Nordic Languages Thread

[Lenny]

Yup, I do And I've seen that problem coming, haha. Not precisely sure how I'll deal with it, but part of my casual self-put-together learning program is going to include studying those dialects, to be able to understand them at least, if not speak them. Maybe choose a specific one to stick to myself. Material is going to be a bit tricky to find at first, though, eeish. I wonder if there are radio shows available, hmm. South Africa has some available over the net, maybe Norway has, too? I'll need to set aside a day or two and just search.

[Pessi]

I studied a bit or Norwegian long ago at the uni, mostly for fun, but also a little because I was interested in the archaeology of Norway and harbouring some dreams of switching to some Norwegian university for a while. The course was meant for people studying Scandinavian languages as their major subject, so as an archaeology student I wasn't on equal grouding with the others. The mandatory "school Swedish" helped me through the first weeks when we were studying bokmål, but then we switched to nynorsk and suddenly I didn't understand anything =D

[Bobriha]

By the way, why Ruotsissa but Venäjällä? Is there some logic behind it, or is it something we should just learn by heart?

[Pessi]

Russia is just an exeption. Usually the -lla/-llä is reserved for countries that are islands or have plural names, and even many of them get instead the -ssa/-ssä ending.

[Bobriha]

Thank you very much! My textbook only says that most of toponimes add -ssa/-ssä endings, but some require -lla/-llä, without further explanations. So your answer is really a hand of help.

[Pessi]

You are wellcome, though actually the thanks belong to a Finnish grammar page I visited

[ThisOneGuy]

SSSS was definitely a big push for me to actually start learning Finnish, even though I kind of learn it...slowly. xD
I have like, a list with many words and a few verbs, trying to figure out how would a verb change when it's "you" or "I", etc...I'm asking a Finnish friend to teach me, it's rather fun and entertaining, and I love the way Finnish sounds, too

I wouldn't be able to make a full sentence yet, though. Sadly! D:

Someone may have answered this, but the last few letters of a verb change, depending on if it's you or I or something else like that. For example, "Juosta" is the basic form of the verb "Run". "Juoksin" is if I was running. "Juoksit" is it if it would be you who was running. "Juoksi" would be if it was him or her who was running. "Juoksimme" would be if we were running. "Juoksitte" would be if it was a group of people you are talking to who ran. "Juoksivat" would be if they were running. And then the passive, "Juostaan". That is used when it is unsure who was running. For example, "Juoksukisoissa juostaan" which means that people run in running races. Of course, this is basically the same for all verbs. That was the verb "Juosta" in imperfekti. Preesens would be what is happening currently, and then there's perfekti and pluskvamperfeksi which I have no idea on what they are used for.

[Pessi]

Perfekti is the "have done something", pluskvamperfekti the "had done something". Like "Olen juossut" = I have run, "Olin juossut" = I had run.

I don't know if people interested in Finnish language know this site or find it at all helpful, but there is this Donnerwetter Language Center web course for   learning Finnish culture and basics of the language called Tavataan taas! ("See you again!")

[Eich]

I'm not even very good at my own language.  I used to have a better vocabulary, but as I started learning more and more engineering, I started forgetting more and more words and spellings.  My head's all full of numbers now.  Also, I took French for three years, but I don't remember a word, and the only thing I know in German is "My name hurts."
I'd love to learn another language, but I'm not very patient.  I'd have to work up a really strong urge to put some time into it, but I have to admit that being monolingual sucks.

[Fen Shen]

Just wondering, Eich... what do you mean with "My name hurts"?  ???
Thanks to my highschool, I got to learn some Norwegian years ago for a student exchange (it was only a week, but such a great experience ). Last year, I started refreshing it a little with a course for beginners - I thought I should use the free language courses at the university before it was too late. 
Now, my reading and listening skills have developed surprisingly well - similarities between languages are really helpful and fun, as Lenny already said. Unfortunately, I don't think I could handle a real Norwegian conversation because my writing and speaking skills were never good and have deteriorated since the end of the course. That's always so sad about learning a language: Without constant use, and at least one other speaker, you loose all your skills so soon. 

[Eich]

It's just a phrase that my friend put together from words he remembered from German class back when he was in England, and I thought it was hilarious because it made no sense.  I also remember something from an internet video, but it's hardly a phrase for common conversation.  I considered taking a German class when I got to college, but my classes took up all of my time even without a language class, so I left the idea behind.

Yeah, not having anyone to speak to would be my main problem.  I'm not a fan of travelling, so I probably wouldn't ever have a chance to use a new language.

[Fen Shen]

Ah, now I see the point. 
At the moment, I'm trying to learn a new language (Italian) together with my roommate. It's fun to try out a conversation between two beginners, but while doing exercises, we often start to quarrel because none of us really knows the right solution and there is no teacher to correct our mistakes. Well, our skills were at least sufficient to order our last pizzas with correct Italian pronounciation...

[Pessi]

Oh, the pain of independent language studies. I've tried both Russian and Japanese with not much success, but still plan on learning them some way or another. And while I dream of learning new languages, I keep slowly forgetting most of the ones I learned in school since I don't have much use for them - except for the much needed English, which I ironically studied only for two years in the elementary school and then dropped away in the secondary school since the combination of Germany and Swedish was a big enough headache.

Having no one to speak the language is a real problem like Eich said. I just pondered yesterday how I can't understand a word in Krauka's songs though it's relatively easy to understand the written lyrics. "Can read Danish well enough, can't understand a word of it when spoken." =D

[Fen Shen]

Well, if someone was interested, nordic language speakers could team up with someone who wants to learn Norwegian/Swedish/Danish/Finnish/Icelandic (are there people from Iceland in the forum?). In exchange, the learner could offer insights in his/her own language. 

[Nimphy]

Well, if someone was interested, nordic language speakers could team up with someone who wants to learn Norwegian/Swedish/Danish/Finnish/Icelandic (are there people from Iceland in the forum?). In exchange, the learner could offer insights in his/her own language. 

I am interested! Like, super interested! Hehe, it could be useful. I can offer insights in Italian and Albanian, but I don't suggest attempting Albanian to anyone who doesn't wish to go mad. It's very difficult.

But it doesn't have to be Nordic languages. Any, really. We could all form an online exchange program or something of the like. So, what does everyone here speak?