# Norwegian: Jeg heter Aaron. Er Englesk.



## AaronV

Hello, 
I'm a new user to the forums looking to learn Norwegian, I was wondering if someone may be able to tell me if what I write here is accurate, or help correct it. Thanks. Bear in mind I do not have the extra three vowel keys on my keyboard at this time.
Is this how I would write this out:
My name is Aaron. I'm English. I come from Canada and I live in Ottawa. I will travel to Norway this summer by plane. I would like to learn Norwegian. Thanks.

Jeg heter Aaron. Er Englesk. Jeg kommer fra Kanada, og jeg bor i Ottawa. Jeg vil reise til Norge i sommer med fly. Jeg vil gjerne laerer Norsk. Takk


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## Obil Tu

Hello and welcome! I'm happy that you want to learn Norwegian!

Here is my corrected version of your message:

"Jeg heter Aaron. *Jeg* er *engelsk*. Jeg kommer fra *C*anada og bor i Ottawa. Jeg *skal *reise til Norge *med fly* i sommer. Jeg vil gjerne *laere norsk*. Takk."

But are you English or Canadian? If you're English I would say "Jeg bor i Ottawa i Canada" (I live in...") as opposed to being Canadian. If you're Canadian, however, you wouldn't write that you're "engelsk", but "kanadisk" (yes, the "c" changes when it's an adjective).

Careful with "vil"! It doesn't mean "will" but "want to" - typical foreigner's mistake 

Hope that helps!


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## Obil Tu

Obil Tu said:


> Jeg vil gjerne *laere norsk*.


 
This is of course taking into account your lack of vowels! You should be able to get the *æ* by holding the alt key and typing 01254 on your numeric pad, though! (I just did, on a French keyboard )


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## GraaEminense

Jeg heter Aaron. 
Correct. 

(Jeg) er engelsk. 
No capitalization of languages or nationalities in Norwegian (though it's a common mistake even among natives). Mix-up of the second 'e' and the 'l'. Unless you deliberately want to sound a bit curt, I'd add a 'jeg' in front or combine this sentence with the one before or after: "jeg heter Aaron og er engelsk"/"Jeg er engelsk og kommer fra Kanada..." 

Jeg kommer fra Kanada, og (jeg) bor i Ottawa. 
The second 'jeg' is superfluous, but not wrong as such. But your message is somewhat confusing: You're English, but you come from Canada? 'Kommer fra' describes point of origin, so this is a rather mixed message. If you identify as English-Canadian as opposed to French-Canadian, I'd either drop the specification in the introduction (most foreigners won't know or care) or use the term 'engelsk-kanadisk'. If you're actually English (as in, from England), I'd reconstruct the presentation: "Jeg er engelsk, og bor i Ottawa i Kanada". 

Jeg skal reise til Norge til sommeren, med fly. 
'Vil' is used to describe a future action, but carries connotations of 'wish', 'want to' and uncertainty. This sentence I would translate back to English as "I want to travel to Norway this summer by plane". Use the alternative 'skal' instead. 
Also 'i sommer' is more commonly used to describe either "this summer we are in right now" or "last summer" than "next summer". "Til sommeren" sounds better as a description of the upcoming summer, though "i sommer" isn't actually wrong as such. 

Jeg vil gjerne laere norsk. Takk 
Again, no capitalization of nationalities or languages, only names (actual people, places, countries). The -r suffix is used for verbs in present tense, not future: "vil lære" = "would like to learn", "lærer" = "learns". 

All in all, pretty good and only minor polish required. 

Welcome to Norway, by the way.


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## Obil Tu

We seem to agree, then  Although I submit that the country is only spelled "*C*anada" whereas for its derivatives ("kanadier"/"kanadisk"/"kanada-...") you can choose between c and k. Check http://www.dokpro.uio.no/ordboksoek.html


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## GraaEminense

Not much disagreement, no -you posted while I typed, obviously, so I could have saved the effort 

I disagree about Canada/Kanada though -to me, the correct Norwegian name for the country is Kanada, though Canada is probably more commonly used.


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## Obil Tu

GraaEminense said:


> Not much disagreement, no -you posted while I typed, obviously, so I could have saved the effort
> 
> I disagree about Canada/Kanada though -to me, the correct Norwegian name for the country is Kanada, though Canada is probably more commonly used.


 
I think we got that from German and don't see a reason for the "k". The Norwegian Foreign Ministry and all other sources I could find use "Canada".


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## Huffameg

Obil Tu said:


> I think we got that from German and don't see a reason for the "k". The Norwegian Foreign Ministry and all other sources I could find use "Canada".



I would also prefer "Kanada" but when I check the web pages of Språkrådet, not only do they use Canada as the unique alternative (nynorsk and bokmål) but they maintain that both c- and k- is correct for adjectives (canadisk or kanadisk). This was a surprise to me.


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## AaronV

Thanks a lot for your replies, much appreciated. When I wrote jeg er engelsk I wished to say I'm an english speaker, not an English person (ie. from England) is there a way to say that, or is it unnecessary?


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## AaronV

Oh, sorry for the lack of Norwegian vowels, but my computer doesn't have an alt key.


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## Wilma_Sweden

AaronV said:


> Oh, sorry for the lack of Norwegian vowels, but my computer doesn't have an alt key.


Most computers have one, to the left of the space bar... However, the other method you can use, even if cumbersome, is to copy and paste the characters from the Resource FAQ at the top of the forum, or follow the other tips listed in that document.

/Wilma


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## Grefsen

*Velkommen til nordisk forum AaronV! * 



AaronV said:


> Thanks a lot for your replies, much appreciated. When I wrote jeg er engelsk I wished to say I'm an english speaker, not an English person (ie. from England) is there a way to say that, or is it unnecessary?


Instead of *jeg er engelsk* I think you want to write *jeg snakker engelsk.*  Perhaps you might also want to consider combining your first two sentences and writing something like *"Jeg heter Aaron og jeg snakker engelsk."*

I'm also learning Norwegian too so I would recommend waiting until one of our Norwegian speaking friends replies.


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## Grefsen

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Most computers have one, to the left of the space bar... However, the other method you can use, even if cumbersome, is to copy and paste the characters from the Resource FAQ at the top of the forum, or follow the other tips listed in that document.
> 
> /Wilma



Perhaps *Aaron* is using a laptop.  Even though I have an "alt" key on my laptop, I still couldn't type the *norsk bokstaver (*Norwegian letters) with my laptop because there wasn't a numeric keypad.  

A few months ago I started using an iMac and now have absolutely no difficulty at all typing the *norsk bokstaver*.   However, on occasion when I'm using a laptop and need to type *norsk bokstaver*, I use the "copy and paste" method that Wilma has suggested.


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## Wilma_Sweden

I would probably mention towards the end that I'm an English speaker - somehow it seems more logical to say that you're an English speaker and want to learn Norwegian:

Jag snakker engelsk og vil gjerne laere norsk. 

I await further suggestions from the Norwegians.

If you were from the US, UK or Australia, I would almost find it unnecessary to mention that your first language is English, but since you're Canadian, who's to tell that you're not a French speaker (until you open your mouth, that is)!? 

/Wilma


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## vestfoldlilja

I would combine sentences so it ends up like this: Jeg heter Aaron (Jeg er Aaron – I’m Aaron, can also be used). Jeg er Kanadisk og bor i Ottawa. Til sommeren reiser jeg til Norge, og jeg vil gjerne laere norsk. 

It’s not really necessary to say you’re going to fly. That would make more sense if you were getting here by means other than a flight, and that is not likely since we’re at different continents and have to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach each other. 

If your reason for wanting to say you speaks English is to make known that you’re an English-speaking Canadian and not French-speaking then I don’t see it as unnecessary. If it’s just to point out that you speak English, it’s not necessary, people will assume you do anyway, regardless of weather or not you consider French your native language. 

You can use both of these sentences:

I speak English – Jeg snakker engelsk

I’m English-speaking – Jeg er engelsktalende 

And I agree with Wilma Sweden, if you do wish to add that, it should go before "vil laere norsk".


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## Grefsen

Wilma_Sweden said:


> If you were from the US, UK or Australia, I would almost find it unnecessary to mention what your first language is English, but since you're Canadian, who's to tell that you're not a French speaker (until you open your mouth, that is)!?
> 
> /Wilma



This is a really good point you are making.  During a vacation I took in Eastern Canada a few years ago I was surprised to encounter as many Canadians as I did who wanted to only speak French and weren't very comfortable at all speaking English.


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## Grefsen

vestfoldlilja said:


> If your reason for wanting to say you speak*s* English is to make *it *known that you’re an English-speaking Canadian and not French-speaking then I don’t see it as unnecessary. If it’s just to point out that you speak English, it’s not necessary, people will assume you do anyway, regardless of *weather* *whether* or not you consider French your native language.
> 
> You can use both of these sentences:
> 
> I speak English – Jeg snakker engelsk
> 
> I’m English-speaking – Jeg er engelsktalende
> 
> And I agree with Wilma Sweden, if you do wish to add that, it should go before "vil laere norsk".



 I just learned how to say something new *på norsk* in this thread.  

At times in the past I have used *"Jeg snakker engelsk"* when I really wanted to say "I’m English-speaking" so *tusen takk for det vestfoldlilja!*


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## Obil Tu

vestfoldlilja said:


> Jeg er Kanadisk og bor i Ottawa.



But note that nationalities do not take a capital letter in Norwegian: "kanadisk", not "Kanadisk". Maybe this was a typo, but I mention it so the ones learning our language don't get confused


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## vestfoldlilja

Thank you to Grefsen (and a "you're welcome" to you) and Obil Tu for the corrections. 

I know many Canadians speak French, but French won't really get you a long way if you're visiting Norway. Quite a few people speak it, but it is not widely known, spoken or understood as English is.


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## Huffameg

I just want to point out that no one has proposed the word "engelskspråklig", which I find better than "engelsktalende" (even though this is by no means incorrect).


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## Pteppic

Huffameg said:


> I just want to point out that no one has proposed the word "engelskspråklig", which I find better than "engelsktalende" (even though this is by no means incorrect).



Really? I associate "engelskpråklig" and similar with written material (like a newspaper), but that may be a personal preference.


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## Obil Tu

Pteppic said:


> Really? I associate "engelskpråklig" and similar with written material (like a newspaper), but that may be a personal preference.


 
I'm inclined to agree. "Hun er engelskspråklig" sounds odd. On the other hand, so does "hun er engelsktalende" (!). At least I would never naturally come up with any of those in normal conversation (I think). I'd probably say "hun har engelsk som morsmål", or, even more likely, say where the person is from ("hun er engelsk/amerikansk"), since that usually tends to indicate the language... But of course that is a problem wrt some countries, _in which case _it feels more natural to me to use "...talende", as in "hun er tysktalende sveitser".

As usual, all of this reflects personal preference, mixed with an attempt at being conscious about general usage


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## GraaEminense

I too would rather use 'engelsktalende' about a person's native language, and 'engelskspråklig' about written material. Not a very strong preference, however, and I don't think I'd react at all someone were to use it differently. Unless, of course, they'd use '-talende' about written material


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## Grefsen

Huffameg said:


> I would also prefer "Kanada" but when I check the web pages of Språkrådet, not only do they use Canada as the unique alternative (nynorsk and bokmål) but they maintain that both c- and k- is correct for adjectives (canadisk or kanadisk). This was a surprise to me.


When you get a chance would you please post the direct link of the *Språkrådet* web page you were looking at to find information about geographical names.  I'm curious to know if the spelling of "California" is the same *på norsk eller Kalifornia kanskje?* 

*På forhånd takk!*


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## Obil Tu

Grefsen said:


> When you get a chance would you please post the direct link of the *Språkrådet* web page you were looking at to find information about geographical names.  I'm curious to know if the spelling of "California" is the same *på norsk eller Kalifornia kanskje?*
> 
> *På forhånd takk!*



Here you'll find both *C*anada and *C*alifornia: http://sprakradet.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Geografiske_namn/Geografiske_namn_C_D/

Again, only for the derivatives it's correct to use the "k". I think this makes sense insofar as you see the names as proper nouns (untranslatable) and the derivatives as conjugated Norwegian words stemming from the proper nouns, which therefore take Norwegian orthography. I consistently write "Canada", but "kanadisk".


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## Grefsen

Obil Tu said:


> Here you'll find both *C*anada and *C*alifornia: http://sprakradet.no/Sprakhjelp/Rettskriving_Ordboeker/Geografiske_namn/Geografiske_namn_C_D/


*Tusen takk for at du postet denne lenken.  

*I first learned about this sprakradet.no site a few months ago, but have to admit that I haven't used it much yet because the site is all in Norwegian. 



Obil Tu said:


> Again, only for the derivatives it's correct to use the "k". I think this makes sense insofar as you see the names as proper nouns (untranslatable) and the derivatives as conjugated Norwegian words stemming from the proper nouns, which therefore take Norwegian orthography. I consistently write "Canada", but "kanadisk".



Now I understand why I started using "Kalifornia" instead of "California." I saw *"kalifornisk"* used and made the incorrect assumption that if this meant "Californian" then the name of my state should also start with the letter "K."


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## Obil Tu

Grefsen said:


> Now I understand why I started using "Kalifornia" instead of "California." I saw *"kalifornisk"* used and made the incorrect assumption that if this meant "Californian" then the name of my state should also start with the letter "K."



Well, as you've seen, there's not a consensus among Norwegians regarding what's the most proper spelling. But it's what the institutions you might call authorities (such as Språkrådet! ) recommend.


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## Huffameg

Pteppic said:


> Really? I associate "engelskpråklig" and similar with written material (like a newspaper), but that may be a personal preference.



I would use "engelskspråklig" for written material as well as for a person who's native language is English. "Engelsktalende" is in my opinion too focused on the spoken part, where as a native speaker of English does a lot more than just speak the language. 



Grefsen said:


> Now I understand why I started using "Kalifornia" instead of "California." I saw *"kalifornisk"* used and made the incorrect assumption that if this meant "Californian" then the name of my state should also start with the letter "K."



Even though "kalifornisk" might be correct it sounds really odd, as does "kalifornsk". I would go for a reformulation.


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