talemål

Talemål is a linguistic term used to refer to the form of a language as it is actually spoken in everyday speech. It describes the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary that arise in informal communication, and is often contrasted with the standard written form of the language. While skriftmål (the written language) prescribes norms for spelling and syntax in writing, talemål shows how people speak in real-life situations.

Talemål varies widely between speakers and communities. It is shaped by regional dialects, social groups (sociolects), age, gender, education, and the social context in which speech occurs. Features commonly associated with talemål include pronunciation patterns and phonetic reductions, casual or contracted forms, simplified syntax, and the use of everyday vocabulary that may differ from the written standard. It also reflects language contact and change, as loanwords and influence from other dialects or languages can appear in speech before they are established in writing.

In linguistics and language planning, talemål is studied to understand language variation, change, and the relationship between speech and writing. It is relevant for education, where awareness of sonorities and colloquial forms can inform teaching and assessment, and for documentation of linguistic diversity within a language community.

See also: dialect, sociolect, skriftsmål, language planning.