Why English Children Should Learn Norwegian!

England is renowned for being one of the countries where most people can’t talk any other language.

Considering England is the home of Shakespeare (and home to one of the most widely-spoken languages on earth), why is it that it remains one of the countries, where most people cannot speak a second language?

You’ll never meet a Swedish or German person who can’t speak English, so why is this not the same the other way around?

If that makes you feel bad, don’t be so hard on yourself.

Experts say that schools choose the completely wrong languages for English children to learn.

Unless you are raised in a bilingual family (or immigrate to England so already have another mother tongue), it’s quite difficult (especially later on in life) to learn another language.

But all polyglots (language experts) say that schools and education departments are getting it all wrong.

Apart from the fact that it would be more to the point for children to learn sign language (to include everyone in conversations in society), the chosen ‘first languages’ of French and German are actually some of the most difficult – plus it’s unlikely most of us will ever use them again.

The advice that children should all be learning Mandarin Chinese as ‘the language of the future’ is also daft, because firstly we are transitioning to a local food/culture society, rather than dealing with businesses the other side of the world, as government seems to predict.

But also because it’s also one of the most difficult languages to master (even the word ‘ma’ has four meanings, depending on how it’s written or pronounced).

Other very difficult languages include Hungarian, Russian (no verbs), Polish (like ‘Russian on steroids’), Arabic and Finnish (not related to other Scandinavian languages, this has some of the longest words on earth):

Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas

This means ‘‘airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student’.

Why Norwegian Is a Better Language to Learn

Learn Norwegian – far easier!

So what’s the best language for English children to learn, to instil them with confidence? Norwegian, apparently. It has similar verbs and grammar to English. And there would be a lot more ‘A grades’ if that was the main first language to learn at senior school:

Here are some simple phrases, you’ll likely know what they are already:

Hei! (hello!)

God morgen (good morning!)

Takk (thank you)

Sommer (summer)

Vinter (winter)

Midnatt (midnight)

Temperatur (temperature)

Vind (wind)

Storm (storm – the same!)