this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2023
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Wait till you find out how it's pronounced. It's /ˈbloːhaj/. Here's an audio recording (still not 100% correct because you'd need to pronounce "blow" with a Glasgow accent, but this video is way funnier than the serious ones). I still call mine /blɑ.'hɑːd͡ʒ/, or just /hɑːd͡ʒ/ :3
But consider: Swedish is a fictional language made up by a furniture store to sell sawdust and horse meat rolled into funny little balls
Close. Swedish is a failed attempt at Danish, as is Norwegian.
don't Norwegians English now?
All Scandinavians English. In fact, the vast majority of us are fluent.
But in case you meant that Norwegians ONLY speak English, that's not the case. They actually speak TWO kinds of Norwegian. Bokmål, which is a pretty good attempt at Danish and Nynorsk, which is a pretty good imitation of insanity.
Fair. It was more meant as a joke about Nynorsk than as a factual overview but yeah, good to have the facts too 😁
if you consider Scandinavia as refering to the Nordics then Estonian has quite a bit of English speakers
I consider Scandinavia as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, since that's what Scandinavia is. I'm not speaking of only Scandinavia to exclude the other Nordic countries, though, just because I know a lot less about the other Nordic countries vis a vis their language abilities 🤷
Except for the fun fact that Estonia is the only country outside of the Kingdom of Denmark that teaches Danish as a mandatory subject in school 😁
how sure are you about that last part
Pretty sure. Supposedly it started because of an old legend about the origins of Dannebrog and became tradition. Why, have you found another one? 😛
that was the first reply I've read in 2024
Woah time traveller from the future!
Happy New Year!
This is ludicrous, horse meat costs more than beef.
As a Swede I can tell you it's pronounced "blåhaj"; no biggie ;)
(Also the latter video is correct)
While we’re at it: the correct pronunciation is obviously “gif”. You’re very welcome!
Finally, my degree in old English dialects is useful!
It’s extraordinarily lucky for you then that “gif” entered the English language on or around the PM period during ca. June 15, 1987.
gif
Etymology: From Proto-Germanic jabai (when, if) with anomalous apocope. The expected form is attested once as ġyfe in the early 7th-century Law of Æthelberht, if not simply a scribal error.
Conjunction: ġif
Descendants: Middle English: if, yif, yef
Therefore, "gif" is pronounced with a Y
Edit: Yes, this was a very long way to go for a furry joke
Like being high on the blow, or a snow, or a coke. I get it it (:
But yeah, blah-hadge adds some alien tones to that. Not really nordic, but middle-eastern ones with that last vowel, like in hijab, jihad, tajik and other words.
ed: How could I forget Taj Mahal, lol. In my pronounciation it was 100% rhyming with Taj.
It's just "blow high" for you American accents
Your pronunciation is even weirder to us than ours is to you