? My (R) not (R) understand (N).)
- råbbåtom - to work (R: rabotat’)
Notes:
- "R" marks Russian origin, "N" marks Norwegian.