Eva Sivertsen (8 July 1922 – 22 November 2009) was a Norwegian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. She was known for her work on the

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

dialect of the working-class, which was “one of the first investigations of an urban

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

in Britain.” In 1961 she became the first female professor of English linguistics in Norway.

Biography

Born on 8 July 1922 in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is t ...

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

, Norway, Eva Sivertsen was the daughter of John Ludvig Sivertsen (1879–1970) and Ragna Oline Moe (1891–1992). She enrolled at the department of English in the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

in 1943. In addition she did a postgraduate diploma in phonetics at the department of phonetics, in the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she conducted the field study for her doctoral thesis on Cockney, an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners, in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

. She later completed her doctoral thesis from the University of Oslo. She also had study stay in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, USA. Her work on Cockney has been criticised by

K.M. Petyt Keith Malcolm Petyt (; born February 1941) is a sociolinguist and historian. As a native of Bradford, he investigated the speech of West Yorkshire in his early work. His first publication, ''Emily Brontë and the Haworth Dialect'', compared the ...

for offering a description of a dialect spoken by millions based on a sample of just four elderly women. In 1957 she started her teaching career as a lecture at the department of English in the

. Between 1961 and 1992, she served as the professor of English linguistics at the

Norwegian College of General Sciences Norwegian College of General Sciences () or AVH is a former Norwegian college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offer ...

, earlier known as the Norwegian Teachers' College, which was part of the

University of Trondheim The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...

. For a period of 15 years, she headed the department of English at Trondheim University. She also served as a rector of the University of Trondheim from 1975 to 1981. She was the secretary of the Eighth International Congress of Linguists, held in Oslo in 1957 and edited its proceedings. She was influenced by the works of

Charles F. Hockett Charles Francis Hockett (January 17, 1916 – November 3, 2000) was an American linguist who developed many influential ideas in American structuralist linguistics. He represents the post- Bloomfieldian phase of structuralism often referred to ...

, a noted American linguist. She also worked with renowned scholars like Gordon R. Peterson and Kenneth L. Pike during her stay in abroad. Her works on phonetics and phonology were published by the Oslo University Press as ''Cockney Phonology'' in 1960. She was the member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

, a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. She was also associated with the

Norsk Tipping Norsk Tipping is a Norwegian gambling company headquartered in Hamar, Norway. Founded in 1948, Norsk Tipping is owned by the Norwegian government and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The company offers a wide range of lottery ...

and the Norwegian Lottery Association. She held several administrative responsibilities in a number of professional organizations including the Norwegian Adult Education institute, the Norwegian UNESCO Committee, the Research Council for the Norwegian School Board and the Council for Humanistic Research. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

in 1980. To recognize her distinguished services, she was conferred the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav in 1982. She died in Trondheim on 22 November 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivertsen, Eva 1922 births 2009 deaths Norwegian expatriates in England Rectors of universities and colleges in Norway Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters