Norwegian Makes Norwegians Unique
Most Norwegians love their language and they love talking about it there is a long-running radio show called Språkteigen that deals with linguistic issues and answers questions from listeners, and there have been several television series dedicated to making light entertainment out of language.
In print and social media examples of wrong or funny use of language abound. Not least of the type: Kvinne overrasket av ulv på vei til jobb. This means Woman surprised when she saw wolf on her way to work, but the construction in Norwegian can read as if she was surprised by the wolf on his way to work. Which would indeed be surprising.
One reason the language is so important to Norwegians is the crucial role it played in the process of nation-building and the construction of an identity. When the Norwegian school authorities tried to impose the spelling standards from the reform in 1938 on school children, parents would use pens and cross out and correct the spelling in the textbooks, and there were even public bonfires of textbooks containing the hated spelling.
The debate about how Norwegian should be written and taught is not called the language debate, but Språkstriden, the language fight. They may hand out the Nobel Peace Price, but amid the cold snow Norwegians can get hot under the collar about really important things, such as the spelling of snow. The offical spelling is snø, but conservative language users prefer the spelling inherited from Danish: sne.
What Languages Are Spoken In Norway
Norwegian is the official and most spoken language of Norway. The Nynorsk and Bokmål are the two written standards of Norwegian. Sami and Kven are spoken by Norwegians residing in specific regions of the country. The ethnic Swedes, Finns, Russians, and Romanis of Norway speak their native languages in the country. English is the most popular foreign language spoken in Norway.
Where Does The Norwegian Language Come From
Lets take a look at the roots of Norwegian.The official language of Norway has two popular dialects to name. Bokmal andNynorsk. In some Norwegian cities and districts, there are minorities thatstill speak indigenous Sami languages. Some of the other languages spoken inNorway are Kven, Finnish and also Rodi which is known as the indigenous travelerslanguage. While the syntax and origin of specific languages spoken in Norway maydiffer, most Norwegian languages like Rodi language are entirely Nordic interms of morphology and grammar. Norwegian is the most widely spoken languagein the country. The Norway language is coming from Europe, its origins are fromProto-Indo-European languages. Norwegian languages are influenced byScandinavian languages but because of its history, the Danish language has themost influence on it. While the usage of Norwegian is common throughout thecountry, certain Sami languages are mainly spoken in northern parts of thecountry.
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Norways Official Languages: Norwegian And Sami
Norway has two official languages, Norwegian and Sami. Norwegian is by far the language spoken by the majority of the population. Sami is spoken by the Sami people, who inhabit the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. There are also a number of minority languages spoken in Norway, such as Romani, Kven, and sign languages.
The Norwegian language is Norways official language, spoken by 95 percent of the population. It is spoken by various indigenous and immigrant languages. In addition, Norwegians today use two written standards. The official language of four Western Norwegian counties is Nynorsk . There are many Swedish, Finn, and Russian immigrants in Norway. It is a language spoken by the Norwegian Traveller, a nomadic indigenous group of people who speak Romani. Finnish kven is a dialect spoken by a small group of people in the countrys northeast.
There are 4.5 million English speakers in Norway, 90 percent of whom speak English as a second language.
When it comes to vocabulary, Danish and Norwegian are strikingly similar, or almost identical in any way, but they sound very different from each other. In terms of pronunciation, Norwegian and Swedish are more similar than they are different.
What Languages Do Norwegians Speak
As their native language, Norwegians speak Norwegian, and write in one or both of the two principal written forms of the language: Bokmål and Nynorsk. Both of these are taught in schools.
English is taught from around the age of 8 and so most Norwegians are fluent by the time they reach their teenage years.
Many also choose to learn a second foreign language either at school or for fun, with German and Spanish seeming to be the most popular options at the moment. Of course, there are also some minority languages including Sami and Kven that are spoken natively by some select groups.
Now let’s look at the languages of Norway in a little more detail, because if you’re going to be learning Norwegian, it’s important to know the differences.
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Norwegian Is A Scandinavian Language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language with approximately five million speakers mainly confined to the Kingdom of Norway. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum, meaning that different dialects of these languages are mutually intelligible to some extent.
Spoken Norwegian has more of the harder consonants than Danish t rather than d and p rather than b, for example, and less fluid pronunciation. One famous example of this difference is the Danish for red porridge with cream: pronounced roegroe meh floe-eh in Danish, but roegroeT me floeTe in Norwegian. The Swedish version would be roedgroet med grädde . Notice that Swedish also uses a completely different word for cream , but the pronunciation is closer to Norwegian.
The red porridge shibboleth illustrates the differences between the three languages: Norwegians find Danish easy to read but very difficult to understand spoken, whilst Swedish is more easily understood, as long as you know that glass is ice cream, not a receptacle for drink, as it is in Norwegian.
Norwegian uses the Latin alphabet and adds on the three characters æ, ø and å, for good measure.
Immigrant And Minority Languages
Norway is home to immigrant populations of Swedes, Finns, Russians and Romanis , all of whom speak their mother tongues. Romani, in particular, is a relatively large minority language in Norway, with about 500 speakers of Vlax Romani and 6,000 speakers of Tavringer Romani.
The Norwegian Traveller language, or Rodi, is spoken by the Norwegian Traveller population, a nomadic indigenous minority group . The language is related to Norwegian but has Northern Romani and German Rotwelsch lexical influences.
Kven is a dialect of Finnish spoken by a small population of people in the northeastern part of the country. Its more similar to Tornedalen Finnish than Standard Finnish, but theyre generally mutually intelligible, minus some differences in vocabulary.
As its the most popular foreign language taught in school, nearly 90 percent Norwegians are also fluent in English by the time theyre teenagers. Norway is one of the top five countries in the EF English Proficiency Index.
Norway is also home to sizable populations of Bosnian, Danish, Iranian Persian, Lithuanian, Polish, Somali, Spanish, German, Latvian, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese speakers.
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Norway Land Of Many Dialects
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As well as the two biggest written languages there are today also many important dialects that are used in day to day life.All Norwegians speak a dialect.In Oslo a dialect is spoken that is very similar to Bokmål, but it is note a purely written language like Bokmål.In Norway there is no standard pronunciation, on television either Nynorsk or Bokmål or dialects are used.Although Bokmå and Nynorsk are similar there are differences. |
How Many People Speak Norwegian In The Rest Of The World
There are not a huge number of speakers of Norwegian in countries other than Norway. Spain is one of the biggest with reportedly about 50,000 Norwegians, many of whom moved there after retiring. There are about 40,000 Norwegian speakers who live in the United States, and Norwegians can also be found in places all over Europe.
Norwegian speakers are found in decent numbers in Sweden and Denmark because the mutual intelligibility of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish allows for a lot of cultural interchange. Knowing Norwegian technically allows you to speak to about 20 million other people, even if only about 5.2 million speak Norwegian specifically.
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Iceland Most Isolated Country In The World
Iceland is one of the most isolated countries in the world, and its also one of the most sparsely populated. However, that doesnt mean that Icelanders dont have their own national language or any literary heritage! In fact, Icelanders have created quite an extensive language thats not only spoken in Iceland but also used by some Icelandic immigrants in Europe, Canada, and the United States making it a common language worldwide. Heres everything you need to know about what language is spoken in Iceland and why its so special!
Civil War And Peak Of Power
From the 1040s to 1130, the country was at peace. In 1130, the broke out on the basis of , which allowed all the king’s sons to rule jointly. For periods there could be peace, before a lesser son allied himself with a chieftain and started a new conflict. The was created in 1152 and attempted to control the appointment of kings. The church inevitably had to take sides in the conflicts, with the civil wars also becoming an issue regarding the church’s influence of the king. The wars ended in 1217 with the appointment of , who introduced clear law of succession.
From 1000 to 1300, the population increased from 150,000 to 400,000, resulting both in more land being cleared and the subdivision of farms. While in the Viking Age all farmers owned their own land, by 1300, seventy percent of the land was owned by the king, the church, or the aristocracy. This was a gradual process which took place because of farmers borrowing money in poor times and not being able to repay. However, tenants always remained free men and the large distances and often scattered ownership meant that they enjoyed much more freedom than continental serfs. In the 13th century, about twenty percent of a farmer’s yield went to the king, church and landowners.
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Is English Widely Spoken In Norway
Yes, English is widely spoken in Norway. In fact, English is one of the official languages of Norway, along with Norwegian, Sami, and a few others. English is taught in Norwegian schools starting in elementary school, so most Norwegians are quite fluent in the language. In addition, because Norway is such a popular tourist destination, many Norwegians also learn other languages, such as German, French, and Spanish.
In Norway, there is no second language other than English. According to the EF Educations English Proficiency Index, Norway ranks fifth among the top five countries for English proficiency among non-native speakers. Approximately 90% of Norwegians are fluent in English as their second language. Norway does not speak an English-language business. English-language films and TV shows are not translated into Norwegian. As a result, Norwegians have maintained a high level of English proficiency through this exposure. A person who speaks English can live in Norway without having to learn Norwegian.
There are numerous job opportunities for English speakers in Norway. English proficiency ensures that there is no language barrier at work. Even if you have native English skills, they do not really help you. If you want to find work, youll need to demonstrate other skills to your potential employer.
Is Norwegian Hard To Learn
Norwegian is one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers, just as Swedish and many other Scandinavian languages are. English is frequently spoken proficiently by Norwegian speakers, similar to that of Swedish and Dutch, but learning the language at times can be difficult.
It is a North Germanic language with grammar similar to that of Germany, and this can be seen in the way it is written. If you speak Dutch or German, you will be able to quickly learn Norwegian. You may find that learning another language is more difficult in a Roman language, such as Italian, French, or Spanish. Vietnamese is the worlds official language, which is roughly 500 miles away from Norwegian in pronunciation. It is possible to accomplish anything if you put in the effort and energy. Danes eat half of the consonants and all of the vowels, so it appears that they said one word when they said two full sentences. Words are only a part of language.
This language is influenced by a variety of Norwegian cultures. Takk for maten after eating, and not after a meal, is a good rule of thumb. According to Janteloven, we should not brag, nor should we make anyone stand out. Learning a language necessitates a change of environment, as you must break free of your comfort zone in order to make those connections. You will look like an idiot at first, but make no mistake: it does not matter how bad you look. Accept all that is given to you. It will improve as time passes.
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How To Learn Icelandic
Icelandic is a North Germanic language spoken by about 330,000 people worldwide. Icelandic is considered one of Europes most difficult languages to learn because it has more distinct sounds than most European languages . However, after learning to speak Icelandic for a few weeks, youll begin to notice how similar it actually is to English international language.
For example, many words in Icelandic which is a primary language are formed using vowel combinations that are used in English , and many other words are spelled similarly to their English counterparts. If you already know some German or Danish as a Foreign language, then you might find it easier to pick up on some of these similarities between languages. Icelandic also uses lots of fricativesthe th soundso if you have trouble with those, you may want to stick with another Scandinavian language such as Swedish or Norwegian.
On top of all that, Icelanders speak at a rapid-fire pace mastering proper pronunciation will be your biggest challenge when learning Icelandic! The best way to get started with Icelandic is to listen and repeat native speakers. There are default teaching language courses available but the best is to learn a standard language is not to use any language technology but listen to native speakers.
The Official Languages Of Norway
Norwegian is the official language of Norway. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. It is closely related to Danish and Swedish. Norwegian is spoken as a first language by nearly 95% of the population of Norway. The Nynorsk and the Bokmål are the two written standards of the Norwegian language.
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Do You Want To Learn So Many Languages
Did you enjoy learning about all these interesting languages? I personally am fascinated by the fact that one language can have two different writing systems, the same as the Malay language. Now, if you enjoyed this post and would like to get more fascinating language tips for over 60+ foreign languages, then we highly recommend that you check out our language tips.
If you want to learn standard Norwegian, you can immediately start now by downloading Ling App. Learning Norwegian can be easy if just follow the steps given to you by Ling App. It can help you with your pronunciation, Norwegian words and vocab, common phrases, and many more.
What Languages Of Norway Should I Learn
If you are considering relocating to Norway, you do face a choice. Learning Norwegian is an absolute must if you plan to remain in Norway on a long-term basis. To become a citizen or permanent resident, the majority of people will need to pass Norwegian exams in written, listening and oral skills.
The choice between learning bokmål or nynorsk comes down to where you live. For most learners, bokmål is the obvious choice. This is because the vast majority of educational material is available in bokmål.
If you’re moving to Bergen or a rural part of Western Norway, you could consider Nynorsk. However, I still recommend learning bokmål first, then switching to nynorsk when you’ve mastered the basics.
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Norwegian Has Extremely Long Words
In English, compound nouns are used for some words, such as toothpaste, haircut or bedroom the resulting words are fairly short and manageable. Noun-noun compounding is a very important part of the Norwegian language, and it often leads to the creation of extremely long words.
Norwegian compound nouns will not necessarily be listed in the dictionary, because you can, literally, make them up as you go along. Take for instance menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner, which means human rights organisations. This is not in the dictionary, but it is correct.
Nearly endless possibilities for new compounds lead to lots and lots of squiggly red lines when you write Norwegian on an electronic device. Thankfully, in a country with six months of winter darkness, this phenomenon also gives rise to one of the favourite pastimes of the Norwegian population: pointing out mistakes in compounding words. A much-loved example is the shop announcing they have a special offer on lamme lår , when they in fact mean to offer lammelår .
Africa The Caribbean And South Asia
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English is spoken widely in southern Africa and is an official or co-official language in several countries. In , English has been spoken since 1820, co-existing with and various African languages such as the and . Today, about 9 percent of the South African population speaks as a first language. SAE is a non-rhotic variety, which tends to follow RP as a norm. It is alone among non-rhotic varieties in lacking intrusive r. There are different L2 varieties that differ based on the native language of the speakers. Most phonological differences from RP are in the vowels. Consonant differences include the tendency to pronounce /p, t, t, k/ without aspiration , while r is often pronounced as a flap instead of as the more common fricative.
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Nigerian English is a spoken in . It is based on British English, but in recent years, because of influence from the United States, some words of American English origin have made it into Nigerian English. Additionally, some new words and collocations have emerged from the language, which come from the need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation . Over 150 million Nigerians speak English.
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