Learn how to use introductions in Norwegian and dig a bit deeper into each person using "I am"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Filip: Hi everyone, I am Filip. |
| Becky: And I’m Becky. Welcome back to NorwegianClass101.com. This is Lower Beginner, Season 1, Lesson 2 - Talking About Yourself in Norwegian. |
| Filip: Our main character Kjersti met Ole in our last lesson, and in this lesson we’ll see them talk a bit more about themselves. |
| Becky: You’ll learn how to say “I am” and “I” followed by a verb. You might remember some of this from our earlier absolute beginner series. |
| Filip: In this lesson, we’ll expand a bit more on what we learned in that series. |
| Becky: Alright, let’s listen to the conversation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: So Filip, Have you ever climbed Galdhøpiggen? |
| Filip: I haven’t yet. But it’s the highest Mountain in Norway, right? If you decide to climb Galdhøpiggen like Kjersti is going to, you’ll need to prepare for cold and unpredictable weather. The climb can be tough in places, and it’s best not to go alone. |
| Becky: But at the top of Galdhøpiggen there’s a cabin, where you can rest and enjoy your view after a long and rewarding climb. |
| Filip: Listeners, do you know how high Galdhøpiggen is? [pause] |
| Becky: It’s 2,469 meters above sea level, and it’s the highest mountain in Northern Europe! |
| Filip: Well, there is debate about whether Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain or not. Another mountain called Glittertind held the title for a while because it had a glacier at the top. But now the glacier has melted, and Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in Norway again. |
| Becky: Norwegians are very romantic about nature. When spring comes, almost all Norwegians go to the mountains, and spend their time there either skiing, or if the snow has melted, taking long walks in the forests. They also like hiking in the steppes and mountains that cover the middle and western part of Norway. |
| Filip: Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The vocab wasn’t that hard, but I believe some words escaped that list there. |
| Filip: Yes, we have three words that didn’t quite make it to the list. |
| Becky: ... They don’t have much value as words, but are widely used in conversation as fillers, or just to make the conversation flow better. |
| Filip: The three words we’re talking about are ‘oi’, ‘jasså’, and ‘så’. |
| Becky: The first two, can also be used as a reaction on their own. All these words have lots of different uses, so they’re used a lot by Norwegians. |
| Filip: We’ll try to cover a few of the most common ways to use these words. First, let’s start with ‘oi’. |
| Becky: This could translate as “whoops”, or “oh”, or “wow” in English. In other words, you show surprise by saying it. |
| Becky: For example, let’s say you see or have a small accident, like accidentally dropping a cup on the floor, a common reaction would be ‘oi’! |
| Filip: Or if someone surprises or impresses you with what they’re saying, you can also respond with ‘oi’. Our next word is ‘jasså’. ‘Jasså’ also contains a slight element of surprise in it, like the English “Oooh”. |
| Becky: Although, saying it is also like responding to someone who just confirmed something you believed, or something you disbelieve. |
| Filip: Like in our dialogue, where Ole says ‘jasså’ because he is slightly surprised that she turned out to be a lawyer. |
| Becky: Maybe because Kjersti was wearing hiking gear. |
| Filip: Or maybe because he was on the wrong side of the law? |
| Becky: (laughs) Good one. What’s next? |
| Filip: Finally we have ‘så’. ‘Så’ can be used in a lot of contexts. It’s very similar to the English “so”, but can also mean “then”. |
| Becky: Like the English “so”, ‘så’ is mainly used to fill the gap between sentences. Or it can be used to confirm something. |
| Filip: Så du liker blåbær? |
| Becky: “So you like blueberries?” While we’re at it, let’s look at some examples of the other ones as well. |
| Filip: Ok, here we go. ‘Oi, jeg visste ikke at du var allergisk!’ |
| Becky: “Oops, I didn’t know you were allergic!” |
| Filip: Jasså, det går bra med deg og? |
| Becky: Well, you're doing fine yourself? |
| Filip: Så, jeg dro ikke ut likevel |
| Becky: “So I didn’t go out after all.” Ok, let’s move on to the grammar now. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Filip: In this lesson, you’ll learn about using ‘jeg er’, “I am”, as well as about ‘Jeg’ or “I” plus a verb. So ‘jeg er’ might just be the most useful phrase you’ll ever learn in Norwegian! |
| Becky: It can be used, like in English, to talk about yourself and your situation, feelings, mood, activity, desires, thoughts...the list goes on. |
| Filip: But it’s not as common as it is in English. Where in English you would connect “I am” with a verb, that doesn’t happen at all in Norwegian. |
| Becky: Well, it almost never happens. There are ways to use it with verbs, but we'll save that for a more advanced lesson. For now let’s keep to its usage with adjectives, nouns, and adverbs. |
| Filip: It’s very simple. Just say ‘Jeg er’, and then add the noun, adjective or adverb with adjective after it. Let’s look at some examples. |
| Filip: Jeg er diplomat |
| Becky: I am a diplomat |
| Filip: Jeg er sliten |
| Becky: I am tired |
| Filip: Jeg er litt usikker |
| Becky: I am a bit in doubt |
| Filip: Now for a pronoun followed by a verb, like in our dialogue when Kjersti says ‘jeg jobber’. |
| Becky: You can add a verb in any tense right after the pronoun. Just like this. |
| Filip: Jeg kjører bil |
| Becky: “I am driving a car.” Notice how in English, we would still use “I am”. |
| Filip: Jeg skal kjøpe mat |
| Becky: I am going to buy food. |
| Filip: Jeg har noe å drikke |
| Becky: “I am having something to drink.” |
| Filip: Finally, as a little treat, you might have noticed that Kjersti finished her sentence with a ‘jeg’. ‘Jeg jobber som advokat jeg.’ Removing the last ‘jeg’, making it ‘jeg jobber som advokat’, would still have it translate as... |
| Becky: “I work as a lawyer.” The thing is, Norwegians tend to add this pronoun at the end of the sentence to stress who they are talking about. In this case, Ole didn’t ask her any questions after he said he was an investor, and so when she wanted to tell him what she did, she emphasised the “I”. |
| Filip: Like in English, you leave a short pause or stress between the “I”, and the rest of the sentence. |
| Becky: I [short pause] am working as a lawyer. |
| Filip: Don’t worry too much about actually using this when speaking, it will come naturally as you advance. But it’s nice to have in the back of your mind when talking to Norwegians, because it’s been getting more popular recently. |
Outro |
| Becky: And that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening and see you next time! |
| Filip: Bye! |
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