Why are scandinavians so good at english?

[The_Isle]

I don't think any other european countries have a majority of people who speak it so fluently almost as if it's a second native tongue. Is swedish/finnish similar to english or something?

 

[Darkstone]

I'm from Australia, but i'll take a stab at answering this from what i've heard.. Might not be true.

80% of the world learn English as a second language, and i'm pretty sure they take classes at school from a young age to learn it.. I guess as time goes on, you pick up alot on it if you already speak another language.

 

[The_Isle]

I'm also from Australia.

No, I notice this especially in Scandinavian countries. Other european countries like Germany and France and Italy seem to have marked lower english abilities amongst the general population... never mind when we get to asian countries like japan.

 

[Blinded By Blood]

I believe Scandanavian schools have English programs

I also read that movies in Scandanavia are subtitled rather than dubbed, giving an advantage

 

[Death Animal]

I´m from Finlad and I suck at english.
Just read my last post and you know.
And haven´t you hear when Mika Häkkinen speak.
Thats what we sound.

 

[spaffe]

We have english education from the age of nine or so (can't recall exactly), but I think the main reason so many people speak rather good is enligsh here is because all the american (and to some extent brittish) pop cultre we are fed with. All movies have the original language and swedish subtitles which naturally makes you learn some new words and phrases. Most series shown on TV are in english and so is the music most people listen to etc

 

[Anonymous]

Same reason why the spanish and the french can easily learn both languages... Same (or similar) pronounciation of letters and some words are written similarly. Another reason could be (again, I'm gonna use spanish and french as an example) that both languages spawn from latin, so it's essentially the same thing. Maybe English has the same roots as the Swedish or Finnish language.

 

[Valerie]

It's wierd though that the only English word directly relating to Finnish is sauna.

 

[Voice of God]

Swedish, German and French have lot of similarities with English but Finnish is not related to English. It's very different. Spaffe said the real reasons. I studied English from the age of 9 to the age of 24 and have been constantly surrounded with american/british tv, movies and music. In Finland (and Sweden/Norway too I think) tv-series and movies are subtitled not dubbed over like in Germany for instance, so we hear the original language and see the translation beneath. I think there was a study that showed that it has a major effect in learning the language. Watching tv and movies like that for 25 years starts to show effects sooner or later.

And I have to say that I think the view you get through internet is a bit skewed. It's mainly the youth that knows English and not all of them are that good in it either, especially when it comes to speaking out loud.

 

[spaffe]

And I have to say that I think the view you get through internet is a bit skewed. It's mainly the youth that knows English and not all of them are that good in it either, especially when it comes to speaking out loud.

Absolutely, the ones lacking a good grip of the english language -- ie the majority -- don't post on boards such as this one.

Another reason could be (again, I'm gonna use spanish and french as an example) that both languages spawn from latin, so it's essentially the same thing. Maybe English has the same roots as the Swedish or Finnish language.

I don't think so. Sure, the english and nordic languages have a lot of common words transformed over the course of history, but not to the extent that it would make it significantly easier to learn. That might be the case with swedish-german, but not english.

 

[metal_monkey]

I´m from Finlad and I suck at english.
Just read my last post and you know.
And haven´t you hear when Mika Häkkinen speak.
Thats what we sound.

Hhahahahahaha.... You see to know English well....I like Scandinavian accents. Guys with accents are sexy ....well most guys anyway..

 

[ohiogrinder]

Scandanavia rules!

some of the best music comes from there, imho.