Tyssedal
Encyclopedia
Tyssedal is a village in Odda
municipality in Norway
with about 700 inhabitants and is situated 6 km north of Odda center. Tyssedal is located in a charming environment between fjords and mountains, in the fjord arm Sørfjorden
and at the edge of the Hardangervidda
mountain plateau.
Tyssedal is a typical single industry village, depending upon the energy received from the hydropower station
. The ilmenite
smelter Tinfos Titan and Iron (TTI), owned by Tinfos
is located here and is the largest employer in the village. The smelter was converted from making aluminium
in the late 1980s. The first hydropower station in Tyssedal, Tysso I, is today part of the Norwegian Museum of Hydropower and Industry
.
Tyssedal grew up around this smelter in the mid-twentieth century, drawing migrants from different parts of Norway.
As a result, there developed a new dialect, a mixture of that spoken in the home regions of the migrants - a phenomenon termed by linguists "a Koiné language
". Tyssedal and Odda
- which arose in the same time and socio-economic circumstances as those of Tyssedal - provided valuable insights to linguists studying this phenomenon. The researcher Paul Kerswill conducted an intensive study of the Norwegian spoken in the two communities, relating them to very different geographical origins: The workers in Odda came predominantly (86%) from western Norway. In Tyssedal only about one third came from western Norway; one third came from eastern Norway; and the rest from other parts of the country. The dialects that evolved in these two communities were radically different from each other, though spoken at a short geographical distance from each other.
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
municipality in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with about 700 inhabitants and is situated 6 km north of Odda center. Tyssedal is located in a charming environment between fjords and mountains, in the fjord arm Sørfjorden
Sørfjorden
-Finnmark county:*Sørfjorden , arm of the Mehamnfjorden in Gamvik*Sørfjorden , fjord on Stjernøya island in Hasvik*Sørfjorden , arm of the Mårøfjorden in Lebesby*Sørfjorden , arm of the Nuvsfjorden in Loppa-Hordaland county:...
and at the edge of the Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda
The Hardangervidda is a mountain plateau in the Hardanger region of western Norway. It is the largest such plateau in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate and is the site of one of Norway's largest glaciers. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park; it is a...
mountain plateau.
Tyssedal is a typical single industry village, depending upon the energy received from the hydropower station
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
. The ilmenite
Ilmenite
Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray. It is a crystalline iron titanium oxide . It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it has the same crystal structure as corundum and hematite....
smelter Tinfos Titan and Iron (TTI), owned by Tinfos
Tinfos
Tinfos is a private Norwegian holding company. Its roots dates back to 1875, and has today the head office in Oslo, Norway. The firm is one of the oldest companies in its field of activity in Europe. Its main products are silicomanganese, High Purity Pig Iron and titanium dioxide. The company is...
is located here and is the largest employer in the village. The smelter was converted from making aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
in the late 1980s. The first hydropower station in Tyssedal, Tysso I, is today part of the Norwegian Museum of Hydropower and Industry
Norwegian Museum of Hydropower and Industry
The Norwegian Museum of Hydropower and Industry is a cultural history museum in Tyssedal and Odda in Hordaland county, Norway. The museum is dedicated to the industrial history of Odda and Tyssedal, and more generally to history related to rivers and water, hydropower production, electricity,...
.
Tyssedal grew up around this smelter in the mid-twentieth century, drawing migrants from different parts of Norway.
As a result, there developed a new dialect, a mixture of that spoken in the home regions of the migrants - a phenomenon termed by linguists "a Koiné language
Koine language
In linguistics, a koiné language is a standard language or dialect that has arisen as a result of contact between two mutually intelligible varieties of the same language. Since the speakers have understood one another from before the advent of the koiné, the koineization process is not as rapid...
". Tyssedal and Odda
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
- which arose in the same time and socio-economic circumstances as those of Tyssedal - provided valuable insights to linguists studying this phenomenon. The researcher Paul Kerswill conducted an intensive study of the Norwegian spoken in the two communities, relating them to very different geographical origins: The workers in Odda came predominantly (86%) from western Norway. In Tyssedal only about one third came from western Norway; one third came from eastern Norway; and the rest from other parts of the country. The dialects that evolved in these two communities were radically different from each other, though spoken at a short geographical distance from each other.