If you learn Norwegian, can you understand the old Norse sagas (in the original language)?

Question

I heard this somewhere. Also, isn't Norwegian a West Scandinavian language, putting it in the same boat as Icelandic, which is supposedly the closest to Old Norse?

Answer 1

Old Norse bears about the same relationshio to modern Norwegian or modern Icelandic that old English does to the way we speak today. Many native English speakers struggle to understand the words of Shakespeare, but a better comparison would be the works of Chaucer, which can only be read with notes from scholars of Old English. Still, you're better off reading Chaucer if you already speak Englisg than if you only speak, say, French. So I'd say go ahead, study your Icelandic and Norwegian before tackling the Sagas. It will definitely give you a head start, and who knows what other worlds it might open up for you?

Answer 2

Learn Icelandic. It is 95% the same as old Norse. There is also a website that teaches you Old Norse written by an Icelandic professor. If I find the link I ll paste it on this forum. But you can find modern English translations of the sagas on the internet though you have to search quite a bit. Still if you want to learn Old Norse go ahead. Good luck

Answer 3

Modern languages are usually derived from old or ancient languages with parts of the languages being drastically different because of centuries of changes. No matter what language. Same goes for Norwegian. To answer your question: Yes and No. Most of the grammars would be different. You would need to consult a dictionary, a native speaker, a historian, a linguist, and a class in comparative linguistics.

Icelandic and Norwegian are too different from each other even though they belong to the same language family.

Actually Swedish might be closer to Old Norse, than Icelandic.

Answer 4

You certainly could moreso than someone who speaks English, but certainly not that well.

Icelandic is much closer to Old Norse than the other Scandanavian languages. It's changed much less over the years due to its geographical isolation. Most fluent Icelandic speakers can understand Old Norse pretty well.

But Icelandic is quite a bit different than the other Scandanavian languages are.

Answer 5

previous Norse is taught, to a pair degree, in Norwegian faculties, so there'll be cutting-factor text cloth books. yet then the medium of coaching would be between the sought after Norwegian languages. i could recommend which you heavily evaluate studying Icelandic, this is rather close to to previous Norse yet has the ease of being part of as we communicate's international. the two way, those languages are complicated relative to well-known English, so will desire a superb style of application on your section.

Answer 6

Languages are evolving all the time, so you will not be able to read these old sagas, unless you know the old form of Norse.
I am being Russian, cannot read old Russian folklore, people who study modern Assyrian language, would not be able to talk to Jesus (Aramaic), and old English is not easy to understand, either. People specially go to college for that to study old languages.

Answer 7

My understanding was that Icelandic was closer to Old Norse and, as such, would be better for your purpose.

Answer 8

it would be an earsore until you got used to it but you would be able to deduce it with some careful attention. old languages are always the roots of modern ones, it would be like an english a peaking person listening to someone talk in 'king's english'.

Answer 9

There is a possibility