[name]Hi[/name] Dearest,
It was so cool to hear the Norwegian pronunciation of Amund. I am dying to know the authentic pronunciation of these Norwegian names: [name]Ole[/name], Synneva, Seborg, Lien, and B”rsheim. Would you be so kind as to either write the pronunciation or add them to forvo.com. Thank you!
Of course Everwaiting! I’m happy to help 
[name]Ole[/name]:
Synneva (same name as Sunniva which is the common from):
Seborg (surname, right?):
Lien (another surname, word for ‘hillside’):
B”rsheim:
For B”rsheim the pronunciation will vary more depending on accent than it will with the other words…
I’ve only added my own natural pronunciation, which is countryside, western Norwegian compound dialect considered normal by me, but I’m uncertain as to which pronunciation is the most widespread. I could add the other one for you as well, but the only difference is the ‘”’ being shorter and the ‘rs’ being more pronounced. It’s really a matter of where you put the stress…
And I love Forvo! ^^ It’ so much easier than trying to explain how the vowels sound in writing… If you look at some other Scandinavian name posts I have contributed to, you’ll find explanations on how to position your tongue in your moth to get the right sound, and in spite of all that hassle I still have no way of knowing if people actually get it right on their end… Forvo is soo much easier!!
I
love the Internet in general I think.
My love for it makes my little brother of 10 think I know everything. He explained to me today that I am all-knowing due to my google-skills XD
The best part is that he has a point, and that in this day and age anyone can be all-knowing if they just have a computer at hand… It triggered the philosopher side of me you could say… ^^
Dear Dearest,
Thank you SO much for taking the time to record the names on Forvo!!
Synneva (my gr-gr-grandmother’s name): I was very surprised at the pronunciations because I always felt certain I was mispronouncing it, but loved the way I imagined it to be pronounced. I learned that I was basically pronouncing it right, but the vowels are supposed to be shortened a bit. I have a picture of Synneva’s wedding picture in my hallway, and I can now think of her name when I look at it and not feel like I am mispronouncing it.
[name]Ole[/name]: I had been 99.999% sure I knew the correct pronunciation, but I now know that I was wrong. I am so glad to find out the authentic pronunciation!
Seborg: I thought it had a long E sound… again, I was wrong! It is interesting that the “org” portion of the name is not nearly as hard as my English way of saying it. (I assume the same softer sound applies to [name]Ingeborg[/name] too.)
Lien: I was only half right on this one. Very interesting! I know this is a common farm name in Norway. My branch was from Vang (Valdres).
B”rsheim: I always thought of it as being the long o sound and having the “sh” sound, which is wrong. I am so glad to finally know how to say this farm name/ surname from Ulvik (Hordaland)!
Dearest, thanks so much for helping me finally call my ancestors by the right name! My Norwegian branch married into a long-standing [name]German[/name] line, which married into another long-standing [name]German[/name] line, so I have had no Norwegian relatives to ask about the family, the names, etc.
On this topic, I have to say that I am with your little brother in viewing you as the all-knowing one!! I know no one else who could answer these questions I’ve wondered about for years. Thanks again very much for your time and help!!!