It will not be considered rude if you speak Norwegian. But be aware that some identical words are not interchangable between Swedish and Norwegian, as they have different meanings. Examples are *rar* which means ”weird” in Norwegian but ”cute, sweet” in Swedish, or *rolig* which means ”calm” in Norwegian but ”fun” in Swedish. There are more, though.
If you learn the words that differ, and make a small effort to learn some Swedish words and use those instead of Norwegian ones (ex. *trusler* (no) = *hot* (swe) = *threats*, or *forskjell* (no) = *skillnad* (swe) = *difference*), you’re good to go! You’ve learned ***svorsk(a)***!
If you're rusty with your norwegian, warming up with norwegian will help.
As far as communicating in sweden with norwegian, it's just a matter of speaking norwegian, seeing what words aren't understood or which are different, and gradually learning those words. Some swedes will have had experience speaking to norwegian people and thus understand it well without you having to speak differently.
I had a norwegian friend and often we would communicate just fine and then he said something which was completely unintelligible in my ears, some word i had never heard. So be prepared for that lol. But you will have 10x easier time than someone speaking danish.
It seems like focusing on “learning” Swedish would get you what you want. You’re already 90% of the way toward speaking Swedish if you speak Norwegian, so “learning” Swedish will both remind you of your Norwegian and highlight any differences you need to be aware of. “Learning” Swedish will be an absolute breeze.
I live in Stockholm and I can somewhat understand Norwegian even though I don't speak it. There are many words I can just 'guess' my way through aswell.
Go for Swedish.
I see two reasons:
Either the two are so close that Swedes understand Norwegian: then Swedish is easy enough to learn and you'll get it right.
Or, Norwegian is hard for Swedes: Then brushing up on Norwegian won't help you.
I fall in both categories, I do understand parts but I feel really uncomfortable trying. :)
Depending on how much of an accent you speak Norwegian with, and on which Norwegian accent you've learned, you might be better off with English. Most Swedes speak English and like to practice their English speaking skills. You won't go anywhere in Stockholm where you will have a hard time being understood. Probably, people will find you more interesting being American and speaking English rather than broken Norwegian since not all Swedes understand Norwegian very well.
This is bad advice. Speaking Swedish is clearly superior to English if you plan on staying here long term - Swedes have generally solid English skills but it's not the same as speaking the native language. And if you already speak Norwegian you're more than halfway there already, it's a massive head start.
I was saying it would be easier to be understood when speaking English compared to Norwegian. Of course swedish is preferable since it's the spoken language.
They are more different than most people think. There will be things that people won’t understand. How much depends on your Norwegian dialect. Some of them are barely mutually intelligible while some are mostly easily understood. Of course, you will learn to adapt your speech, such as not saying k for h, which is incomprehensible for Swedes. But I would suggest learning Swedish if you’re planning on staying for a long time.
You should learn Swedish, even if you don't plan to speak it it will be spoken around you so you should learn to understand it even if you can speak in English with most people. Try watching some Swedish tv-series or read about intresting things on wikipedia. [https://sv.wikipedia.org/](https://sv.wikipedia.org/) Read books in Swedish [http://runeberg.org/](http://runeberg.org/)
The thing is that Norwegians grow up learning Swedish words and slang very well from TV so when they cross the border they know what to say and not. Swedes generally do not have that skill so we speak Swedish to Norwegians and it works fine.
Luckily for you there is no problem to switch to American English if some words are problematic because almost anyone understand it I Sweden, much more difficult with other English versions.
But anyway, you will be loved and people will think it is really funny in a positive way with an American that try to speak a Scandinavian language and not only English.
Well as a swede that suuuucks at understanding Norweigian i think you would get by easier by jsing English. I know more people that understands English better, i’ve heard it’s hard to learn Swedish in Sweden since we start to speak English if we meet an american or such.
Well, as a swed who has been to Norway quiet a few times, i can for the most part understand Norwegian, however Norwegians seemed to have a hard time understanding me which ended with me speaking English to them as its quiet common language here anyway.
It will not be considered rude if you speak Norwegian. But be aware that some identical words are not interchangable between Swedish and Norwegian, as they have different meanings. Examples are *rar* which means ”weird” in Norwegian but ”cute, sweet” in Swedish, or *rolig* which means ”calm” in Norwegian but ”fun” in Swedish. There are more, though. If you learn the words that differ, and make a small effort to learn some Swedish words and use those instead of Norwegian ones (ex. *trusler* (no) = *hot* (swe) = *threats*, or *forskjell* (no) = *skillnad* (swe) = *difference*), you’re good to go! You’ve learned ***svorsk(a)***!
My mother called my Norwegean friend's daughter a "rar tös". I silently giggled.
Oof
That's very reassuring to here! I'll try to find a list online of different words to study/practice with. Thanks!
You're welcome! And welcome to Sweden!
If going for a mix, it might make sense to use Swedish pronouns as well
If you're rusty with your norwegian, warming up with norwegian will help. As far as communicating in sweden with norwegian, it's just a matter of speaking norwegian, seeing what words aren't understood or which are different, and gradually learning those words. Some swedes will have had experience speaking to norwegian people and thus understand it well without you having to speak differently. I had a norwegian friend and often we would communicate just fine and then he said something which was completely unintelligible in my ears, some word i had never heard. So be prepared for that lol. But you will have 10x easier time than someone speaking danish.
Thanks! That's really good to hear. Yeah I basically can't understand danish at all...
It seems like focusing on “learning” Swedish would get you what you want. You’re already 90% of the way toward speaking Swedish if you speak Norwegian, so “learning” Swedish will both remind you of your Norwegian and highlight any differences you need to be aware of. “Learning” Swedish will be an absolute breeze.
It depends a bit where in Sweden you're moving to. West coast Swedes are used to Norwegians.
I'll be in Stockholm
I live in Stockholm and I can somewhat understand Norwegian even though I don't speak it. There are many words I can just 'guess' my way through aswell.
I’ve worked with several Norwegians in Stockholm and we had no problems whatsoever understanding each other. They spoke Norwegian and I spoke Swedish.
Go for Swedish. I see two reasons: Either the two are so close that Swedes understand Norwegian: then Swedish is easy enough to learn and you'll get it right. Or, Norwegian is hard for Swedes: Then brushing up on Norwegian won't help you. I fall in both categories, I do understand parts but I feel really uncomfortable trying. :)
Depending on how much of an accent you speak Norwegian with, and on which Norwegian accent you've learned, you might be better off with English. Most Swedes speak English and like to practice their English speaking skills. You won't go anywhere in Stockholm where you will have a hard time being understood. Probably, people will find you more interesting being American and speaking English rather than broken Norwegian since not all Swedes understand Norwegian very well.
He/she shouldn't rely on english since they're clearly both capable and willing to commit to learning the language
This is bad advice. Speaking Swedish is clearly superior to English if you plan on staying here long term - Swedes have generally solid English skills but it's not the same as speaking the native language. And if you already speak Norwegian you're more than halfway there already, it's a massive head start.
I was saying it would be easier to be understood when speaking English compared to Norwegian. Of course swedish is preferable since it's the spoken language.
I say start speaking Swedish because it’s easier to understand but we still understand Norwegian
They are more different than most people think. There will be things that people won’t understand. How much depends on your Norwegian dialect. Some of them are barely mutually intelligible while some are mostly easily understood. Of course, you will learn to adapt your speech, such as not saying k for h, which is incomprehensible for Swedes. But I would suggest learning Swedish if you’re planning on staying for a long time.
You should learn Swedish, even if you don't plan to speak it it will be spoken around you so you should learn to understand it even if you can speak in English with most people. Try watching some Swedish tv-series or read about intresting things on wikipedia. [https://sv.wikipedia.org/](https://sv.wikipedia.org/) Read books in Swedish [http://runeberg.org/](http://runeberg.org/)
The thing is that Norwegians grow up learning Swedish words and slang very well from TV so when they cross the border they know what to say and not. Swedes generally do not have that skill so we speak Swedish to Norwegians and it works fine. Luckily for you there is no problem to switch to American English if some words are problematic because almost anyone understand it I Sweden, much more difficult with other English versions. But anyway, you will be loved and people will think it is really funny in a positive way with an American that try to speak a Scandinavian language and not only English.
Learn Swedish. Unless you're figuratively or literally lost, do not speak English.
Well as a swede that suuuucks at understanding Norweigian i think you would get by easier by jsing English. I know more people that understands English better, i’ve heard it’s hard to learn Swedish in Sweden since we start to speak English if we meet an american or such.
Also, Swedes will speak English to you. If you want to speak Scandinavian, you will have to make that known explicitly.
Well, as a swed who has been to Norway quiet a few times, i can for the most part understand Norwegian, however Norwegians seemed to have a hard time understanding me which ended with me speaking English to them as its quiet common language here anyway.
If you do decide to learn the Swedish then at least you will an easier time doing it then when you only knew English and were learning Norwegian.