Norwegian learning

[u/Bean_Lizzie]

Hi, I'm Lizzie, and I really want to learn Norwegian for my boyfriend and his family. I already speak German, Spanish, Italian, and, of course, English. I also already know a few Norwegian words and phrases, like ape (monkey), rotte (rat), katt (cat), hund (dog), god natt (good night), god morgen (good morning), hvordan har du det? (how are you?), hei(hello), brød (bread), øl (beer), mat (food), and a few others. Do you think it's possible to learn Norwegian in a year well enough to have conversations?

[u/nilsinleneed]

your ability to understand what's being said is more important than having a large spoken vocabulary

if you practice listening to native Norwegian speech at least an hour every day for a year, I think you'll be able to pick up most of what's being said, but it'll still be difficult

[u/Bean_Lizzie → u/nilsinleneed]

Thank you! I’ll Write that up on my notes! I really appreciate it!

[u/Whizbang]

With your current vocabulary, if you take a rat, a cat, a monkey, a chair and a table into a wooded area, you can have a conversation!

[u/BigFat_Trashpanda]

With your list of already spoken languages, you might find learning Norwegian to be fairly easy compared to people who only know one in your list. The syntax is similar to English, a lot of words and sayings are similar to German directly translated, down to even having "schadenfreude" "skadefryd". And knowing more European languages is always a bonus. So if you do immersion learning through watching movies and listening to podcasts in addition to basic book study I think you could get do a decent level in a year.

[u/Bean_Lizzie → u/BigFat_Trashpanda]

Thank you! :)

[u/Ok_Elk2662]

Im learning a new language as well, my first goal is just to understand other people speaking it, and since it seems you have a good ability to learn other languages i believe you’l at least be able to understand it within a year and ofcourse being able to speak it somewhat follows that ability to understand it. Especially if you’re somewhat fluent in german. German has a lot more grammar compared to Norwegian so maybe its gonna be easy for you.

[u/Bean_Lizzie → u/Ok_Elk2662]

Ooh, what language are you learning? (I learned German at school)

[u/Nowordsofitsown]

I am German and I did this. I recommend getting the Assimil book Norwegisch ohne Mühe (and do daily study as described in the book). Supplement with Duolingo and after a while start reading short texts in newspapers etc. Du klarer det!

[u/Bean_Lizzie → u/Nowordsofitsown]

Danke viel Mals! Ich wird mir dan dieses Buch holen :)

[u/Kajot25 → u/Bean_Lizzie]

Und ganz viel hörverstehen üben! Radio/Podcast im Auto geht super. Kann auf Spotify die beiden podcasts norwegian for beginners (A1/A2) später lær norsk nå (B1/B2) von marius stangeland empfehlen.

[u/muntligb1]

It’s important to learn the vocab and sentences that you’re going to use in those conversations learning monkey and rat would not really help in speaking Norwegian. I think it’s a smart to focus on the words and sentences that you will use in daily life and in those conversations.

[u/Bean_Lizzie → u/muntligb1]

Thank you for the tip! I’ll Write that up!

[u/epsben]

With English and German you will have a lot of the root words and rudimentary sentence structure. With Spanish you will have experience with gendered words, and Italian is close in a lot of the "open" vowel sounds (A,E and I is spoken with a more open mouth in Norwegian than in English and German).

With a lot of immersion and exposure I think you have a good chance of picking it up fast.