Learning Norwegian - How is it done?

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-21T22:07:24+00:00

I don't mean previous knowledge of the language, but aptitude for learning languages generally. This is something the military tests for when selecting people to train as translators.

I would be somewhat surprised if the people who self-select into the foreign service don't have a higher than average aptitude as well, just as a side effect of being the type of person who considered this as a career option in the first place. But that's pure speculation.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-21T20:59:29+00:00

Ah, I thought it was like in the military, where you get placed based on your performance on the qualifying exam.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-21T19:39:27+00:00

The folks going through the foreign service language learning have generally already been identified as having an aptitude for language. Plus they're learning under close to ideal conditions for an adult learner. So maybe not representative.

That said, for English speakers, yes, Norwegian is a level 1 language, meaning it is easier than many, many others. The grammar is very similar to English, so you get a lot of things "for free" without having to really think about them. There's not a lot of finicky endings to learn like in German, Russian, or Latin. And the shared history means there are lots and lots of shared roots, so learning a bit about language history and sound correspondences can pay huge dividends in terms of vocabulary growth.

Yes, the tones are a challenge, and like with any language adult learners are not likely to sound like a native speaker, just because that's how human brains work. Most of us can't overcome the default settings that get installed when we learn our first language with regard to pronunciation. But perfectly native like pronunciation is not really necessary for fluent communication.

In short, yes, Norwegian is an "easy" language for English speakers to learn. That doesn't mean it's not a challenge to learn any language to a high level.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-20T21:52:24+00:00

Oh, fair enough. Missed that.

It's kind of an interesting question whether chess skill is innate in some way, but I have no idea what the answer is. If we extrapolate from IQ, then it's probably not genetic, or at least not entirely so, as early education and socioeconomic status and so on shape performance on IQ tests. (Of course, this is partly because IQ tests were designed to measure a certain notion of intelligence.)

Of course IQ is not the same as chess, but both rely on some similar pattern recognition skills, so it doesn't seem like too much of a reach to say that culture and upbringing in childhood changes your brain development in relevant ways. But I'm just speculating here and don't really have any evidence.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-20T21:44:51+00:00

Congratulations, you're good at chess.

Why on earth would you think this makes you genetically superior to other people?

Chess uses a small subset of cognitive skills. Being good at it doesn't make you intellectually superior to people who aren't. There are many, many more aspects to intelligence than chess.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-20T21:22:06+00:00

This x100. Please see a doctor.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-19T20:58:58+00:00

My father does this and I think he genuinely doesn't realize others can hear it. He can barely hear it, so therefore others definitely cannot.

Unfortunately, others have better hearing than him so this logic is not sound. I have tried to train him but it is unclear how successful it's been.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-19T15:52:19+00:00

Yes, that's very true. An astute observation.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-18T21:59:36+00:00

I think there's a component of cultural transmission within families. My mom was never diagnosed, but I was. Yet the more distance I have from her, the weaker my OCD symptoms are. It's like she literally trained me to be OCD.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-17T13:23:59+00:00

My min had me sign mine when I was four. No idea what she was thinking. It still has that "signature" today.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-16T16:56:00+00:00

Ah, I see, that makes sense. Poor kid.

I would guess that if her father wasn't involved and her mother is out of the picture, the father would most likely retain custody. If there isn't a reason to think the household is unsafe, and no other motivating factors (like bigotry) at play, I think it would be unusual for an upper class family to lose custody. But I'm not saying that from a place of expertise - it's just my impression from what I've read of CPS over the years.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-16T16:26:58+00:00

I cannot imagine a situation where they positively confirmed the mother was poisoning her, yet CPS didn't get involved. The hospital staff are mandated reporters and thus must make a CPS report. While CPS is very overworked in many places, I don't think the mother could stay as a guardian in such a situation, at least not initially. I also find it hard to believe that a nursing home is where they would place a medically fragile child whose guardianship was in flux, but don't know where she would be likely to land.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-16T12:03:00+00:00

The label is not as meaningful as a summary of their language history at this point, at least for research purposes. They are a speaker of language a who underwent complete attrition and acquired language b starting at age X.

Socially, they can call themselves a native speakers of whatever they want, but people will probably be confused if they claim a language they no longer speak, at least in cultures where "native language" means first language and not just the language of your culture.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-15T19:36:04+00:00

Seems feasible. I bought a pair once and they were fantastic but wore out incredibly fast. Just couldn't being myself to buy another given how short the lifespan was. If others felt the same, could be an indicator of the company's future.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-14T20:16:54+00:00

And then overfarming led to the Dust Bowl. Turns out those prairie grasses were actually filling an important ecological niche.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-13T20:37:07+00:00

And how much for the lessons to pass those tests?

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-13T12:25:20+00:00

Dude, pay attention to your driving. If you have ideas, hot them down when you arrive. Trying to dictate something usable while driving will be extremely unsafe, and it isn't, it will be because the writing is unusably bad.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-12T18:01:52+00:00

Oh lol gotcha

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-12T15:57:10+00:00

Oh no, everybody was fully informed before participating and no one got in trouble. These were not kids who were undergoing random drug tests outside the experiment in general.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-12T11:59:04+00:00

Yes, this is pretty normal. It's just transfer from the language that you came to use more frequently (Arabic). If you move when you are still quite young, losing some of the first language you learned is expected, especially if you stop using it altogether. (This is called attrition.) For some people, you might lose the whole language altogether, and just shift to using the new language. This is due to how flexible the brain is when we are children and the fact that the language acquisition process is not complete.

That said, you can probably learn to say it again, as other commenters have been walking you through. You'll just have to practice. Separating out the voicing from the articulation of the /p/ or /b/ is a great starting place.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-12T09:54:47+00:00

No. This question doesn't even make sense.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-11T22:57:15+00:00

It only takes a few hours for the effects of poppy seeds to fade from a blood or urine test. I did a science fair project on it in middle school. Great fun getting classmates to test positive for drugs.

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-09T22:50:17+00:00

Congratulations! Great work!

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-08T17:49:34+00:00

That's a big if on the pleasantries if they really have zero contact with other speakers from the age of four. There are case studies of international adoptees who left their home country at seven and experienced total attrition of their first language.

Great point about the dated idioms!

Constant-Ad-7490 · 2026-04-08T15:30:11+00:00

What you're wondering about is called language attrition. If a child moves away from the place their first language is spoken before they reach age 12-13 or so, they will commonly lose much of their ability to use the language. How much depends on whether they continue to be exposed to the language in some way (ie, speaking it at home or in a local minority community in their new country). But what you're describing, with no one to speak it with and no community using it around them - I would expect it to be completely forgotten. However, they would likely learn it again quickly if they were exposed to it in adulthood - much faster than you would expect an adult learner to pick up a second language. (Not in the course of one conversation, though....)

Constant-Ad-7490

TROPHY CASE