{"id":2359,"date":"2017-07-29T22:17:02","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T22:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2359"},"modified":"2017-07-29T22:17:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T22:17:02","slug":"spelling-your-name-in-norwegian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/spelling-your-name-in-norwegian\/","title":{"rendered":"Spelling your name in Norwegian"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

(No-copyright illustration from PixaBay<\/a>.)<\/p><\/div>\n

When you check in at a hostel or meet a new friend, you\u2019re sometimes asked to spell your navn<\/b> (name). Fortunately, the Norwegian alfabet<\/b> [alfaBEHT] is quite similar to the English one you already know. In case you forgot bokstavene<\/b> (the letters), here\u2019s a crash course.<\/p>\n

The first pitfall: i<\/b> and e<\/b>. (I\u2019ve heard several English-speakers mixing those two, so watch out!) In Norwegian, i<\/b> is called [ee] \u2013 as in is<\/b> [ees] (ice-cream). The Norwegian e<\/b> is more open \u2013 a bit like zen <\/i>without the z and the n \u2013 as in en <\/b>[ehn] (one).<\/p>\n

Yes! You can now actually name all those letters that rhyme with Wii<\/i> in English. You just have to open up the English e<\/i> sound at the end so it sounds like a Norwegian e<\/b>. Here we go: \u201dBii\u201d, \u201dCii\u201d, \u201dDii\u201d <\/i>become <\/i>b<\/b> [beh], c<\/b> [ceh], d<\/b> [deh]. So, instead of watching \u201dTiiVii\u201d, you watch \u201dtehveh\u201d. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Wait, g<\/b> is hard as in spaGHEtti<\/i>, so no more going around saying \u201dgee\u201d when spelling your name to Norwegians! And z<\/b>, which is soft as a whisper, is called [set]. J<\/b> sounds like \u201dYeah\u201d!<\/p>\n

BTW, W<\/b> is considered a double V in Norwegian, not a \u201ddouble U\u201d! (Also, the Norwegian u<\/b> isn\u2019t called \u201dyu\u201d as in English \u2013 drop the \u201dy-\u201d part and you\u2019re much closer\u2026)<\/p>\n

A last point: K<\/b> and h<\/b> have nice rhyming names \u2013 [kaw] and [haw] (as in hawk<\/i>). Now, let\u2019s look at all the letters:<\/p>\n

a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, \u00e6, \u00f8, \u00e5<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

ah, beh, ceh, deh, eh, ef, gheh, haw, ee, yeah, kaw, el, em, en, oh, peh, kooh, err, ess, teh, oo, veh, dobbelt-veh, eks, \u201d<\/i>\u00fc\u201d, set, \u201d<\/i>\u00e6\u201d, \u201d<\/i>\u00f8\u201d, aw<\/i><\/p>\n