Product Description
This introduction to the Norwegian language is designed for both classroom use and self-study. The 13 lessons are intended for the beginning student. Each opens with a dialogue about an everyday topic, which is then broken down for the study of grammar and vocabulary. Cultural notes give the material its proper context, and exercises reinforce the student’s mastery of the lesson. The audio CDs further complement the lesson material by helping the student learn the language as spoken. The book also includes an exercise key, and English-Norwegian/Norwegian-English glossary, and an introduction to the Norwegian language and its history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

An excellent book to learn norwegian!
I liked this book and CDs very much. I consider it an excellent help in my study for the language because it contains lively conversations and this is what I need in the stage that I am now. The only thing is that I wouldn't recommend it for the complete beginner who studies by himself. I would suggest that you start with a simpler course to learn the first words and phrases. This introductory material you can find in several sites on the Internet. But after that very first stage, get this book. It is live and real language that you will find in it.

Learning Norwegian the old fashioned way...
For those who prefer memorization learning of grammar, syntax, and useful phrases over more recent teaching methods, Hippocrene's "Beginner's Norwegian" will be of assistance.This package include synchronized lesson plans and two audio disks for beginners in Norwegian.

The lessons build rapidly from basic phrases to social niceties and more practical matters such as ordering meals and shopping through being able to travel around Norway.The dedicated student should emerge from this self-paced course with a survival level of Norwegian for touristing.The good news is that although many Norwegians speak good to excellent English, they are apt to respond very positively to a visitor who is prepared to meet them halfway with basic Norwegian language skills.

This course in beginner's Norwegian is highly recommended to those with the self-discipline to teach themselves, with a little help.

One of the Better Language Books Out There...
I recently reviewed the Teach Yourself Norwegian course/book, and would like to now review the Beginner's Norwegian book/CD's and make some comparisons. In the other review (Teach Yourself), I mentioned that it was my favorite of the Norwegian books I use. This is true, but Beginner's Norwegian is an excellent book and in some ways superior to TY (Teach Yourself Norwegian). I'll also briefly mention the Colloquial Norwegian book here, as well.

Let me start with the superior points of this book:

* If your learning style tends to be visual (meaning: written word) and/or analytical, and you like to see things organized and categorized, you are in for a pleasant surprise here. This book is better organized than other Norwegian courses. Hippocrene has done a magnificent job with their recently published Beginner's Series books (the Danish course is organized in the same way as the Norwegian book).

* Each chapter starts out with a dialog. On the facing pages, there is a complete translation in English. TY does not have this translation (it only has a list of new words presented in the dialog). TY forces you to thumb back to the glossary if you forget a word. I don't want to debate whether, pedagogically, this is good or bad. But I will say that having the translation right there with the dialog saves a LOT of time that would be otherwise wasted flipping back and forth to a glossary--time that could have been spent drilling words with flash cards, which is far more efficient than looking words up in a glossary. You are either going to learn a word or not--having to flip back to a glossary will not help you learn it any faster, it will only waste time and cause frustration. Thank you Hippocrene for providing full translations.

* On the CD, the dialog is spoken at normal speed and then it goes through the whole thing again, slower and with pauses to repeat it. Very nice.

* Each chapter contains a vocabulary list of manageable size and also gives the written approximate English (US) pronunciation. I know many people think this is a bad thing, but I don't. You will not be pronouncing words as English once you have the sounds of Norwegian in your head--the reason I like this feature is that it's invaluable for showing you which letters are silent or pronounced non-phonetically until you are able to remember them on your own. If you start out pronouncing a "t" or "r" that isn't supposed to be sounded, it's hard to break the habit. The written pronunciation helps with this a lot. And if you are just learning pronunciation from the Norwegian spelling, good luck. It isn't as phonetic as it's cracked up to be. Things won't go so well for you at times.

* This book tends to have more exercises than the others--still not enough, but better than most.

What is perhaps not as good about this book?

Well, you will get a more rigorous treatment in the TY book--I'm not sure if that's good or bad because, at times, the Teach Yourself book tends to be a bit overwhelming (at least for me)--mostly with the vast amounts of vocabulary thrown out. I've had to stop, back up, take a deep breath, and relearn vocabulary several times with TY. So with Beginner's Norwegian you will not get as many vocabulary words (or as much grammar) in any given chapter. But, really, I almost think that's good. You get less, but it's drilled into you more completely. I do think that the TY does a bit better with the grammar, though. And TY is definitely more entertaining (the CD and dialogs). Then again, I don't know if that really means anything when it comes to learning a language.

Probably your best bet is to work through both Beginner's Norwegian and TY if you have the time. Then there is Colloquial Norwegian. This is an okay book. I like the varied dialects on the CDs, but truthfully, the presentation in the book is a bit scatter-brained. It's not horrible, but both TY and Beginner's Norwegian are far better organized.

Now for the big question: If you were to buy just one of the books, which would it be???

That depends. If you want the path of learning Norwegian to be a smoother one from the start, I'd say go for Beginner's Norwegian. It's a great book. If you are up for some frustration along the way and are willing to deal with a lack of practice problems (meaning you have to be creative to find your own ways of drilling yourself), go with TY. You'll have at least double the amount of vocabulary and a more complete picture of the grammar when you are done.

But still... bottom line if you're serious: get both and maybe go through Beginner's Norwegian first, then TY. Or you could even get all three (along with Janus's Norwegian Verbs & Essentials of Grammar).

Beginner's Norwegian w 2 audio cds
This is an excellent book for learning beginning Norwegian. It goes thru the lesson at regular speaking pace then repeats allowing time for the student to say the sentence. Then reviews words and phrases. I find it an excellent suppliment to go along with the once a week language class I am taking.

Great Book!
This is the best beginners' language book I have ever found in any language.I like to learn a little of the language before I visit a country, and since I travel frequently, I have a lot of experience with beginning language books.I spent a month with this book before going to Norway.The lessons were enjoyable and well-presented.I was amazed how much grammar and vocabulary I could absorb in so little time.When I got to Norway, I was able to speak and understand a wide variety of phrases. ... Read more

Product Description

From Cantonese to Thai, Gaelic to Modern Persian, learning the languages of the world isattainable for any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Complete LanguageCourses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses.

All Teach Yourself Complete Language Courses include:

• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, andexercises
• Step-by-step guides to pronunciation
• Practical vocabulary
• Regular and irregular verb tables
• A bilingual glossary
• A clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
• Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
• Fully updated audio recordings on CD foreasy access and review

Customer Reviews (16)

It won't teach you the language unless you put in a huge amount of time!
If you are really interested in Norwegian and have the time to put into a reading course like this it may be able to teach you the basics. It is structured well and organized simple enough for most people to understand. The problem is the course is very limited and does not really help you learn what you need to learn in everyday conversation.I would recommend buying this with a English Norwegian dictionary and perhaps another companion Norwegian learning book to reference in some cases. Alone it CAN do the job but it might be a bit tough.

Great Product
Got this as a gift for my husband who is learning Norwegian. He is very happy with it & said it has helped a lot. He started out with another set of computer discs for beginners but was ready to try a different one hoping it would be more challenging. He said this was a good choice & is doing well with it.

Very Helpful
I really enjoyed going through this book. It provides such an easy to follow structure, with a humorous at times story line. I'm not sure if the story line in the text is meant to be funny, but when it's talking about things like tossing back some beer and jumping on a motorcylce to then later get in a motorcycle accident. The structure of the book helped me to retain the information very well. Words are introduced and explained well in each chapter, and in later chapters the same words are brought up for review. I would recommend this book.

Under impressed by teach yourself norwegian..
I bought teach yourself norwegian before taking a trip to Norway this last christmas. I also bought the teach yourself norwegian conversation CD package as well. It was not really what I expected but it has not been a bad book either. I would not recommend someone buying it brand new maybe used and if it were not too expensive it is a good source of help but I feel as though a true class would be 100% better than this book. I think if you have a lot of time to dedicate to this book it is okay. All of the narration is in a british accent and some of the slang is english as well. As someone with a norwegian significant other I have learned more from him than what this book has done for me.

Good way to learn Norwegian
I think it's the best way to learn norwegian by yourself, and for a cheap price.

The lessons are easy to understand and every unit ends with exercices to make sure you learned everything well.

With the CDs, you'll get use to hear the Norwegian langage. Of course, they speak slower than norwegian people having a real conversation, but you are here to learn. ... Read more

Product Description

NORWEGIAN in 10 minutes a day® Book

Customer Reviews (17)

If you are a tourist and need to learn a bit of Norwegian in a few weeks this will help
This product will help if you are planning a trip to Norway later on in the year. 10 Minutes a day is a sever understatement though. I believe it would take more like 20-30min a day of practice to learn the material in the book within a month or two. If you are planning on a trip and want to learn a few basic words just buy this book and make sure to leave 30 min a day to study it. You will learn what you need to get by the basics but it is what you need.

THIS IS NOT a complete language learning kit though. This will NOT teach you to speak fluent Norwegian. It will get you by as a tourist!

teach yourself norwegian
This book is just what I was looking for.I am so glad I purchased it.

Great beginner book!
I bought this book two months ago and have enjoyed it.As the structure is very similar to english, i have picked up quite a bit.I am not a native speaker...Spanish being my 1st language.This book is good for beginners as it takes you thru the basics with fun pictures, stickers, and cards.My next move is to get a CD with pronunciation in it as i need to practice that part.The CD that came with the book is okay and helped a bit but I will need to get something more robust if i want to have an intelligent conversation in Norwegian.Otherwise, the book is great to start.Makes learning the basics easy and fun.

Learning Norwegian is fun
I am enjoying learning Norwegian in my own home. It's easy and soon I will be able to have a conversation with my family in Norway.

not so good
This book could be good for a very new learner, but I think you could get more out of a travel pocket guide. The Cd is a waste of time, you just move around labels but dont fill in anything or utilize your actual memory, it's more guessing. The stickers do not stick to anything well, not even paper but especially not my cat or my dog which they have stickers for, rediculously enough. They even said "Get creative" and if I stuck it to my milk or my oil, I guess that only gives two weeks to memorize it, which I could do without the stickers. Where do you stick "How are you?" I question some of the pronounciations as I have been to Norway and pronounce kj more sh/ch than hy. So i'm definitely not at all impressed, I'd also recommend studying more than ten minutes to learn any language seriously. ... Read more

Product Description
This compact volume offers an integrated guide to both Norwegian verbs and the basics of grammar. All the major verbal and grammatical concepts of the language are presented. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Could have been good - but full of errors
The idea behind this book is good, as well as its structure. It packs a punch information wise, compared to its size and price.

It is, however, NOT a good book. It seems to have been compiled in haste, and the result is that it's crammed full of errors. Some are not very serious, simply sentences that, although gramtically correct, are put in a way no Norwegian would ever put it.The list of verbs also include strange forms that I have never encountered, and I have read a lot more words than the average Norwegian. Learning something that might be correct by the dictionary, but that 99% of Norwegians themselves would take as an error, is really worse than a waste of time. (To its credit, it doesn't push the outdated De-form, which some books still do, decades after its use ended.)

Many others mistakes include clear cut errors and misspellings, I have counted many dozens - far, far to many for a book this size.

98% of the content is correct. Still, learning a a language from scratch is hard work, and I for one would find it very annoying to spend time getting confused and misinformed because nobody bothered to get this book proof read. Also, it is clear that the author does not have a "native feel" for the language.

I've found clear cut Norwegian language errors on pages 27, 28, 42, 43, 44, 61, 66, 74, 78, 79, 80, 94, 97, 102, 104, 105, 112, 113, 114, 115 and 125, as well as half-errors/unnatural language on pages 32, 46, 52, 60, 62, 69, 70, 71, 72, 78, 82, 106, 107, 116, 118, 120, 122, 123. And this doesn't even include the verbs at the end. The explanatory texts are generally in better shape than the examples.

For the record, I am a native Norwegian who writes for a living.

The Best Around, Pretty Much...
Okay... so if your "learning" style consists only of popping a CD in and listening while you paint your toenails or watch a football game (and you have an extra 8 to 10 years to learn a language in this fashion), this is not the book for you!

However, if you're not a fan of the so-called "modern" approach, and if you are not afraid to think, and if you believe that learning a language actually takes effort on your part, and if you would like to really get to know the language and how it functions, and if you would like to speak/write with your own sentences (that you made up all by yourself!!!)... well, great! This is a WONDERFUL book for you.

Unfortunately, the modern trend in language learning is to treat us all like children. We are not children, and many of us don't want to spend the eight years or so which it takes to reach proficiency using that approach. This book will bridge the gap and give you the details/structure that most of the other course books are afraid to include. It's very organized. And even better, it doesn't get carried away with minute detail as some grammar books tend to do. At the same time, it is thorough enough so that you won't have a bunch of unanswered questions and incomplete concepts. It's a very logical progression and there are plenty of examples.

You know, if this book had vocabulary lists with recorded pronunciation, lots of written exercises/translations, about 10 CD's of realistic/native spoken dialog with transcription, oral repetition/exercises, and a good Leitner-System-based flash card software application... well, wouldn't life be grand? (dream on)

great reference book
This is a wonderful reference tool.It's very understandable, well layed out with many good examples of grammar usage.This book is a great supplement for classroom or self study.

Impressive Book
I was very pleased with this book. It was well organized and it included all the important rules of Norwegian grammer. Definitely recommended.

very helpful
I enjyed stydying norwegian because i have this close to norway and the people. The book showed me more and more about norwegian, I do recommend for this book for whom wants to be an excillent norwegian speaker! ... Read more

Product Description

Comprehensive Norwegian I includes 30 lessons of essential grammar and vocabulary -- 16 hours of real-life spoken practice sessions -- plus an introduction to reading.

Upon completion of this Level I program, you will have functional spoken proficiency with the most-frequently-used vocabulary and grammatical structures. You will be able to:

* initiate and maintain face-to-face conversations,

* deal with every day situations -- ask for information, directions, and give basic information about yourself and family,

* communicate basic information on informal topics and participate in casual conversations,

* avoid basic cultural errors and handle minimum courtesy and travel requirements,

* satisfy personal needs and limited social demands,

* establish rapport with strangers in foreign countries,

* begin reading and sounding out items with native-like pronunciation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ridiculous
Done deal.This has got to be the best way to learn ever.Been listening to the CDs on while I'm driving.These folks are VERY good teachers.

Outstanding Way to Start Learning a New Language
I am learning Norwegian because I will be moving to Norway in the future. I have every introductory self-study audio and/or book-based course available for Norwegian (including some only available from Norway). Pimsleur is by far the best way I have found to start learning a new language. I was amazed at how fast I progressed in learning a basic vocabulary. Most importantly, Pimsleur is unquestionably the best self-study method of mastering pronounciation. Expensive, yes. Indispensable, yes. Supplement the course with a good grammar text (like Janus') and you will get a fun, fast start to learning the basics of speaking and understanding the world's most important language.

An easy way to learn Norwegian.
Ok, Norwegian is an easy language to learn especially when you already speak English, right?

WRONG!! The sounds and intonation of this particular and lovely language requires the most of your attention. Repeating several times after the lecturer is fundamental if you want to sound natural. I found this course very helpful because the words, phrases and conversations are pronounced by different speakers (males and females) in different circumstances and times. The narrator emphasizes paying attention to the most demanding parts of the sentences. If you find some part hard to follow, the course itself takes you to the point "just like magic" helping you master the hearing and speaking skills progressively and in a natural way. I previously studied other courses and I can tell you that this time the grammatical structures finally made sense WITHOUT STUDYING GRAMATICS! As other costumer said, "...this is the closest you will get to a private tutor..." and I will add: You don't have to pay extra if you want to take an extra class.

Great way to learn Norwegian
I'm an American marrying a Norwegian, so I trying to learn how to speak Norwegian. This is a great program to help you learn, but I also glad to have a native speaker that I can ask question about nuances of words andpronunciation clarification sometimes.

Quickest way to learn
I took 3 months of classroom lessons in Norwegian, and I did not learn half as much as I have learned from these CDs. My main objection to classroom lessons is that, most of the time, you will be listening to your classmates speaking in a language they do not master. I believe this is a huge waste of time.

The Pimsleur method is incredibly effective. This is the closest you will get to a private tutor, without paying for a private tutor. I actually look forward to my 30 minute lesson every day. After only a few weeks, I find myself initiating simple conversations in Norwegian.



... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (23)

Norwegian-English Dictionary
This Dictionary is complete and clearly defines the two languages of Bokmal and Nynorsk. It was recommended by my language instructor as the Dictionary to have in my library.

The Big Green Book
I got this book because of all the positive reviews. For those who are just starting with the language, I would say get another dictionary (or online service) with English to Norwegian translations so that you can cross reference and move about more easily in this book. This will get you deeper into the specifics of the words you need as you plow through this Norwegian to English book. This book is well done and a great reference, but for me, it would be a much better reference tool to be English to Norwegian, to be a physically bigger book - the font size will make you search for your glasses, a magnifying glass and a really strong light after longer periods of use, and to lay out the definitions and phrase variations a little more cleanly. It's easy to get lost in the long lists of some of the common derivations of a word. If you need Norwegian language reference tools, this is the one to get, but be prepared to dig and scrape and to cross reference with another source so you can be sure you actually have the word you intended.

Norwegian-English dictionary
The dictionary is excellent but it was very late in delivery.I emailed the source 3 times and finally got the product about 4 weeks after it was supposedly mailed.

Norwegian - English Dictionary
The Norwegian to English Dictionary by Einar Haugen was everything I needed and asked for, and at the right price, with superbly prompt shipping.Haugen is world renowned for this dictionary; the ONLY drawback is that it is not English to Norwegian as well, but Einar Haugen produces the most and best examples of the word(s) used in context of any other editor, an absolute must for English speaking folks learning Norwegian.

good, but needs a companion
Like the other review say, the entries really are very useful, and the introduction is great for quickly reminding yourself about grammar and pronunciation. However, for someone beginning in Norwegian you need an English-Norwegian source also. I'm now browsing to find one!

Great book, but it needs a companion dictionary! ... Read more

Product Description

Colloquial Norwegian is specially written by an experienced teacher for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Norwegian. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes Colloquial Norwegian your best choice in personal language learning?

• interactive – lots of exercises for regular practice
• clear – concise grammar notes
• practical – useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
• complete – including answer key and special reference section.

Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on CD/MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquials Pack.  By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in a broad range of situations.

Customer Reviews (9)

Mismatch between books and Audio CD's
I bought the kindle version of the book and then I bought the Audio CD to complement the book. There are no match whatsoever between the book and the CD.
They are onlyvery few lessons and exercises that do match. It is however a painful experience .This fact is not advertised anywhere. I consider this a big mistake and a misleading offer.That is why I
am not giving any star to this item (I am forced by the system to show a rating, so I am giving one star).I feel strongly about this and Amazon shouldproceed to correct the way these items are presented. If you want to have a good head start at Norwegian I do recommend the
Pimsleur Method. You can learn more about the product in [ ... ] (a Division of Amazon).I purchased/downloadedthe complete course of 30 lessons.IT's GOOD STUFF

Collquial Norvegian
I am still working on it but can say that is a very good material. It has a book to follow and also audio to listen almost the same material. I am new to Norvegian and can not say how good I will become but could say that this material can give some structure to the learner.

Good... but not the best.
This is a decent book, but not the best (IMHO). If you are going to use this one, do it in conjunction with Teach Yourself, Beginner's Norwegian, or Janus' Norwegian Verbs & Essentials of Grammar. Either that or plan on some irritating moments along the way.

I liked:
the dialogs on the CDs. They present some speakers with really pretty and/or varied dialects. There is a reasonable amount of practice (could have been more, though). The grammar, although presented in a rather bizarre fashion at times, is pretty comprehensive (more on this in a moment).

I did not like:
the vocabulary presented in each chapter is not well-documented. You have to continually flip back and forth to the glossary. New words are at times not documented anywhere at all. The grammar is presented haphazardly. It's not what is presented--that is explained really well, actually--but it is the order in which it's presented. There is no logical pattern or progression that I could see. It's as if the author woke up each morning when writing this book and picked concepts for the day out of a hat or something. I just like to see a bit more organization!

All in all, this isn't a bad book. But in my opinion it suffers from some bad presentation choices and skimpiness in vocabulary documentation. If these things were cleared up, it might well be the best out there for Norwegian, because I do think it covers a bit more ground than either Teach Yourself or Beginner's Norwegian--some editing revisions and this could be an excellent book. But, as it stands... 3.49 stars.

Old generation Norwegian!
I found this book to be confusing, introducing new words and phrases without explanation and poorly demonstrating grammer/pronunciation.In addition, the Norwegian taught is old generation...in other words, you end up saying things that people laugh at when you're in Norway! Over and over again, I was told that people don't say things the way they were taught to me in the book...very disappointing for someone who is trying to pick up a difficult language like Norwegian.I definitely don't recommend.

Thorough but Frustrating
For vocabulary and grammar, this is one of the best.My biggest complaint is that the authors throw entirely too much vocabulary at the reader without providing a glossary with the lesson.This leaves you spending a lot of time leafing through the glossary at the back of the book (a big waste of time).Moreover, there are many words introduced that not only aren't translated, but don't even appear in the back of the book.Authors should have been more careful on this point.A cardinal rule of language pedagogy is that you either introduce chapters heavy to new grammar or heavy to new vocabulary, but not both.And make it easy on the learner.This book, while good, is not great for these reasons. ... Read more

Product Description
Langenscheidt expands its popular bilingual dictionary series with the addition of five new languages: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.The trusted Universal Dictionary ensures quick and accurate reference with thousands of clearly arranged entries and modern vocabulary.Each dictionary is concise, compact work for use at home, in the office, at school or while traveling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Norwegian/English dictionary
Langenscheidt Universal Norwegian Dictionary: Norwegian-English/ English-Norwegian
A pretty useful tool for beginners. It is very compact which makes it a bit difficult to read the words because they are so small. I have to use a magnifying glass most of the time, but you must make a sacrifice due to the pocket size shape of this very helpful book.

Useful for travelling, but not meant for in-depth studying of Norwegian
This pocket-sized dictionary contains a surprising amount of information and entries, considering it is no bigger than one's hand (and I am a rather modest-sized person myself). Travellers to Norway should find most of the words they need to get by, but anyone who is going for a more thorough study of the Norwegian language will soon realize that this dictionary simply will not cut it. I reckon that this is a good dictionary, especially with regards to pronunciation. At such a bargain price, it is a must-have for anyone who is beginning to learn Norwegian or who just needs a basic reference book that is easy to carry around.

Handy 'lil Book
This is NOT a full size dictionary!! I sort of knew that when I bought it, but I didn't realize how small it was. It's literally a "pocket" dictionary. This was very good for me, since I was keeping it in my handbag. And it's very high quality, with a tougher exterior, and full of words! It's not lacking. The blue wording actually really helps, too.

Overall, I love this! You should totally get it if you're looking for a well-priced, small, yet fully functional Norwegian/English dictionary.

Langenscheidt Universal Dictionary Norwegian
This Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian dictionary was just what I needed - it is small enough to carry around and yet quite complete. It usually has only one simple tranlation for the word which makes looking up easier if you are in a hurry.

Impressive for it very concise nature
I thought this was a bigger dictionary, but the key words chosen were right on target for this type of traveler's language aide and as a quick reference. I liked the fact that the translations were very specific. The big green Norwegian dictionary is very good, but when I want to cross reference to find the specific intention of a word, I'd jump over to this one to see what the translation was here. I would like to get a hold of a full size dictionary from this publisher in this same style and format. It's interesting how few quality English to Norwegian dictionaries there seem to be and this is one of them... if a bit brief. ... Read more

Product Description
This Basic program contains 5 hours of audio-only, effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions.

The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Norwegian structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Norwegian can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.

When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.

With Pimsleur you get:

• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without textbooks, written exercises, or drills.

The 10 lessons in the Basic Norwegian are the same as the first 10 lessons in the Pimsleur Comprehensive Norwegian Level 1.

The 10 lessons in Basic Norwegian are also the first 10 lessons in the 16-lesson Conversational Norwegian edition.

Pimsleur learners progress from either the Basic or the Conversational to the Comprehensive Level 1, and not from Basic to Conversational edition. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Phrase Books for Language Learning or Travel are an Essential
To have a small phrase book like this one is essential.This book goes over the essential phrases, commands, and responses in order to get by in Norway.The best part is that it gives different responses so one can express exactly how they're feeling in a given situation.In addition it details phrases dealing with the hotel room, dinner, police, post office officials, shopping, and more.Although the book is primarily meant to be for travelers it can be an excellent tool for someone learning a language.It can also act as a handy book that can be kept in your pocket when you have a spare minute to review.For the price, something like this shouldn't be passed up on.The pronunciation guide in the phrase book is more than helpful.I also advise that you eventually supplement this book with an audio course book.If you're planning a trip for Norway or are learning the language this is a solid purchase. ... Read more

Product Description
Norwegian: An Essential Grammar is a reference guide to the most important aspects of contemporary Norwegian as used by native speakers.
The Grammar presents a fresh and accessible description of the language. Explanations are clear, free from jargon and often accompanied by exercises. The book gives a simple, step-by-step presentation of the grammatical systems of Norwegian and demonstrates and explains usages which have proved difficult for those learning the language in the past. It is clearly laid-out for easy reference making it accessible for those at a beginner/intermediate level.
This is the ideal reference source for all learners, whether studying independently or in a class. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

My Norwegian book
I ordered the book and I got it with 10 days which was before the expected time.

By far the Best
Åse-Berit and Rolf Strandskogen have put together one of the best organized grammars in any foreign language.Organized by part of speech; it highlights all the basic rules as well as some subtle pearls of theNorwegian language.Not a course in itself, but a wonderful addition toany of the comtemporary Norwegian language courses currently published.Ihighly recommend it for any level learner.

By far the Best
Åse-Berit and Rolf Strandskogen have put together one of the best organized grammars in any foreign language.Organized by part of speech; it highlights all the basic rules as well as some subtle pearls of theNorwegian language.Not a course in itself, but a wonderful addition toany of the comtemporary Norwegian language courses currently published.Ihighly recommend it for any level learner.

Good book when used only for it's purpose.
This book is an excellent Grammar book, in fact, language would be easier to learn if a book was made in this format for every language. The Authors, Ase-Berit and Rolf Strandskogen, are professors of Norwegian as a foreignlanguage at the University of Oslo. This book tells nothing about Norweiganculture, it is not a Norwegian dictionary, it alone will not help you learnNorwegian. But, when used specifically for Norwegian grammar, it is thebest book you can buy; and because grammar is essential in learning aforeign language, and speaking a native language correctly, this book is amust-have if you are learning Norwegian on your own. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to be a child's very first foreign language dictionary (5-10 years). 500 entries, each accompanied by a large illustration. ... Read more

Product Description
Although it is aimed at those with no previous knowledge, this course is equally suitable for anyone wishing to brush up existing skills and aims to help users progress from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Norwegian with confidence. Key structures and vocabulary are introduced in 16 thematic units progressing from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations to writing a letter and making a complaint. In the later units you should become familiar with many aspects of Norwegian life as well as the language. The emphasis is on communication throughout with important language structures introduced through dialogues on the accompanying recording. You can follow them through their ups and downs in a variety of situations during a year in Norway. There are plenty of exercises to practise the language as it is introduced and tips throughout to help with pronunciation and grammar. the course is centred around two main characters: an English student, John, and a Norwegian girl, Bente. Cultural information sections give useful advice and information for anyone planning a trip to Norway. This edition of the course has been thoroughly updated and includes an Engl ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A good one.
This series is hit or miss.This is the third language book I've used from the Teach Yourself series, and it is by far the best I've encountered so far.("Improve Your Spanish" was marketed as an intermediate book, but had an annoying mix of very basic lessons and advanced lessons with no happy middle, and "Teach Yourself Czech" was NOT a book for beginners.)

The material in the book is good for beginners, it starts with realistic dialogues and useful words.The important words and phrases are repeated in different contexts to make sure you understand their proper use and commit them to memory.Basically, the material does not progress too slowly or too quickly.Finally, a happy medium! :)The audio CD's are also quite helpful, the speakers speak slowly and clearly (but not too much so) which allows the listener a chance to examine the tonal qualities of the language that can be so hard to replicate when learning from a book alone.

Best of the bunch
Having now plowed through 3 different beginning Norwegian texts, I would say that this one is hands down, the best of the lot.The Kari Bratveit book (Colloquial Norwegian)is, by contrast, a frustrating timewaster in that new expressions and words are introduced without explanation.This book on the other hand is very user friendly, very comprehensive, engaging in its story line and thoughtful in its grammatical explanations.Highest marks to Ms. Simons for an outstanding work.

Great for beginners
The book is laid out very clearly and describes the basic parts of the language so a beginner can easily understand. My only complaint is that the book is sometimes a little out of order with the audio CD's. Other than that, it's a great introduction to the language!

en god Norsk bok
This review is for the 2003 edition with the language cd's, ISBN 0071414401. There are about 5 or 6 different versions listed on Amazon (the differences aren't always clearly specified), but this is by far the best edition. (It has the cover with the pastel houses on a black baground.)

Now, as for the book itself: It's really the only, affordable, in depth Norwegian language book currently available, and in that respect --assuming you have to or want to learn Norwegian--you've lucked out, because it also happens to be very good. In fact, the average college textbook costs about 5 times as much and is only, maybe, half as good as this book.

The goal of this book is to teach you a couple thousand of the language's most common words and the basics of Norwegian grammar. I haven't had the chance to try what I've learned, to talk with a native speaker, but, after a couple months of study, I can read the Norwegian tabloids on the internet (slowly, occasionally reffering to a dictionary and holding my nose all the while) and understand probably about 90-95% of a given article. I appreciated, I have to admit, that the author doesn't assume you're entirely up on grammatical matters and briefly goes over the basic concepts that apply to any language as they are introduced specifically in Norwegian. The only real problem I had with this book was it's exercises. There are not quite enough enough of the them and I didn't always feel they effectivly reinforced what I'd just learned.

The cds that come with the book are definitely helpfull, but inconsistent. The female actor speaks the way you'd expect Norwegian to sound, given the pronunciation guidelines. The male actor, though, has a rolling, bouncing accent that I find impossible to imitate(he sounds kind of like the Swedish chef muppet). The CD's narrator has an unbelievably bored, pompous sounding British voice -he acutually sighs between his lines!

A few of the other reveiwers have complained about some of the vocabulary being out of date. That may be true. (I don't think it's very important because vocabulary is the comparitivly easy part of learning a language. Also, you can't really expect to pass as a native speaker after reading just one book, anyway.) Regardless, I thought the Norwegian text readings were well written (for a text book)and gave me a little motivation to get to the next chapter. The texts follow the lives of two characters, John and his girlfriend, Bente, throughout the book.
They have fights (de krangler) with each other, motorcycle accidents, finally they get married and move into a trailer park (actually, I have a couple chapters to read yet, but I am hoping for some sort of a happy ending for them). It's all a little soap opera-ie, but I do appreciate that the author tried to make the whole thing a little less monotones than the average text book. ... Read more

Product Description
With hundreds of travel-related expressions, including greetings, questions, numbers and more, the Berlitz Phrase Book and CD offers business and leisure travelers key words and phrases needed for a trip abroad.In print and audio, its up to date, relevant content makes the Berlitz Phrase Book and CD an essential tool for today's travelers.Each foreign language phrase is repeated - slowly at first and then at normal speed - so learners can build confidence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

well-designed phrase book with useful CD
Berlitz makes the best-organized phrase books, and the CD has native speakers (women and men) reading many of the most important phrases.Helped me get through a week in Norway without always having to resort to English. ... Read more

Product Description
Bestselling language courses!

From Danish to Spanish, Swahili to Brazilian Portuguese, the languages of the world are brought within the reach of any beginning student. Learners can use the Teach Yourself Language Courses at their own pace or as a supplement to formal courses. These complete courses are based on the very latest learning methods and designed to be enjoyable and user-friendly.

Prepared by experts in the language, each course begins with the basics and gradually promotes the student to a level of smooth and confident communication, including:

• Up-to-date, graded interactive dialogues
• Graded units of culture notes, grammar, and exercises
• Step-by-step guide to pronunciation
• Practical vocabulary
• Regular and irregular verb tables
• Plenty of practice exercises and answers
• Bilingual glossary

The new editions also feature:

• Clear, uncluttered, and user-friendly layout
• Self-assessment quizzes to test progress
• Website suggestions to take language study further

Customer Reviews (6)

Veldig Bra! :)
I liked the format of this book so much that I bought the Icelandic edition from this series for myself. This Norwegian book is really helping my friend (who I purchased it for) learn Norsk. She loves it. I checked it out as well and it's truly amazing. Especially for the price!

Quite Useful and Entertaining
This was the first of the Teach Yourself language lessons I've used and it is probably the best one of the lot.

While it's not going to make you fluent in Norwegian, it's certainly way better than the useless Pimsleur series and it's got enough drama to keep you interested.

The key to this book and CDs is that you get to learn the grammar and vocabulary in the context of somewhat believable situations. In this case, it's the context of following the thoroughly entertaining love story of John and Bente as well as all the stuff that comes along with it (e.g. a motorcycle accident, jealousy over another guy name Knut, a grandmother blasting John for not liking lutefisk, struggling with a long distance relationship, and more...).

So while you're busy trying to follow the drama, you're picking up Norwegian as you go. I personally think this is the most effective way of self-learning a language short of constantly practicing with a real Norwegian speaker or living in the country itself.

So far, I've been able to engage in limited conversations with Norwegian speakers (both in Norway and even on a recent Angel Falls trip with a group of Norwegians). So I'd say it was somewhat effective in bringing me up from being clueless about the language to start with.

My only gripe with this lesson is that the CDs seemed to rush its way through the latter units (especially in the 2nd CD). I wish they'd at least cover all the dialogues in the book rather than rush through bits and pieces of units 8-16.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this product and liked it enough to buy other Teach Yourself books for Icelandic, Swahili, and Spanish. But like I said earlier, I think the Norwegian one is the best of the Teach Yourself lot I have so far...

One of the very best!
So I happened to marry an american and we have decided to move to Norway! Only one problem, my husband does not speak a word of Norwegian.... Till NOW! I bought him several books on the subject, but it was not until this book arrived that he actually started to feel like he was finally beginning to grasp and get a "feel" for the language. It is written in a way that forces you to use what you are taught, and it is set up so that you are not able to "cheat", but instead carefully pushing you to actively use what you are learning while the language is taking shape in front of you. Before this book he would often become frustrated over a lot of issues, with "Teach Yourself Norwegian" there is such a change in how he views his journey to learning Norwegian, it is all in all a very good choice if you are a beginner seeking out educational material for learning Norwegian.

en god Norsk bok
This review is for the 2003 edition with the language cd's, ISBN 0071414401. There are about 5 or 6 different versions listed on Amazon (the differences aren't always clearly specified), but this is by far the best edition.

Now, as for the book itself: It's really the only, affordable, in depth Norwegian language book currently available, and in that respect --assuming you have to or want to learn Norwegian--you've lucked out, because it also happens to be very good. In fact, the average college textbook costs about 5 times as much and is only, maybe, half as good as this book.

The goal of this book is to teach you a couple thousand of the language's most common words and the basics of Norwegian grammar. I haven't had the chance to try what I've learned, to talk with a native speaker, but, after a couple months of study, I can read the Norwegian tabloids on the internet (slowly, occasionally reffering to a dictionary and holding my nose all the while) and understand probably about 90-95% of a given article. I appreciated, I have to admit, that the author doesn't assume you're entirely up on grammatical matters and briefly goes over the basic concepts that apply to any language as they are introduced specifically in Norwegian. The only real problem I had with this book was it's exercises. There are not quite enough enough of the them and I didn't always feel they effectivly reinforced what I'd just learned.

The cds that come with the book are definitely helpfull, but inconsistent. The female actor speaks the way you'd expect Norwegian to sound, given the pronunciation guidelines. The male actor, though, has a rolling, bouncing accent that I find impossible to imitate(he sounds kind of like the Swedish chef muppet). The CD's narrator has an unbelievably bored, pompous sounding British voice -he acutually sighs between his lines!

A few of the other reveiwers have complained about some of the vocabulary being out of date. That may be true. (I don't think it's very important because vocabulary is the comparitivly easy part of learning a language. Also, you can't really expect to pass as a native speaker after reading just one book, anyway.) Regardless, I thought the Norwegian text readings were well written (for a text book)and gave me a little motivation to get to the next chapter. The texts follow the lives of two characters, John and his girlfriend, Bente, throughout the book.
They have fights (de krangler) with each other, motorcycle accidents, finally they get married and move into a trailer park (actually, I have a couple chapters to read yet, but I am hoping for some sort of a happy ending for them). It's all a little soap opera-ie, but I do appreciate that the author tried to make the whole thing a little less monotones than the average text book.

Teach Yourself Norwegian makes the grade
I selected this book at random, on the advice of my friend to "get a norwegian course-book if you really want to learn" and it was the best chance i took. the layout of the course is excellent, and the dialogs are very interesting. I like the way the book tells the story of John, an British student, and Bente, a Norwegian au pair. Hey, how bout a follow up: "Teach Yourself Advanced Norwegian" :) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book for the traveller
Little book at a little price - perfect for the traveller. Not for the academic but very useful during my tour of Norway. And in this day and age, post 9/11, a phrase like "take cover" might sadly come in handy.

Take cover, I am wounded
This book contains mostlyphotocopies of a much earlier book -- I think from the US
government or military during WW II (or before). From the looks of it
it was meant for US personnel in Norway, with expressions like:
"take cover", "I am wounded" "Have you drinking water?" and "Please
give me food."

Yet they advertise as providing "Useful words and phrases" and
"Popular greetings".

There of course in no reference to airplanes or flying, or cell phones. There are several outand out errors (Old spellings as in Hvad er klokken and Hvad heter) and gulerøtter (carrots) -- should be gulrøtter.

Caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware. If one can produce a cheap book and not pay much for development or royalties, then do it and charge the unsuspecting public [less]. ... Read more

Product Description
This teacher's manual was written to accompany the textbook Norsk, nordemenn og Norge, published by the University of Wisconsin Press (text ISBN 0-299-08690-9) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Snakker du norsk?
Maybe it's the class I'm taking...but I find Norsk, nordmenn og Norge to be one of the nicest language textbooks I've ever used.It's not fancy...not in color...but the lessons are clear...broken up into understandable chunks...and the book's refusal to use English...while daunting at first...eventually forces you to learn the vocabulary quickly.The class I'm taking also requires the workbook...which is a good complement to the main textbook. (There's a set of audio files available from the publisher's website that are also handy.)

The only minus?It's heavy.I hope Amazon eventually offers it in an e-reader format.

Oldie... but goodie...
After completing Hippocrene's Beginner's Norwegian and Teach Yourself Norwegian, I was in somewhat of a rut for quite a while. There really aren't any readily available intermediate Norwegian courses out there (that I could find). Listening to Norwegian internet radio, reading Norwegian newspapers, and watching Norwegian TV helps, but can be frustrating because it's a BIG jump from the elementary courses. I had a copy of this book lying around, but I assumed that since I'd completed several other Norwegian courses, I wouldn't get anything out of this text.

Boy, was I wrong. I'm about half way through now, and I can say that it is absolutely excellent. There is no vocabulary overload (a problem with most other language courses I have--and I have lots of them!), concepts are introduced and then constantly reviewed as part of later exercises (most books introduce a topic and you don't see it again... and of course, forget about it), and best of all, there are TONS of exercises (most other courses are pathetically skimpy with exercises).

In fact, the approach that this author takes is to give short dialogs and readings for the reader to analyze (containing new topics) and follows them with many, many helpful exercises. You sort of make connections and deductions as you go through the problems. It's a sort of "learning by discovery" approach--a very "active" learning style. It's written entirely in Norwegian (except occasional footnotes) and forces you to think. And like I said, once something is introduced, you are not allowed to forget it. It just keeps coming up. Of course, this approach burns a lot of paper up! The book is nearly 600 pages--most of it exercises. However... GUARANTEED that you'll remember this stuff with this approach! I think one reason that newer texts don't take this "active," exercise-happy, discovery approach is that they are too cheap! ...cut all the exercises out and save a lot of money in publishing cost... or cut it all out and call it an audio-based course :-)

Granted, I don't think this style of teaching will appeal to everyone. But it sure appeals to me. I wish I could find texts written like this one in other languages that I study. Also, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to a complete beginner. I think it might be a bit intimidating at first. But if you've gone through TY Norwegian or Hippocrene's Beginner's Norwegian, and you learn well visually, analytically, and by example, by all means give this book a try! Also, since the book is quite old, the audio is very hard to find. You should have the sound of the language in your head before starting with this book if you can't find the audio. I don't have it, but it's no disadvantage at all since the other courses I've done have quite a lot of audio.

An added benefit is that once you've completed this book, there is another more advanced text that follows (by the same author). Bottom line: for traditional/analytical style learners, this is THE book. You want this book.

I made the same mistake
The information on the web is misleading.This is not a textbook. This is a teacher's manual.I made the same mistake-- ordered it as the textbook.

Be very careful
There are (apparently) three separate books under this title.There is a text book (hardback), a teacher's manual, and a student workbook.I (foolishly) ordered the $25 version thinking it was the paperback version of the textbook - wrong.It was the teacher's manual.

Maybe the easiest, best-written language book ever written
Starts with the simplest sentences, in Norwegian, and then progresses using hardly any English. No vocabulary overload, teaches grammer systematically and at exactly the right time in the student's development--not at all like the high school and college texts in German, etc, from which you got only confusion and stress. I took three courses using this book at age 42 (taught by visiting Norwegian women through The Norwegian Society of Texas, fantastic teachers all!) and within a year spoke Norsk as my second language (did 2-3 hours of homework each week, absolutely essential but requires 'motivation'). My German wife later erased all my answers (I wasn't happy!) and taught herself Norwegian as well over several years during our summer months in Norway. It helped to go there every summer for some months (for research and hiking). The book's weakness: colloquial speech is left out altogether. For that, see Sverre Kloumann's Learn Norwegian. We bought the three tapes for that book and my wife later used them extensively. One has the advantage that many Norwegian words are recognizable from English and/or German, but the grammer is extremely simple, like English (but more systematic), in contrast with Russian, old Norwegian, and German. Like the later three, though, the language is phonetic. Neither text teaches dialect words, a disadvantage, given that there are 28 major dialects and far more local ones, but the situation is not much worse in that respect than with German. For dictionary, buy Einar Haugen's Norsk-Engelsk Ordbok. ... Read more

Product Description

An all-audio survival program for beginners that will get them conversing in no time!

Customer Reviews (1)

Speak Norwegian with confidence = Norwegian conversation
First of all, you have to know that this title includes the same audio recordings (but different art and cover) of its predecessor "Teach yourself Norwegian conversation", both of them by Margaretha Danbolt Simons. I see some improvement in the written material. The booklet includes the audio script for the three CDs, instead of the former "Teach yoursef Norwegian conversation" that only had the audio script for CDs #1 and #2. The new booklet has 64 pages, and there is a text box in some pages, that is called "insight", and it contains explanations on grammar rules and language topics. There is also a "global scale" printed on the booklet, that let you know the level of the "learning, teaching and assessment" of this course compared to the CEFR. The box of this title is a little smaller than its predecessor.

Overall, I like this course because it is listening-skill oriented which is very important when learning a new language. This Norwegian course is rated "level 2 - beginner" (CEFR level A2). I'd like to see upper levels of Norwegian language in the Teach Yourself series, and/or different titles of the same level. I think that "Teach Yourself Norwegian" also by Margertha Danbolt Simons could be a level 3, but I don't know since the copy that I have is not rated.

I would recommend "speak Norwegian with confidence" to a friend, unless he/she has the previous "Teach yourself Norwegian conversation" or if he/she has had trouble understanding the meaning of some expressions on the CD #3.

Why don't 5 stars? Because it would be cheaper just to find the new booklet (at least for me).
I think you can read the reviews of "Teach yourself Norwegian conversation" and have a good idea of what to expect from this new version.
... Read more

Product Description
Designed to take absolute beginners through to a practical working knowledge, enabling them to understand and be understood in a remarkably short time. Also a great review for those who already know the language. ... Read more

Product Description
This best selling phrase book series contains a color-coded system thatmakes words and phrases easy to find. It is broken down by basic expressions, arrival,hotel, eating out, sightseeing, relaxing, shopping guide, bank, mail, telephone, doctor,reference sections, grammar and dictionary. It also includes handy travel information,tips and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Recommended
A nice little book of phrases for those who want to speak a little Norwegian in various settings, such as restaurants. The book also contains useful information and advice here and there, and the layout is fine too.

Review of Berlitz Norwegian Phrase Book
This book is essential in the development of beginner to advanced level norwegian language by learning expressions for many different areas of the norwegian language and culture.

Learning Norwegian
This book is well worth purchasing if you are making a trip to Norway.Although it is basically written for students, I, who am not a student, found it very helpful when I made my trip to this country.

The Smaller the Better
Like most Berlitz travel dictionaries and phrase guides, it fits nicely in the pocket and has tons of useful info packed into the pages. It's color coded as to sections, making quick and easy reference possible in most travel situations. It is produced with decades of language teaching and tourist experience and is fun to peruse while enjoying a coffee in one of the open air cafes on Karl Johan Gate.

Marc Ladewig
author of Odysseus: The Epic Myth of the Hero

Good listings but dictionary found to be better source
Family of four spent 20 days in Norway, July 1999.Most Norwegians speak some, if not a great deal of English.Therefore, we most often needed a dictionary to interpret signs, etc.We used a dictionary frequently; weused the phrase book only on a few occasions.Reference section quitehelpful. ... Read more