Norsknett

Halloween-feiring i Norge

Hjelp, det er Halloween (NRK nyheter)

Grøss og gru - i dag er det Halloween. Politiet og organisasjonen BarneVakten advarer mot Halloween-hysteriet, og håper at folk viser vanlig folkeskikk.

Ordliste:
knask eller knep:  treat or trick
gå ut på "knask eller knep": go out trick-or-treating
gå på kostymefest / utkledningsfest: go to a costume party
kle seg ut som: get dressed up as
et monster: a monster
en heks: a witch
en spøkelse: a ghost
et beinrangel: a skeleton
en svart katt: a black cat
en maske: a mask
et gresskar: a pumpkin

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon

Check out the photo series from one of the world's toughest triathlons.  Here is the brief description of the triathlon.

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon (Eidsfjord i Hardanger til Gaustatoppen)
Kl. 05.00 lørdag hoppet 181 kvinner og menn i Hardangerfjorden.  Verdens mest brutale triathlon var i gang: 3,8 km svømming, 180 km sykling og 42,2 km løping.

Key words:
klar ferdig gå: ready, set, go
lykke til: good luck
tøyeøvelse (en): stretching exercise
svømme (svømte, har svømt): swim
sykle (syklet, har syklet): bicycle
løpe (løp, har løpt): run
tøff: tough
brutal: brutal
deltager (en): participant
helt ferdig: completely done (exhausted)
smerte (en): pain
glede (en): joy

Source: Aftenposten

Norway's top 10 mountain hikes

(Griffin at the top of Preikestolen.  Photo by Trinara)

In Aftenposten today, there was an article listing the 10 most popular mountain hikes in Norway.  They are:

1. Preikestolen
2. Besseggen
3. Gaustadtoppen
4. Kjerag
5. Galdhøpiggen
6. Rallarveggen (the most popular biking trip in the mountains)
7. Fra Ulriken til Fløyen i Bergen
8. Aurlandsdalen
9. Trekanten i Rondane
10. Slogen

Premier of "Kurt blir grusom"

(Dan grew his own mustache for his Kurt video
in Intermediate Norwegian at St. Olaf.)

In our third-semester Norwegian courses at St. Olaf College, we have used the children's novel Kurt quo vadis by Erlend Loe as a supplement to the textbook Stein på stein. The students love the characters, the use of language, and the humor in the book, and everyone can identify with Kurt's struggle to find a job that makes him feel important and equal to his wife, who is an architect, and to their friends, who are doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.

At the end of the semester, we always have the students divide up into groups and create a video based on two of the chapters from the book. On the last two days of class, we watch the videos to review the main events in the book, share our work with one another, and celebrate the end of the semester. Those days are a highlight for everyone, students and teachers alike.

Two years ago, inspired by inquiries from campus security about what our students were doing using the dormitory vacuums outside, my colleague Marte and I wrote a parodi of the Kurt story and showed it to the students on the last day.

Kurt blir grusom på film (Source: Aftenposten, Dag Kjørholt, 06.05.08)
For the past two years, there has been an animated film in the works that is based on two of the books in the Kurt series, Kurt blir grusom and Kurt quo vadis. Currently several well-known Norwegian actors and comedians are doing the final recordings of the voices for the Kurt characters, and recently they met with the press to discuss the film, which is scheduled for release on Oct. 31, 2008. See the article from Aftenposten above and the trailer from YouTube

Dating in Norway

Today there was an article on NRK's website about Norwegian dating habits.  Read the article and do the exercises below.

"Nordmenn dater minst" (Source: NRK, Elin Thingvoll Berge, 06-06-08)

Pre-reading:
a) The article is written in nynorsk, so if you are used to reading bokmål, be aware that there will be several differences in spelling, grammatical forms, and sometimes word choices. Later in the exercises, there will be more information about some of the specific differences.

b) In this article, Norwegian dating habits are compared to those in Sweden, Denmark, and Italy. Can you predict where there is more dating and where there is less?

First reading:
a) In newspaper articles, the main ideas can often be found in the title, the photo, the photo caption, and the sub-titles. Look at just these elements and give your best guess as to the main idea in the article.

Main idea: ________________________________

b) Helpful words

• stevnemøte: date / gjennomsnittet: the average / unngår: avoid

Second reading:
a) Now read the article again more carefully and complete the exercises below that address the main points in the article.

1. Folk i Italia går på date to ganger så ofte som folk i Skandinavia.
   Riktig: ___  Galt: ___
   
2. Hva er den mest populære sommerdaten for både kvinner og menn?
   ________________________________________________
   
3. Hva er den nest mest populære daten for kvinner?
   ________________________________________________
   
   For menn?
   ________________________________________________
   
4. Det er populært å gå på kino når man er på date.
   Riktig: ___  Galt: ___
   

Third reading:
a) Sometimes, it is enough to get the main ideas from an article and then move on to something else. However, if you are interested in this topic and want to gain a more complete understanding of the article, use the resources below to help you.

b) Study the differences between nynorsk and bokmål

• More diphthongs:
  meir: mer / fleirtalet: flertallet / eit: et / blei: ble
  heilt: helt / seier: sier / meiner: mener
  
• Different pronoun forms:
  eg: jeg / me: vi / dei: de
  
• Different verb forms:
  invitera: invitere / gjera: gjøre / håpa: håpe
  ligg: ligger / gjeld: gjelder / legg: legger
  kjem: kommer / tek: tar / passar: passer
  
• Different form of "ikke" and other common words
  ikkje: ikke / berre: bare / sjølv: selv

c) Other important words:
ei undersøking: a study / skryte: brag / fleirtalet: the majority
tykkjer: think / korga: the picnic basket / føretrek: prefer
ein spasertur: a walk / utandørs: outdoor / til dømes: for example
segling: sailing / passar: fits, is appropriate /