Norwegian Sense of Humor
Excerpt from a letter to a friend daring January 2010:
One needs to develop good coping skills in this context, to brave the cold, the dark, the broken budget and the stress that comes with moving into Oslo. And destiny just so had it that I should meet a boy of my age who was returning to America only two days after my arrival. We met on the dancefloor, as we both dance swing, and exchanged emails. I think it is a deal that works most wonderfully for us - as I start experiencing the culture shock, he will start feeling the re-entry culture shock. The vivid, humorous exchanges between us seems a great space for us to process our experiences.
A golden pieces of information I have gathered from him and which I think you will agree are quite entertaining are that:
" Norwegian humor is a bit strange. For the most part, they laugh about odd stuff and situational humor like the rest of us. However, they really, really like language humor. Unlike other places in Scandinavia like Sweden, Norway has actively encouraged the use of multiple dialects. On a practical level, it makes things extremely difficult because, honestly, Norwegians don't always understand each other. In fact, there are several occasions where I've had friends who needed to use English with other Norwegians just so they could communicate. At the same time, these regional differences contribute to their humor. Basically, they're very good at mimicing each others dialects badly in order to make jokes. As an example, to ask if someone wants to go home, the phrase is, "Skal vi hjem," which litterly translates to, "Shall vi (go) home." This is pronounced as, "Skal vi yem," but you'll also hear, "Skal vi hime," or, "Skal vi hame" or other strange nonesense. Choosing the right one based on the persons home town can be, apparently, hillarious. This is probably a bad example, but you get the idea. Facial expressions and gesticulations are important. "
