Because I know that even though Icelandic is related, it is a bit different from Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. How well can the speakers of those 3 languages understand Icelandic?
2006-12-04 03:16:48 · 4 answers · asked by karkondrite 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Since I am Swedish, I am able to tell you right away that Scandinavians don't understand Icelandic better than German or even English! Sure, our languages are related, and we do have a lot of words incommon, but the way of speaking is so different that it is very hard to get any sense just by listening. In high school the Swedish kids are obliged to learn some Islandic, or I would rather say Islandic culture and history, and we have all watched the old Islandic movie "Korpen flyger", of which we wouldn't understand anything if there were no subtitels! So I have to correct you by saying islandic isn't a bit different from Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, it is A LOT different! Actually, Swdish is the most "clear" and comprehensable of the scandinavian languages, I don't say this to "brag" or because I am swedish, it is just the simple truth. That is also the reason why Norwegians and Danes understand us better than we understand them. Usually Sweish people do not have any big difficulties understanding Norwegian, but Danish is quite tough for us, meaning the SPOKEN version. On the other hand, written Danish is easier to understand, especially grammarwise, in that way Swedish and Danish are more related. This has to do with political reasons and decisions in the past, of which I am not going to explain here.
2006-12-04 03:56:08 · answer #1 · answered by yournaliste 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I tried the other day (I'm Swedish) to translate a written Icelandic sentence. I got about half of it right. If it had been spoken, i might have understood a word or two with some luck but not much more. I've heard Norwegians might get the Icelandic a little better but not fully either. (By getting it I don't mean the words in the languages are exactly the same, but they bear resemblance in spelling and word structure that makes your guessing a lot easier)
All those languages are related for sure, but in different degrees. (As the Swede above said, some languages are more related in written grammar, like Danish and Swedish, other in pronunciation, like Norwegian and Swedish.)
2006-12-04 04:06:20 · answer #2 · answered by johanna m 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are very close, but Icelandic is rather different. My friends in Sweden could only understand about half of what Icelandic people were saying.
2006-12-04 03:29:32 · answer #3 · answered by braennvin2 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably, yes. Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic are for the most part mutually comprehensible.
2006-12-04 03:25:45 · answer #4 · answered by dzimn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋