Norwegian, Swedish or Danish?

Well, they are all basically the same language, but Swedish has the easiest vocalizations, and is the simplest one overall. It's like a gateway language, you'll understand both Norwegian and Danish once you get the hang of it.
Norwegian has a tricky Bokmal/Nynorks split.
Danish has a lot of weird sounds, and its German influences might throw you off.

 

I speak Swedish and only understand Norwegian, not Danish, but it's different for everyone.
I agree with kem that Swedish is probably the easiest language out of the three, but at the same time it depends on what your native language is. If you speak English originally then I think Swedish would be the easiest to learn.

However, if I were you I wouldn't first and foremost learn any of these because you wouldn't have much use of them unless you're in Scandinavia, so I picked "You'd better learn another language (please specify what language you mean)". I don't know which language I think you should learn instead but I would go with a more common and popular one.

 

Swedish, because of its use in Norwegian, Danish and limited use in Finland. Norwegian, because of every single one of these. But ultimately, what do you think you can learn easiest? Do you already have some media or connection to one of the three? For example, a Danish friend to speak with, a Swedish band to listen to, or a Norwegian magazine. Whichever is the closest, I'd go with. Then you can pick up the others.



EDIT: You should definitely work towards Swedish as your third, if you pick the other two first. I feel like it'd be best to get the two very similar ones (as far as I know) out of the way together

 

As has been suggested, you should learn the one which you actually have a desire to learn or have a connection to. However if you won't be able to use any of them in your life then I don't think it's worth learning any of them just for the sake of learning it out of hobby because learning a language takes a LOT of effort. But you should learn a language you have a passion for, for whatever reason, otherwise you will never be able to master it or enjoy learning it.

 

I picked Swedish because it's the easiest to learn from the given list.

if you want to learn a fairly useful and challenging language, I suggest you look at French, German, or Russian. Swedish isn't really easier to learn than them, even if your mother language is English, and it's useful only in the Scandinavian countries.

Remember that languages have two purposes: to convey information and protect the cultural identity of the nation. From that respect, French or Russian will be the most interesting, because those two nations have the most interesting history and culture.

 

For the record, I agree with you, pinkpanther, on everything except for the fact that you imply any single person or group of people can unanimously declare that a country is more interesting. Sorry, don't want to sound like an ass, but that's just not right. I don't think you Swedes give yourselves enough credit, either.

 

My point was that when studying a language you should also try and understand/absorb the culture of the people speaking the said language, because that is one of its main purposes. Otherwise, you might as well study Klingon, Toki-Pona or reconstructed Indo-European. They're easy to learn and mostly complete, you can find people to practice with, but there's nothing beyond that.

I picked French and Russian, because they're still from the Indo-European group, and it's easy to find native speakers of these languages. It just happens that when you go to France and Russia most people will speak French or Russian to you. In the Scandinavian countries, unless you go far far into the wilderness, the majority of people speak and understand English.

 

Damn you, Sweden and your English skills! ^_^ Good point about Klingon, etc., though. French and Russian history, however, still aren't "the most interesting". They do have lots of resources for learning, though. I don't know how much English --> Swedish there is.

 

I agree, you should only learn a Scandinavian language if you're really interested in it and out culture, otherwise it's just a waste of time, they're not useful at all outside Scandinavia

 

I wouldn't bother with any of them. Take up French or German instead. I know Swedish is an attractive option because it's pretty easy to learn but it really will not prove very useful, and Swedes would rather speak English with you anyway (in my experience).

 

Well, I would have to ask, are you learning a language based only on practicality or are you just interested in languages?

 

Lucy... you got some asplainin' to do..

 

There's no such thing as a useless language, nor is any kind of learning a waste of time. It's not like your language capacity is limited. Each one you learn gives you a better understanding of the concept of language and syntax.

 

Naw, learn german or russian, both are beautiful. You've got a plus with russian, which is that you'll learn the cyrillic alphabet. Also russians (or at least the majority I've met) are very social and easy going, and they know how to party... hard

If you are a brainiac, then go after german. You'll have fun, trust me. Also germans are straightforward and loyal, a thing that other cultures seem to lack. Needless to say how interesting german history is, even if the country itself (oficially speaking) is very young.

 

Swedish or Danish !

 

I would pick Danish...being a Scot with a last name that means "son of a sea raider" I can only assume it's the language of my ancestors...:roflmao:...being an academic you need French and Latin...they'll be the most useful.

 

hard choice but I'd say: Norsk??

it's just MY personal opinion though that Scandinavians seem as very xenophobic and racist people...so I wouldn't embark on the journey to learn any of their languages (...speaking of which I am not the biggest fan of british culture either, but was (un)fortunate to learn english when i was 10-15 and at the time I had no idea what their culture is like or even the location of the country).

anyway...this got a bit of topic , so:

Sweden - 10 million people, slightly similar to English.
I also have heard that Norwegian and Swedish are very close one to another.

Norway is not in the EU btw., so if you're from the EU and planning to visit there it will be slightly harder.

Danish? 4 million population, close to Germany...idk. Still Norwegian sounds best option to me.

 

Learn the one you are most interested in. I personally like Swedish the best, and I heard Sweden is a very accepting country, so I picked Swedish.

I disagree with those who tell you to learn a "common language" instead. The fact that you show interest in these languages in the first place, means that you most likely have interest in Scandinavian cultures.

I speak Japanese, and am thinking of learning Mandarin Chinese as well. This is not because they are considered by Westerners to be "useful" languages, it is because I am interested in the cultures (and as for the former, plan to live in Japan).
I assume that is the same with you and Scandinavian languages, so my answer would be, learn whichever one you feel most interested in.