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Reminds me of Quebecois French vs. Parisian French, for much the same reasons. In Paris, I can call an e-mail an e-mail. In Montreal? I've been told I have to use 'courriel'. The Quebecois are a little less secure about their cultural identity than the Parisians, so their resistance to loan words makes sense, despite a higher level of English proficiency.

Incidentally, I don't think that study does justice to Norwegians' facility with English. I never worry about being understood in any European capital, but in Norway everyone seemed near-fluent, even in the rural areas. We spent a couple of weeks driving around above the Arctic Circle, and I never had to whip out the phrase book once.




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