Why did many Norwegians and Danes emigrate to Iceland?
Norway is a country with ancient property law, and it takes long time and lots of hard work to gain land unless you inherited it. The Norwegians that settles in Iceland was "given" the land that they could farm, just like the settlers in the US, meaning that if you had the opportunity and money to go there, you could become a landowner. Something that you had little chance of at home, if you were not of the right birth.
What language do Icelanders and Norwegians use with one another?
In Norway, English is taught as a subject from age 5, and most of the entertainment (TV, films, music) is in English, Norwegian (or Swedish occasionally). If you study from bachelors onward, the academic books/articles are often only to be found in English. In Norway we never hear or read Icelandic, and we certainly don´t learn it at school. I remember touching upon "old Norwegian" at high school and we saw it was similar to Icelandic, but that was not something they emphasized.Now, I happen to love languages, so I thought I could demonstrate how much Icelandic I would understand, by using the song "Let it go" from the movie Frozen. (for those interested)When I listen to the Icelandic version and look at the text together with it, I can completely understand what these words mean: glitra, fótspor, morgunsól, kuldinn, storm, drottning, konungsríki, ískalt, snjór, and some small words here and there like ég er, og, mér, var, í nótt.I also understand what some words mean in the context they are put like "sjá", because in Nynorsk we have the word "sjå", and "að" because it is old Danish/Norwegian for "å". "Að sjá" means "to see". But these words I wouldn’t understand had it not been for the context.So, all in all I can understand many words and sentences, however, I fail to understand the over-all meaning of most of it. Now, this is a children´s song, and I had the text and pronunciation together, so I honestly think it would be very difficult to keep a normal, grown-up conversation flowing with an Icelander without speaking English.Icelandic:Norwegian:
Do Icelanders speak Norwegian?
Those who can, do. I’m Icelandic, and I speak Norwegian and know Norwegian. That being said, and you would probably have to rephrase your question to get a more detailed answer; Norwegian is not generally spoken in Iceland.These are two different languages. Icelanders speak Icelandic.What I meant by my answer is that many Icelanders speak Norwegian. As their second, third or even fourth language. But the official language of Iceland is Icelandic.So … yes and no. Many Icelanders learn Norwegian at some stage, but their first language is Icelandic.
Which of these countries are more open to immigrants; Sweden, Norway, Finland or Iceland?
It really depends on the immigrant, their ability to fit in and find work.A Nordic immigrant to another Nordic country will be welcomed based on their language skills, e.g. a Finn who can speak Swedish well should blend in easily. There’s relatively few cultural differences so the Nordic countries are most open to Nordic immigrants.An EU/UK/Russian immigrant will be fairly welcome in all, especially one who learns the language well. Once again, it’s somewhat important to adjust to local norms. I don’t think there’s any real difference between the countries. Obviously, it’s harder for a Russian to emigrate to a Nordic country than a UK/EU citizen.A darker-skinned non-EU immigrant may find it fairly tough in all - but this can be overcome with language skills and cultural adaptation. There’s probably more prejudice in Finland and Sweden compared to Norway and Iceland, but for different reasons. Finland has not experienced much immigration and what has occurred was mostly unwanted. Unfortunately there can be more prejudice based on skin colour. Sweden is less suspicious but there may be more public desire to end further immigration.If you have a facility with languages, are adaptable and have some skill that can land you a job easily, then you should be fine in any of these.
What do Norwegians think of foreigners who speak Norwegian?
Well. “Foreigners who speak Norwegian” are most typically immigrants from Middle-east countries, as well as some immigrants from Eastern Europe (particularly Poland) in recent decades.As for the Polish guest workers, I find that I have developed positive connotations to their particular accent. I find it quite pleasant. It may be because these workers are often more smiling, polite, pleasant and service-minded than their Norwegian counterparts, especially when you encounter them as shop attendants.As for first-generation immigrants from (in particular) Pakistan, their accent and grammar are typically pretty atrocious. It could hardly be different; their native tongue is so very unlike Norwegian. Most speak well enough to get along in everyday life, doing low-status jobs Norwegians in many cases don’t want. Some such jobs (like cleaning floors) may not require too much verbal interaction with Norwegians in the first place. Yet very many Middle-eastern immigrants also end up as taxi drivers, for whatever reason.I have interacted academically with a man of Greek extraction who speaks excellent Norwegian, even to the point of delivering lectures to Norwegian students at university level. Of course I can quickly tell that he isn’t a native speaker, but I don’t find his accent distracting or unpleasant in any way. Grammatically he is down to such hard-to-shake mistakes as occasionally getting the gender of nouns wrong (foreigners always have a tendency to inflect the small category of Neuter nouns according to Common Gender patterns, since the Common class is so much larger).
Norway: Do modern-day Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and Icelanders view the Vikings and ancient Norse as their ancestors, and thus they are "related" nations?
Ethnic Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and of course the people on Iceland are definitely aware of their Iron Age history, which is taught in school and is also part of popular culture. The Vikings are generally seen in a more positive light here than in the countries they invaded, but it is not like everyone idealizes them anymore. (This was more common a century and two ago.)The Swedish, Danish and Norwegian kingdoms already existed during the Viking age, although their borders were different from now. So there is not exactly a feeling that we are parts of a common people, the way Germans felt while Germany was divided in East and West, for instance. Each nation has a strong unique identity. But there is a sense of kinship, and most Scandinavians today think of their nations as "brother peoples", who may quarrel among each other but actually have a lot in common and often stick together in front of outsiders. The many and bloody wars (especially between Sweden and its neighbors) are largely smoothed over today, although elderly Swedes and Danes still get along less well, as a whole, while Norwegians generally get along well with both Swedes and Danes. That said, anything like armed conflict or even a cessation of diplomatic and cultural exchange is utterly unthinkable today.
What do Norwegians think of Trump?
There are ~ 5 million Norwegians … so hopefully we can get all of them to answer here and get a consensus.As for the Norwegians that I know … which nunber about 20 … they mostly dont like him in general but also aren't especially interested in him all the same.The only specific critique any Norwegians offered me (one of them) was over Trumps attitude and statements regarding NATO. Sharing a border with Russia, she was concerned with Norway's security to that end.That being said … I also know ONE Norwegian who likes Trump. I think she admires his views on refugees and immigration.I've been to Norway and have otherwise known Norwegians for several years now and, for the most part, they're pretty happy being Norwegians. As such, they don't seem to spend a lot of time worrying about what the United States is doing. I am almost never asked about any of these things … and certainly not nearly as often as I'm asked about other things that you might expect anyone that doesn't live here to ask about. “What is New York City really like?”, etc.Nobody has judged me, as an American, by what Trump does or says. The worst that's happened was that I repeatedly said before the election “he won't win.” So, I looked foolish when he did. But that happened here at home, too … so … yeah.Norwegians aren't a monolith. They have their own individual feelings. Some don't like Trump, some do, some don't care either way. That's been my experience.
Thinking about moving... Which is better? (Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway, or Denmark)?
How nice, we welcome you! 1) Except for Iceland which is a pretty small island the rest are about the same size. Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark are just next to each other whilst Iceland is in the middle of nowhere so I would say Iceland is a completely different story all together. Denmark is situated in the south of Scandinavia so it is a bit warmer but it gets cold in the winter. There is no skiing in Denmark and if you want a cold climate you should pick Sweden (my country), Norway or Finland. Finland is nice too but I feel the culture is a lot different there. Go for Sweden or Norway (Norway being ridiculously expensive so watch out). We all have four seasons and the winter is really cold, especially up North. Summer is really nice here, gets quite hot this time of the year but it is quite short (3-4 months tops, and not always hot). 2) Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are all very similar. Icelandic and Finish are completely different. I have heard many people say that Icelandic is the most difficult. Everyone speaks english though so take your time learning the language. People like english-speaking foreigners, especially here in Sweden. 3) Yes they are much much bigger. Haha, no. But there can sometimes be too many bugs up north (small ones, mosquitoes "knott") whilst we have very few down south. 4) Dont know what you mean.. Shops and restaurants prefer that you pay with card. 5) Left side, we drive on the right side. You are thinking of UK not Scandinavia. 6) Might be difficult to get a job without special skills or good education as a young foreigner but these are all easy countries to live in.
What do Norwegians think of Sylvi Listhaug?
Shes probably one of the few political leaders that listens to what the majority of the Norwegian people wants,and makes her a popular leader.She is under constant pressure from the opposition in the immigration to Norway,cause they demand more refugees.Problem is that 80 percent of the socalled refugees are not refugees,but asylumseekers that wants a better life.She has alos put stricter laws on immigration and stricter border controls.Last reports shows a drop of 95 percent of asylumseekers to Norway,so she is doing something right.