How to speak Norwegian

Have you ever wanted to learn the language of the Viking warriors from the north of Europe? You may be surprised to find that learning Norwegian is not as difficult as you think.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Do some initial research on the language to find out what the grammatical structure is like and how it differs from your first language. If you speak English as a first language, you may be surprised to find out that Norwegian is actually fairly similar. This is because both English and Norwegian are part of the Germanic family of languages. This means that the basic vocabulary of Norwegian may resemble English in many ways. For example, the word for "house" is "hus" (hoos) in Norwegian. There are many words that resemble each other in Norwegian and English, and these are called cognates. The more cognates there are in the foreign language you are learning, the easier it is to learn generally.

2. If you're learning Norwegian on your own, find the appropriate resources. This may be a combination of books and/or CDs as well as some helpful websites where you can learn what the language sounds like and how it is spoken (intonation, phrasing, etc.). Stay away from short phrase books as these are only useful in teaching the basic necessities when traveling in the country where the language is spoken. It is better to get a deeper understanding of how the structure of the language functions, so this means you need to learn about everything from how verbs work to declining nouns (fortunately, Norwegian nouns do not decline and are fairly straightforward). Finding the right resources will help you learn about every aspect of the language.

3. Start practicing! Yes, even with a basic understanding of the language you can start practicing with others who speak the language, most importantly native speakers. For a language like Norwegian, it may be difficult at first to find someone who speaks Norwegian fluently. The best places to look for native speakers include university campuses and large urban areas. If you live near a major university or a big city, start looking around for international expat groups in your area. People who know that you are learning their language are usually more than willing to share some time with you to help you learn it. The Norwegians are no exception, and are usually thrilled to learn that someone is trying to learn Norwegian.

4. To keep your language skills polished, start watching TV and listening to music in the language you're learning. The best place to do this is the internet. Most countries have some type of news website where you can watch videos of the news in the language. Norway has a few such websites, including www.tvnorge.no/ where you can view the latest news out of Norway in Norwegian. Do some more research online and found out what the most popular artists and bands are in the country you're interested in. Pop music is usually easier to understand than more traditional genres of music, so start there.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't give up! Learning a language is difficult, but this doesn't mean that it is impossible. You are lucky in that Norwegian is related to English, making it relatively easier to learn than say, Chinese, for example. Once you have a basic command of vocabulary and grammatical structures, get out there and practice. This will increase your motivation for wanting to learn more.
• Language is culture and vice-versa. Don't just learn the words for "table" and "book," learn about the culture as well. When you feel like you need a break from memorizing vocabulary words, start reading about Norway's culture. This will inevitably help you understand the language better as well.

Resources

• TV Norge