Learned Norwegian from German TV Show

By ThorNews on February 9, 2015 • ( 0 )

Horst Tappert aka Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick. (Photo: The Guardian)

In 2012, Yvonne Debald Skjoldhorne moved with two empty hands from Germany to Norway. Without knowing any Norwegian, it was impossible for her to find a job and to earn a living. The solution was a retro detective series from her home country.

Derrick is the most popular German detective series ever and the most exported German TV show. It premiered in Norway in 1977 and lasted 22 years. In 2009, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) started a rerun of the series.

– I knew Derrick from when I was a kid, and I could hear my own language in the series. I just started reading the subtitles, says Yvonne Debald Skjoldhorne to NRK.no.

She watched every episode several times, took notes and gradually learned the words and grammar.

– I worked out fine, she says.

Not Only Murders

Yvonne does not feel that her vocabulary is characterized by the series main theme of murder and investigation.

– Actually, no. In the prolog, Derrick presents “an appetizer” where someone is killed. Afterwards, you have a solving part going on in hospitals, retirement homes, hotels or restaurants. You get everything, she says.

Having learned Norwegian, she went searching for jobs. After many attempts, she got a request from Åsnes municipality in Hedmark County.

– The first meeting was perfect. The chemistry was there right away and someone gave me a chance, she says.

Now Yvonne works ten hours a week as personal assistant for a woman. This has given her another chance to develop her Norwegian.

– If I have any questions about the language, she explains it in an easy way for me, Yvonne concludes.

Derrick “Waldweg” with Norwegian subtitles