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Is it in correct to say "Har god helg" in this case or use "har" before other similar phrases such as "har god natt/dag/kveld/tur", etc? Takk!
You can say "Ha en god helg!", using the imperative rather than the present tense.
Can someone comment on the etymology of "helg" and whether any half-common or even uncommon (modern or historical) English word derived from it? I need a mental hook to fix it in memory.
It's related to holy. Probably this meaning arose because Saturday and Sunday are considered holy days in Christianity or alternatively, because both the Norse "helg" and the English "holy" are ultimately derived from an ancient stem that meant whole, complete, i.e. "helg" is the part of the week which completes it.
Thanks, I almost thought so. In German it's "heilig" which sounds pretty similar.
Interesting, kinda like how lordag (pardon the missing accent), is supposedly related to something about washing before the sabbath?
So the /g/ never changes to a j-like sound (as it sort of does in Swedish sometimes) or just not here after a l?
G is complicated. Here, it's a G-sound. It's a J (or silent), before a J, such as in "gjøre." It's also a J sound before Es or Is, as in "gi."
So are these people pronouncing it with a certain accent? http://forvo.com/word/helg/#no
Yes. Those recordings are dialect. There are simular recordings of “elg” (moose), with the “j-sound”. “G-sound” is the safe one here, unless one is planning on learning a specific dialect. Another example of a “ge” with differing pronunciation is “gevær” (rifle). The standard is “g-sound” while some will pronounce it with a “j-sound”.
I see your point, like in "Norge," it's Nór-ge. It's better to learn the sounds word-by-word, I suppose.
The main rule seems to be that original (Nordic) words have a “j”-sound in front of “y”, “i”, “ei” and partly in front of “e”. The exceptions are mainly the imported words. There are also exceptions to the rule of the original Nordic words. Finally, there are exceptions to the exceptions (the imported words). “Old imports” may have been adopted. “Gir” as an example - The rule: “jeg gir” (I give): The verb "gi" from Norrønt. "j"-sound - The imported exception: "gir" (gear): From English. “g”-sound - The exception to the exception: "gir" (similar to the idiom “give way”?): From Dutch / German. “j”-sound “G” can also have a “sj”-sound: gele / gelé (pron: sjele) and giro (pron: sjiro) http://riksmalsforbundet.no/qa_faqs/uttale-av-g-foran
"Ha en god helg" is actually shortened to "God helg"
Is it because of laziness....!?
