Scandinavian and Nordic Greetings & Useful Phrases Hello – Hej! Good morning/day/evening/night – God morgon! / Goddag! / God kväll! / God natt! Goodbye – Hej då! Thank you (very much) – Tack (så mycket)!
Originally a Norse greeting, “heil og sæl” had the form “heill ok sæll” when addressed to a man and “heil ok sæl” when addressed to a woman. Other versions were “ver heill ok sæll” (lit. be healthy and happy) and simply “heill” (lit.
Is Old Norse still spoken? Old Norse is not spoken as a living language today. However, there are people who study Old Norse and speak it fluently. As noted previously, modern Icelandic is the most similar modern language to Old Norse.
Without the Vikings, English would be missing some pretty awesome words like berserk, ugly, muck, skull, knife, die and cake!
Ergi and argr or ragr can be regarded as specifying swearwords. Ergi, argr and ragr were the severe insults made by calling someone a coward, and due to its severity old Scandinavian laws demanded retribution for this accusation if it had turned out unjustified.
In Norwegian, “Thank you,” is Takk. You can emphasize takk by adding mange in front, which literally means, “a lot.” You could say mange takk, which would be equivalent to, “Thanks a lot,” a more polite expression than just takk.
The Vikings called themselves Ostmen and were also known as Norsemen, Norse and Danes.
In Norse mythology, a vargr (anglicised as warg) is a wolf, especially the wolf Fenrir that destroyed the god Odin in the battle of Ragnarök, and the wolves Sköll and Hati, Fenrir's children, who perpetually chase the Sun and Moon.
Spoken only in Iceland, modern Icelandic is the closest language to Old Norse still in use today. Although elements of the language have developed and no-one is quite sure how Old Norse would have sounded, the grammar and vocabulary remains similar.
But, Norwegian is definitely the easiest Nordic language to learn from the Scandinavian region. When it comes to Danish vs Norwegian, Norwegian is easier to understand.
The religion of the original Viking settlers of Iceland, the old Norse paganism Ásatrú, is not just still alive and well in Iceland, it is undergoing something of a renaissance. Here is our quick guide to the current state of Ásatrú, the ancient religion of the Vikings, in Iceland.
The Viking salute is a snatch, with an overhead lunge, and a kneeling press. It's a great movement that works the entire body.
Learning or teaching Old Norse is easy with The Viking Language Series. Viking Language 1 and 2 are the authoritative guides to learning Old Norse, opening a world of sagas, Eddas, and runes. These textbooks have everything you need to become proficient in Old Norse, including grammar, vocabulary, and exercises.
It's believed that the first group of Vikings to invade Ireland were from Scandinavia. They had also settled in Scotland and would later became known as Gallowglass, an elite warrior group. From the mid-13th to the early 17th centuries they fought for hire in Ireland itself.
'Viking' is a catch-all term for the people who came from Scandinavia, what is now Norway, Denmark and Sweden, between the eighth and 11th centuries, more properly known as the Norse, or Norsemen.
Alternatively, it can be used to describe just those who left Scandinavia to raid, conquer, and settle. The term “Dane” generally refers to the Vikings from Denmark, while “Norse” typically refers to Vikings from Norway.
Etymology. From Old Norse sólskin (“sunshine”).
Æsir is the plural of áss, ǫ́ss "god". In genitival compounds, it takes the form ása-, e.g. in Ása-Þórr ("Thor of the Æsir"), besides ás- found in ás-brú "gods' bridge" (the rainbow), ás-garðr, ás-kunnigr "gods' kin", ás-liðar "gods' leader", ás-mogin "gods' might" (especially of Thor), ás-móðr "divine wrath" etc.
A shield-maiden (Old Norse: skjaldmær [ˈskjɑldˌmæːr]) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology.
Hello – Hej! Good morning/day/evening/night – God morgon! / Goddag! / God kväll! / God natt! Goodbye – Hej då!
The range of behaviors in Norse society ran the gamut from drengskapr to níðr. The first is usually translated as "honor" and the second as "shame". At one extreme, the state of drengskapr was admired, and the actions of a drengr would be emulated and praised.