All people who know me know that I'm interested in languages generally, as well as, in learning them. So whenever I'm traveling I try to pick up something of the local language, to associate it with those I already can speak to a certain extent or, at least, to get something of the structure of the language.
"HOCHSPANNUNG LEBENSGEFAHR" "HIGH VOLTAGE LIFE DANGER"
In Norway wasn't different. I made my efforts to understand a bit of the Norwegian (in Norwegian Norsk).
My first attempts we're directed to the listening since I first heard the people talking, still in the German airport, before being able to read in some sign, advertisement. Result: I totally failed! I couldn't understand a single word.
"DU STEHST/BIST HIER" "YOU ARE HERE"
"WARME SCHOKOLADE" "HOT CHOCOLATE"
In the shops, menus, advertisement, newspapers, food packages, etc. I could find a lot of similarities between words in Norwegian and German and in the situations when the similarity wasn't there, it was possible to infer the meaning of an certain word by the context.
"WIR WÜNSCHEN ALLE EIN GUTES NEUES JAHR" "WE WISH EVERYNOE A HAPPY NEW YEAR"
So, at the end I wasn't that disappointed for not being able to understand the spoken language. Apparently, there is the same kind of relation between Norwegian and German that we have in South America between Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. We, Brazilian, can understand the Spanish speaking neighbors but it doesn't work the other way round.
"FUSSGÄNGERFELD" "PEDESTRIAN AREA"
The reason for that is that we have all the sounds on which the Spanish is built and many others they are not familiar with. Plus point for us! :)
"SCHWARZER KAFFEE" "BLACK COFFE"
Anyway, to speak a proper Norwegian I still had to put a lot of effort in it. since I was there only for holiday, it not going to happen any soon. For nor I have another linguistic priorities. Swahili here I come!
Cheers everyone and "tuse takk!"
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