Added: 12/15/2005 |
Language schools in Norway - a jumping-off point for international coexistenceNorwegian language, member of the North Germanic, or Scandinavian group of languages, is spoken by about 4 million people in Norway and another million in other Scandinavian countries and North America. Norwegian international is a daughter language of Old Norse. Today, there are two official forms of Norwegian: bokmal [book language] and nynorsk [new Norwegian]. Bokmal, also called riksmal [national language] and Dano-Norwegian, was greatly influenced by Danish. The language of the cities, the official and professional classes and literature, bokmal came to differ greatly from the Norwegian spoken by the common people.
Some efforts have been made to fuse the two forms of Norwegian into one common Norwegian tongue called samnorsk, and there is hope that this can be accomplished. Norwegian grammar is fairly simple. The form of the noun is changed only to indicate possession and the plural, and personal inflection of the verb has been discarded. Like Swedish, Norwegian uses pitch accents, but to a lesser degree. The pitch accents give the language a musical quality and are sometimes employed to distinguish the meanings of homonyms. Norwegian employs the Roman alphabet, which was introduced in Norway in the 11th century and to which three characters, ?, o, and a, have been added.
It seems, that the best way to learn Norwegian is to go abroad and to settle in one of language schools in Norway. However, the preferable approach to language learning there is the personal tuition. There are many international organizations that specialize in sending thousands of students of all ages and from different countries to study abroad in language schools in Norway. Home Language Schools International places students in homestays for lodging and for language training.
They consider the personal tuition as a good alternative to language schools in Norway and a unique way to learn Norwegian, studying and living in the home of your own personal teacher! As soon as the student wakes each morning, the lesson begins, from chatting over breakfast to the end of the day, just relaxing and watching TV, the language spoken is the language you are studying. This is a full language-immersion approach, which makes this method very effective and gives the student a true insight into the language and lifestyle.
Another good alternative is Summer language schools in Norway. Here is an example. The University of Oslo International Summer School (ISS) is a center for learning in an international context. Many of the courses focus on various aspects of Norwegian and Scandinavian culture, others deal with topics of broad international interest where the Norwegian model may serve as a basis for discussion.
In addition to academic instruction, there are international evenings, social get-togethers, sports, and organized and informal excursions within scenic Norway.
The gathering of many nationalities from the East and the West, the North and the South, in the amicable, constructive atmosphere of a small North European country provides a stimulating intellectual environment. The hope is that this positive international coexistence may, in a modest but concrete way, help to promote deeper understanding and goodwill between nations.
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