Norwegian Egozones Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 30, 2014
This is going to be the egoistical post. We all need to talk about ourselves now and then, so we need a word for ”I”. This is easy enough in written Norwegian – jeg (let’s stick to bokmål for the time being!) Jeg lærer norsk. (I’m learning Norwegian.) If you’ve ever heard somebody saying jeg…
Birthdays in Norway Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 31, 2014
Gratulerer med fødselsdagen! (Happy birthday!) Since July is crowded with birthdays in my family, I thought it would be nice ending the month with some facts about fødselsdagsfeiring (birthday celebration) in Norway. • Mange norske barn har barneselskap. (Many Norwegian children have children’s birthday parties.) The barneselskap is hosted by the child’s parents. Children…
Ylvis Explained Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 27, 2014
After Ylvis had the whole world wondering WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY? back in September 2013, the Norwegian comedy band have been enjoying global stardom. They have been guests at American talkshows, and their other songs have received many clicks on YouTube. Selv om de synger på engelsk (even if they sing in English), there…
A love letter to høyfjellet Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 30, 2014
According to the late Norwegian singer and humorous writer Odd Børretzen, the first Norwegians were nuts: With istida (the Ice Age) coming to an end in Europe, do you think these sturdy fellows stayed to enjoy the sunny lands in central Europe? Nope, instead they followed the retiring is (ice) on its path nordover (northwards)…
Mind your inversion Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 29, 2014
Norwegian grammar has a tiny detail that always gives away foreigners: Inversion. That basically means that in some situations you have to change the word order, and if you forget to do that in those situations, well, then you sound like a foreigner… 🙂 There’s inversion in English too. To make a phrase like “you…
Norwegian Waffles Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 31, 2014
En vennegjeng (a group of friends) and I once paid a visit to a friend’s familie in the Haugesund area (Southwestern Norway by the coast). All of a sudden moren (the mother) in the house entered the wood-panelled living-room balancing a plate full of steaming hot vafler. I found it a very Norwegian experience! 🙂…
Happy Anniversary, Norway! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 17, 2014
Hurra for Norge! (Hooray for Norway!) On this special 17. mai small, handheld norske flagg (Norwegian flags) are being waved with more stolthet (pride) and glede (happiness) than ever. It’s 200 years since Norway left Denmark and got its own lover (laws). Let’s take a look back: For 400 years, Danish kings ruled Norway. Danmark-Norge…