Learn about some Norwegian-English false friends
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What are some Norwegian-English false friends? |
| Anette: And what are some words that are often used incorrectly? |
| Michael: At NorwegianClass101.com, we hear these questions often. In the following situation, Mark Lee is walking in a park with a family friend, Sofie Sørgård. Mark becomes confused when Sofie warns him, "There are stairs." |
| Sofie: Det er trapper. |
| Dialogue |
| Sofie: Det er trapper. |
| Mark: Hva? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sofie: Det er trapper. |
| Michael: "There are stairs." |
| Mark: Hva? |
| Michael: "What?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we're going to talk about Norwegian-English False Friends. I'm not talking about people who pretend to be your friends but are really not. The term ‘false friends' or |
| Anette: Falske venner |
| Michael: is a term in linguistics, which refers to two words in two different languages that may look and sound the same but do not share the same meaning at all. In fact, they may even have opposite meanings. Also known as ‘false cognates', false friends are often mistaken to be the same word. False friends occur for a number of reasons, but, before we go there, let's first go back to the dialogue earlier. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sofie Sørgård says "There are stairs?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Anette as Sofie Sørgård: Det er trapper. |
| Michael: Sofie was telling Mark that there were stairs ahead, perhaps to warn him to watch his step. Mark was confused, because he thought Sofie was saying there's a trap, or, in Norwegian, |
| Sofie: felle [SLOW] felle |
| Michael: Well, that is because the English word "trap" sounds like the word for "stairs" in Norwegian, just like this: |
| Anette: trapp [SLOW] trapp |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you've learned how False Friends work—that a word in Norwegian may look or sound the same as a word in English but doesn't necessarily share the same origin and meaning with that word. We've already had the word "stairs" as an example. Let's take a look at some more. Here's one: |
| Anette: full, [SLOW] full |
| Michael: This word is spelled and pronounced the same way that the English word "full" is, but in Norwegian, it's not the opposite of "empty." It means "drunk." Here's another example: |
| Anette: bord, [SLOW] bord |
| Michael: This is the Norwegian word for "table." Interestingly, it shares the same characteristics with the English word "board," which is flat and rectangular. Let's move on to another word. |
| Anette: gris, [SLOW] gris |
| Michael: You may think that this word is referring to a lubricant, but it's actually the Norwegian word for "pig." Here, you have two words that are not difficult to associate with each other since pigs can be described as greasy, right? Here's another one: |
| Anette: mugg, [SLOW] mugg |
| Michael: When you hear this word, think of "mold" or "mildew" and not "mug" as in a coffee mug. Now, don't be surprised when you hear the word |
| Anette: korps, [SLOW] korps |
| Michael: as it doesn't refer to a dead body or a "corpse." It's actually the Norwegian word for "corps," a military term that's usually used to describe a corps style band. And don't be surprised, too, if you meet someone in Norway named |
| Anette: Odd, [SLOW] Odd |
| Michael: You may find it a bit "odd," but it's actually a common name for a male person in Norway. And, finally, another word you might hear often is |
| Anette: barn, [SLOW] barn |
| Michael: Nope, this is not a word for a building where you house livestock. It's actually the Norwegian word for "child." |
| Expansion |
| Michael: False Friends aren't the only thing you need to deal with in the Norwegian language. Norwegian has many words that are spelled the same as in English, and, this time, they also mean the same thing. The only difference is that they are pronounced differently. For instance, the word for "problem" is the same in English and Norwegian, but is pronounced this way: |
| Anette: pro-ble-em |
| Michael: The same is true with the English word "finger," only that pronouncing it means flipping the "r" sound |
| Anette: fing-err |
| Michael: For the English word "under," the "d" is essentially silent. |
| Anette: unn-err |
| Michael: Finally, there's the word "glass," which in Norwegian is pronounced with a quick "o" sound, as in |
| Anette: glass |
| Michael: It's also interesting to note that many Norwegians would say "chairs" instead of "cheers." And for others, there's no difference between the word "shopping" and "chopping." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Indeed, Norwegian is truly a rich language. You may think that just because there are many false friends in Norwegian, it means the language has borrowed a lot of words from English. The opposite is actually true. While there are many Norwegian words borrowed from English, English has in fact borrowed more words from Norwegian than the other way around despite the fact that English is the more "universal language." For instance, the Norwegian word |
| Anette: troll |
| Michael: is now used a lot as an English word, although it wasn't until the 19th century that it came into general use by English-speaking people. Another word is |
| Anette: ski |
| Michael: a Norwegian word that refers to a plank of wood, but is now used in English to describe the two pieces of equipment fastened under the feet for gliding over snow. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Anette: Ha det! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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