Kjell
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Kjell (kj) is a letter recently proposed[1] for the Norwegian alphabet. It is a humorous proposal aimed at promoting what is considered the proper pronunciation of the Norwegian sound kj (or tj), which in most dialects is [ç] (like the ch in German ich), but which, according to some, has merged with [ʃ] (like English sh) for many speakers. The reason for "kjell" being an odd name for a Norwegian letter is that Kjell is a fairly common male name[2] in several Scandinavian languages (derived from Old Norse Ketill).
It is sometimes claimed, though with little empirical support, that many Norwegian dialects are experiencing the disappearance of the kj sound, as it is replaced with the more common sound of skj (or sj or sk). Some think that introducing a special letter for the kj sound would help preserve the sound in the spoken language. If the proposal were to gain popularity, kjell would be placed between L and M in the alphabet.
[edit] History
The same kj sound also occurs at the beginning of the word kjerring, which basically only means a woman, but now also bears some negative associations, as in «Klippe, klippe, sa kjerringa», from the Norwegian fairy tale, or in the folk song Kjerringa med Staven. However, back in the Middle Ages the word was merely kerling, which just meant she who belongs to a karl (a man). From this one may deduce that the kj sound did not yet exist in the Middle Ages, but developed later, as kerling slowly changed into kjerring. The same kind of change also took place with the originally Latin word katillus (a cooking vessel) which became ketel and kessel in Germany and ketill in Scandinavia. Over the years the latter word then developed an initial kj sound, and a ketill became a kjel. Kaffekjel, for example, is a coffee-pot.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The letter kjell was introduced in the 3 March 2005 episode of the television programme Typisk norsk ("Typical Norwegian") on Norway's most popular TV channel, NRK1.
- ^ As of late 2005, according to Statistics Norway, there were 31,884 Norwegians named Kjell, making up nearly 1.4% of the male population. The name ranks as no. 9 on the top ten list of the most common boy's names in Norway during the 20th century.
