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been introduced more from fashion than necessity, and words of
purely native growth are to be found in every branch of art and
science. The following lines by Norwegian poets may be quoted
here as a specimen of the modern language common to Norway
and Denmark: —
‘31 in norske Vinter er saa vakker:
De hvide snebedækte Bakker
Og grønne Gran med pudret Ilaar
Og trofast Is paa dybe Vande
Og Engledragt paa Døgne Strande
Jeg bytter neppe mod en Vaar’.
J. y. Brun.
Literal translation:
3Iy Norwegian winter is so
beautiful: the white, snow-elad hills, and
green pines with powdered hair, and
stedfast ice on deep lakes, and
angel-garb on barren shores, I would hardly
exchange for spring.
Ja! herligt er mit Fødeland,
Den gamle klippefaste Norge
3Ied Sommerdal og Vinterborge,
Der evig trodser Tidens Tand.
Om Kloden rokkes end, dets Fjelde
Skal Stormen dog ej kunne fæide’.
,5. 0. Wolff.
Literal translation:
Yes! glorious is my native land,
the ancient cliff-bound Norway, with
summer valley and winter fastness,
which ever defies the tooth of time.
Even if the globe be shaken, the storm
shall be unable to overthrow its
mountains.
A knowledge of the language of the country will conduce
materially to the traveller’s comfort and enjoyment. English is spoken
at the principal resorts of travellers and by the captains of most of
the steamboats, but on the less frequented routes and particularly
at the small country-stations the native tongue alone is understood.
The traveller should therefore endeavour to learn some of the most
useful and everyday phrases which he is likely to require on his
journey. Those who are already acquainted with German or Dutch
will And the language exceedingly easy and interesting, as the
great majority of the words of which each of these languages
consists are derived from the same Gothic stock as Danish. A still
higher vantage-ground is possessed by those who have studied
Icelandic, or even the kindred Anglo-Saxon, the former being the
direct ancestor of the language of Norway. Those, on the other
hand, who are tolerably proficient in Swedish, will understand and
be understood with little difficulty in Norway, though much less
readily in Denmark. Conversely, the traveller who has learned
Danish with the Norwegian accent will generally find it intelligible
to Swedes, and will himself understand Swedish fairly well; but
Danish acquired in Denmark will be found very unsatisfactory-in
Norway and still more so in Sweden.
The traveller who takes an interest in the language, which
throws light on many English words, and particularly on English
and Scotch provincialisms, should be provided both with an
Eng-lish-Danish (Rosing’s, 3rd edit. ; Copenhagen, 1869) and
Danish-English dictionary ( Ferrall §■ Repp’s, 3rd edit.; Copenhagen, 1867),
and with Ivor Acvsen’s copious and instructive ‘Norsk Ordbog’ (2nd
edit., Christiania, 1873). Itask’s Grammar, Fradersdorff’s
Practical Introduction, and Bojesen’s Guide are also recommended to the
notice of students of Danish. For the use of ordinary travellers,
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