A Scandinavian language
I would have to agree with Swede there, Danish is unclear and one can hardly understand what they are saying sometimes, but of course it depends on how the person is speaking and what sort of Danish he/she is speaking. Unlike Norwegian which is not very hard to understand, though it sounds a bit silly because of the jumpy intonation which makes it hard to take what they are saying seriously no matter what they are talking about.
Det var en svensk, en norsk och en dansk...
=>Unlike Norwegian which is not very hard to understand<=
I assume that this is a viewed from Swedish right?
This discussion can looklike a bit confusing because the Danish accent, pronunciation makes the languages hard to understand but it is still the easiest language to learn for (us) the Swedes, if you skipp Norwegian. You can also speak Swedish to them and they can answer in Danish but you have to be concentrating and listen carefully. You can say that a speaking conversation works but with some problems. It´s also some differences in Danish, some speak more unclear than others.
Yes Sander it´s a Swedish view of it.
The Norvegians can speak easier with the Danish and Swedish.
But its harder for a Danish to speak with a swedish am i rigth?
In norway we almost write the same way as in denmark i think thats why we dont have so many problems speaking with them
Well, we can speak with them but it´s harder than Norwegian. I think also the people of the Swedish westcoast can cumunicate with the Danes better than other Swedes. It works but I prefer to speak with the Norwegians because it´s easier. Reading Danish is quite easy.
=>Unlike Norwegian which is not very hard to understand<=
I assume that this is a viewed from Swedish right?
Yes it is Sander
Walker, Texas Ranger
Tack du för det information! ;)
written norwegian (bokmål) is very easy to read. you almost forget it is norwegian. written swedish is a bit harder but not much. i think that norwegian and swedish sound very much alike. i have problems with finding out which language it is when i talk to them. mostly i only figure out what language it is when they say words i know is different in norwegian and swedish. i work in a store, and i talk to a lot of swedes and norwegians every day. i also watch their tv-channels sometimes and i write with them on the internet too. also, i read sydsvenskan too on the net and i visit nrk.no and svt.se quite often. i guess that's why i almost have no problems at all talking to other scandinavians, most of my friends do not like talking to them because they think they have to concentrate a lot to understand what they are on about, but i actually enjoy it. every day i get better and better at understanding their languages. i've also thought of learning swedish. i mean, the accent.
Learning the LANGUAGE you mean? Damn it! Just kiddin', by the way Thomas, do you have any grasp concerning Swedish accents? I mean, can you hear any difference between Swedish accents, except for the Skåne-accent which I suppose you can differ from the rest?
i'm curious, you are american, right? how do you know about the skåne accent?
i have to say that i think the way they speak in stockholm is the easiest to understand, because that it is the way they also speak on the radio and on tv. the skåne-accent is difficult to describe. it confuses me sometimes, because one moment they speak danish, and the next it is swedish, i mean, the accent. it confuses you. i can start a conversation thinking that they're danish and end it with the conclusion that they were swedish. a very weird accent which reflects the fact that skåne has always been a "border-land". danish untill 1658 and now swedish. we could talk a lot about skåne.
Haha, no I'm Swedish, but sure I have a misleading name. :) Guess I could have been more clear about where I'm from. Interesting to hear what a Dane thinks of Swedish, and yes - 'border-land' is a good way of describing skåne. I come from östergötland in case you're wondering, which means that my accent is pretty different from the stockholm-accent and -I need not say- the skåne-accent. It's generally regarded as being a pretty hillbilly-sounding accent if you know what I mean, not a very sophisticated-sounding accent, östgötska that is.
And yes the skåne-accent is weird, and not always very nice for our ears.
What about Faeroese? Is that easy to understand for other Scandinavians - or have you even heard it spoken?
Faeroese is understandable for Icelandic persons to read at least, but the people at the Sacndinavia peninsula, or in Denmark, can not understand it if they not have studied the language. They can only find some words which has similarites.
Aren't the Scandinavian languages Germanic????