Posted on 08/10/2009 2:32:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A retired Norwegian linguistics professor has described Swedes as "stupid" for not being able to understand Norwegian. Norwegians have no problem with Swedish, the professor points out.
Finn-Erik Vinje has caused an escalation in what is promising to become an all out language war, by publishing a post on his blog last week asking, "Why are Swedes so stupid?".
The citation, Vinje writes, is taken from a publication written 60 years ago but, he claims, remains a relevant question today.
The basis of Vinje's assertion is that Swedish viewers of Himmelbå, a Norwegian television series based on the British production "Two Thousand Acres of Sky", have complained that the language is too difficult to understand and would prefer to see a series in Swedish, with Swedish actors, in a Swedish setting.
Vinje reacts to a review of the series in the Expressen newspaper in which Norwegian is described as an "incomprehensible and ugly language".
"Line Verndal in the female lead can look as much like (the Swedish actress) Lena Endre as she likes. But she is still speaking that strange double Dutch," Expressen's Nils Schwarts writes.
The retired linguistics professor argues in response that Norwegians have no trouble understanding spoken Swedish.
"Swedish is child's play for us - in its spoken form anyway. When we have contact with Swedes and realize that they don't understand we simply shift to using the equivalent Swedish word."
Vinje goes on to claim that it is thus unnecessary for Swedish to be subtitled on Norwegian television although adds that perhaps it may be useful to do so for some of the Norwegian dialects.
Bork bork bork.
I worked for two companies that were started in Finland and all the Fins would agree with the professor. But they would speak very slowly and use small words so he could follow their train of thought.
LOL thanks I needed a good laugh!
Hell, I can't even pronounce his name.
Beat me by a minute.
Blond Fight!
My mother’s family were Swedish-speaking Finns. I always thought I was pure Norsk but no, had to get those Swedes in there somehow. No wonder we always fought amongst ourselves, LOL. It was the old rivalry...
I can’t side with a country that gave us ABBA and Roxette.
“A Swede is a Norwegian with the brains knocked out.”
Aw, he’s underestimating them. They all speak English if you just talk loudly enough.
But Norway has to answer for a-ha.
yeah, but that gets offset by the swedish bikini team and the fact that they’ve come to their senses on public finance:
Ping to the new Cold War.
When I lived in Wisconsin the local Norwegians said that Swedes “sing when they talk” and the Swedes said that Norwegians “talk with a potato in their throat”.
Then there were those Volvo ads on TV:
“Volvo! Vee build dem da vay vee build dem, beecause vee half tooo!” (Spoken with a galloping lilt).
Anyone remember Woody Woodpecker’s chief rival, Wally Walrus? He often was heard to promise,
“Diss time I’m gonna take care uv dat voodpecker vunce and for good!!”
;^)
Ya, sure - you can tell a Swede, but you can’t tell him much...
(rimshot)
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