NORWEGIAN DIPHTHONGS.
93. The diphthongic sounds occurring in the Norwegian language are: ai, æi, oi, öi, œu. ai has a sound like English i in “mile.” Ex.: Hai shark, Kai quay, vaie wave, float. In the word Mai May, a as a rule is pronounced long.
94. æi has the orthographic sign ei, which sign always represents the sound here indicated (not as in Danish: ai); Ex.: lei tedious, disagreeable; Vei road.
In some words eg, ek, ig serve as signs for this diphthongic sound: jeg I (pron. jæi), mig me, dig you, sig himself etc. (pron. mæi etc.). seksten 16 (pron. sæisten).
egl, egn are in tho greater part of Norway pronounced æil, æin; but in the northern part egn is pronounced engn; Ex.: Negl (æi) nail, Tegl (æi) tile, Regn (æin or engn) rain. In mathematics distinction is made between Kegle cone and Kile wedge, lat. cuneus. But in everyday speech both words are pronounced alike; slaa kjiler (i. e Kegler) play at ninepins, slaa ind en kjile (i. e. Kile) drive in a wedge.
95. oi only occurs in some foreign words; it has the same sound as English oy in “boy,” but has a tendency to become assimilated with öi: holloi halloo, Konvoi convoy.
96. In öi the first element of the diphthong is the wide ö, the second a wide y; Ex.: höi high, Töi cloth, föite to gad. ög in Lögn lie, Dögn day and night, as a rule represents the same sound, but in the northern part of the country those words are pronounced löngn, döngn. Nögel key is by some people pronounced nøiel, commonly nökkel.
The word Bygd country township is sometimes pronounced böid, but usually as it is spelt. The former pronunciation is still considered somewhat vulgar, although Ibsen uses it in “Brand” in the following rhyme:
Tusen fulgte mig af Bygden (öi),
ikke én tandt op til Höiden.
