About the Norwegians

We all have stereotypes of what people from different places are like. The strongest stereotypes of Norwegians quite arguably come from their Scandinavian neighbours, the Danes and the Swedes.

I have found some interesting descriptions from a website on Scandinavian Stereotypes written by Thomas Hylland Eriksen, which I am copying parts of here.

First a joke!

A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian are shipwrecked on the proverbial desert island. A genie appears out of thin air, informing them that they can each have a wish granted. The Swede immediately says, “I want to go home to my large and comfortable bungalow with the Volvo, video and slick IKEA furniture.” So he vanishes. The Dane then says, “I want to go back to my cozy little flat in Copenhagen, to sit in my soft sofa, feet on the table, next to my sexy girlfriend and with a sixpack of lagers.” Off he flies. The Norwegian, after giving the problem a bit of thought, then tells the genie, “Cor, I suddenly feel so terribly lonely here, so I guess I wish for my two friends to come back.”

Does that give you any insight into the various stereotypes the Scandinavians have of each other?

The Swede is too posh for his own good, the Dane likes beer and having fun, and the Norwegian is backwards and a bit dumb.

Which brings us to the Norwegian National Identity. Anyone who has attended at 17th of May celebration knows that Norwegians are a very patriotic set. This has to do with Norway’s struggle for independence from the Swedes and Danes at various times throughout history. Norway has more or less been a country since the middle ages, and has spent a lot of time under other countries’ flags.

According to Thomas Hylland,

For historical reasons, Norwegian national identity had to be constructed in contrast to the Danes and the Swedes. The dominant national identity which emerged during the latter half of the 19th century, and which still holds sway in official national symbolism (as witnessed, for example, during the state-funded propaganda campaign before and during the Winter Olympic Games in 1994), emphasises the rural, clean and unspoilt character of Norway. Denmark was associated with the urban bourgeoisie and snobbish mannerisms; Sweden with arrogance and state power.

It is not coincidental that Norwegian national identity should be associated with nature scenery and the rural way of life. Although the country had towns and cities, its scenery and folk traditions were eminently suitable as national symbols since they denoted that Norway had something which Sweden and Denmark lacked. Today, the standard Norwegian image of Sweden associates the eastern neighbour with a bureaucratic rationality, uncompromising Enlightenment ideology, a centralised, authoritarian State, and an air of arrogant overbearance. The omnipresent Norwegian image of the Danes, a more friendly one, depicts the southern neighbours as a lackadaisical and slightly hedonistic but immensely urbane and jovial people.

Being the junior partner in the Scandinavian universe, Norway’s national identity seems stronger and more boisterous than the Danish and Swedish ones. In general, of course, small collective identities are more clearly defined and their incumbents suffer less from “identity problems” than the members of the large collectives that they define themselves in relation to. Estonian identity is more clearly bounded and less ambiguously defined than the Russian identity, and the same could be said of the Scottish–English or Welsh–English, Catalonian–Castilian or Breton–French identity relationships. The cohesiveness of the Norwegian self-identity, which is today being weakened in some segments of the population and strengthened in others due to forces of globalisation, and its origin in an essentially Romantic, culturalist ideology, nevertheless makes the process of integration for immigrants very difficult.

Swedish Stereotypes of Norwegians:

The standard Swedish image of the Norwegian is that of a rustic and unsophisticated fish-eater with lamentable manners and muddy boots, lately supplied with grudging acknowledgement of the Norwegian petroleum wealth. Nothing is more humiliating to the average Swedish man than a Norwegian victory in an international football game between the two countries; just as Norwegian men, in a symmetrical fashion, never cheer more sincerely for their sportsmen than when they fight their big brother.

Danish Stereotypes of Norwegians:

A survey carried out among Danish schoolchildren in the mid-1980s suggested that they regarded the Norwegians as “all right, but a bit rural and very nationalistic”. Current Danish images of Norwegians are still contingent on the loss of Norway in 1814, which was not caused by Norwegian popular rebellion but by geopolitical events. Partly for this reason, the image of Norway is nearly unanimously that of a friend. Images of the friend, while much less studied than enemy images, can nonetheless also contribute to the definition of self. Norwegians are perceived as rustic and simple, but honest and straightforward people who live close to their beautiful and spectacular nature.

The Language:

But just to prime you, a bit of trivia! Did you know that in Norway there are two official names of the country? That´s because there are two official Norwegian languages, and I ain´t talkin´about the Sami Folk here. I mean there are two official versions of Norwegian. A lot of people don´t know that!

I haven´t heard any talk of secession though, so we´re not discussing a Belgian situation here.
But back to the two words for Norway. Choose two from this list:

a) Norge, b) Noreg, c) Norvege, d) Norway

Answer to above question: A and B!

K’s family speaks a dialect of Nynorsk, so really no matter how much you study in a Norwegian book before you come, you won’t understand them. They have different words for most things. Like tired, water, they, we, I… all different words! Vann/Vatn, De/Me, dere/dåke, Jeg,Eg, etc etc etc.

A few key phrases include:

• Takk skal du ha = Thanks
• Tusen Takk= Thanks a lot
• Vær så snill = Please
• Ja/Nei = Yes/ No
• Snakker du Engelsk? = Do you speak English?
• Jeg snakker ikke Norsk= I don’t speak Norwegian

Try to have the old Norwegian folks at the nursing home help you with pronunciation, or we can talk on skype a bit. But keep them in mind in the lead-up to the trip

What sort of stereotypes do you currently have about Norwegians? Have they changed since meeting K? What are you expecting when you visit?

My impressions now living in Norway is that Norwegians as a group are thoughtful and kind, just not right off the bat ‘fake nice’ like. In general, they are really willing to be kind and helpful, very curious to know what you think about them (just like the Americans are!), very nationalistic, great lovers of the outdoors (just like us Northwesterners), proud of the region/city/part of the country they are from, and generally curious about the world around them. And they all look a bit like grown-up babies with their cute little button ski jump noses and scandiblond hair!

That said, depending on where you´re from the Norwegians may seem a bit cold. I imagine those coming from any country near the equator will be feeling a bit left out. No more street harassment or catcalls (much to my relief… that is one thing I don’t miss!) so it makes sense that someone had to write about it to explain things to the new arrivals.

This is a description about Norwegians from a graduate school used to explain a little bit about Norwegians to foreigners arriving on these windy shores. It may sound a bit familiar! Enjoy

Norwegians have a reputation of being somewhat introvert and difficult to get to know. It is not a Norwegian habit to speak to strangers on the bus or at the table next to you in a restaurant.

However, Norwegians can be both welcoming and open minded towards foreigners. If you start a conversation you might notice that Norwegians seem a little reluctant at first, but most are happy when someone else takes the initiative. Norwegians have a direct form of communication and often speak out their opinions.

The nature of Norway is extraordinary and so is its impact on Norwegians. Norwegians have always lived close to, and in harmony with, the nature surrounding them. Hiking is a common Sunday activity and many Norwegian families have a cottage, and some have two – one in the mountains and the other by the ocean.

That was the somewhat friendly description. A funnier one comes from a blogger I can only presume comes from der Vaterland, jaaa!! Here butch3r describes Norwegian habits and stereotypes:

Foreign stereotypes, on the one hand, tend to depict the Norwegians as healthy, enlightened, effective people with strong welfare states, lax rules of sexual morality and an institutionalized yearning for nature and simplicity. On the other hand, for example, the Germans associate Scandinavians with too much alcohol.

As regards the health, the Norwegians are sport addicts. You can’t imagine a Norwegian without a snowboard or skies in winter and without run in park when it is warm. Also these people are very ecology conscious, that’s why Norway is probably one of the cleanest countries in the world.
The main strength of the Norwegians is that they are very kind people. The Global peace index rates Norway as most peaceful nation in the world. Also, Norway is ranked first in the world in life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. All while being arguably the most atheist nation on the planet. 85% of Norwegians are members of a church, yet most of them still describe themselves as atheists/agnostics. In Norway, being member of a church is more of a traditional thing, than religious.

The main weakness of the Norwegians is that whole nation is very addicted to alcohol. Everybody think that we have this picture of Scandinavians because they drink so much, when they are tourists, for example, in Germany, since it is so amazingly cheap and easy to get. In Norway once you started drinking here you don’t stop until you’re either unconscious, all bars are closed or you are completely out of money. It’s amazing, how much money they spent on booze and how fast and careless they swallow it down. Even wine, which is really unbelievably expensive (80kr/10€ for the cheapest bottle) gets drunk like water.
And nobody can find out if alcohol-taxes are so ridiculously high, because the Norwegians have always had a drinking problem or if the Norwegians have a drinking problem because that is their kind of protest against their government’s parenting behavior.

I think it’s a funny description of the Norwegians, and not entirely inaccurate. There is a misperception that the wine monopoly was set up to control their drinking. In fact, it was set up by the French to ensure a good distribution of their product throughout Norway. Thanks a lot France.

I find it interesting how hung-up Butch3r is on the way Norwegians drink until they are either unconscious, the bars or closed or they are low on dough. However, according to my personal sources, by the end of the month, and before payday has hit, many Norwegians are flat out broke! I wonder if the two are related.

As a general rule, Norwegians are also very sturdy outdoor people. This is due to the fantastic nature around the country. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous, unbelievably intense fjords,mountains, ocean… I never tire of the natural beauty in this country, and especially in Rogaland. And I can’t wait to show you!

The national saying is ‘There’s no bad weather, just bad clothes’. Which is of course a lie. That is how I discovered everything I owned before coming here was bad!

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