Speaking foreign lingo

[shaunaneto]

Aside from what pops up on the first page of a Google search.

Anyone have any recommendations for general sources of information and resources for language learning.

Sadly the days of quitting my job and sodding off somewhere for 6 months* of immersion learning are far behind me. And I'm pretty sure the current trend of mental decay (which I largely blame on The FRA forum) will leave me at the IQ of a Turnip** within the next 3 years. So a bit if brain exercise will do me some good, and I always enjoyed a bit of Johnny Foreigner lingo.

Nordic Languages, starting with Norwegian for a basic founding. Then repeating with Swedish and Danish. Currently just playing around with Babbel.

*probably
**currently at well kept allotment IQ

[Mike T]

Duolingo is free and worth a try.

[LissaJous]

Aside from what pops up on the first page of a Google search.

Anyone have any recommendations for general sources of information and resources for language learning.

Sadly the days of quitting my job and sodding off somewhere for 6 months* of immersion learning are far behind me. And I'm pretty sure the current trend of mental decay (which I largely blame on STW) will leave me at the IQ of a Turnip** within the next 3 years. So a bit if brain exercise will do me some good, and I always enjoyed a bit of Johnny Foreigner lingo.

Nordic Languages, starting with Norwegian for a basic founding. Then repeating with Swedish and Danish. Currently just playing around with Babbel.

Like! I am sure you meant to start with Old Icelandic though?

Busuu doesn't seem to have Norwegian; For books I have found the "in 3 months" ones tended to make the most sense but obviously this will differ for each language & book author. Recent language course books generally have less grammatical info than older ones.

If you insist on learning Norwegian you will land immediately in a minefield: there are two written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Although the latter means "New Norwegian" it refers to the written form of traditional spoken Norwegian, with Bokmål being a legacy of Danish rule. If you go to Norway you will find that most people speak a variety of Nynorsk, which sounds a lot like Swedish (hence they spend a lot of time making fun of each others accents in film & TV shows). On the other hand if you learn Bokmål, it will have more in common with Danish. Honestly it'd be a lot easier to learn Swedish first!

[L.F.F.]

There's a series called Teach Yourself, which does Norwegian. I found them to be great when I was trying to learn it. Book with CD. Well worth a look.

[Richard Head]

Aside from what pops up on the first page of a Google search.

Anyone have any recommendations for general sources of information and resources for language learning.

Sadly the days of quitting my job and sodding off somewhere for 6 months* of immersion learning are far behind me. And I'm pretty sure the current trend of mental decay (which I largely blame on The FRA forum) will leave me at the IQ of a Turnip** within the next 3 years. So a bit if brain exercise will do me some good, and I always enjoyed a bit of Johnny Foreigner lingo.

Nordic Languages, starting with Norwegian for a basic founding. Then repeating with Swedish and Danish. Currently just playing around with Babbel.

*probably
**currently at well kept allotment IQ

Have you tried your local college? I did a British Sign Language course at ours, the taster course was free then you had to pay for the next level but it cost me less than a pair of Mudclaws for a 10 week course.

Then when my stepdaughter started High School I did an adults maths course so I could help with her homework

[shaunaneto]

Lisa, it's Bokmal I'm learning. But you maybe right about Swedish. It's pricey but Rosetta stone do Swedish.

Richard, nowt local. Nearest is 1 1/2 hours away.

[XRunner]

A "sleeping dictionary" is the recommended and best way to learn another language, e.g. Philippine

[LissaJous]

Lisa, it's Bokmal I'm learning.

Unless you go to Oslo, don't expect to easily have a conversation with anyone! My aunt found this out the hard way. Most learning resources push the Bokmål.

[shaunaneto]

Is what wiki tells me.

That said, we have Swedish friends. Maybe jumping ship is in order.

Hmmm

[LissaJous]

Ironically I am currently 2/3rds through a fantastic German book Töchter des Nordlichts (Daughters of the Northern Lights) that centres on the place, and earlier suppression, of Sami language, people and culture in Norway ~ but being written (originally not translated) in German completely bypasses the Bokmal/Nynorsk issue other than an occasional allusion to different dialects!

Speaking of which, all this reading about reindeer is making me hungry...