Learn about formal Norwegian
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Intro |
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| Michael: How does formal Norwegian work? |
| Inger: And when is it used? |
| Michael: At NorwegianClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Torbjoern Tvedt, a high school student, comes across the mother of his neighbor friend, Karen Lee. He says, "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Torbjørn: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| Dialogue |
| Torbjørn: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| Karen: Bra, takk. Hvordan går det med deg? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Torbjørn: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| Michael: "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Karen: Bra, takk. Hvordan går det med deg? |
| Michael: "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be discussing formal Norwegian. We will look at how it works and when it is used. To begin with, I’d like to emphasize that Norwegians are egalitarian and casual and often address each other on a first name basis. However, there are circumstances where they would use honorifics like |
| Inger: Herr |
| Michael: or "Mr.," and |
| Inger: Fru |
| Michael: or "Mrs." Compared with other cultures, Norwegian can be a bit straightforward. Unlike in languages like German or French where a specific pronoun is used to convey formality or politeness, in Norwegian, everyone uses the word |
| Inger: du |
| Michael: or "you." If you notice in the dialogue, both Torbjoern and Karen greet one another in a casual tone. While Torbjoern greets with "How are things going," Karen replies with "How are things going with you?" In Karen’s reply, you will observe the objective case for the second person singular "you," which is |
| Inger: deg |
| Michael: Here, we can see that Norwegians don’t worry much about formality when greeting one another regardless of the age of the person they are addressing. Does that mean formal Norwegian language does not exist? Not necessarily. You will be surprised to learn that Norwegians are kind and polite, and that there are certain phrases you can use if you wish to sound formal. For instance, it would be rude to talk to your superior at work or even to a stranger and say, |
| Inger: Hei! Du! Hva er klokka? |
| Michael: or "Hey! You! What time is it?" Instead, you would say, |
| Inger: Unnskyld, vet du hva klokken her? |
| Michael: "Excuse me, do you know what time it is? Here, we see the phrase, |
| Inger: Unnskyld, |
| Michael: which literally means "Sorry." This is one way to say "excuse me" in Norwegian and it’s also commonly used to say sorry. |
| Another phrase you can use to sound formal in Norwegian is |
| Inger: Tusen takk |
| Michael: or "a thousand thanks." It’s based on the word |
| Inger: takk, |
| Michael: which is the Norwegian word for "thanks." Some say it’s of Germanic origin, which could mean something like "I will remember what you have done." Now, if you’re the one offering something to a friend, like food or drink, for instance, you can use the phrase, |
| Inger: Kan jeg by deg på |
| Michael: which means "Can I offer you…?" For example, if you had a friend come over to visit you, and you wanted to offer them something, you could say, |
| Inger: Kan jeg by deg på en kopp te? |
| Michael: or "Can I offer you a cup of tea?" In the same manner, if that friend asked to use the restroom, you can respond with |
| Inger: Vær så god |
| Michael: or "Please go ahead." It’s interesting to note that this same expression could mean different things depending on the context. It could also mean "Please do," "Here you go," "You’re welcome," or simply "Please." Speaking of "Please." Another word you can add to your written communication to make it sound more formal is |
| Inger: Vennligst |
| Michael: You can use it when saying things like, |
| Inger: Vennligst sørg for at en lege besøker meg. |
| Michael: "Please arrange for a doctor to visit me," or something like |
| Inger: Vennligst ring oss hvis dere hører fra dem |
| Michael: or "Please give us a call if you hear from them." And, finally, there’s the phrase, |
| Inger: Bare hyggelig |
| Michael: which is often used to mean "You’re welcome," although it could mean other things too, such as, "My pleasure," "No problem," "Don’t mention it," or the informal "You got it." |
| Michael: These are just some of the ways to sound formal when speaking in Norwegian. You might have noticed that formality in Norwegian is about the attitude and tone just as it is about the phrases or words you use. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we’ve heard in this lesson. I’ll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Norwegian. Anette will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Inger: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Inger: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Inger: Mrs. Lee, hvordan går det? |
| Michael: And do you remember how to say "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Inger: Bra, takk. Hvordan går det med deg? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Inger: Bra, takk. Hvordan går det med deg? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Inger: Bra, takk. Hvordan går det med deg? |
| Summary |
| Michael: In this lesson, we discussed what it means to be formal in Norwegian. Some of the examples we looked at were phrases like: |
| Inger: vær så snill, |
| Michael: which is one way to say "please" in Norwegian. It literally means "be so kind." We also covered the phrase, |
| Inger: tusen takk, |
| Michael: which means "A thousand thanks." As we have learned, you can also use the word that serves as the basis for these two previous expressions, the word, |
| Inger: takk |
| Michael: It is a noun derived from the verb |
| Inger: å takke |
| Michael: which means "to thank." In essence, takk would mean "thanks." However, it also functions as "please," such as when you say, |
| Inger: Det vanlige, takk. |
| Michael: or "the usual, please." Another way to say "please" is |
| Inger: Vennligst |
| Michael: which is used primarily in formal situations. Another expression we’ve learned is |
| Inger: Vær så god |
| Michael: which means "You’re welcome." This same word could mean "Please" in some situations. Finally, we’ve learned about |
| Inger: Bare hyggelig |
| Michael: which primarily means "You’re welcome," but could also be used to mean "My pleasure" among other things. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: There are actually two personal pronouns in Norwegian that were considered polite pronouns. These are |
| Inger: De and Dem |
| Michael: which were both pronouns used for the third personal plural and the polite second singular. Both words mean "them" in English. Norwegians no longer use these words anymore, however, particularly in everyday conversations. You might find them being used in some form of literature or even letters or emails trying to keep a formal tone. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Inger: Ha det! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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