# Norwegian: Language Discussion



## Grefsen

I want to write "Norwegian Language Discussion" *på norsk.*  This could be used either as a title for an email or a message board thread title.

Here are three of the different options I received when I looked up "discussion" in a *norsk ordbok:*

*diskusjon, drøfting, forhandling*

If I had to guess I would go with *Norsk Språk Diskuskjon* as the title I would use.


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## vestfoldlilja

Yes, Norsk språkdiskusjon is correct  I would translate å drøfte as,  to debte,  or to talk over and å forhandle as to negotiate.


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> I want to write "Norwegian Language Discussion" *på norsk.* This could be used either as a title for an email or a message board thread title.
> 
> Here are three of the different options I received when I looked up "discussion" in a *norsk ordbok:*
> 
> *diskusjon, drøfting, forhandling*
> 
> If I had to guess I would go with *Norsk Språk Diskuskjon* as the title I would use.


 
"språkdiskusjon" - in one word! (and no capital letters except if in the beginning of a sentence, the same goes for "norsk") - is definitely the best choice. 

"Forhandling" is better translated as "negotiation", I think. "Drøfting" could be used in some circumstances, but it seems to me that "diskusjon" is much safer.


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## Grefsen

*Tusen takk for hjelpen vestfoldlilja og oshen. *



vestfoldlilja said:


> Yes, Norsk språkdiskusjon is correct



*Velkommen til nordisk forum* *vestfoldlilja.   *



oskhen said:


> "språkdiskusjon" - in one word! (and no capital letters except if in the beginning of a sentence, the same goes for "norsk") - is definitely the best choice.



Nice to see that we have a consensus on how to write "language discussion" *på norsk.  * 

I'm curious to know if it would also be possible to write "Norwegian language discussion" fused together as one word?   Knowing when to use compound words *på norsk* is one of the  many challenges I have to learning *norsk.  *


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## kirsitn

Grefsen said:


> I'm curious to know if it would also be possible to write [/COLOR]"Norwegian language discussion" fused together as one word?




Only implicitely as in "norskdiskusjon", which would be a discussion about Norwegian (language). (As opposed to "norsk diskusjon", which would be a discussion taking place in Norway or between Norwegians. )

"Norskspråkdiskusjon" definitely sounds akward to me.


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## Grefsen

kirsitn said:


> Only implicitely as in "norskdiskusjon", which would be a discussion about Norwegian (language). (As opposed to "norsk diskusjon", which would be a discussion taking place in Norway or between Norwegians. )
> 
> "Norskspråkdiskusjon" definitely sounds akward to me.



*Tusen takk kirsitn!* 

So what would be your preference then, *Norsk språkdiskusjon eller Norskdiskusjon?

*


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## vestfoldlilja

Norsk språkdiskusjon og Norskdiskusjon means the same. And after reading kirsitn's reply, I see her point very well. A lot of Norwegian words can be long and quite complicated perhaps, and many are usually shortend both in speech and in writing, and since in this case språk doesn't add anything to change it's meaning from being the same as Norskdiskusjon, it's not really needed. Norskdiskusjon is more than enough  

Hope that made sense, I'm half asleep on my chair.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Sorry for butting in, but couldn't *norskdiskusjon* also mean a discussion about Norwegians or Norwegian topics other than language? To me it looks slightly ambiguous, whereas *norsk språkdiskusjon* is totally unambiguous...

/Wilma


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## kirsitn

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Sorry for butting in, but couldn't *norskdiskusjon* also mean a discussion about Norwegians or Norwegian topics other than language?



Not the way I see it, but of course I cannot guarantee that everyone else sees it the same way as me.


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## vestfoldlilja

I can see that norskdiskusjon seems ambiguous, but I don’t understand norskdiskusjon to mean anything else than a discussion of the Norwegian language. 

If I have managed to express what I wanted in English maybe what is written below might help you see the difference. 

If you want to express “Monday we will have a discussion about Norwegians”, I would say: Mandag skal vi ha en diskusjon om nordmenn. 

There is nothing wrong with using norsk språkdiskusjon, though some might say that it seems like the sentence is cut short.  I think that natives of the Norwegian tongue might expect norsk språkdiskusjon to be followed by something. Example: norsk språkdiskusjon om ulikheter mellom dialekter i området rundt Viken, would be, Norwegian language discussion about the differences between the different dialects used in regions around Viken. 

In the sentence”i dag skal vi ha en norsk diskusjon (in two words) om finland, norsk does not refer to the Norwegian language, but Norwegian nationality.  Therefore the sentence seems a little silly and works better without norsk in it. There is no point to stress the nationality of whoever is having the discussion.


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