Learning basic Norwegian

[EmpressaurusKitty]

I’m going to Oslo & Bergen for a week in September. I know more or less everyone will speak English, but I’d still like to learn enough Norwegian to be polite & able to read signs etc.

Can anyone recommend any app, apart from Duolingo? I really want to do this free or low cost. I speak Italian & can get by in French but have no experience at all of Scandinavian languages, so total beginner.

Thank you!

Not an app, but the University of Oslo have a free online Norwegian for beginners course. Its not running at the moment, but you can register to get an email when it's available.
Hopefully it will start again in the new year. Dh and I did it when we first moved to Norway and it's a good way to get the basics.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/norwegian

Thanks!

Good luck. It's hard. Nothing wrong with duolingo. Be aware of the different forms.

I believe there’s more than one sort of Norwegian. Choose wisely 😁

I had no idea there was more than one kind!

My default would be a combination of Duolingo & the Coffee Break Languages podcasts, but I’m sure there are other better options.

I had to give up with Duolingo. It doesn’t teach you words and phrases in any sort of logical order, so you learn how to say “my neighbour’s orange horse is gentle” before you can say “please can I have a glass of water?”.

any recommendations for other language apps would be appreciated!

I started with Duolingo when I was learning Italian but what made the biggest difference was joining a real life class.

That’s not the plan for Norwegian, though I am going to register for that University of Oslo course @JaaamesBaaaxterrr mentioned upthread, but I’d really recommend it for getting fluent.

My sister has lived in Norway for over 20 years and is fluent in the language. I’ve visited numerous times and have found it really easy to communicate as most people speak some English and I find signs etc relatively easy to decipher. I don’t think it’s that hard to pick up
as an English speaker.
This tells you about the different types and dialects https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/norwegian-language/

Duolingo's quality varies between languages, and yes, it doesn't do useful, contextual stuff. There's a reason every language I've learnt in a formal class starts with, stuff like, "hello, my name is..." then food and transport and family, things you're most likely to need as a visitor.

I've been learning Dutch from scratch on Duolingo, which is okay, because I have German and English, so I already understand the concept of things like separable verbs, which really threw me when I first came across them I Getman, but I had a teacher to explain. I bought a Dutch grammar book to go alongside it, too.

I think if you don't have any related Scandinavian languages already, Duolingo alone would be a challenge. It is useful for revision alongside or after a formal class.

The Oslo one sounds good.

Bokmål it is!

I know I’ll be able to get by perfectly well in English but I love having at least some of a language when I go somewhere. I’ve registered for updates on the Oslo course.