1

I want to learn to write and read Norwegian. And of course to hear and pronounce it.

I would like to do this in a safe way, that is to say, to learn Norwegian as it is currently written and spoken. Not necessarily in order to go to Norway because I heard that they speak 90% English there and that Norwegian is disappearing. But rather to challenge myself intellectually and make my brain work to learn a new language.

Could you please provide me with some free or physical resources to buy that can train me in Norwegian grammar, conjugation and vocabulary?

I found this one in particular but I don't know if it's good: https://www.ntnu.edu/about?

1 Answers1

2

I have a full working proficiency in Norwegian. I had some Swedish at school and lived a year in Denmark before moving to Norway, so I can not claim to have started from nothing, though. I already had most of the grammar down before starting with Norwegian. That said, here are the tools I used:

  • Duolingo has a strong Norwegian course.
  • Anki has a deck of sentences, mostly from Tatoeba, with a few mistakes, but overall okay quality.
  • Clozemaster has courses for Norwegian bokmål from English and French from bokmål. I used it actively for a time.
  • I read news at NRK, the Norwegian public broadcasting company.
  • I participate in and follow discussions around my interests in Norwegian; for me, roleplaying games. I started by listening a podcast and started understanding some at around episode 15 or so, I would guess.
  • Of course, I also live here and use the language daily with acquaintances and at work.

The Duoling course is quite good. Most of the other resources I have used build on Tatoeba, which lacks an active Norwegian contributor and therefore has some bad sentences there; so one needs to be critical about them.

I did not use the NTNU course, but NTNU is a highly respected university in Norway, so their course is likely okay.

But even more important than taking a course is actually starting to use the language. Whichever activity you normally do online, try to see if it is possible to do in Norwegian, at least a little. It will be impossible at first, and do not worry about understanding, but you will get exposed and used to the language. Maybe study a bit first, though.

Tommi
  • 3,492
  • 1
  • 11
  • 37
  • Have you tried Duolingo's Swedish course? If so, how does it compare? My issue with Duolingo is that it uses unusual vocabulary and nonsense constructions. –  Aug 23 '22 at 03:01
  • No experience with svenska på Duolingo. Danish was poor and unmaintained when I studied that some five years ago. I would not in general use Duolingo, or any other program/course, as the only source, but as a single one, and in that function the Norwegian course is quite good. – Tommi Aug 24 '22 at 05:17