# Norwegian: how to know the language register?



## Clemica

Hello!

The Norwegian dictionary I use, online or offline, does not indicate the level of language of the entries. Does anyone know where to find this info? Short of having a native speaker next to me to ask, I don't know how to get these nuances.

For example, I'm having a hard time finding an idiomatic equivalent to the expression "sitte godt i det". What I come up with is quite colloquial, but since I don't know the register the Norwegian phrase, it's hard for me to be sure.

Thanks a lot for any suggestion!


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## Alxmrphi

You're not alone there.
Most dictionaries for most languages wouldn't include this sort of information. You only really get this room dictionaries for langauges the tens of millions of speakers.
Usually for the other languages you need to rely on guidebooks and introductions, books which talk about what might be colloquial or what might sound a bit old-fashioned.

Try checking out the resources page in the forum for relevant information (top thread).


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## Clemica

Thanks for your answer! I browsed the thread when I first used that forum, but I'd been using those dictionaries already - what I don't find there, I ask here  I'm actually surprised to realise there's no indication of register in a monolingual dictionary. I'll keep looking!


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## Alxmrphi

Clemica said:


> Thanks for your answer! I browsed the thread when I first used that forum, but I'd been using those dictionaries already - what I don't find there, I ask here  I'm actually surprised to realise there's no indication of register in a monolingual dictionary. I'll keep looking!


WR is actually very good, but there's no Norwegian dictionary yet.
But in the Italian one for example, only a very limited set of expressions are marked as being colloquial, and even then that's often not completely reliable (and sometimes completely wrong). I think generally the purpose is to define meanings and not contexts, which is why not many people do not put that sort of information in a traditional dictionary.

If you do ever find anything that is quite good and suits your purpose, post it in the resources thread so we can add it for other learners


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## Clemica

It might vary with the culture as well. I have the impression that French dictionaries (at least the ones I use) have that, monoligual or bilingual.


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## Alxmrphi

Well when you have approximatey 180 million people using the language and an extra 100 million students of the language (source), this sort of dictionary with required meaning becomes really useful and this tends to become the popular dictionary. But when you've got something for Norwegian, with approx 5 million speakers, not a huge learner-base, you're still with the basic sort of info. Even English dictionaries don't really have that much information on the register, well in the monolingual ones anyway. I've seen a few bilingual Italian-English ones, and I think when it's aimed more at learners then you're more likely to have that information, but as I said, in my experience with the languages I've been learning, it doesn't really seem to be the dictionary's job to provide this sort of information.

That's for sites like this  (and WR forums) to explore


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## TomTrussel

Hi Clemica

I'm afraid Alxmrphi is right, I wouldn't know where to find information about what sounds colloquial, archaic or formal for Norwegian expressions. I guess you could do phrase-searches on Google, but that doesn't really catch expressions used mainly in conversations. As for the expression "sitte godt i det", I don't find it particularly colloquial, I get a hint of "Danish feel" when I read it, maybe a bit old fashioned, but it's not that uncommon I think, maybe I'm getting old though  To say something with the same general meaning, you could say "ha trygg/romslig/solid økonomi" 

TT


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## NorwegianNYC

Also - French dictionaries tend to be NORMATIVE, whereas Norwegian dictionaries are DESCRIPTIVE. There is no such thing as standard spoken Norwegian, or even proper Norwegian, so a dictionary aiming at describing the level of language is going to be very hard to agree upon.


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## Clemica

Thanks TomTrussel for the info about that expression!

NorwegianNYC, yes, French dictionaries are so normative, it feels a bit too rigid sometimes.


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