Many people wonder how to start learning Norwegian.

I will share my "strategy".

Nowadays, there are so many free resources online for everyone to learn anything, so I decided to take advantage of that.

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First, I learned the basics, like the alphabet. Give it time! Go over and over to get familiar with how the letters sound, especially if your mother language has nothing to do with Norwegian. Go to the "Resources" page here to find some relevant suggestions.

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After I became familiar with the very basics, I started thinking that a verb is enough to form a complete sentence, so I started learning verbs. I read about the way the verbs are divided in categories according to the way they are conjugated, and began to write down the most common verbs in each category, in all forms.

As I wrote them down, I heard the way they sounded in "Google.Translate", and of course I tried to reproduce the sound.

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What else does one need to form a sentence?  A noun! Did again the same thing. Read about the rules on how they form the nouns, the genders etc. Wrote down the most common, as I did with the verbs. I also used Android apps to help me learn words (see the relevant resources page here).

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Up next were the adjectives. The procedure was exactly the same as with the verbs and the nouns. Then I let other stuff like adverbs kick in, and then many more.

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One very important issue is the way they form the sentences, because Norwegians have a strict way for verb placement, so I definitely advise you to read about that!

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There are strict rules for the sentence formation. You will eventually reach a point where you will be able to form simple, complete sentences (helsetninger) and you will move to more complicated sentences where you have two, or more sentences combined (helsetninger og leddsetninger). More rules apply there, but by the time you reach that point you will not be in need of my advice, since you will have developed your own way of studying.

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Keep in mind one thing:

NORWEGIANS EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN A VERY

SIMPLE AND "TO THE POINT" WAY

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So do try to get the feeling of the way they form their sentences right from the start and do not try to introduce the way you express yourself in your mother language into Norwegian. Read as many texts in Norwegian as possible. Try to write simple texts and if you get the feeling that you are being "wordy" then you most probably are not writing "the Norwegian way".

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You can use an Android app called "Tandem" to find a Norwegian who wishes to learn your mother language and with whom you can exchange messages so that he/she will correct you, and you will be correcting them. Also, you can find a native by joining one of the Facebook groups.

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Expose yourself to the language as much as you can. Listen to the radio, to podcasts and songs. I personally can't think of a better way to learn a language than to whisper lyrics and sing along to a beautiful tune. Here you can find all the resources you need to do all this.

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Go ahead and read newspapers, learn about their culture, learn about the county's history, everyday life and habits.

 

Do not be afraid to speak, even if you are not fluent! Fluency comes with time and practice, and everything might sound beautiful in your head, but very different when you pronounce it out loud. You can find relevant, useful links in here.

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Don't be intimidated by obstacles like dialects (oh, yeah! They have so many of them!), or how fast they talk in their everyday life. Praise yourself for the littlest advance you make because progress does not happen overnight. Do make your learning an everyday habit. This does not mean that you should exhaust yourself with grammar or studying every single day! It could mean that you listen to the radio, a song or a podcast on your way to work, watch a short video before you go to sleep or exchange a couple of messages in Norwegian during the day. The more one gets the feeling of the formation of the language and the feeling of the use of it, the better one becomes.

Just keep going!

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This is my experience and I can say that it worked pretty good so far.

I'm just sharing it as an inspiration, and I'm sure each one will structure their way of studying according to their unique way of learning.

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LYKKE TIL!

GOOD LUCK!​​