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In the UK, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic sticks out as different, and in a Scandinavian federation, it would be Finnish and Icelandic (and small languages Faroese, Sami and Greenlandic) that sticks out as different.
Swedish, Norwegian and Danish is in reality not much different than English and Scots English is, actually even closer if we include really thick Scots English like Glaswegian. That Swedish/Norwegian/Danish are officially 3 seperate languages and that English and Scots English are officially the same language doesn't matter, cause the real difference is not much bigger. For example tv-shows like Big Brother is the same in Sweden and Norway, with both Swedish and Norwegian contestants. They communicate with eachohters perfectly and they don't need any translators for that.
Just cause something is officially a seperate language does not mean the difference is bigger than a dialect, just look at Serbian/Bosnian which is the exact same thing despite being officially seperate languages just for the sake of patriotism.
And there is also successful countries with regional langauges that are way, way more different in a way that the speakers don't even understand eachothers, like Canada (English, French and various native languages), New Zealand (English/Maori), Ireland (English/Gaeilge), Belgium (Dutch/French), Switzerland (German, French, Italian and Romansch) and of course Finland (Finnish/Swedish), all of them highly successful nations.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-07-2014 at 12:51 PM..
Swedish, Norwegian and Danish is in reality not much different than English and Scots English is, actually even closer if we include really thick Scots English like Glaswegian. That Swedish/Norwegian/Danish are officially 3 seperate languages and that English and Scots English are officially the same language doesn't matter, cause the real difference is not much bigger.
The Scots I've heard still speak English even if it is with a thick accent. Norwegian and Swedish have bigger differences even if we understand eachother well.
But I hear Swedes struggle big time with Danish unless they're from the border area Skåne or elsewhere deep south. Isn't that right? I saw on SVT former Danish prime minister Fogh Rasmussen had to be interviewed in English. That surprised me a bit.
The Scots I've heard still speak English even if it is with a thick accent. Norwegian and Swedish have bigger differences even if we understand eachother well.
But I hear Swedes struggle big time with Danish unless they're from the border area Skåne or elsewhere deep south. Isn't that right? I saw on SVT former Danish prime minister Fogh Rasmussen had to be interviewed in English. That surprised me a bit.
Many Swedes actually struggles just as much with understand people from Skåne, even if they officially speak Swedish. I live on the Skåne border in Blekinge, and a friend of mine actually had to speak English in Stockholm once to a Swedish couple who couldn't understand her, true story. And when I'm in Stockholm I have to slow down in speech as well if I want to be fully understood, otherwise its just "va sa du?" all the time.
Scottish can be very different from England-English, example:
"Scots langauge" is another name for Lowland Scots, which is officially the same language as English. But differences are significantly bigger than Swedish/Norwegian. And thick Glaswegian is even more different, but also officially the same language as English nontheless.
While a Swede will understand most of what a Norwegian says (especially east Norwegian accents), an Englishman will not understand much at all of what someone speaking thick Glaswegian Scottish is saying. There is many examples throughout the world where dialects are more different from eachothers than our 2 officially seperate languages are. Its not comparable to say the Dutch-French language issue in Belgium where people can't understand eachothers cause the languages there are different for real.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-07-2014 at 02:39 PM..
Skåning (Scanian) trying to order a meal at McDonalds in Stockholm. When it comes to understanding of other dialects and other Scandinavian languages, Stockholm (and surrounding areas) are without doubt THE most ignorant. The rest of Sweden is not like that, but more than 2 million of our 9 million population lives around that area.
Where is the source to that? I've always felt Norwegians by and large support a possible reunion with Iceland. Today in Dagbladet there is another article about this and people generally seem positive in the commentary field below.
The most realistic Scandinavian unifications would be Norway and Iceland together, and Sweden and Finland together I believe. Those has been successfully united before and was seperated only because of another nation's interests. The unions between Denmark & Norway and later Sweden & Norway were not appreciated and Norway always retained its own seperate national identity that wasn't Danish or Swedish.
Finland under Swedish rule though did not have those feelings and did not retain any other national identity than the Swedish one, and probably not Iceland and the Faroe Islands under Norwegian rule either.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-07-2014 at 09:01 PM..
I do not believe most Norwegians, Danes or Swedes would choose a republic over a constitutional monarchy. Based on recent polls, 82% of Norwegians support the monarchy over a republic (source), compared to 70% of Swedes (source) and 84% of Danes (source).
We need more than one survey to determine how Scandinavians really feel about eroding their national borders and sharing their resources. Given Norway and Iceland's resistance to the EU I doubt they would be willing to give up their sovereignty that easily. And do Danes really feel so close to Finland (and vice versa) that they would want to be part of the same country?
My reasoning was that if the Norwegians would have to choose between the Swedish or the Danish king, a republican constitution would be the eventual compromise. As it is now, monarchy has a strong position in the nation states, but adopting another country's king could be something the people wouldn't want. Maybe a new united nation would mean the end of the era of monarchy.
"A new poll shows that 49% of Swedes and 50% of Finns are willing to go out of the EU and into the Nordic Association. A previous study in Denmark showed that 47% of Danes are ready to do the same.
Of those surveyed 28% chose Sweden's continued membership in the EU, 23% said do not know / no and 49% chose to be part of a Nordic federation. Of those Finns surveyed 31% chose continued membership of the EU, 19% do not know / no and 50% chose to be part of a Nordic federation."
No, I don't think Danes and Finns are that close, but neither is there any stigma or resentment. I think in a possible referendum everyone would be pragmatic. Personally, I have nothing against a Nordic federation. I've always enjoyed the company of Danes.
BTW, a poll showed in 2009 that 42% of Norwegians were for a EU membership. Then some crash boom bang happened in the Eurozone, and in August 2014 it was down to 18%.
"A new poll shows that 49% of Swedes and 50% of Finns are willing to go out of the EU and into the Nordic Association. A previous study in Denmark showed that 47% of Danes are ready to do the same.
Of those surveyed 28% chose Sweden's continued membership in the EU, 23% said do not know / no and 49% chose to be part of a Nordic federation. Of those Finns surveyed 31% chose continued membership of the EU, 19% do not know / no and 50% chose to be part of a Nordic federation."
But does that poll actually speak of the Nordic Union as a country or just an organisation of Member States similar to the EU? Because there's a big difference.
But does that poll actually speak of the Nordic Union as a country or just an organisation of Member States similar to the EU? Because there's a big difference.
Loose federal system with a common legislation, foreign policy and being a part of EFTA.
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