Does anyone have an opinion on which is the easiest to learn, Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish? Danish pronunciation seems more difficult than the other two, and less of a match with its orthography. Norwegian should be better, but it has three grammatical genders (at least officially), and the standard seems to be shifting all the time, as Bokmål speakers incorporate more Nynorsk or other dialect features. Also, Swedish seems a little more articulated, at least from the films that I've seen.
what do you think of Scandinavian languages?
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<since it has the largest population and the most material to read and watch>
You said it.
If I were you I'd go for Swedish, and if you don't I think Norwegian would be the best second choice since Danish has such slurred pronounciation.
You said it.
If I were you I'd go for Swedish, and if you don't I think Norwegian would be the best second choice since Danish has such slurred pronounciation.
I should say Norwegian or/and Swedish are easiest to learn, so if you want to learn the easiest language I think you can choose one of them. I also have an other point, if your goal is to become capable to communicate with all Scandinavians I recommend you to learn Danish because if you understand their unclear accent I think you also can understand a Norwegian and a Swede because they speak more clearly.
Hello Swede!
You recommend to learn Danish, rather than Norwegian or Swedish, because then you will be able to better understand both Norwegian and Swedish. That might be the case, but if you want to communicate with all Scandinavians as you say, then Danish is probably the worst pick, because most other Scandinavians don't understand Danish as spoken by the average Dane. Yes, how they speak it on television might be comprehensible, but somehow the best way to communicate with a Dane for a Norwegian is by using English. Even my Norwegian friend who decided to relocate permanently to Denmark had to learn how to pronounce properly if he cared to be understood.
Even though both Danes and Norwegians share approximately the same written language, the pronounciation of Danish makes it so much more difficult to understand unless you already speak it.
And because most Norwegians understand Swedish almost perfectly, perhaps because they watch a lot of Swedish television, I'd say Swedish is the most comprehensible of all the Scandinavian languages for other Scandinavians. And therefore the best pick if you want to speak one of the Scandinavian languages. Not to even mention that Sweden is the most populous.
I believe the majority of the Swedish people don't understand Norwegian as good as vice versa. Most of my Swedish friends had to live in Norway for a while to really understand it, although for most it is comprehendible. Don't know, but this makes it even easier to pick Swedish as the language to learn for others who want to communicate with Scandinavians.
As an matter for those of you interested in the relationship between German language and Scandinavian language. Keep reading:
I am a Norwegian living in Berlin. I didn't speak German so well before I moved here. However, I found there to be more similarities between German words and Swedish words, than between German and Norwegian. My knowledge of Swedish made it easier for me to learn German. I guess if I was a German it would be easier to understand Swedish than Norwegian. Of course - some Germans who live close to the border of Denmark understand Danish language, as all people living by any national border might. But German is spoken very articulate, unlike the Danish language.
As a comment to those commenting the harshness of the German language: I just need to tell you that German, when spoken by the typical relaxed Berliner, is actually rather mellow. Not like the impression you might get from watching angry people shouting orders or whatever. It is really not that bad!
You recommend to learn Danish, rather than Norwegian or Swedish, because then you will be able to better understand both Norwegian and Swedish. That might be the case, but if you want to communicate with all Scandinavians as you say, then Danish is probably the worst pick, because most other Scandinavians don't understand Danish as spoken by the average Dane. Yes, how they speak it on television might be comprehensible, but somehow the best way to communicate with a Dane for a Norwegian is by using English. Even my Norwegian friend who decided to relocate permanently to Denmark had to learn how to pronounce properly if he cared to be understood.
Even though both Danes and Norwegians share approximately the same written language, the pronounciation of Danish makes it so much more difficult to understand unless you already speak it.
And because most Norwegians understand Swedish almost perfectly, perhaps because they watch a lot of Swedish television, I'd say Swedish is the most comprehensible of all the Scandinavian languages for other Scandinavians. And therefore the best pick if you want to speak one of the Scandinavian languages. Not to even mention that Sweden is the most populous.
I believe the majority of the Swedish people don't understand Norwegian as good as vice versa. Most of my Swedish friends had to live in Norway for a while to really understand it, although for most it is comprehendible. Don't know, but this makes it even easier to pick Swedish as the language to learn for others who want to communicate with Scandinavians.
As an matter for those of you interested in the relationship between German language and Scandinavian language. Keep reading:
I am a Norwegian living in Berlin. I didn't speak German so well before I moved here. However, I found there to be more similarities between German words and Swedish words, than between German and Norwegian. My knowledge of Swedish made it easier for me to learn German. I guess if I was a German it would be easier to understand Swedish than Norwegian. Of course - some Germans who live close to the border of Denmark understand Danish language, as all people living by any national border might. But German is spoken very articulate, unlike the Danish language.
As a comment to those commenting the harshness of the German language: I just need to tell you that German, when spoken by the typical relaxed Berliner, is actually rather mellow. Not like the impression you might get from watching angry people shouting orders or whatever. It is really not that bad!
Berlinerbolle, Jag tror att det är svårt att lära sig den danska accenten om man inte bor i Danmark. Därför tror jag att många som studerar danska i andra länder har en accent som mer påminner om norska och svenska även om den kanske inte blir fullt så rytmisk. Därför anser jag att man bör lära sig danska för att förstå den svåraste accenten inom de skaninaviska språken. Jag menar om du studerar svenska eller norska kommer det vara nästan omöjligt att höra vad en dansk säger. Många icke skandinaver tycker ju också att danskan är mer grötigare än exempelvis norskan så då borde man ju komma fram till min slutsats.
Visst danskan är svårast att lära, inget snack om saken.
Jag tror du har rätt i att norrmänen förstår svenska bättre än vice versa och jag delar ditt "fjärrsynsargument", dock förstår de flesta svenskar norska väldigt bra. I vart fall enligt mina egna erfarenheter, det är bara vissa dialekter inom norskan som kan vara riktigt svårbegripliga. Dessutom verkar norrmänen vara bättre på att förstå de ord som skiljer språken åt exempelvis, fjärrsyn, bevegelse osv.
Som du indirekt påpekade är tyskan också rik på dialekter men när man uttalar sig om språk får man ju kommentera språken lite mer generellt.
Angående tyskan så är det nog sant att svenskan har en större andel tyska ord än norskan även om norskan har en del tyska ord också, tänker exempelvis på "fönster".
Visst danskan är svårast att lära, inget snack om saken.
Jag tror du har rätt i att norrmänen förstår svenska bättre än vice versa och jag delar ditt "fjärrsynsargument", dock förstår de flesta svenskar norska väldigt bra. I vart fall enligt mina egna erfarenheter, det är bara vissa dialekter inom norskan som kan vara riktigt svårbegripliga. Dessutom verkar norrmänen vara bättre på att förstå de ord som skiljer språken åt exempelvis, fjärrsyn, bevegelse osv.
Som du indirekt påpekade är tyskan också rik på dialekter men när man uttalar sig om språk får man ju kommentera språken lite mer generellt.
Angående tyskan så är det nog sant att svenskan har en större andel tyska ord än norskan även om norskan har en del tyska ord också, tänker exempelvis på "fönster".
A question for the Scandinavians: if I speak Danish only, and I travel through all "Scandinavia" will I have trouble communicating? Can this language serve me as a Lingua Franca?
Maybe some people in the eastern and northen part of Sweden don´t will understand you but if you write down those things you want to say on a paper than I think they will understand you.
It looks to me that Scandinavian Languages have the same relationship that Spanish and Portuguese have. Their writing is similar, but their phonology sounds a bit different, although phonology can sometimes help you understand things that written make no sense!
<A question for the Scandinavians: if I speak Danish only, and I travel through all "Scandinavia" will I have trouble communicating? Can this language serve me as a Lingua Franca?>
I also think you'd have to write your stuff down, if you'd learned Danish only. It's not seldom hard enough to understand what a foreigner says in your OWN language - I take it your first language is Spanish? Remember that theory and practice are often two very different things. So the answer I give you to question #1 is Yes, and to #2 No. If you want to travel in Scandinavia and be understood, assuming you're using another language than English, I say you should learn Swedish (which is my 1st language).
I also think you'd have to write your stuff down, if you'd learned Danish only. It's not seldom hard enough to understand what a foreigner says in your OWN language - I take it your first language is Spanish? Remember that theory and practice are often two very different things. So the answer I give you to question #1 is Yes, and to #2 No. If you want to travel in Scandinavia and be understood, assuming you're using another language than English, I say you should learn Swedish (which is my 1st language).
Berlinerbolle,
you said it would be easier for a German to learn Swedish than Norwegian. I have learnt Swedish at home and German at school. When I began to study Norwegian on my own, I found that Norwegian is closer to German than Swedish is, e.g. föle = fühlen, bevege = bewegen. Later when I studied Danish, I thought it is still closer to German, e.g. kartoffel is the same word in both languages. But when I pondered about your experience, I remembered such Swedish words as fönster = Fenster (Norw. vindu = window) and plötsligt = plötzlich (Norw. plusselig). I suppose that probably a Swede notices the similarities between Norwegian and German, and a Norwegian pays atention to the similarities between Swedish and German.
CarloS,
I think that it depends greatly on the way you pronounce Danish how well you will be understood in other Scandinavian countries. If you pronounce b, d, g and r about as in Spanish (or still better, as in Italian), Swedes and Norwegians will understand you definitely better. Icelanders and Faeroese learn Danish at school but they pronounce it much more clearly than the Danes themselves do. I find Scandinavian pronounced in the Icelandic way very easy, it sounds so familiar as it resembles Finland´s Swedish, the other language I´ve learnt as child.
you said it would be easier for a German to learn Swedish than Norwegian. I have learnt Swedish at home and German at school. When I began to study Norwegian on my own, I found that Norwegian is closer to German than Swedish is, e.g. föle = fühlen, bevege = bewegen. Later when I studied Danish, I thought it is still closer to German, e.g. kartoffel is the same word in both languages. But when I pondered about your experience, I remembered such Swedish words as fönster = Fenster (Norw. vindu = window) and plötsligt = plötzlich (Norw. plusselig). I suppose that probably a Swede notices the similarities between Norwegian and German, and a Norwegian pays atention to the similarities between Swedish and German.
CarloS,
I think that it depends greatly on the way you pronounce Danish how well you will be understood in other Scandinavian countries. If you pronounce b, d, g and r about as in Spanish (or still better, as in Italian), Swedes and Norwegians will understand you definitely better. Icelanders and Faeroese learn Danish at school but they pronounce it much more clearly than the Danes themselves do. I find Scandinavian pronounced in the Icelandic way very easy, it sounds so familiar as it resembles Finland´s Swedish, the other language I´ve learnt as child.
to anyone who might be interested in discussion about the wide difference between written danish and spoken danish; here's a link to a danish newspaper, called politiken. in denmark, discussions about a change in the way of spelling danish are going on. danish children have problems learning written danish because that the spoken form keeps developing. written danish has not changed that much since the 1600 century so the gap between the spoken and written language is quite big today. and it keeps getting bigger. to help the children, some people have suggested a big change in the way of spelling. words like tiger, fisk, køre, kører, kunne, skal, hvem would be changed to tiå, fesg, køå, køå, ku, sga, væm so that they would reflect the way they're pronounced.
read the whole article here: http://politiken.dk/VisArtikel.sasp?PageID=402848
in my opinion, it would be a bad idea to change the written language. i like written danish, looks quite beautiful in my eyes, or at least my national feeling is against a change. also, if we decide to change written danish into the "moderen spoken danish language" then we would totally lose the connections to swedish and norwegian. it would be a big loss for scandinavia and for the danish people. future generations would not be able to read books and all kinds of information written before the change of the written language. we're quite lucky, since the language hasn't changed much in the past 400 years, we're able to read old texts dated back to 1600 without putting wuch a big effort into it.
if a change is made, everything written in danish to this day will become unrecognizeable to my furture children. it is like deleting your whole identity. all connections to swedes and norwegians would be lost and english would take over. the languages, which i think pulls our three nations together are already threatened.. if the change is made, then we wont be talking about "vores svenske brødre" (our swedish brothers) or "norske jenter" (norwegian girls) anymore.. what can i say..
read the whole article here: http://politiken.dk/VisArtikel.sasp?PageID=402848
in my opinion, it would be a bad idea to change the written language. i like written danish, looks quite beautiful in my eyes, or at least my national feeling is against a change. also, if we decide to change written danish into the "moderen spoken danish language" then we would totally lose the connections to swedish and norwegian. it would be a big loss for scandinavia and for the danish people. future generations would not be able to read books and all kinds of information written before the change of the written language. we're quite lucky, since the language hasn't changed much in the past 400 years, we're able to read old texts dated back to 1600 without putting wuch a big effort into it.
if a change is made, everything written in danish to this day will become unrecognizeable to my furture children. it is like deleting your whole identity. all connections to swedes and norwegians would be lost and english would take over. the languages, which i think pulls our three nations together are already threatened.. if the change is made, then we wont be talking about "vores svenske brødre" (our swedish brothers) or "norske jenter" (norwegian girls) anymore.. what can i say..
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