Synthesized answer
Groth's advice to an English-speaking student in 1894 regarding the choice between "pure Danish" and "Dano-Norwegian" would depend on their personal and professional goals [1]. For practical matters, such as being a tourist, commercial traveller, or merchant, the student should consider which branch of the language they need for their specific activities [1].
If the student's goal is literary study, they could choose to learn "genuine Danish" or study the vernacular of prominent writers like Bjørnson and Ibsen [1]. Groth also notes that Danish pronunciation, with its "glottal catch" and other peculiarities, generally presents more difficulties for English-speaking students than Norwegian pronunciation [1]. The passages do not offer specific guidance on how to weigh these considerations against each other in making a final decision.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
about two years, and meanwhile there have appeared a couple of Danish or Norwegian grammars that may deserve this name. The reason why I have given my book the somewhat cumbersome title of a "Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar" will be apparent from the "Introduction." As regards the use of the book I would advise the student first to make up his mind, whether he wants to study the pure Danish language or the Dano-Norwegian language. This must to a large extent depend upon personal and practical considerations. The tourist, the commercial traveller, the merchant may need to study one branch of…
← A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar ( 1894 ) by Peter Olsen Groth Introduction → related portals : Scandinavian languages 1407724 A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar 1894 Peter Olsen Groth Heath’s Modern Language Series A DANISH and Dano-Norwegian Grammar by P. GROTH, A.M. BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1894 Copyright, 1894 By P. GROTH All rights reserved PRESS OF Rockwell and Churchill BOSTON, U.S.A. PREFACE A S a teacher of the Danish or Norwegian language to English speaking students I had very often felt the lack of a reliable grammar of the language, and finally I…
s to study Danish must pass by §§ 81 to 146, while those who want to study Norwegian must pass directly from §§ 8 to 81. Besides, in the “Etymology,” attention is often called to certain rules as being peculiar to Danish, others to Norwegian. The student must select those he needs, and pass by those that refer to the language that he is not studying. I have added some “Exercises” at the end of the book in order to help the student fix in his memory those rules and paradigms which he must know before he can, with any degree of success, commence reading the language. For those who wish more…
s Dictionaries can be thoroughly recommended: A. Larsen’s Dansk-Norsk Engelsk Ordbog and Rosing’s Engelsk-Dansk Ordbog . To those who want to study the Norwegian form of the language I would recommend: I. Brynildsen’s Norsk-engelsk ordbog and the same author’s edition of Geelmuyden’s Engelsk-norsk ordbog . The tourist will find Bennett’s Phrasebook , Olsvig’s Words and Phrases and the same author’s Yes and No valuable guides to familiarity with the peculiarities of the language. This Grammar, besides being based upon my own studies and knowledge of the language, rests, as far as Danish is…
← Vowel Changes A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar ( 1894 ) by Peter Olsen Groth Etymology Nouns → 4215289 A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar — Etymology 1894 Peter Olsen Groth ETYMOLOGY. ARTICLES.—GENDERS. 150. The Dano-Norwegian language has a definite and an indefinite article. The definite article has two forms, one employed in connection with a noun alone, the other used with a noun qualified by an adjective or with an adjective alone. The former is called the post-positive article (also the definite article of the substantives). The latter is called the præ-positive article (also…
More questions about this book
- Explain the practical and historical reasons behind Groth's "somewhat cumbersome title," and how it reflects the linguistic relationship between Danish and Norwegian in the late 19th century.
- Describe, as if teaching a classmate, how Groth's grammar is structured to accommodate students learning either Danish or Norwegian, specifically detailing the navigational instructions he provides. What does this structure imply about the differences he identifies between the two languages?
- Groth notes the "glottal catch" makes Danish pronunciation more difficult for English speakers. How might this specific phonetic challenge necessitate different learning strategies or pedagogical approaches for students of Danish compared to Norwegian?
- Considering Groth's motivation—filling a "lack" of a reliable grammar—what can we infer about the available resources and the perceived needs of English-speaking students learning Scandinavian languages in the late 19th century?