r/norsk • u/dwchandler • Oct 29 '17

Søndagsspørsmål #199 - Sunday Question Thread

This is a weekly post to ask any question that you may not have felt deserved its own post, or have been hesitating to ask for whatever reason. No question too small or silly!

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u/TortugaOnline Oct 30 '17

I am learning mostly with with duolingo and I am aware that the pronunciation there is not always flawless, so I want be sure. My question is about the pronunciation of the definite article “et” at the end of the word (like ordet, målet, etc). It seems like the “t” at the end is silent. I recently came across the sentence “Hva er målet her?” where the final “t” in målet is pronounced as a t. Is that right? Is there some kind of “liaison” in Norwegian (like in French)?

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u/tontorious Oct 30 '17

I’m like 99% sure about this, but I’m not native and could very well be wrong.

The t is silent at the end of words if it is part of the definitive ending, which means “målet” should also have a silent t (unless it’s a weird exception to the rule?). The only time you pronounce the t at the end is if it’s part of a past tense marker on a verb (kastet, løpt, kjent, etc).

You can also always verify pronunciation on forvo, which I’ve been surprised with how much Norwegian content they have.

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u/TortugaOnline Oct 30 '17

It is silent normally, only in the example Duolingo pronounces it. It seems it is a mistake. I didn’t know forvo. Will definitely check it out. Thanks!