Eating Norwegian Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 26, 2014
In the online comic ”Scandinavia and the World”, the Norway character is often accompanied by a fisk (fish). Traditionally, maten i Norge (the food in Norway) has indeed been dominated by fisk – as well as poteter [poTEHTer] (potatoes). Although modern Norway is full of hurtigmat (fast food), many people still think it’s important to…
Huts of Norway Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 10, 2014
A couple of Norwegian friends and I recently shared the fun and excitement of walking to a hytte på fjellet (a hytte in the mountains), and it struck me I hadn’t written anything about hytter… En hytte (or ei hytte) translates as ’a hut’, ’a cottage’ or ’a cabin’. It’s basically a small house that…
Happy Romjul Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 30, 2013
Norwegians just can’t get enough of jula (”the christmas”). When the whole family has received their gaver (gifts) on julekvelden (Christmas Eve, December 24th), there is still første og andre juledag (1st and 2nd day of Christmas, December 25th and 26th), a time for eating and visiting friends. (Hva fikk du i julegave i år?…
Lazy phrases Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 22, 2013
Kan du snakke norsk? (”Can you speak Norwegian?”) Norwegian and English are related languages. As your study of Norwegian progresses, you’ll see that there are a lot of things that you already ”kind of know” when it comes to grammar and vocabulary. Nevertheless, the language does have at least one grammatical feature that does not…
4 Easy Ways to Become Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 29, 2013
You’ve already learnt how to say that you are something. Unlike English verbs (I am, you are, she is), the Norwegian ”action words” don’t care who’s doing the action (or who’s being!) So, it could hardly be any easier: jeg (I) er/var/har vært/hadde vært – or whoever or whatever is/was/has been/had been. However, just being…
Cinema Season Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 24, 2013
November is usually a dark and cold month in many parts of Norway. Træerne (the trees) have lost their blader (leaves). Snøen (the snow) is coming, or isn’t quite there yet, so everyone is waiting for the riktig vinter [RIKtee VINter] (real winter) to begin in desember. Instead of catching a flu or a depression…
100 Most Common Written Words in Norwegian Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 31, 2013
Is it possible to learn Norwegian in 3 months? The popular ”alternative life-style guru” Tim Ferriss thinks so. Well, if you spent 3 months doing nothing but studying grammar and hanging out at Norwegian après-ski, then maybe… In my experience, though, a language is more like a tree that is gradually spreading its branches in…