{"id":2619,"date":"2020-02-28T14:02:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T14:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2619"},"modified":"2020-03-03T14:01:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T14:01:56","slug":"counties-in-the-mix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/counties-in-the-mix\/","title":{"rendered":"Counties in the Mix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heisann og hoppsann!<\/strong>1<\/a><\/sup>\u201dHeisann og hoppsann!\u201d is a kind of nonsense greeting to get somebody\u2019s attention in a \u201dfresh\u201d way. It might be comparable to \u201dhowdy!\u201d or \u201dyo!\u201d (in a rap song), but it\u2019s maybe a little bit more childish. The Xmas song Musevisa contains the lyrics \u201dHeisann og hoppsann og fallerallera!\u201d The words don\u2019t really \u201dmean\u201d anything, but \u201dhei\u201d without the ending is hi; \u201dhopp\u201d is jump; \u201dfalle\u201d is to fall.<\/span> When Norwegians woke up after this year\u2019s nytt\u00e5rsfeiring<\/strong> (New Year celebrations), the map of the country had changed. (No, it wasn\u2019t because of a collective champagne bakrus<\/strong> \u2013 hangover\u2026) In the beginning of 2020, the number of Norwegian fylker<\/strong> (\u201dcounties\u201d) officially went from 18 to 11, and a lot of people suddenly found themselves in a new political reality. Here\u2019s an update for all readers. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Norske menn i hus og hytte\u2026<\/strong> (Norwegian men in house and cabin<\/a>\u2026) So goes a famous line of Ja, vi elsker<\/strong>, the Norwegian national anthem. (Yes, the name of that song indeed means \u201dYes we love\u201d!) Of course, very few Norwegians \u2013 men or women \u2013actually live<\/em> hele \u00e5ret<\/strong> (the whole year) in their hytter<\/strong>\u2026 Most live in a hus<\/strong> in a bygd<\/strong> (\u201dvillage\u201d) or by<\/strong> (town, city), in a kommune<\/strong> [comMOONeh] (municipality), in a fylke<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a map of fylkene<\/strong> in 2019:<\/p>\n

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(Image courtesy of J\u00falio Reis<\/a> and Jo\u00e3o David Tereso at Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, CC License<\/a>.)<\/p><\/div>\n

(If you check Kari\u2019s old article about Norwegian counties<\/a>, you\u2019ll see that Tr\u00f8ndelag<\/strong> used to be split in a Northern (Nord-<\/strong>) and a Southern (S\u00f8r-<\/strong>) part \u2013 they were joined in 2018, making the number of fylker<\/strong> drop from 19 to 18.)<\/p>\n

And whoa! here\u2019s a map of the great New Year makeover:<\/p>\n

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(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, no license<\/a>.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Can you spot sammensl\u00e5ingene <\/strong>(the \u201dmergers\u201d)?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hordaland <\/strong>+ Sogn og Fjordane<\/strong> = Vestland<\/strong> (Westland)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Aust-Agder <\/strong>+ Vest-Agder<\/strong> = Agder<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Vestfold <\/strong>+ Telemark<\/strong> = Vestfold<\/strong> og<\/strong> Telemark<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Oppland <\/strong>+ Hedmark<\/strong> = Innlandet<\/strong> (The Inland)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Buskerud <\/strong>+ Akershus <\/strong>+ \u00d8stfold<\/strong> = Viken<\/strong> (The Cove)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Troms <\/strong>+ Finnmark<\/strong> = Troms og Finnmark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, it always takes some time to get used to a forandring<\/strong> (change), and as far as I can understand it from people and media in Norway, reactions to the new (and bigger) fylker<\/strong> have been mixed. One thing that bothers me personally is the name Vestland<\/strong>, because it is almost identical to Vestlandet<\/strong> \u2013 the larger region of Western Norway<\/a>! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

On the other hand, I love the name Viken<\/strong>, which has roots in the Viking Age. According to one explanation I heard, the word viking<\/strong> itself originally meant a pirate who was hiding in a \u2026 vik<\/strong> with his ship, ready to attack!<\/p>\n