Archive for February, 2009
En smakebit av Norge i USA Posted by kari on Feb 25, 2009
A taste of Norway in the U.S. That’s what you’ll get if you attend one of the Norwegian celebrations around the U.S. Go to Decorah, Iowa at the end of July and you’ll experience ‘Nordic Fest,’ a weekend to celebrate Norwegian and all things Norway. You will find music, dancing, fireworks, a parade, an antique and…
Da da da Posted by kari on Feb 22, 2009
One of you requested that I address words that have multiple meaning. Da is one of these words. Da can be used in many different ways. In general, it means either “then” or “when,” but even so, these two words can be used in different contexts. In my opinion, words with multiple meanings are some of the…
Flip those Rs. Posted by kari on Feb 20, 2009
One of you eager learners requested that I do a little lesson on flipping Rs. You might be wondering what flipping means vs. rolling. In Spanish, for example, you roll and flip Rs. In Norwegian, you just flip them. The difference is how long you let your tongue vibrate for on the roof of your…
Inversion Posted by kari on Feb 17, 2009
In Norwegian, sentence structure is fairly painless. Normally, the parts of speech follow the same pattern as they do in English. Subject, verb, object. Han går til butikken (he goes to the store. Jeg spiser frokost når jeg våkner (I eat breakfast when I wake up). Notice that the til (to) and når (when) fall after the…
Å uttale norske vokaler Posted by kari on Feb 15, 2009
To pronounce Norwegian vowels. If all that people know about det norske språket (the Norwegian language) is the way that it sounds, they usually assume that it is a really difficult language to learn. I must tell you that I strongly disagree. Norwegian pronunciation usually proves to be the most difficult part of the language for…
Traditional Norwegian Cuisine- part 1 Posted by kari on Feb 12, 2009
Tradisjonell norsk mat. Bland and fairly simple, but delicious. Until the last half of the 20th century, Norway was a very poor country. Its people had to make do with what they had-namely meat, fish, and potatoes. Potatoes would actually be the main dish of a meal, with meat or fish and sauce added as condiments. Of course, as…
Janteloven Posted by kari on Feb 9, 2009
Don’t think you are better than us or that you are special. This statement is the basis of an old Scandinavian concept that has been engrained in Scandinavian societies since before WWII. The author Aksel Sandemose, a Danish/Norwegian novelist created the concept of Janteloven in his book En flygtning krydser sit spor (A Refugee Crosses…