Carl Ivar Orgland (13 October 1921 – 16 June 1994) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, translator and poet. He is especially known for his work with
Icelandic culture
The culture of Iceland is rich and varied as well as being known for its literary heritage which began in the 12th century. Icelandic traditional arts include weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area has several professional ...
, and
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...
.
Academic career
He was born in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, finished his secondary education in 1939, and graduated with a
Cand.mag.
Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of stud ...
degree in 1946 and a Cand.philol. degree in 1949. From 1950 onwards, he worked at the
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...
as a
research fellow
A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...
until 1952 and then lecturer in the
Norwegian language
Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regi ...
. He left the University of Iceland in 1960, and after two years as a high school teacher in
Notodden
Notodden () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Notodden.
Notodden was separated from the munici ...
, he became a lecturer in Norwegian at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion In 1969, he also received a
Dr.philos.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
degree. The doctorate, on the subject of
Stefán frá Hvítadal Stefán is a common first name in Iceland.
According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used if disambiguation is required.
''Stefán'' is the Icelandic version of the Greek name Step ...
, was taken at the University of Iceland, and Orgland was the first foreigner to do so. From 1969 to 1973 he was a lecturer at the Oslo Teachers' College, and from 1973 to 1979 he was a lecturer in the
Icelandic language
Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely r ...
at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...
.
Writings
He became known for translating Nordic works to
Nynorsk
Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano- ...
, especially Icelandic—both medieval and modern—but also from the more obscure
Faroese language
Faroese ( ; ''føroyskt mál'' ) is a North Germanic language spoken as a first language by about 72,000 Faroe Islanders, around 53,000 of whom reside on the Faroe Islands and 23,000 in other areas, mainly Denmark.
It is one of five languages des ...
and
Modern Gutnish
Gutnish ( ), or rarely Gutnic ( sv, gutniska or ), refers to the original language spoken on parts of the islands of Gotland and Fårö. The different dialects of Gutnish, while stemming from the Old Gutnish ( sv, Forngutniska) variety of Old N ...
. Anthologies include ''Islandske dikt frå Solarljod til opplysningstid'', ''Islandske gullalderdikt'' and ''Islandske dikt frå vårt hundreår''. For his body of work he won the
Bastian Prize
The Bastian Prize ( no, Bastianprisen) is a prize awarded annually by the Norwegian Association of Literary Translators.
The prize, established in 1951, is given for translating a published work into Norwegian language. The award is a statue made ...
, awarded by the
Norwegian Association of Literary Translators Norwegian Association of Literary Translators ( no, Norsk Oversetterforening) is an association for Norwegian literary translators, founded in 1948. The association has awarded the annual Bastian Prize from 1951, for best literary translation into ...
, in 1986. He also issued several original works of poetry, having debuted in 1950 with the work ''Lilje og sverd'' ('Lily and Sword'). He has also written Norwegian-Icelandic dictionaries. During his younger days, he was also a
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
singer.
He was decorated with the Commander Cross of the Icelandic
Order of the Falcon
The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. ...
. He lived in
Asker
Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker) in Viken count ...