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From: RDavies@exeter.ac.uk (Roy.Davies)
Subject: Re: Norwegian and Danish (was : Re: Scots and English (was: Re: Flemish and Dutch))
Message-ID: <D8BJoA.7@exeter.ac.uk>
Organization: University of Exeter, UK
References: <3ofh6n$eh9@nic.wi.leidenuniv.nl>
Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 16:12:08 GMT
Lines: 36

se9402@artemis.wi.leidenuniv.nl  writes:
> In article <Pine.OSF.3.91i.950505215610.18237A-100000@saul1.u.washington.edu>,
> Halldor Arnason  <harnason@u.washington.edu> wrote:
> >On 4 May 1995, Corey A. Reid wrote:
> >
> >Hmm, let's see.  Icelandic has four declension cases for nouns, pronouns,
> >adjectives and numbers, Danish has three for pronouns and two for nouns
> >while numbers and adjectives are not declined.  Danish has two genders,
> >Icelandic three.  Icelandic has the subjunctive mood, Danish doesn't,
> >Danish has indefinite article, Icelandic doesn't.  Icelandic verb endings
> >depend on person, Danish don't.  Yeah, pretty much the same grammar. 
> 
> How about Norwegian and Danish? I've always believed that those two langauges
> are so closely related, that there are no linguistic arguments to call them
> two sepearate languages. 
> 

Anyone who can read either Danish, Norwegian or Swedish can read the
other two languages without much difficulty, though some words would
cause problems.  Similarly anyone who can speak one of those languages
should be able to hold a conversation with a speaker of one of the 
other two languages, provided they both spoke clearly and reasonably
slowly.  However understanding the written languages is easier since
you don't have the problem of the speaker's accent to contend with.

I myself speak both Danish and Welsh (though not completely fluently)
and have used Danish in conversation with Norwegians and Swedes -
though most Scandinavians understand English and a high proportion
of them speak it very well.

Roy Davies                                      Telephone 01392 263884
The University Library                          FAX 01392 263871
University of Exeter               
Stocker Road                        Internet  Roy.Davies@exeter.ac.uk
Exeter EX4 4PT     
UK                        http://info.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/homepage.html
