Scandinavian Language

[Saihtam]

That's kind of pretty cool situation. So when you finish high school you're supposed to know 4 languages of which 3 used nowadays plus norwegian, is that right?

Anyways I have to say that scandinavian people do know English far better than what the rest of Europe does..

Yeah, in spring 2010 I should know Norwegian, Nynorsk, Old Norse, English and Spanish. Nynorsk I've been learning for three and a half year, and it's pretty close to Norwegian, so that's no problem. English I've been learning for almost eight years, so I know English pretty good too. Spanish is a bit worse, as I've justed started learning it, but it's not even near being as difficult as Old Norse. I've been listening a lot to Sigur Rós (Icelandic band) and reading translations of their songs, so I though I would understand Old Norse quite easy, but the grammar is the most awkward thing I've seen.

 

[Blind Guardian]

Well,just because you read a language in school doesn´t mean you´ll know it 5 years later. In highschool in Sweden you have to choose an additional language to english for two of three years(either French or German),i took German classes for two years and passed all the tests,still i couldn´t even spell a single sentence in German if someone asked me now.

 

[ingenkommentar]

Like some people pointed out, there are dialects of Swedish that are close to Danish (like in Skåne, Southern Sweden) and also some dialects on the border to Norway that are very similar to Norwegian. So when we all understand each other, the question is really - what is a language and what is a dialect? Norwegian, Swedish and Danish could easily be classed as one language, but because we have different ways of spelling the same words and because we are different countries, the dialect/languages are defined as different languages.

 

[fränzi]

Well,just because you read a language in school doesn´t mean you´ll know it 5 years later. In highschool in Sweden you have to choose an additional language to english for two of three years(either French or German),i took German classes for two years and passed all the tests,still i couldn´t even spell a single sentence in German if someone asked me now.

Such is foreign language education.

 

[Saihtam]

Well,just because you read a language in school doesn´t mean you´ll know it 5 years later. In highschool in Sweden you have to choose an additional language to english for two of three years(either French or German),i took German classes for two years and passed all the tests,still i couldn´t even spell a single sentence in German if someone asked me now.

That depends on how much you put in it. Personally I want to learn Spanish, so I read a lot and try to pay attention in class. But, as said, it depends on how much you put in it, so I can see your point + German is a very complicated language compared to Spanish.

 

[Wander]

I am a Finn and 16 years old. I speak Finnish, English, Swedish (therefore almost Norwegian and Danish too ) and French. I think I'm rather talented with languages so I hope to use that in my future job, whatever it might be.

 

[Blind Guardian]

That depends on how much you put in it. Personally I want to learn Spanish, so I read a lot and try to pay attention in class. But, as said, it depends on how much you put in it, so I can see your point + German is a very complicated language compared to Spanish.

Yeah and i guess it´s easier if it´s something you´re really interested in learning as opposed to being forced to. I consider myself very good at English,but not because i studied it in school,i have probably learned more English by watching tv than by studying it in school. About 50% of all the tv-shows here are either British or American so.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

i am learning swedish and i can read norwegian texts just as good (or rather as bad) as swedish ones

 

[DarkGift]

[...]In highschool in Sweden you have to choose an additional language to english for two of three years(either French or German)[...]

or spanish

My cousin studies mandarin (chinese) and I had a friend who studied japanese. You can study a lot of languages in Sweden

 

[neuroticandroid]

wow, it's just amazing how arrogant or rather backwards we americans are when it comes to foreign language study.
often, we don't start learning (usually french, spanish, german, or for some reason latin [for fuck's sake, it's a dead language!!!]) foreign language until high school when the capacity for learning language is greatest at much younger ages.
however, that being said, you would think americans would find it far more urgent to learn spanish as the language will be the primary or secondary tongue of around 50-60 million people in this country just a few years from now.
i will nowstep down from my soap box

 

[el_serpiente]

Ah btw: what's a kamelasa (sorry I've got no northern symbols on my keyboard)?

When they speak their "native" language which is supposed to be danish it makes no sense. Nothing they say is in a real language.

They are making sounds that Norwegian think is similar to danish.


In all of the Scandinavian countries we think that it is important to learn foreign languages. As an example the company that I work in the corporate language is English, this means that all internal papers of importance should be in English.

Personally I speak four languages: Danish, English, Spanish and German. I'm not fluent in German but use it everyday at work nonetheless. (my university degree is within the natural science field).

 

[Blind Guardian]

or spanish

But that´s in gymnasiet. I think gymnasiet is similar to college while högstadiet is similar to high school. I guess it´s not really the same things but.

 

[ingenkommentar]

Most högstadium schools offer Spanish afaik?

 

[Kirkfjell]

Oh yes they do.

 

[Blind Guardian]

We couldn´t choose Spanish at least,maybe it´s different in different places.

 

[KjeXXXer]

Hailing from the very western most coast of Norway, I can usually understand Swedes just fine. I have three swedish cousins though, but then again, those three are fluent in both swedish and the West Norwegian dialect, due to them having lived here quite a lot. Two of them live here now.

I recall however I was visiting an old school of mine, and had a conversation with one of the new pupils, quite a pretty swedish girl. Suddenly she asked me a question, and I completely misunderstood. As we found out after a painful period of intense thought labour, when she said 'När' (when) I misheard it for the Norwegian 'der' (there) and thusly I looked behind me to figure out what she meant. I felt like an utter gimp in the aftermath.

This wasn't interesting, heh.

Danes? Hrmh. If they speak slowly and announciate properly, I should manage to have a succesful conversation.

 

[Wander]

Danes? Hrmh. If they speak slowly and announciate properly, I should manage to have a succesful conversation.

You are lying. They can't even understand themselves as the video showed us.

 

[KjeXXXer]

Seeing as how I'm much smarter than the Danish, I would indeed understand them perfectly.

The blokes in the vid are Norwegians btw.

 

[Violens]

My Danish uncle (and fellow Opeth fan) and my aunt who lived in Denmark and speaks Danish have both told me they can understand Swedish and Norwegian. I can hardly imagine understanding a foreign language without having to study it. I struggle enough to understand Scots who talk fast. What a cool phenomenon, though!

Do they speak Scots in Ohio? Interesting stuff, is that because of a big scottish immigration? Do/did you study it?

 

[KjeXXXer]

I have no problems understanding the scottish dialect, I have some native mates in Glasgow and there's no language barrier there, unless I'm talking to someone with a speach impediment. When I speak English, it usually comes out with an Irish or Scottish twang anyway, probably due to many vacations taken on the British Isles.