I had my first Norwegian class today. It was long. Useful, though. I'm the only American in it. The rest are Polish, German, Yugoslavian, Australian, and Filipino. The language is taught in English, which is good for me. Despite that advantage, though, the others are all better than me at it.
Norwegian is a messy language, incidentally. Pronunciation, grammar, and spelling can vary not only in different parts of the country, but in different parts of a given city. There are no hard rules for pronunciation -- many words simply have to be heard to be learned. And, a lot of words have strings of just consonants or vowels. On the plus side, it's a very sing-song language, sounding much like the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show.
The Scandinavians are apparently aware of the Swedish Chef, by the way; they accept him.
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7 comments:
who's the swedish chef?!?!
This guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9oyr_MKABY
I was wondering the same thing - thanks for the clarification.
I can't believe you kids never saw the Swedish Chef. Was The Muppet Show that long ago?
I used to love The Muppet Show!!! I just forgot who he was...
It sounds like you're getting settled into Oslo pretty well. I'm sure you'll catch on to Norwegian quickly. It's great to hear about how you're doing, Mike!
FYI, I knew who the Swedish chef was right away.
Oh, and I'll expect you to speak perfect Norwegian by the time you return, so get crackin'.
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