THE Wall Street Journal last week had a sweet article about non-Nordic Europeans learning languages like Norwegian and Finnish, the better to be able to sing along with their favorite Nordic metal bands:

“It’s quite a well-known phenomenon that students in Italy study Norwegian because they’re interested in metal,” Ms. [Siri] Nergaard [,a teacher,] said. Irene Burdese, currently teaching Norwegian to 92 people in Turin, and Milan-based Kristian Bjornsen, who is also teaching the language to Italians, both say Norway’s unique brand of “black metal”—a darker blend of thick beats and sometimes-Satanic themes—is a big inspiration.

The piece says that these fans must be very devoted indeed. The reason?  They must learn languages with very long words.  

Norwegian has some long words too, such as fylkestrafikksikkerhetsutvalgssekretariatslederfunksjonene, a not-commonly used word meaning a county’s traffic security committee’s leader’s functions. Engstelige toner is Norwegian for “anxious notes,” referring to music, and ansiktsmaling means face paint. Some words are the same as in English;…Continue reading

via Johnson http://www.economist.com/node/21579422?fsrc=rss