Familien Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Sep 24, 2012
One of the basic things in life is … familien [famEELee-uhn] (the family). Everybody has a mor (mother) and a far (father) – although lots of Norwegians would rather say they’ve got a mamma (mom) and a pappa (dad). There are many different ways of talking about ”my” mother or father: moren min, mora mi…
Not Every A is a Girl Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Sep 17, 2012
Remember when we talked about Langfjella, the mountain range that causes the clouds to drop all their rain in Western Norway, leaving Eastern Norway a lot drier? Now, what kind of name is Langfjella really … it has an -a ending, so clearly it must be the ”the” version of a feminine noun, right? Well, not…
Sauesanking Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Sep 14, 2012
In many ways, Vestlandet (Western Norway) is like Scotland or New Zealand (the South Island). You’ve got steep fjell (mountain/s – the singular and plural is the same), deep dal/er (valley/s, dale/s), fjord/er (fjord/s), lush, green vegetation in the warm months, and plenty of regn (rain)… And – you guessed it – lots of sau/er(sheep)…
Crazy Norwegian Band Names Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 29, 2012
Many bands have strange names, and Norwegian ones are no exception! Since Morten Harket and the rest of a-ha were big stars in the 1980’ies (with global hits such as ”Take On Me”), a large number of Norwegian bands have hit the world with their music … and their names. Below are a few of…
After the Verdict Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 25, 2012
Yesterday Norwegian mass murderer and bomber Anders Behring Breivik finally got his dom (verdict): 21 years of prison, which is the maximum straff (punishment) you can get at a Norwegian rett (court). Only 21 years for killing 77 mennesker (humans, human beings)?? This seems to be the common outcry in the internet. I know that…
Fjellvettreglene Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 21, 2012
Hiking in the Norwegian fjell [fyell] (mountains) can be a dangerous enterprise, especially when it’s late høst (autumn, fall), vinter and early vår [vor] (spring), and været (the weather) can’t make up its mind… All of a sudden, you can be trapped by a snøstorm (snowstorm, blizzard), or forced to climb on rocks that are…
Norway at the 2012 Olympics Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 14, 2012
Heia Norge! Go Norway! Cheering is easy in Norwegian. This Saturday, heiaropene (the cheers, literally ’the cheer shouts’) resonated at full throttle in London’s Basketball Arena, as the Norwegian håndball [HONbahl] (handball) team beat the ladies from Montenegro 26–23. The reigning verdensmestre (world champions) and Europa-mestre could now call themselves Olympic champions as well. Besides…