Why Learning Scandinavian Languages is Worth the Effort
Why Learning Scandinavian Languages is Worth the Effort Author: jjgx Website: https://worldwithlittleworlds.com “Why do you need to learn Swedish? Everyone speaks English here…” That’s what a librarian at the Great Synagogue in Stockholm told me when I was doing research and told her that I was learning the language. The irony of this statement is that I was, at that same moment, surrounded by books that were written in Swedish and Danish magazines that were obviously not going to translate themselves. I’ve gotten a good deal of encouragement by my desire to study the Nordic Languages in detail (Nordic comes to include Finnish, whereas Scandinavian does not). Interestingly, I entered the “high gear” for this study while living in Germany (and after having been to Stockholm not once but twice! ), and not while living in Scandinavia. Alongside some encouragement, I’ve also met some puzzled people who wonder why I don’t study something more “useful...