Learning Norsk

[Basa Benejan]

Most new students learn bokml as it's the most commonly used variant, and is also used in most towns and cities. Nynorsk is more popular in more rural areas, particular along the west coast and in the fjord regions.

Before you dive in, it's helpful to understand a little about how norsk (that's lesson one right there: How Norwegian is written in Norwegian!) has developed over the years in order to better understand how to approach your studies.

Norwegian is a North Germanic language, and one of the three Scandinavian languages that are more or less mutually intelligible. That's because they are direct descendants of the same family of Old Norse languages.

Norwegian is said to be one of the easiest languages in the world for a native English speaker to learn. The reason is that from a linguistic perspective, the languages share a huge amount: the way verbs work, word order (with the V2 rule being a major exception!), and a large amount of shared vocabulary.

It's a common practice in English too (think week + day = weekday) but it's much more prevalent in Norway. Also, because of the high English proficiency, English loan words are easily and commonly absorbed into the language.

Norwegian has a rich variety of regional accents and dialects. Whether they realise it or not, most Norwegian learners will be learning to speak and hear the Oslo dialect, sometimes referred to as standard Norwegian, or eastern Norwegian.

That's fine if you'll be living in Oslo or are just learning for fun, but if you plan to live in Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, rural Norway, or the Arctic region, you must include some local language resources into the mix!

Yes, really. This is especially relevant if you haven't ever studied a foreign language, or haven't learned one for years. Understanding the structure of English makes it so much easier to take on board the unique aspects of other languages.

We've found the best tactic for keeping your Norwegian skill levels up across the board, not to mention keeping yourself motivated, is to find a study partner. Thanks to the internet, this is easy to do even if you're not in Norway.

If English is your only language things may be trickier, but if you find a Norwegian student working at university level, you can always offer to proofread their English assignments in return for some conversational practice in Norwegian.

In most Norwegian towns and cities, you'll find language cafes. These are designed for new arrivals to practice speaking and listening in Norwegian, and are often run by Norwegians only too willing to help out a newcomer.

There are a number of approaches to keeping such a diary. You can use it as a vocabulary builder, recording a new word or phrase every time you learn one. Or you can keep a journal, where you challenge yourself at the end of every day to write in Norwegian.

Simply ask yourself two questions: What did I do today? What am I going to do tomorrow? Even if you only manage a sentence or two, you'll be getting daily practice in both past tenses and future tenses.

You'll make little breakthroughs along the way, such as your first conversation in a coffee bar, the first time you complete a conversation with a Norwegian who doesn't feel the need to switch to English, the first time you understand a newspaper story, the first time you complete a phone conversation in Norwegian, and so on.

That said, making these in-between steps can be tough going. It can often feel like you're making no progress until you achieve one of these breakthroughs, but in reality you're making progress every time you study.

Apps such as Duolingo and Memrise are a great way to reinforce what you've learned in the online courses, every single day. Both apps are free and offer paid versions with more features, but we've found the free apps to be really useful.

Norwegian TV, YouTubers, NRK podcasts, online newspapers, apps, and films are all great ways to mix up your language learning. If you're starting out, try the Klar Tale online newspaper and podcast, written and spoken in simple Norwegian.

We've heard from many people who've learned Norwegian from books in the USA only to have come to Norway and not understood a word. There's many reasons why, from dialects to differing vocabulary, or simply not being prepared for unexpected responses.

It's exactly the same in Norway, and many such phrases play a key role in understanding Norwegian culture. Read more about funny expressions and idioms in Norwegian and also some common Norwegian phrases.

Of all the Norwegian phrases out there, this one you'll encounter first. If you're (un)lucky enough to be sat next to a native on your inbound flight who is eyeing your outfit with bemusement, you're guaranteed to hear it.

Love your posts! Just a few tips from me. I was an exchange student in 1994 in Lillstrm. In 3 months my norsk was fluent in a conversation. I had a pocket dictionary and wrote things down. If not once or twice , 10-20-30 times. My norsk is as good today or better than when I left and I put it down to this and the fact no one spoke English to me except the other exchange students. Yes technology is great and I use it now but nothing beats muscle memory !! Lykke til!

Thank you for such a wonderful language tips, tried a lot, watched you tube videos, took online courses from different link, helped alot but the problem is I understand more than I speak??love Norway and Norwegian friends.

He replied that he knew England very well from his time spent there in the 1930s! He said he was training for missionary work in India at the time and needed to learn Hindi, but there was no way to go to Hindi directly from Norsk, so he had to learn English first. He moved to England for a while as it would be the quickest way for him to learn English, followed in due course by Hindi.

We encourage all language learners to channel their excitement for the fall into practicing Norwegian as much as possible before your arrival at school! Below are some online resources to help you get started.

During the fall semester we will arrange some study group sessions, where Norwegian-learners gather to study the language together, sometimes with the support of a teacher. There is also the expectation of individual study and engagement in the learning of the Norwegian language. We encourage students to work with their peers and practice in any school setting to improve their Norwegian.

We strongly emphasize that it is in your best interest to make a continued effort to learn Norwegian, otherwise this can be a quite overwhelming experience. Norwegian is the main language spoken at school in both formal and informal settings. But, all teachers speak English as a second language (to varying degrees) and will give you an English summary of the key points of lectures or instructions upon request. Just let us know!

CALST is an online language training platform for improving your pronunciation, which covers 1000 Norwegian words and phrases. Here you can hear how Norwegian is spoken, and the best thing is that you can choose between various dialects.

Grammatikk.com offers you short and clear explanations on everything that has to do with Norwegian grammar. A range of grammatical exercises can be found at IGIN and Exploring Norwegian Grammar. From here you can download a short overview of Norwegian grammar in English.

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Most Norwegians have a reasonable level of English. You will find that you can speak English in most shops and restaurants, as well as in public offices and with service providers. If you are not comfortable holding a conversation in English, it is even more important to learn Norwegian.

It is easier to establish an independent life if you can understand public information, chat in a social setting and read road signs. Many web sites are not fully translated, and Google Translate has no quality check to make sure their translation is correct.

There is a big chance you will find language a barrier if you don't speak Norwegian, and want to apply for a job in a Norwegian speaking company or organization. Showing the motivation to learn the local language sends a powerful signal.

For international students, it can be hard learning Norwegian in addition to a full study programme, but if there is a chance you want to stay in Norway after your degree, learning Norwegian will make it easier for you to find a job and get a work visa. It may well be worth the effort!

When you reach level B1, you will have a good all-round understanding of Norwegian. At this point, it can be a good idea to invest a period of time in practicing you language skills in your everyday life. This will help your language to mature and become more intuitive before you start level B2.

Thanks to the close relationship between Nordic countries, Norwegian speakers typically find Danish and Swedish easy to understand. In fact, some people might argue that certain dialects have more in common with Swedish than Bergen Norwegian.

Before you jump in, take the time to work out what you want to do in Norwegian. Do you want to live in Norway? Listen to Norwegian music? Speak to Norwegian friends online? No matter what your goal is, you should take that into account when creating your study plan.

Given that the Norwegian pronunciation and pitch accent can be tricky, you might want to spend time on this early on. Learning the rules will help you memorize new words quicker and also avoid potential miscommunications.

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