Norwegians are also a bit like parrots I think, when it comes to language. They have a remarkable ability to adapt and mimic the accent of whatever kind of English speaking person they happen to live with. My husband speaks American english and has a slight Texas accent. My friend Stine, she is living with an Australian guy, and she sounds Australian. Another friend has a British boyfriend, and yes, she sounds British. It's quite remarkable.
Even though their English is remarkable, there are the occaisional faux pas.
Many Norwegians will ask if you want to have a beer, but it sounds like 'bear'.
They often pronounce v's like w's: 'I have wiking blood in my weins'
My mother in law and my friend Kristina both say 'I am going to the cabbage this weekend' when they MEANT to say, 'I am going to the CABIN this weekend'.
Instead of asking 'Are you at work?' they will say 'Are you ON work'.
Cute little things like that!
Which leads me to the title of this post.
One of my favorite norwegians called me one day and she and her boyfriend were having a debate. He SWORE that they were called 'Russel Sprouts', she SWORE they were called 'Brussels Sprouts', so, as is natural, they called their American friend to settle the debate. I laughed so hard! And joyfully informed my friend that she was correct and her boyfriend was wrong. But ever since then, I have called Brussels Sprouts, Russel sprouts, cause it just makes me SMILE.
I roasted some the other evening. If you have never roasted them before, they are delish. So creamy and good. Take some Russel Sprouts and trim off the ends and the outer leaves, toss them in a bit of olive oil, garlic powder and sea salt:
Preheat your oven to about 425 and pop them in for 30 to 40 minutes, shaking the dish every now and then to cook them evenly. They will be a bit crispy on the outside and smooth on the inside:
Best dang Russle Sprouts ever!
5 comments:
Oh my God--those look delicious. I am the only person I know who likes brussel (Excuse me Russel) sprouts, but have never had them roasted.
I can't wait to get back to America where I'll have an oven (heck,a stove) and try them! YUMMY!
oh, and I noticed those little grammatical or pronounciation mistakes, too (Being an English /ESL teacher and having dated a Norwegian and all).
Germans make the same mistake with v/w and I've never really understood it, since they have the sound "V" in their language (their "F" is like a "V" and their "W" is like a "V" so I don't get the mix up. I could understand pronouncing a "W" like a "V" but don't understand pronouncing a "V" like a "W" Like "Vater" instead of "Water" but I don't understand pronouncing "viking" like "wiking," do you?
Please, shed some light!
Kathryn I don't even like brussel sprouts but I'm sure I have to try these. Yum!!
I grew up eating brussels sprouts but your way of cooking them sounds way tastier than what my mom did - thanks for a great recipe!
Having previously lived in Helsinki, Finland, you are right about some of the occasional linguistic faux pas that occur in the Nordic countries, although they are better than we are at speaking their languages!
But, on the other hand, Norwegians, Swedes and Danes THINK they can understand each other's languages, and sometimes, that causes confusion, too. One (half-joking) saying is said that "Norwegian is Danish spoken in Swedish."
Anyway, I don't know if you have yet acquired a taste for salmiak/salmiakki or salt licorice, but you can get the sugar-free version in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Its an acquired taste, to be sure, but addicting if you like it!
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