Learning Norwegian and Swedish (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

Learning Norwegian and Swedish
Tags: Simultaneous study \| Norwegian \| Swedish
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Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages

10 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

GREGORG4000
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5525 days ago
307 posts - 479 votes

Speaks: English*, Finnish
Studies: Japanese, Korean, Amharic, French

Message 9 of 10

15 June 2010 at 8:06pm | IP Logged

I remember the first time I heard Finnish-Swedish, it sounded like Finnish but instead of understanding about half of it, I only understood none of it and was very confused. If I study Swedish I hope to learn that variety as well. Similarly, the first time I heard Sweden-Swedish, I thought it was a German dialect and got confused.

Edited by GREGORG4000 on 15 June 2010 at 8:10pm
1 person has voted this message useful

feanarosurion
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 5283 days ago
217 posts - 316 votes

Speaks: English*
Studies: Finnish, Norwegian

Message 10 of 10

15 June 2010 at 11:23pm | IP Logged

chirel wrote:

I can't tell you which language to choose, but I would like to point out that you would not be understood in Finland
if you spoke Norwegian. It's too different from Finnish-Swedish. Even Swedish-Swedish is often too difficult for
Finns to understand.

There are plenty of opportunities to learn Swedish in Finland as almost everything (roadsigns, packaging texts...)
can be found in both languages (subtitles on TV even) and there are large cities where you can easily find Swedish
communities and on the western coast there are Swedish towns.

So just my two cents to help you decide.

Well, my goal in Finland is to speak Finnish fluently, even bilingually. That's my main focus. So learning Norwegian or Swedish wouldn't be to be understood in Finland. It would be to learn those languages, and possibly branch out further in the future. Learning the other official language of Finland is just a bonus to be honest. And if the Finnish-Swedish dialect is so different from the mainstream language, it makes sense to just learn it actively when I'm in Finland as a secondary pursuit. So I think I'll actually study Norwegian first to familiarize myself with the Scandinavian languages, then study Swedish in Finland so I speak that specific dialect, instead of learning the mainstream language and having difficulty being understood whenever I have the opportunity to speak Swedish. Thanks very much for the advice, I certainly appreciate it.
1 person has voted this message useful

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