Which scandinavian language is most useful

Only 7 per cent thought it was easy to understand Danish. Iceland : In Iceland, 45 per cent of young people think Norwegian is easy to understand. A total of 37 per cent said the same about the Danish language and 35 per cent said the same about Swedish. Norway : As many as 90 percent of Norwegian young people think it is easy to understand Swedish. Just under 50 percent say the same about Danish. Young people in the Faroe Islands also find it quite easy to understand other Nordic languages.

As many as 80 per cent of these youths thought that Norwegian is easy. Just under half of the young people on the islands said they are fluent in the Norwegian language. Ironically, the percentage of cultural offerings in other Scandinavian countries that Norwegian youths said they consumed was the lowest of all the groups. The Nordic Council of Ministers asked more than 2, young people aged 16 to 25 throughout the Nordic region about how they view the Scandinavian languages and English.

Virtually all young people in the Nordic countries are fluent in English and many switch to English if they meet people from other Nordic countries. About half do this. Young people in the Nordic countries also often write in English on social media. But young people in Norway do this to a much lesser extent than other Nordic youths, according to the report from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Norwegian is spoken by a whopping five million people around the world. Norwegians can easily understand Swedish and Danish.

For this reason, the language is humorously referred to as the middle child amongst the three sisters. Although there are other languages that have emerged from Old Norse, Icelandic is said to be the one that resembles the language the most until this day. It is officially the least spoken North Germanic language, with only , — who reside in Iceland. Faroese, the language of the Faroe Islands is believed to be spoken by around 75, to 80, people. It is one of the many Nordic languages that was brought over by Norsemen who settled on the islands.

Also used in Denmark and Iceland, Faroese is said to closely resemble Norwegian. Although unheard of by many people, Greenlandic is spoken by 60, people throughout Greenland and Denmark. It is especially crucial for people who relocate to Nordic countries for a more extended time, whether for studies or job opportunities. Suppose you are serious about getting a job in Sweden, Denmark, or Norway.

In that case, your number one priority should be learning it. Speak the native language where you want to work and live. Many international companies, where Knowledge of the North Germanic language is needed for some jobs, opens the door to many business opportunities. It will increase your chances of having a successful career involving languages. If you plan to learn one of the Scandinavian languages and not sure which one, Swedish is the best language to learn.

There are few institutes in various cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore with Scandinavian languages programs. I will keep you updated. There are many language learning websites where you can study. Looking for online language career counselling that can change your life for the better? I write at languagenext. I currently live in Delhi. I am interested in learning the Norwegian language. Please suggest any institute that offers such a course.

Thanks for your valuable information. However, i have seen numerous articles where Iceland was added in the list of Scandinavian countries and not nordic countries.

Anyways, thanks for your input. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Which Scandinavian languages should I learn? Barring a few exceptions, most European languages are part of the Indo-European group. Within the Indo-European family, there are various sub-categories. Many scholars believe that since Goths came from North Europe.

Table of Contents History of Scandinavian Languages 1. Swedish boasts the biggest language community of the three, with 10 million speakers. The other two have about 5 million speakers each. Danish and Norwegian are very similar, or indeed almost identical when it comes to vocabulary, but they sound very different from one another.

Norwegian and Swedish are closer in terms of pronunciation, but the words differ. Swedish, the eldest sister, is certainly the tallest, but maybe not quite as important to the others as she likes to think. Norwegian, the middle child, understands both her siblings and plays the role of mediator. This metaphor is not that far away from reality. Conversations between Swedes and Danes in particular take a lot of concentration and are known to be a bit awkward.

Let us clarify. Danish stands out from the other two Scandinavian languages mainly because it has a large discrepancy between written and spoken language. The words are shortened, the consonants softened and the endings almost swallowed. To people speaking Swedish and Norwegian, a lot of Danish pronunciation patterns seem completely random.