Everything You Need To Learn Norwegian
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken by around 5 million people, primarily in Norway, where it is the official language.
Norwegian is closely related to Swedish and Danish, and is mutually intelligible with them to a certain extent. It is a descendant of Old Norse, which was the language of the Vikings.
There are two official forms of written Norwegian – Bokmål (literally “book language”) and Nynorsk (“new Norwegian”). Bokmål is by far the more common variety of written Norwegian, being the form that most Norwegians use when writing.
Norwegian, just like its siblings Danish and Swedish, is considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. And the good news is that there are plenty of resources available to learn the language. We’ve compiled a list of those we believe are the most useful.
Norwegian Language Learning Books
As an introduction to the language, nothing works better than a good Norwegian course/study book. With these types of books, you’ll learn all the basics of the language, like Norwegian grammar and sentence structure, basic vocabulary, and more.
You won’t get far without a concise English-Norwegian dictionary. During the course of your studies, you’ll come a cross a plethora of new words, and you’ll need a good dictionary with in-depth definitions and examples phrases.
Like puzzles? Get yourself a Norwegian word search puzzle book to insert some fun into the learning process. These are great for learning lots of new vocabulary.
Norwegian Children’s Books
Studying isn’t everything. You improve your language skills enormously by reading kids’ books in Norwegian. These books are, by nature, designed to be easy-to-read, fun, and memorable, which makes them perfect for beginners hoping to strengthen their Norwegian comprehension and pick up new words.
Norwegian Fiction
Eventually, you’ll want more complex reading material that presents more of a challenge for you, and thus progresses you further and faster in your language endeavors. That’s where reading Norwegian books for older readers comes in.
Here you’ll get a real sense of how the language is used by natives, and you’ll pick up all kinds of idioms and phrases that will be useful in everyday life. Your reading comprehension as well as your vocabulary will improve tenfold.
Norwegian Movies & TV Shows
Watching movies and TV shows in Norwegian/with Norwegian dubbing can be the most fun out of all your language learning tools. Why? Because you’re more likely to sit for longer periods of time if it’s enjoyable, which means more exposure to Norwegian conversation and dialogue.
Not only that but you’ll get to hear how the language is pronounced by natives, and be exposed to things like Norwegian slang and turns of phrase that you might not see in traditional textbooks.
Norwegian Digital Courses
While learning through book courses is an effective way to learn a language, using a Norwegian e-course is equally as effective, especially for those who learn best with audovisual material.
These types of courses have unique benefits. For instance, they tend to be much more interactive, delivering Norwegian lessons using audio and/or video, and are said to be more useful in getting learners to actually communicate with their language skills. They place more emphasis on boosting Norwegian listening and speaking skills than books do.
Both Udemy and Pimsleur offer comprehensive Norwegian digital courses that can be accessed from almost any device, on or offline. While Udemy’s Norwegian course offers over 16 hours of video lessons, Pimsleur’s Norwegian course is audio-only.
Each have their own perks, but both aim to get you to a comfortable level in Norwegian. So it really comes down to personal preference when choosing which one to get.
NORWEGIAN UDEMY COURSES
NORWEGIAN AUDIO COURSES
Pimsleur Norwegian Conversational Course - Level 1 Lessons 1-16 CD
Norwegian Products
There are products out there that can be more effective in teaching you aspects of Norwegian that you might otherwise find difficult to learn. For instance, using a Norwegian Magnetic Poetry kit is a fun way to incorporate Norwegian sentence-building into your everyday life, using your refrigerator!
