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Talk to me about Norwegian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 4924 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes  Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 9 of 15 13 May 2011 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | |||||
Somewhere I read that the reason for this could be the increased exposure of Swedish that Norwegians have with TV and radio programming, news, etc. I tend to believe that. I don't think Swedes have the same exposure to Norwegian. I'm an outsider looking in though, so that's purely opinion. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5247 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 10 of 15 13 May 2011 at 4:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
I have heard that explanation many times and I doubt that it is true. A lot of us have grown up without access to Swedish TV and radio. Still, we have no trouble understanding Swedish. I think it has more to do with exposure to different dialects and variants of the language. In addition to having two written standards, we are used to hearing all sorts of dialects all the time. Edited by tractor on 13 May 2011 at 4:38pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tricoteuse Pentaglot Senior Member Norway littlang.blogspot.co Joined 6472 days ago 745 posts - 845 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian | Message 12 of 15 13 May 2011 at 7:02pm | IP Logged | |||||
I disagree. I know many Norwegians who do NOT understand Swedish, and the standard explanation is "I didn't have Swedish TV growing up". If I were to speak actual Swedish to them, we would have a serious problem (even though they actually think I speak Swedish, which is funny). As a matter of fact, all that about Norwegians understanding Swedish is simply not true. They do not understand all dialects etc., even though they may understand more than any standard Swede without prior exposure to Norwegian would understand Norwegian. The first time I heard spoken Norwegian was when I moved to Norway, not while living in Sweden. Norwegians hear Swedish all the time. However, if you - as a foreigner - have learned either language and speak rather slowly, I think no side will have any great trouble understanding you. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5247 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 13 of 15 13 May 2011 at 7:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
Really? And you're not speaking to them in some weird Scania dialect..? ;-)
And yet do not understand? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tricoteuse Pentaglot Senior Member Norway littlang.blogspot.co Joined 6472 days ago 745 posts - 845 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian | Message 14 of 15 13 May 2011 at 7:46pm | IP Logged | |||||
Nopes, I'm from the north. Appropriately enough, Northerners understand me best, even perfectly sometimes.
Those who have grown up with TV usually understand - my boyfriend and his family for example. My classmates at Uni from Oslo or the south (10 or so years younger) often just stare and I have to rephrase and rephrase if I forget the Norwegian word for something. But a friend of mine from the north has the theory that many Norwegians don't WANT to understand Swedish. They tell themselves that they don't understand - and they don't try either. Still, you have lots of exposure here so if you want to understand Swedish, it shouldn't be very hard. I think everyone has Swedish TV now, and if you live in Oslo you meet Swedes every day. In Sweden we don't have Norwegian TV, so it's hard to get exposure, and Norwegians don't go to Sweden to work. Edited by tricoteuse on 13 May 2011 at 7:46pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5247 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 15 of 15 13 May 2011 at 8:18pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yes, now everybody has Swedish TV, but it has not always been like that. In and around Oslo they have had access to Swedish TV for decades, so according to the "TV theory" they are exactly the people that should understand Swedish the best. There may be something in your friend's theory about them not wanting to understand. I know that stare. I am from the North. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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