![\"Baldr](\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File%3ABaldr_dead_by_Eckersberg.jpg\")
<\/a>This was the only 100% free image I could find of people standing, sitting, lying\u2026 It even has a Norwegian connection. It shows the killing of the god Balder (from Norse mythology).<\/p><\/div>Do you know teatersport<\/strong>? It\u2019s basically a kind of unscripted theatre, where you and your mates pick an \u00f8velse<\/strong> (exercise) or \u201dset-of-rules\u201d and use it to make a scene that\u2019s totally improvised. I love to take part in creative collaborations like that, and one \u00f8velse<\/strong> always makes me think about Scandinavian languages\u2026 It\u2019s called sitte, ligge, st\u00e5\u00a0<\/strong>(sit, lie, stand). You\u2019re three persons on the floor. You can say or do whatever you want \u2013 but there should always be one person standing, one sitting, and one lying. The fun, of course, starts when the person lying suddenly feels an urge to stand up, or the person standing takes a chair\u2026<\/p>\n In a Scandinavian language like Norwegian, there are so many things beside mennesker<\/strong> (humans) that sitter<\/strong>, ligger<\/strong> or st\u00e5r<\/strong>. Basically, you use the words to tell where something or someone is located. But, how do you go about?<\/p>\n This is used for objects in an upright position.<\/p>\n People:<\/strong><\/p>\n De st\u00e5r i k\u00f8 til konserten.<\/strong> They\u2019re standing in line for the concert.<\/p>\n Things:<\/strong><\/p>\n B\u00f8kene st\u00e5r i hylla.<\/strong> The books are in the shelf.<\/p>\n Juletreet st\u00e5r i stua.<\/strong> The Christmas tree is in the living-room.<\/p>\n It\u2019s even used when talking about letters or words. (I guess they\u2019re somehow \u201dstanding\u201d on a line!)<\/p>\n Hva st\u00e5r i brevet?<\/strong> \u201dWhat stands in the letter?\u201d What does the letter say?<\/p>\n Det st\u00e5r at\u2026<\/strong> It says that\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Okay, you know when someone is sitting. The fun thing is that the word\u2019s also sometimes used when something smaller is attached to something bigger, or is located inside it:<\/p>\n Knappen sitter p\u00e5 baksida.<\/strong> The button\u2019s on the backside.<\/p>\n Hvor sitter blindtarmen?<\/strong> Where is the appendix located?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is used for objects in a horizontal or flat position.<\/p>\n People:<\/strong><\/p>\n De ligger og sover.<\/strong> \u201dThey\u2019re lying and sleeping.\u201d They\u2019re sleeping.<\/p>\n Things:<\/strong><\/p>\n Boka ligger p\u00e5 bordet.<\/strong> The book\u2019s lying on the table.<\/p>\n Treet ligger p\u00e5 jorda.<\/strong> The tree\u2019s lying on the ground.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also used to tell where something is on the map:<\/p>\n Norge ligger i Europa.<\/strong> Norway is in Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ever since I started to learn other languages, I\u2019ve wondered why people in Scandinavia are so busy with positions. It\u2019s often quite impossible to avoid the sitte-ligge-st\u00e5<\/strong> thing!<\/p>\n If somebody\u2019s in the living-room, you could<\/em> say Han er i stua<\/strong> (He is in the l-r). But in case he\u2019s most probably sitting on the couch, for example, you\u2019d automatically go for Han sitter i stua<\/strong> (He\u2019s sitting in the living-room).<\/p>\n If some people are doing the dishes in the kitchen, you say<\/p>\n De st\u00e5r i kj\u00f8kkenet og vasker opp<\/strong> (They\u2019re standing in the kitchen and doing the dishes).<\/p>\n If they\u2019re eating at the same place, you say<\/p>\n De sitter i kj\u00f8kkenet og spiser <\/strong>(They\u2019re sitting in the kitchen and eating).<\/p>\n Leaving out sitter<\/strong> and st\u00e5r<\/strong> in these sentences sounds just as weird as removing the -ing<\/em> form would do in English.<\/p>\n So, Norwegians always keep an eye on whether you\u2019re standing, sitting or lying! I think this is one of the strangest things about the language.\u00a0However, all of you who didn\u2019t grow up with Norwegian might see things better than me:<\/p>\n What makes Norwegian strange to you<\/em>? What\u2019s the oddest, weirdest, most bizarre, most fascinating thing about Norwegian?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you know teatersport? It\u2019s basically a kind of unscripted theatre, where you and your mates pick an \u00f8velse (exercise) or \u201dset-of-rules\u201d and use it to make a scene that\u2019s totally improvised. I love to take part in creative collaborations like that, and one \u00f8velse always makes me think about Scandinavian languages\u2026 It\u2019s called sitte…<\/p>\n\n
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