Scandinavians reading the other scandinavian languages

[Carl]

Drifting off topic from books to film: The Danish comedy caper film series Olsen-banden exemplifies segregated cinematic art. It gave rise to the Norwegian series Olsenbanden and the Swedish Jönssonligan. The same or similar characters; similar types of plots; each series in its own country and language.

Altogether the three series have run from 1968 to the present, and I'm ignorant of how much the films have crossed the borders for much of their history. During my time there in the 1990s, however, I wasn't aware of films from the other countries' series coming to Swedish or Norwegian theaters or TV.

On the other hand, the original version of The Bridge exemplifies an integrated production, popular in both countries. The Swedish-Danish co-production centers around the eponymous Øresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and both languages are spoken in the film. A standing joke is that Swedes have a hard time understanding spoken Danish and pronouncing Danish. For anyone who saw this series on Swedish or Danish TV, or has access to Netflix there--was the Swedish subtitled in Danish and vice-versa? I don't remember, and it doesn't seem to be on U.S. Netflix now. I can't check Netflix in DK or SE; it's wise to my VPN.

[Iversen]

In Denmark the general feeling was that the Swedes created the Jönsson-ligaen because they didn't like the thought of having to watch a Danish series. The East Germans didn't have such qualms - they wholeheartedly adopted the Danish series, and they have even had an exhibition much later to celebrate it. And I made the vignette below for the evening school where I worked. It should attract ladies to a gymnastics course, but I also incorporated the typical movements of the three main characters in the series:

Motion3.JPG

[Dragon27]

I remember that Pewdiepie (who is a Swede) in one of his book reviews said that he tried to read Kierkegaard (Danish) in original, but realized that it was too hard and felt like he would lose more reading it in Danish, than in English translation. 11:26

[Nicola]

On the other hand, the original version of The Bridge exemplifies an integrated production, popular in both countries. The Swedish-Danish co-production centers around the eponymous Øresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and both languages are spoken in the film. A standing joke is that Swedes have a hard time understanding spoken Danish and pronouncing Danish. For anyone who saw this series on Swedish or Danish TV, or has access to Netflix there--was the Swedish subtitled in Danish and vice-versa? I don't remember, and it doesn't seem to be on U.S. Netflix now. I can't check Netflix in DK or SE; it's wise to my VPN.

Yes, Danish TV subtitles both Swedish and Norwegian and i assume it is the same for Swedish and Norwegian TV.

[tungemål]

...
On the other hand, the original version of The Bridge exemplifies an integrated production, popular in both countries. The Swedish-Danish co-production centers around the eponymous Øresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and both languages are spoken in the film.
...

Broen (the bridge) is a good example that maybe recently there has been a change (for the better) and that TV-series from all of Scandinavia are watched in all countries. Other examples are the Norwegian series Skam and several good Swedish crime series that are popular in Norway (don't remember titles).

[jeff_lindqvist]

I know there are a bunch of scandinavians on this forum so I'd like to ask, when you read books in the other scandinavian languages do you read them translated or in the original?

Usually translated, but that's just because there aren't that many books in Danish/Norwegian available at the library in my area. I've read maybe a handful of titles in the two languages (crime, of course).

[jeff_lindqvist]

Personally, ever since I started reading Swedish literature in the original, I could never dream of going back to reading translations into Norwegian. I love Swedish, and have no problem with reading Swedish, I hardly even think about it being another language, but that may have to do with the fact that I grew up watching Swedish children television programmes, so Swedish has always sounded to me like just another Norwegian dialect (no offence meant .

I have a similar feeling. I didn't really grow up with Danish/Norwegian television, but I remember that I watched some of them as a child - not just a lot. Nowadays the situation is much better, with series from both countries on SVT. Dialects, really - especially Norwegian/Swedish.