Jakro64

About Royal/National motto

The question here is perhaps what kind of motto people are most likely to identify as the unified motto of the nation. I personally have never heard of "Enige og tro til dovre faller", even though i've served twelve months in the armed forces where we swore an oath to our king and country. But i've heard "Alt for Norge" in many contexts and occasions. And it is written on our currency too. --Heno 17:10, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I agree that "Enige og tro til Dovre faller" is not very well-known, especially among younger people. (This is mostly another good example on the terrible education level in Norway's secondary schools.) But "Alt for Norge" is King Harold's personal motto, not the Norwegian royal family's motto. It is well known that "Alt for Norge" has been used by football-fans, but please let us keep this debate on a historical level! The village of Dovre and "Enige og tro til Dovre faller" is in fact something which is binding the nation together and has done that for almost 200 years. The fact that our younger generation is not so well aware about it, is also telling that Wikipedia is a very good tool for everybody of us. This leaves us with two options: "Enige og tro til Dovre faller" or to leave it blank. Jakro64 10:21, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Why cant you take the time to proper analyze what im saying in response to you? I've served 12-months in the armed services and i never heard any of the officers-in-charge there use that motto. Even when we pledged the oath. Furthermore, i never have heard it meantioned in the media etc. And the school system is terrible becouse they dont know the eidsvoll motto? I can think of many reasons the system is terrible, but that isnt one of them. Thats just trivias compared to many of the other reasons that makes the school system "so terrible".--Heno 14:05, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I read your lines and noticed what you stated. I cannot explain how. If you are a Norwegian and more than 20 years old it is seen in my eyes unbelievable if you until now never have heard this oath. You should've been taught about it already in 3rd-4th grade in the primary/secondary school and repeated this several times before entering high school. Many memorials from World War II has this statement engraved, and I am 100% sure that most Norwegians are not in doubt that if Norway has a national motto, this is the only one! The King's motto would be much better suitable in His Majesty's article. Jakro64 17:16, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

"I read your lines and noticed what you stated. I cannot explain how." --Jakro64

I'll try to explain how. Even since the days when the King chose rather to abdicate (but he didnt he managed to escape to London), then to give in for the German aggressors demands he and the slogan "Alt for Norge" became a symbol of a free Norwegian nation. The very reason many norwegians chose to fight on was becouse of the kings zealous attitute towards the occupiers, dissregarding his own safety, gains and profits. The motto "alt for norge" was a bonding slogan, that reminded the norwegian people not only about the sacrifices the king made for his country, but for what sacrifices that was expected out of each and every one to make in those times of need.

Thats the reason i think, the kings motto is used much more frequently as a slogan than the Eidsvoll motto. The movie that celibrates 100 year of Norwegian independence which is scheduled to be realesed in 2005 isnt called "Evige og Tro til Dovre faller" but "Alt for Norge". To give one such example.

I have to stress one more time that the Eidsvoll motto is not an official National motto. And that is for a reason. It woud cast a shadow upon the kings motto which i think is recognized far more as a slogan than the Eidsvoll motto. --Heno 17:14, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Why are you still complaining? Now both mottos are listed, the people's and the king's. Let's end this now, please! Jakro64 05:35, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Norwegian-language newspapers in USA

Hello Jakro, good to hear from you! In response to your questions, no I don't believe there are any Norwegian-language newspapers left in the USA today. There are a few Norwegian-American publications today, but they are in English; there simply aren't enough people left in the USA who are fluent in Norwegian to make a newspaper economically feasible. Only a few of the oldest people are still fluent. I also don't know of any Norwegian-American groups that have websites in Norwegian, although there probably are some out there. The websites are mostly in English because they are trying to reach the several million Norwegian-Americans, 97% of whom are not fluent in Norwegian today. Sorry I can't be of more help here

In answer to your other question, if a Swedish-American man married a Norwegian-American woman, the child would probably consider himself both Swedish and Norwegian ancestry, or he might consider himself simply 'Scandinavian', as many of the Americans who are a mix of Danish, Swedish, and/or Norwegian do.

In fact, most Norwegian-Americans are similiar to this hypothetical child. Only about 2 million of the Norwegian-Americans are solely of Norwegian ancestry. The other 2.5 million are Norwegian ancestry in combination with something else, mostly in combination with other Scandinavians or German-Americans, who settled in the same places as the Norwegians (in fact, German-Americans and Scandinavian-Americans together make up about 80% of the white population in the Upper Midwest). Also, about half of the Norwegian-Americans who are not full Norwegian, about 1.2 million people, consider Norwegian to be their "first ancestry" in the US Census.

(you may ignore the below paragraph if you wish, as it is only an expression of my opinions)

What saddens me is that this convsersation we are having might be totally meaningless in, e.g., 100 years. By that time there are projected to be non-European majorities in many of the countries we are discussing, isn't that correct (Sweden especially, I hear)? So what will it mean to 'be a Norwegian' in the year 2100 AD? Due to immigration, will the concept of "being Norwegian" be totally meaningless by that time, beyond an empty expression of one's citizenship? What's even more troubling for me is that many in Scandinavia (and across Europe) keep quiet about these things because they don't want people to think they are racists. But in my view, there is nothing racist about wishing for the survival of your people and your nation.

Kind Regards, Bert Sveen