When learning a new language, it’s very useful to have a better idea and understanding the language origins, history and those little things that make it unique.
Learning a language is a very crucial aspect of migrating to any country, but in Norway, there are other extra things to contemplate before diving in.
If you are interested about learning Norwegian, then this post may help you in your journey.
Is Norwegian an easy language to learn? The Norwegian language is not so easy and not so hard, however, it relies to some extent. Let’s say if you are an English speaker knows how to speak Danish or Swedish you probably find the Norwegian language a bit easier for you.
But, if you’re a Greek or Arabic and you even don’t know what the English language is or neither understand and speak English since birth, you’ll be encountering difficulty and problems throughout the process.
Even if you have knowledge in English language, or you are an English speaker still you surely can’t learn the Norwegian language as quickly as you tweak your fingers and thumbs.
There’s a possibility that you experience a headache when you encounters accent and vocabulary, grammar and syntax and much more. However, if you have the power of determination, dedication, and goal you can nail it and able to soar high with this language.
Factors that affects the Norwegian language not so easy and not so hard you may take a glance towards these variations:
- Verbs have different endings
- Tag questions are structured uniquely
- The future tense make other forms
- Vowel is generally fast spoken
- Alphabet letters are replaced with other letters or changed completely.
To get rid of the difficulties in learning this language – most aspirants begin by learning Bokmål as it is the prominent language, and many materials available in the market that can help you. Through learning Bokmål first and next is Nynorsk – able you to familiarize Norwegians dialect easily.
Except for the language itself, the difficult part to master in Norwegian language is to choose the right prepositions and how to distinguish between the two distinct pitched tones, particularly in a song-like intonation.
Despite being a diverse language learning the Norwegian language is a great chance to understand other languages such as, Danish and Swedish as well. A good opportunity to widen your knowledge about their culture and heritage.
Why learn Norwegian?
There are various languages to choose from but one can make mistakes of ignoring Norwegian. It is one of the top countries to dwell in and has a peaceful environment. Learning Norwegian can help enhance your personal and business life.
Norway has a captivating culture
Norway has often been placed as ‘the best country to live in’ by the United Nations Human Development Report. It tops in the whole world in the maritime and energy industries, architecture, agriculture and many more.
This country is also rated top for educational levels and luxurious life. One of the excellent welfare systems in the globe, ensuring that unemployed Norwegians or incapable workers are supported by the government of Norway. The country people are living peacefully with zero crime rates all over the world.
Norwegian is a parliamentary language
It was started early in 1878 that Norwegians children were taught in their own language at school. Given the freedom to speak in their own spoken language and the teachers have no right to amend what the way children speak. Norwegians used even their own language in posting all over social media. This is how Norwegians express their dialect identity in a democratic way.
Spoken globally
There are around six million Norwegian speakers all throughout the world.
Learning Norwegian language is a great advantage to every corner of the world.
Very useful
Norwegians are known with their democratic language. They wanted to preserve their identity in a democratic way. Since Norwegian is a parliamentary language surely the governmental job position requires a Norwegian speaker to get the job. In this case if your goal is to get a job in Norway, choosing Norwegian language is the best decision you’ll ever make.
Relieve of learning
English speakers are very lucky when learning the Norwegian language as they have the edge to succeed in this language. Norwegian grammar is easier to understand compared to other Germanic languages along with the word order. Norwegian language is a right fit for English speakers to learn.
To get you started here’s the 50 Phrases Every Norwegian Beginner Must-Know:
What is Norwegian Language?
Introduction to the Norwegian Language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language in the Kingdom of Norway with around five million people living, along with Swedish, Icelandic and Danish. Norwegian language come from Old Norse that are commonly comprehensible to some areas.
Earlier at the time of unity with Denmark, Old Norwegian was extensively spoken. It was a diverse of Old Norse the same to Old Icelandic but with local variations all throughout Norway.
If you have a better knowledge of Norwegian it’s an opportunity to communicate with Norwegians, and you can converse also to people in Sweden and Denmark. The spoken languages of these three Scandinavian countries are the same and in most instances you can use this Norwegian language to Danes and Swedes too, you will also be able to read written script in Swedish and Danish as well.
Norwegian pronunciation – Learn Norwegian (standard østnorsk) here:
https://youtu.be/i3H5fLIsVGI
Norwegian Writing Script
There are two ways of Writing Norwegian;
Bokmål(1380–1814) – was based on written Danish from the year 1380 to 1814, this is an official language of Norway for more than four hundred years.
The major population of the people in Norway is using Bokmål, and it is broadly used in Eastern Norway.
A written text used by 80-90% of Norwegians population and in the huge majority of towns, Bokmål has its origin in Danish.
Nynorsk(1850) – a combination of mainly Western Norwegian regional dialects. It is used by around 10–15 percent of people on the west coast. Aside from Bokmål and Nynorsk there are more different written norms.
Nynorsk is a compulsory subject at primary school in Norway, so the comprehension of the substitute spellings is high. This script is regularly seen on the internet website of the state broadcaster, used in journalism and subjected to use either any form.
Consequently, Bokmål is widely understandable for a learner using Nynorsk, and conversely. Although Nynorsk is not widely used, you will find several street signs written in both forms.
The Norwegian dialects are separated into distinct parts geographically into four major groups:
- Vestlandsk (Western Norwegian)
- Østlandsk or Østnorsk (Easter Norwegian)
- Trøndersk (Norwegian of the Trøndelag county, Central Norwegian)
- and Nordnorsk (Northern Norwegian)
Whether it’s written in Bokmål or Nynorsk, a few Norwegians speak the way a word is written. Instead, they usually use their local dialects.
Norway is just like counties incorporate varied cities, towns, and villages, each dialect has its own colony determined on the area.
Norway’s powerful regional dialects can essentially change when hearing someone is speaking – mostly in various other countries.
Moreover, for Norwegians the dialect is a very important aspect of their being, by hearing the intonation of the person you can easily distinguish the person’s identity from which country he or she came from.
How the Norwegian language is related to English?
Did you know that the Norwegian language come from Old Norse? Old Norse widely influenced many languages. In fact, Norwegian language is one of the modern descendants of the Old West Norse dialect.
What is Old Norse? Old Norse was a North Germanic language that was used by the residents of Scandinavia and their foreign communities from the 9th-13th centuries.
It was separated into three dialects namely; the Old West Norse, Old East Norse, and Old Gutnish. The Old East Norse characteristic was established in Eastern Norway in which the Norwegian language begins, although ancient Norwegians was categorized as the Old West Norse.
The large majority of Norwegian people can speak English better just like the Scandinavians. English is taught from the age of eight and so most Norwegians are efficient from the moment they reach their teenage years.
Most universities in Norway have an educational program and courses that are mentored to the students in English form.
Norwegians are efficient from their primary years until the third year of school – that ability supports itself throughout adult life with the submission to English language culture on Television, movies and the internet.
Tips on how to be a good language learner
Have Enough Courage
Good learners have no room for shyness. Be confident in facing other people and try to enhance your new language by being unafraid to face the outside world.
Hesitation doesn’t stop learners to try new things, even committing mistakes, that’s the best way to get better.
Observant
Good language learners identify their own mistakes and ready to admit whatever it was. Good learners know how to pay attention and can weigh things accordingly.
Curious and Creative
He or she must be naturally curious and strive to take the challenge.
Self-motivated
Good language learners understand their goal.
Whether you wanted to learn how to get a job, or survive in overseas country. Perhaps to visit with family a good language learner is motivated. Must have the goal to take language learning seriously.
Has the courage to learn independently and practice consistently.
Patient
You must have patience to every walk as you step into the path of reaching your goal towards learning a new language.
Learn how to understand the possible circumstances that are coming your way.
Excellent language learners are patient enough to overcome the difficulties that possibly cross their path.
You should be patient with yourself, and aware that it takes a long time to learn a language, so that you will not get frustrated.
Can appreciate the language for what it is, you’re ready to take care of yourself if there’s a time that you don’t succeed as early as you’d like to happen.
You should know not to place pressure on yourself as this journey is a process that needs focus.
Related Questions:
What makes Norwegian unique?
Norwegians obstinately hold on to community dialects that immense over time and develop in different ways depending on whether they were spoken.
Sentence construction
Norwegians love their dialect in truth. There’s a long-running radio show so-called “Språkteigen” a program that concentrating the linguistic nuisance where the audience have the chance to ask the hosts about it. Many television series has the same set up airing concerning Norwegian language.
Here are some of the examples of wrong or funny use of language that made a great hit on TV;
Norwegian: “Kvinne overrasket av ulv på vei til jobb.”
English version: “Woman surprised when she saw a wolf on her way to work.”
But the structure in Norwegian can read as if “she was astonished by the wolf on his way to work.” Which would indeed amazing.
Spelling standard
The main reason why the language is very imperative to Norwegians was when the development of “nation-building” and the creation of an identity. The School authorities implemented the spelling standards from the refine in 1938 for primary school kids, parents used pens and crossed out and made corrections on the spelling in textbooks. That scenario created a mass of public bonfires of books holding the misspelled texts.
The discussion on the proper writing and thought of the Norwegian words is not called “the language debate, ” rather “Språkstriden, ” means the language fight.
Way of reading of numbers
The Norwegian government in 1951 determined that numbers should be read as “fifty-one, “not “one-and-fifty.” Norwegians used the old number reading in private whilst the new way in the more formal form.
The Norwegians have a strong conviction in terms of language identity. They refused their dialect has been controlled as they love and treasure their dialects. By presenting the way their dialect should be and even counting on the mistaken way, Norwegians pursue to express in their own way. They are distinct individuals originating in a country they wanted to call “annerledeslandet” (the diverse country).
What language is closer to Norwegian?
Some people often wonder if they succeed in learning one of the Scandinavian languages, they can take with the same vocabulary in other Scandinavian languages.
So what language would be the most beneficial to learn so you have a head start at communicating with the natives all over Scandinavia?
Relation
Danish is closer to Norwegian language they are both similar of all the Scandinavians languages. As a cluster such as Norwegian, Danish and Swedish are mostly closely similar and from the three countries, Denmark, Sweden and Norway – the people originating here can understand each other.
Previously mentioned, the two most closely languages are Danish and Norwegian. Earlier Norway was under Denmark and this is the reason why these two languages shared the same vocabulary.
Although the Swedish language has similarity to Norwegian but there are varied words that a Dane and a Swedes cannot understand besides these people are friends or knew each other.
Differences
The major differences between the Norwegian language and Danish are; how the words are spelled and how the words are pronounced. The words are similar but spelled slightly unique, however, in most cases the words existed in other languages have the same meaning with the other. Simply because they have the same vocabulary meaning still they understand each other well.
Best example for this is:
Toothpaste—-tooth cream
An example in English is toothpaste and tooth cream. Norwegians and Danes can grasp the other language much easily as their own.
On the other hand, it is feasible for Danes and Norwegians to read Swedish words, but it needs more effort because of the great differences they have.
Additionally, understanding of one another relies frequent practice – like a scene when a Japanese person tries to study and understand a Chinese person. You will encounter many new words, but it’s quite achievable to prepare yourself no matter what circumstances it will be.
Conclusion:
Taking one of these languages is possibly an advantage, whether you’re a traveller, a student or businessman. If you are willing to learn a new language such as one of these Scandinavian languages, there are many free online resources out there, and there are language lessons accessible near you as well.
If your feeling you can’t able to learn Norwegian due to its complexity just keep in mind that learning a new language is naturally difficult. But one thing for sure is you can able to bridge the gap through perseverance and focused.
It is very essential that you are determined in practicing the language you are learning into your daily life.
Now you can see how learning your chosen language isn’t magical. There’s no power involved, but there is a hidden formula.
Learning a new language is a process and challenging, but, imitating these qualities and tips is a good start. It’s very crucial to practice these guides to reach your learning objectives a success.
