{"id":2766,"date":"2021-06-30T23:23:03","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T23:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=2766"},"modified":"2021-06-30T23:29:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T23:29:55","slug":"a-sip-of-norwegian-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/a-sip-of-norwegian-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sip of Norwegian Comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Per Inge Torkelsen made jokes in the Stavanger dialect. (Photo by Victor Malyushev<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>; no copyright.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Gi ungdommen en flaske brennevin f\u00f8r idretten tar dem! <\/strong>(Give the young people a bottle of brandy before they\u2019re possessed by sports!) This quote by Per Inge Torkelsen is very well-known in Norway. A famous comedian and klovn<\/strong> (clown) from the city of Stavanger1<\/a><\/sup>where he founded the Norwegian Children\u2019s Museum<\/span>, Torkelsen passed away eight days ago. Having grown up in the area and laughed at his vitser <\/strong>(jokes), I read the news<\/a> with sadness. But let\u2019s celebrate the old sp\u00f8kefugl<\/strong> (jokester, literally \u201djoking bird\u201d) with a bit of humor<\/strong>! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

It can be challenging to understand Norwegian jokes as they\u2019re often tied to norsk kultur <\/strong>(Norwegian culture). You often have to know what\u2019s going on in Norge<\/strong> to get the point. Norwegians also love to use dialect words or ordspill<\/strong> (puns) in their jokes. Here\u2019s a silly little joke that I like:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Hva er likheten p\u00e5 en hund? \u2013 Den gj\u00f8r i begge ender!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gj\u00f8r <\/strong>can mean either \u201dbarks\u201d2<\/a><\/sup>from \u00e5 gj\u00f8<\/strong><\/span> or \u201ddoes, makes\u201d3<\/a><\/sup>from \u00e5 gj\u00f8re<\/strong><\/span> (in this case: \u201dmakes poo\u201d).<\/p>\n

So, the joke translates as:<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the similarity of a dog? It <\/em>gj\u00f8r<\/strong> in both ends.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some kinds of jokes are so popular that they\u2019ve become their own genres, for example svenskevitser<\/strong> (jokes about Swedes<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

\u2013 Vet du hvorfor svenskene klatrer opp i lysstolpene? \u2013 For \u00e5 se om p\u00e6rene er modne.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here you have to know that p\u00e6re<\/strong> means both \u201dpear\u201d and \u201dlight bulb\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Do you know why the Swedes climb up the lamp posts? \u2013 To see if the <\/em>p\u00e6rer<\/strong> are ripe.<\/em><\/p>\n

A hallmark of Norwegian humour, I think, would be that it\u2019s much more underfundig<\/strong> (sly, subtle, \u201dquaint\u201d) than the humour of many other countries, which seems to be more direct or \u201din-your-face\u201d. In order to get an idea of what I mean, please take a look at one of the most famous Norwegian sketches ever \u2013 Medieval Helpdesk <\/em><\/strong>by Knut N\u00e6rum (starring \u00d8ystein Backe and Rune Gokstad, NRK 2001):<\/p>\n