Colloquial Norwegian

The Complete Course for Beginners

Margaret Hayford O'Leary, Torunn Andresen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317582601
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Colloquial Norwegian provides a step-by-step course in Norwegian as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Norwegian in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Features include:

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• progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills

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• structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar

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• an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises

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• realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios

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• useful vocabulary lists throughout the text

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• additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries

Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Norwegian will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Norwegian.

Colloquials are now supported by FREE AUDIO available online. All audio tracks referenced within the text are free to stream or download from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio compliments the book and will help enhance learners' listening and speaking skills.

Unit One

Tre studenter

Three students

In this unit you will learn how to:

• make simple introductions
• use personal pronouns in subject form
• discuss countries, nationalities, and languages
• ask about a person’s marital status
• use sentence structure in statements and questions
• ask questions using interrogatives
• use verbs (infinitive, present tense, past tense, perfect) and modal auxiliaries

Dialogue 1 / Dialog 1

In the classroom before class / I klasserommet før timen (Audio 1.7)

Mark is ready for his first day of Norwegian classes. In the classroom, while waiting for the teacher, he introduces himself to his classmates sitting on either side of him.

Read the following passage and see how much you understand. A translation follows the passage.

Mark:	Hei. Jeg heter Mark.
Molly:	Hei, Mark. Hyggelig å hilse på deg. Jeg heter Molly.
Mark:	Hvor kommer du fra?
Molly:	Jeg kommer fra USA. Hva med deg?
Mark:	Jeg kommer fra England, men nå bor jeg i Norge.
Mark:	Hvorfor er du i Norge?
Molly:	Fordi jeg skal studere her.
Translation / Oversettelse
Mark:	Hi. My name is Mark. (I am called Mark.)
Molly:	Hi, Mark. Nice to meet you. My name is Molly.
Mark:	Where do you come from?
Molly:	I come from the U.S. What about you?
Mark:	I come from England, but now I live in Norway.
Mark:	Why are you in Norway?
Molly:	Because I’m going to study here.

Vocabulary / Vokabular

hei	hi, hello
jeg heter	I’m called
hilse på	meet, greet
hvor	where
hvorfor	why
hva	what

Culture / Kultur

Greetings and farewells: Hilsener (Audio 1.8–1.9)

Hei!	Hi! (informal)
Hallo!	Hello! (especially used on the telephone or to get attention)
Morn!	Hello!
God morgen!	Good morning!
God dag!	Hello! (Good day!) (formal)
God ettermiddag!	Good afternoon!
God kveld!	Good evening!
Ha det!	Goodbye!
Ha det bra!	Goodbye!
Ha det godt!	Goodbye!
Adjø!	Goodbye! (old fashioned)

Note: The greetings will vary according to where the Norwegian is coming from (the West, the East, the Northern or Southern part of Norway), how formal or informal the Norwegian is and how old he or she is. Some Norwegians use “Hei” most of the time or all the time. It is also possible to double the short greetings: “Hei hei!”, “Morn morn!” and “Hallo hallo!”

Language points

Sentence structure

Sentence stru...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Tre studenter Three students
• 2 På handletur On a shopping trip
• 3 På tur Going for walks
• 4 Tid og familie Time and family
• 5 Daglige aktiviteter: Skole og fritid Daily activities: School and leisure
• 6 Hjem, rom og møbler Home, rooms and furniture
• 7 Å holde kontakten – epost, brev og sosiale medier Keeping in touch – email, letters and social media
• 8 Mat og drikke Food and drink
• 9 Konfirmasjonen The confirmation
• 10 Shopping Shopping
• 11 Helse, sykdom og skade Health, illness and injury
• 12 Reise Travel
• 13 Geografi Geography
• 14 Jobber, yrker og framtidsplaner Jobs, occupations and future plans
• Norwegian reference grammar
• About nynorsk
• Key to exercises
• Norwegian–English glossary
• English–Norwegian glossary
• Audio track listing
• Index