Any Norwegian Mums / partners of Norwegians in London?

[Blindmole]

Hello! I am British and my husband is Norwegian and we have a 9 month year old daughter who we hope to raise to be bilingual. I have attended a Norwegian course in the past and I can speak some Norwegian but I find my husband’s dialect (Lofoten) almost impossible to understand. I have learned quite a few rhymes and lullabies which I enjoy singing. I would love to meet up with any parents raising a Norwegian child to give my baby more opportunities to hear and speak Norwegian and to share ideas and experiences. Also, we are considering whether to move to Norway but I am concerned my inability to master the language could be isolating. Has anyone moved to Norway to raise a child? Looking forward to hearing from people out there in similar situations.

I would also welcome opportunities to practise my Norwegian with fellow Norwegian learners or with native Norwegian Mums!

Well i moved to Norway and then ended up raising children. Language is easier with immersion but theres no doubt its a pretty crucial step for integration. Personally i think its been easier for me living rurally than it has been for friends who live in cities and have ended up caught up in a transient ex pat type community, international schools etc.

Good to hear from you! Have you become fluent in Norwegian then? How did you learn? Did you attend a Norwegian course there? Did you learn through working there? Do you manage to keep up the English at home? That’s an interesting point regarding rural versus city living! I can imagine living rurally there’s no choice but to immerse yourself in the language otherwise you really would be lonely! I find it hard when I visit my husbands family as there English is so much better then my Norsk so it’s easier for everyone to just speak English.

Yes, im functionally fluent (but i ought to be considering i've lived here many years). I took courses but also got over my embarassment at everybodys english being better than my norwegian and just got on with it (beer helped!). Where i live now we are actually a very international community, but we are also a very small community so theres no real opportunity to create an international subculture (which are often prey to disgruntled people who havent settled and cant help critisising the local whatever). Rumour has it that settling on the coast is easier than innland because costal communities are more open, no idea if its true though

Hi @blindmole I'm in a similar situation. I'm British and my DH is Norwegian. We live in London. We are going down the One Parent One Language route. I speak English to our son and my husband speaks only in Norwegian to him. I did evening classes a few years ago, and my vocab has grown substantially since our son was born as I'm now hearing it every day.

Where do you live?

Hi! Great to hear from someone in a similar situation! That’s great your husband keeps up with only Norsk and that it’s improving your own language skills! I am in Hackney. What about you?

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Hei! I know this was a long time ago so it’s a long shot. I am in a similar situation. I am half Norwegian and my Norwegian is conversational but I’m aware my grammar is awful! And not sure my accent is great 😬 I’m trying to speak to my daughter in Norwegian (she’s ten months) but I’m worried she will pick up bad habits from me. I would be really keen to know if you managed to find any meet ups as I think it would really help both of us to be around the language more. Thank you!

Så artig å se dette «thread» igjen etter manger år.

We no longer live in London unfortunately but I hope you find some fellow Norwegian speaking parents out there. There is a big Norwegian community in south london where the international school is. Maybe try there…?

But don’t give up just because your grammar and accent isn’t perfect. The imperfections will be smoothed out over time. It is such a gift you are giving your child to connect them with their Norwegian heritage.

I believe you can easily access NRK children’s TV in England and I find NRK super really good. You watching it with your child will probably help improve your own Norwegian.

Since I started this post all those 6 years ago,
I moved to Lofoten where my husband is from and my Norwegian has been slowly improving. My 9 month old is now 6 and she only speaks Norwegian to her Dad and English to me. The divide in her brain is so clear she just can not speak Norwegian to me.

I have since had another child and given that she has grown up here in Norway, she still only speaks Norwegian despite my speaking only English to her, so that I suppose is the equivalent struggle you will be having in the Uk. She has recently turned 4 and I am hoping that with time she will speak more English.

It is very interesting reading Mending fences comments here now, as I can now say from the experience of living somewhere rural and coastal, I completely agree. I am very curious if Mending fences spoke Norwegian to the children’s dad. That is a leap we both haven’t the strength or desire to make, even though I know it must no doubt help with fluency.

Good luck RachAls finding fellow Norsk speaking parents and keep up the amazing work.

Very curious to hear how it goes and to hear from any other people’s experiences.

🤓

Hi,
That’s so interesting! And congratulations on the move.

South London is quite far for me but I’m tempted to try the Saturday school run by the Seaman’s Church which is still far but a bit closer. Hopefully I’ll meet some people nearer to me there!

Thank you for the encouragement! Sometimes feel like it is an uphill battle. Especially when you’re tired and it’s easier to speak English 😂

I’ve had a look on NRK and we can definitely get some programmes. Is there anything you would recommend? Or any books that were good stories? she’s just coming up to a year so still quite little!

Thanks so much for getting back to me!

Hei @RachAls :)

I’m Norwegian raising half English / half Norwegian children in London. Have a 2,5 year old boy and a 7 month old girl. Where in London are you based? I’ve been wanting to do meetups too so that my children gets more opportunities to speak Norwegian.

Hi!
I am near Hertford/ Ware so easy to get to north/ east London. Where are you based?
xx