The Birch-Tree of Our Lord

This review is from: Alvdalska vaxtnamn: Forr och nu (Skrifter utgivna genom Dialekt- och folkminnesarkivet i Uppsala) (Swedish Edition) (Hardcover)

This is definitely one of the most obscure publications on sale here. Lars Steensland is an expert on älvdalsmål or övdalska, a peculiar dialect of Swedish spoken in Älvdalens socken, a small area in northern Dalarna (Dalecarlia). In English, this dialect is called Elfdalian (sometimes Övdalian). It's so archaic and unusual, that many consider it a separate language rather than a Swedish dialect. It was written using runes (when it was written at all) as late as 1900. The book is the result of Steensland's ethnological research in Älvdalen. The work is in standard Swedish, and is of interest only to hardboiled language students or local patriots, being a long inventory of Elfdalian plant names. It's also available on the web.

When I was casually browsing the material, I noted that Elfdalians use the local word for pear to denote potatoes; that they didn't like geraniums, calling them by an expletive or comparing them to fat women; and that orchids (of course) have fanciful names such as uärrabyörk (The Birch-tree of Our Lord). We also learn that cows are often named Lilja, which means lily in both standard Swedish and standard Elfdalian…

Five stars, what else can I do?