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Spent some time last night reading posts over at scanfic. Very challenging, especially because I haven't properly touched the language in a while, but it did a lot to remind me that I really do love the Norwegian language a lot.

I really should try to make an effort to read things in Norwegian more often. (...In my copious amounts of spare time. Of course.) Because this is one of those hobbies that I really can't let slip - building the skill back up again would be extremely difficult if I spent too long without using it, I think.

As it is, trying to read posts in Norwegian is like trying to walk through waist-deep snow. It's really hard! But it could get easier if I pack down the snow. Or something. I think I've run a bit too far with this analogy.

If I say the word "housecoat", do you know what I mean?

( What it brings to mind for me )

I was writing something that used the word today, and realized that I almost never see it written down - neither in fiction nor in commercial context. Starting to think it might be another regionalism that I didn't realise was a regionalism.

(A quick search as I write this confirms it probably is a regionalism. There we go.)

Sometimes I do wonder if the regional vocabulary in the stuff I write gets people confused, but... well, I very rarely write characters who would actually be speaking English, so it doesn't really matter which form of English I use. Best to just do whatever pleases me and make the narration aggressively Canadian.

So, though Norway's entry for Eurovision 2021 is in English, there's also a Norwegian version of the song, Ut av mørket. Personally, I like this version better than the English version, Fallen Angel. But then again, I love the way Norwegian language sounds, even when it's a cheesy song, so... bias, what bias. ;)

Anyway, the point is, I was curious to see if the Norwegian lyrics are the same as the English ones, so I grabbed the sangtekst på norsk and translated it. :'D Verdict: The gist is the same, but the actual lines are definitely different!

It's been a long time since I did anything with any material in Norwegian other than formal exercises and Duolingo stuff, so... thanks, TIX, for getting me to study a little, I guess?

Norwegian lyrics under the cut, and my slightly clunky translation follows:

( Ut av mørket )
( Out of the dark )

I recently had a conversation with a Norwegian acquaintance about nonbinary pronouns in Norwegian language. Thought I'd drop some notes here so I won't forget the details.

The person I spoke with said that there isn't really a consensus on an equivalent to singular "they", but there are a few options:

De/dem - Same as plural de/dem, so literally the same as singular they/them in English.

Hen/hens - Borrowed from proposed nonbinary pronoun hen in Swedish. Those who've looked for information on gender-neutral pronouns in Scandinavian languages might recognize this one.

Hin - Much less frequently used than hen. One of the issues with hin is that it's a word that already exists in Norwegian - its use in nynorsk roughly translates to something like "the other one" - so that might be why it's used rarely.

So... Now I know the options, if I ever want to write something in Norwegian about a nonbinary person! I suppose. Though of course if I were referring to someone who has a preference for one or the other, obviously I'd go with whatever that is.

--Of course, I only spoke about it with one person, and Norwegian language being as it is, someone in a different part of the country might have given me a somewhat different answer. With that in mind, if anyone who knows anything about this subject sees this and has input, I'd be interested in hearing it.