Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Out and about part 3
For now, lets pretend you're at a real restaurant rather than a take-out place. You might want to ask your waitress:
"Hva anbefaler du?" - What do you recommend?
"Kan jeg få en pepperoni pizza?" - Can I have a pepperoni pizza?
"Kan jeg få pizzaen uten ost?" - Can I get the pizza without cheese? (uten means without)
"Kan jeg få pizzaen med ekstra ost?" - Can I get the pizza with extra cheese? (med means with)
"En cola, takk" - A coke, please
"En øl, takk" - A beer, please
"Et glass vann, takk" - A glass of water, please.
Notice that I have made the two first ones easier by removing "glass". You can say "et glass cola/øl", but "en cola/øl" is right too. It works for "vann" as well, I just prefer to say "et glass vann". I think it is because I like tap water, and it will then come by the glass. Where as beer and coke come in bottles.
If you are worried about allergies or certain food items you simply don't like, don't worry, you can ask your waitress to remove them.
"Er det nøtter i denne retten?" - Are there nuts in this dish? (just change the word "nøtter" with the ingredient you are worried about)
"Kan jeg få retten uten nøtter?" - Can I get the dish without nuts?
"Har dere noen vegetariske alternativer?" - Do you have any vegeterian alternatives?
Here are some common words on a Norwegian menu:
"Biff" - Steak
"Salat" - Salad
"Kylling" - Chicken
"Pommes frites" - Chips/fries (we pronounce them "Pom Free")
Ingredients you might want to know:
"Løk" - Onion
"Ost" - Cheese
"Melk" - Milk
"Nøtter" - Nuts
I recommend you to write down new words in an adress book, that way you can easily find back to them.
What is your favourite meal/drink? Let me know, and I will tell you how to order it in Norway.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Out and about part 2
After you have made your way from the airport to the hotel, it will be time to check in. This will of course be done at a check-in desk, like any other normal hotel. So what do you say now?
"Jeg vil gjerne sjekke inn" - I would like to check in.
"Når kan jeg sjekke inn?" - when can I check in?
"Reservasjonen er under Anna Burdal" - The reservation is under Anna Burdal (notice how "reservasjon" ends with -en. This indicates a male word and would be translated to THE reservation. If you move -en to the front "en reservasjon", it means a reservation).
"Hvilket romnummer?" - which room number?
"Hvilken etasje?" - which floor?
(On the last two, the gender comes at the end of the question word "hvilke". The first one indicates a neuter word(nummer), because it ends with -et, the second one ends with -en and is therefore male(etasje))
"Er frokost inkludert?" - is breakfast included? (our word is a bit similar to the German word Frühstück. Like in German, "fro" means early, but "kost" in this context means diet).
"Hvordan kommer jeg meg til Karl Johans Gate?" -How do I get to Karl Johans Street?
Hope this is helpful and that you are writing down any new words. Audio will come soon!
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
The US/GB
- Snowboard/skateboard
- Snowblades
- Scooter (often combined with "vann" or "snø, meaning water and snow)
- Surfing
- TV(only pronounced with the Norwegian letters)
- Radio
- Internett
- Gitar/bassgitar
(If you are Norwegian and reading this, please send me more words that we have adopted from either English or other languages)
Words that English have adopted from Norwegian...the only words I can think of are:
- Fjord (because they basically only exist in Norway)
- Troll (because let's face it, they only exist in Norway)
- Viking (well it is technically an old norse word, but the vikings came from Norway/Sweden, so therefore I will say it is a Nordic word)
Please let me know if there's any particular words/sentences about The US or GB you would like to learn.
- Great Britain = Storbirtannia
- The United States of America = Amerikas Forente Stater (though we would normally just say U.S.A)
Soundclip will come soon!
Tones and melodies
There are two types of "tones": single tone and double tone. Listen while reading, then repeat after me:
Single tone:
Used in words with only ONE syllable, but also for longer words enging in -el, -en and -er. The single tone starts low and rises at the end of the word. For example
Kul (cool) Finger (finger)
Double tone:
Usually in words with two or more syllables. Starts on a high tone, drops and rises back to the original tone.
Dame (lady) Nydelig (beautiful)
Pairs of words:
Single tone: Double tone:
Henger (hanging) Henger (trailer)
Ånden (the spirit) Ånden (the breath)
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Out and about part 1
"Jeg reiser med fly til Norge" - I'm travelling with aeroplane to Norway
"Jeg reiser alene" - I'm travelling alone
"Jeg reiser med familien" - I'm travelling with the family.
"Jeg reiser i morgen" - I'm travelling tomorrow(I'm going tomorrow)
At the Airport
Airports in Norway have English signs, but it might be fun to be able to READ the Norwegian signs too. When you arrive at the airport in Norway, the first thing you want to do is find your luggage. Look for a sign saying "bagasje"(luggage).You then want to look for a way out of the airport. If you want to travel by bus, look the sign "flybuss"(airport bus). If you want to travel by train look for the sign "flytog" (airport train).
Things you might find yourself asking at a Norwegian airport:
"Hvor er bagasjen?" - Where is the luggage?
Or perhaps more formally:
"Hvor kan jeg finne bagasjen?" - Where can I find the luggage?
"Hvor kan jeg kjøpe togbillett/bussbillett?" - Where can I buy a train ticket/bus ticket?
"Én enkelbillett til Oslo, takk" - One single ticket to Oslo, please.
If you are travelling by bus, a question you might want to ask the bus driver is:
"Hvilket stopp for Radisson Hotell?" - Which stop for Radisson Hotel? (Insert the name or your hotel).
Next time we will go through how to check into hotels.
More on consonants
The ng sound - the g isn't really sounded - "ting"(thing) "ring"(ring)
The gn sound - the g isn't really sounded - "tegn" (sign) "regn" (rain)
The sk sound - becomes sh before some vowels - "skitt" (dirt) "skille" (divide)
- can be sk before other vowels - "skalle" (scull) "sko" (shoe)
The skj sound - becomes sh - "skjorte" (shirt) "skjørt" (skirt)
The rs sound - often becomes sh - "norsk" (Norwegian) "torsk" (cod)
Some consonants can be silent. Here are some examples of those words(listen and read at the same time. Repead after me):
but there are some exeptions where the D is sounded - "ned" (down) "sted"(place)
G - is silent in adjectives/adverbs ending with ig - "ledig" (free) "deilig" (delicious)
H - is silent before j and v - "hjem" (home) "hva" (what)
T - is silent at the end of a definite neuter noun - "huset" (the house)
and at the end of "det"(it)
V - is silent at the end of some words - "tolv" (twelve) "halv" (half)
Stress
Words that are of Latin/Greek origin are stressed on the last syllable. For example:
"universitetet"(university)
"stasjon"(station)
"telefon"(telephone)
Words with German prefixes usually have the stress on the second syllable. For example:
"betale"(pay)
"forklare"(explain)
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Introducing yourself
Remember: keep a book with the words that you learn. Perhaps an address book, because you can then organise the words more easily, and find back to the words you have learned.
Here is a soundclip of how you pronouce it. Listen while reading everything below. Pause it as you repeat what I've just said.
How to greet people casually:
"Hei" - hi
"Hallo" - hello
How to greet people formally:
"God dag" - good day
"God morgen" - good morning
How to say goodbye casually:
"Ha det" - bye (directly translated: have it, but you wouldn't say that in English)
"Ha det bra/godt" - goodbye (directly translated: have it good
"God natt" - good night
How to say goodbye formally(people hardly do that):
Farvel - goodbye (technically it means Farewell)
Adjø - goodbye (in my opinion, this is quite old fashioned)
This is how you say a few facts about yourself. Try reading what's below while listening to the clip.
How to indroduce yourself to a stranger:
"Hei, jeg heter Anna/mitt navn er Anna" - hi, I'm Anna/my name is Anna
"Jeg kommer fra Norge" - I come from Norway (you will of course have to replace Norway with your country. Feel free to ask me what it is called in Norwegian)
"Jeg er 20 år gammel" - I am 20 years old (20 is pronounced tyve/tjue. - will explain the last one when we start talking about numbers)
Keeping a conversation(preferably try it with a friend):
Du: "Hei, jeg heter Anna. Hva heter du?" - You: "Hi, my name is Anna. What is your name?"
Gutt: "Hei, mitt navn er Hans." - Boy: "Hi, my name is Hans."
Du: "Hvor kommer du fra?" - You: "Where do you come from?"
Gutt: "Jeg kommer fra Norge. Og du?" - Boy: "I come from Norway. And you?"
Du: "Jeg kommer fra England. Hvor i Norge bor du?" - You: "I come from England. Where in Norway do you live?
Gutt: "Jeg bor i Oslo. Hvor i England bor du?" - Boy: "I live in Oslo. Where in England do you live?"
Consonants
Here is a soundclip with the content below. Try reading while listening. Repeat after me.
B - prounounced like in English - "bad" (bath)
C - only used in foreign words - "centimeter"(c is prounounced s)
"camping" (c is pronounsed k)
D - pronounced like in English - "dame" (lady)
F - pronounced like in English - "finne" (find)
G - can be used two ways - "gate" (gate) -> the g is pronounced like in English
- "gi" (give) -> pronounced yee
H - pronounced like in English - "han" (he)
J- pronounced like y in yes - "ja" (yes)
K - can be pronounced two ways - "klær" (clothes) -> pronounced like k in kite
- "kyss" (kiss) -> pronounced almost like sh in ship
L - pronounced like in English - "lys" (light)
M - pronounced like in English - mamma (mom)
N - pronounced like in English - "nei" (no)
P - pronounced like in English - "pen" (pretty)
Q - only used in foreign words - "quiz"
R - can be rolled or pronounced - "reise" (travel
like German R
S - pronounced like in English - "se" (see)
OR like "sh" in front of L. - "slippe" (let go)
T - pronounced like in English - "tog" (train)
V - pronounced like in English - "vel" (well)
W - pronounced like Englisv V - WC (toilet)
Only used in foreign words
X - pronounced like s - "xylofon" (xylophone)
only used in foreign words
Z - pronounced like s - zoom (zoom)
only used in foreign words
Consonants you need to be extra careful with is K and R. I will make a soundclip which shows this better. But don't worry if you can't get it right yet. There's many people who can't - even Norwegian people.
Vowels
There are two types of Norwegian vowels; vowels that are short and vowels that are long.
Explaination:
Take the words "tak"(roof) and "takk" (thank you). "Tak" has a long vowel, because it DOESN'T end with two K's (a double consonant). The word "takk" has a short vowel, because it DOES end with a double consonant. This can be applied to most Norwegian words:
hat (hatred) - hatt (hat)
dit (there) - ditt (yours)
Some words cannot end with a double consonant, for example "rom"(room). Eventhough it ends with a single consonant, it still has a short vowel. Other examples of words ending with a single consonant, but has a short vowel are "han"(he), "hun"(she) and "den"(it)
Another thing to remember are words that doesn't end with a consontant at all. As a general rule, these vowels are long. For example "gi"(give), "si"(say), "ti"(ten), "se"(see) etc.
This may look difficult right now, but don't worry, it will make sense after a while.
Here are some exercises with sound. Try reading them out loud:
A - long vowel - pronounced like a in father - "hat" (hatred)
A - short vowel - pronounced like a in father - "hatt" (hat)
E - long vowel - pronounced like ai in air - "sted" (place)
E - short vowel - pronounced like e in bed - "sett" (seen)
I - long vowel - pronounced like ee in sheep - "dit" (there)
I - short vowel - pronounced like i in kiss - "ditt" (yours)
O - long vowel - pronounced like o in lose - "kos" (hug)
O - short vowel - pronounced like o in stock - "kokk" (chef)
U - long vowel - pronounced like ue in cue - "kul" (cool)
U - short vowel - pronounced like u in Hull - "hull" (hole)
Y - long vowel - pronounced like ee(w. rounded lips) - "by" (city)
Y - short vowel - pronounced like ee(w. rounded lips) - "kyss" (kiss)
Æ - long vowel - pronounced like a in cat - "lære" (learn)
Æ - short vowel - pronounced like a in cat - "lærd" (learned)
Ø - long vowel - pronounced like ir in bird - "dør" (door)
Ø - short vowel - pronounced like ir in bird - "dødt" (dead)
Å - long vowel - pronounced like aw in awful - "gå" (go/walk)
Å - short vowel - pronounced like o in hot - "åtte" (eight)
Thursday, 18 October 2012
The Alphabet
This is how you pronounce the letters (try reading it out loud like you would say it in English). For example: the first letter is pronounced "ah" rather than "ay" like in English.
Listen to this video while reading the letters below. Try repeating what I'm saying out loud.
A - ah
B - beh
C - seh
D - deh
E - eh
F - ef
G - geh
H - haw
I - ee
J - jod/jeh
K - kaw
L - el
M - em
N - en
O - o
P - peh
Q - koo
R - air (role the R)
S - ess
T - teh
U - oo
V - veh
W - dobbeltveh
X - eks
Y - ee (not completely accurate)
Z - set
Here are the extra letters...
Æ - a (like in "sad")
Ø - ir (like in "bird")
Å - aw (like in "awful")
Introduction
It is said that Norwegian is like listening to a song. In some way this is true. We do like to use our phonetics a lot. You will also see that some words that look the same on paper, can mean completely different things - it depends on how you pronounce it(where you put the pressure and so on). All this will be clearer after a while, and you will be singing your way out of my blog.
Remember that Norwegian is a very complicated language, and you will get frustrated at times, but the key is to practice and not give up. And as I said, if something is unclear, just ask and I will try to make it clearer.