|
 |
English in Scandinavia | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| alexptrans Pentaglot Senior Member Israel Joined 6764 days ago 208 posts - 236 votes  Speaks: English, Modern Hebrew, Russian*, French, Arabic (Written) Studies: Icelandic | Message 9 of 32 27 July 2009 at 11:25am | IP Logged | ||||||||
|
Thanks. I started dabbling in Icelandic a bit (the grammar is actually similar to my native Russian) but it's a little discouraging that English is so widespread there. Edited by alexptrans on 27 July 2009 at 11:26am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tricoteuse Pentaglot Senior Member Norway littlang.blogspot.co Joined 6677 days ago 745 posts - 845 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian | Message 10 of 32 27 July 2009 at 3:16pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
|
We actually encountered a waitress at a restaurant this weekend that didn't speak English. She obviously wasn't originally from Norway, but her Norwegian was native like.
The funny thing was that the extremely complex English she didn't understand was "Bacardi?" 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| aloysius Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6239 days ago 226 posts - 291 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, German Studies: French, Greek, Italian, Russian | Message 11 of 32 27 July 2009 at 11:55pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Which made me wonder, naturally: how do you say Bacardi in Norwegian ... ? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| densou Senior Member Italy foto.webalice.it/denRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6131 days ago 120 posts - 121 votes Speaks: Italian* | Message 12 of 32 28 July 2009 at 1:29am | IP Logged | ||||||||
perhaps 'Bacarhdhi' ? ;)
It also happened to me but with youngsters only. (Oslo) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| anamsc Triglot Senior Member Andorra Joined 6202 days ago 296 posts - 382 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Written), French | Message 13 of 32 28 July 2009 at 2:08am | IP Logged | ||||||||
|
There's a large population of Norwegian students at my school, and I've found it quite interesting how "un-fluent"
their English is. Of course, they tend to all be able to get by and to take classes in English and everything, and they certainly speak English better than I speak Norwegian :), but in my experience, many seem to have trouble expressing themselves and understanding normal (non-classroom) speech. Considering the reported high level of English in Scandanavia and the fact that these are young university students, I would have thought that they would have been much more fluent. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5837 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 14 of 32 28 July 2009 at 2:49am | IP Logged | ||||||||
Well perhaps I should have mentioned that there is a lower limit too. Starting studies at a relaxed pace at around 9 years old, they are not at a decent level until maybe 13 - 15 or so. None of the Scandinavian countries have tough exams for young children and allow the process to take its time.
The fact that they are able to take university classes and pass them shows that their English is at a very high level. Scandinavians aren't as chatty and easygoing as Americans. These people might just have different social manners and be unfamilar with your way of speaking. These problems don't seem to occur in places like Ibiza, Cyprus etc were European university students meet and spend time together interacting in English. It would be much more problematic if they could hang out and chat with you, but weren't advanced enough to follow the lectures! Comparisons with an American persons ability to speak Norwegian aren't relevant since it's not a commonly studied language in the US. However Spanish and French seem to be common languages. Could the majority of American high school students attend a Spanish or French speaking university alongside native students and pass courses, straight out of high-school? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 6033 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes 5 sounds | Message 15 of 32 28 July 2009 at 4:15am | IP Logged | ||||||||
The kind of English used outside of university might indeed be more 'advanced', because people are using a lot of slang and regional expression. This, and the lower tolerance to people whose native language is not English, can be problematic. Of course, every challenge can be conquered given time and persistence. Regarding Scandinavian people in general, I absolutely agree that most are quite good at English. It is not always the case that you can't detect an accent but I have never encountered someone who can't express himself/herself fluently. Edited by Sennin on 28 July 2009 at 4:21am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| anamsc Triglot Senior Member Andorra Joined 6202 days ago 296 posts - 382 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan Studies: Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Written), French | Message 16 of 32 28 July 2009 at 4:23am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I have to absolutely disagree with your first statement. I just spent a year abroad in Spain (and by the way, I don't think there's universities in Ibiza, but at least in Barcelona most people interacted in Spanish), and I know many people who had no trouble understanding their classes but did have difficulty functioning in daily life. Speech in classes is slower and uses a register that has more common words between languages (for example, lots of Latin, Greek, and French borrowings). Also, there's lots of it, so if you get lost you'll immediately have cues to help you get back on track. I know in my experience, I could understand my classes in Catalan much before I could hang out with people and participate in conversations easily. I have no doubt that it's easier, and I do know plenty of people who take classes who I wouldn't say their English is at a high level. And I'm not in any way saying that language skills in the US are comparable to those in Scandinavia, so please don't get touchy. However, skills in the US are notoriously bad and in Scandanavia they are purportedly incredible. All I'm saying is that that's not the case. This thread is about English in Scandinavia, not Spanish skills in the US. Edited by anamsc on 28 July 2009 at 4:24am 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
