--- In norse_course@..., keth@... wrote:

> Hi Gordon !
> You wrote :
> > I've also been skimming (am now on Lesson 11 out of 16 lessons)
> > through _Hugo's Norwegian Simplified_, which focuses primarily on
> > developing one's reading ability, in order to gain some
> >understanding of "Scandinavian" much more quickly and painlessly
> >than I could by trying to skim through an Icelandic grammar, with
> >its incredibly complex system of declensions and conjugations.
>
> Actually, it is not a bad idea to study a "mainland" Scandinavian
> language in parallell with Icelandic/Old Norse.

> Of the Scandinaviam "mainland" languages, I actually
> think Danish is what is most easy to learn.

Hei, Keth! Mange takk for Deres svar! I should have given some
background before posting that recent message, I guess. Anyway, my
degrees are in linguistics; I've studied several dozen languages over
the years (am now 64) and have taught English and ESL/EFL (as well as
French, Latin, and linguistics courses) for most of my career. I now
teach English at City College of San Francisco. At the moment, I'm
just having fun learning to read Old Norse, Old English, Gothic,
modern Icelandic, Dutch, and the mainland Scandinavian languages. (I
can read German if I have a dictionary available -- all hail, once
again, to iFinger!)

With regard to the modern languages, my goal is only to read them,
not to speak, understand aurally, or write them. And what I want to
read is primarily the great literature in each language. The fastest
way for ME to do this (we each have our favorite and most helpful way
of learning a language) is first to get an overview of the grammar by
skimming through an "essential grammar" (if one exists) of the
language. I find the Hugo Simplified Grammar series (no longer in
print but used copies are available via the Internet) excellent in
this regard, for a Hugo grammar contains not only the essential
grammar but also many short sentences and paragraphs (with the
English translation) for reading practice.

I get some idea of the pronunciation by listening over and over to
the pronunciation sections of basic language CDs or Internet
courses.

And then I buy one or more translations into English of the novel or
short story (I start with prose before cutting my teeth on poetry)
that I want to read. I set the original side by side with the
translation(s) and make my way through the narrative, using an online
dictionary (like iFinger) to look up those words or expressions that
I can't quite understand on the basis of the English translation.

It's only in French and Spanish that I have reached the stage where I
don't need a translation side by side with the original. But, of
course, that is the ultimate reading goal, isn't it: to be able to
read fluently the particular genre (whether fiction or nonfiction)
that interests one the most.

My desire with regard to Norwegian is to read _Kristin
Lavransdatter_, a novel that I have been intending to read for the
past 40 years but have never gotten around to. I was able to find
(using www.bookfinder.com) a used copy of the original publication --
from a small bookstore in Georgia (U.S.) of all places! And there
are now two excellent (I understand) translations into English.

Anyway, thanks again for your very interesting response!

Alt det beste --

Gordon