Breakdown of Jeg melder meg på kurset i norsk uttale.
Questions & Answers about Jeg melder meg på kurset i norsk uttale.
Norwegian has a reflexive verb here: å melde seg på = to sign up / to enroll (oneself).
- melde = to report / to register
- seg = oneself (changes with person)
- på = a particle that’s part of the verb phrase
The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject:
- jeg melder meg på (I sign myself up)
- du melder deg på (you sign yourself up)
- han/hun melder seg på (he/she signs up)
Without the reflexive pronoun, melde på means to register/enroll someone else:
- Jeg melder sønnen min på kurset. = I sign my son up for the course.
So in your sentence you must include meg to show that you are enrolling yourself.
Å melde seg på is the standard, everyday way to say to sign up / to enroll / to register (oneself) for an activity, course, event, etc.
Examples:
- Jeg melder meg på kurset. = I’m signing up for the course.
- Har du meldt deg på løpet? = Have you signed up for the race?
If you register someone else, you normally drop the reflexive pronoun and add an object:
- Jeg melder barna på kurset. = I sign the children up for the course.
There are other verbs like registrere (seg), but melde seg på is the most idiomatic in this context.
Here på is part of a fixed verb phrase (melde seg på) rather than a normal preposition you can translate directly.
- You don’t translate på separately; the whole phrase means “to sign up (for)”.
- This is similar to English phrasal verbs: sign up, sign up for, log in, give up — the little word changes the meaning.
So learn å melde seg på as one unit meaning to sign up (for something). It doesn’t map 1‑to‑1 to an English for.
Kurs is a neuter noun in Norwegian: et kurs (a course).
The definite form of neuter nouns is usually -et:
- et kurs → kurset (the course)
- et hus → huset (the house)
- et språk → språket (the language)
-en is typically the definite ending for masculine nouns (and often for feminine in Bokmål):
- en gutt → gutten (the boy)
- en stol → stolen (the chair)
So kurset is the correct definite form: på kurset = on the course / for the course / for this (specific) course.
The difference is definiteness (specific vs. non‑specific):
på kurset i norsk uttale
- on the course in Norwegian pronunciation
- Refers to a specific, known course (maybe already mentioned, or in a brochure).
på et kurs i norsk uttale
- on a course in Norwegian pronunciation
- Refers to some course, not specified which one.
So your sentence means you’re enrolling in a particular pronunciation course that both speaker and listener can identify.
With kurs, the normal pattern in Norwegian is:
- et kurs i X = a course in X
For example:
- et kurs i norsk (a course in Norwegian)
- et kurs i økonomi (a course in economics)
- et kurs i yoga (a course in yoga)
So i norsk uttale follows the same pattern:
- kurset i norsk uttale = the course in Norwegian pronunciation
Using på (kurs på norsk uttale) would sound unidiomatic or wrong here. i is the standard preposition for subject matter of a course.
In norsk uttale, norsk is an adjective describing the noun uttale (pronunciation).
- This is an indefinite noun phrase: Norwegian pronunciation as a general concept.
- In the indefinite singular, the base form norsk is used:
- norsk uttale (Norwegian pronunciation)
- norsk grammatikk (Norwegian grammar)
- norsk kultur (Norwegian culture)
The adjective gets an ending when the noun phrase is definite or plural:
- den norske uttalen = the Norwegian pronunciation
- de norske dialektene = the Norwegian dialects
So norsk uttale (no -e) is correct because the phrase is indefinite and singular.
Melder is present tense of å melde.
In Norwegian, the present tense is often used for near future plans, especially when something is scheduled or decided:
- Jeg melder meg på kurset i norsk uttale.
→ I’m signing up / I’m going to sign up (now or very soon).
If you want to emphasize the future aspect even more, you can say:
- Jeg skal melde meg på kurset i norsk uttale.
= I’m going to sign up for the course in Norwegian pronunciation.
But the simple present melder can naturally be understood as a near‑future action here.
Not if you mean I’m signing myself up.
- Jeg melder meg på kurset… = I’m signing myself up for the course.
- Jeg melder på kurset… sounds incomplete: it suggests I’m signing (someone) up for the course, but you haven’t said who.
To register someone else, you’d normally specify the object:
- Jeg melder sønnen min på kurset i norsk uttale.
= I’m signing my son up for the course in Norwegian pronunciation.
So if it’s you enrolling yourself, you must keep meg.
In this sentence, uttale is a noun meaning pronunciation.
- uttale (noun) → pronunciation
- å uttale (verb) → to pronounce
Examples:
- Uttalen din er veldig god. = Your pronunciation is very good.
- Hvordan uttaler du dette ordet? = How do you pronounce this word?
So norsk uttale = Norwegian pronunciation (noun phrase).
Yes, Norwegians often like compound nouns. These versions are also possible:
Jeg melder meg på norskuttalekurset.
- Literally: I’m signing up for the Norwegian‑pronunciation‑course.
- Here norskuttalekurset is one long compound noun.
Jeg melder meg på uttalekurset i norsk.
- I’m signing up for the pronunciation course in Norwegian.
Your original version kurset i norsk uttale is very clear and natural, but compound versions are also common, especially in writing or course catalogs.
A rough, learner‑friendly approximation (using English‑like spelling) for a standard East‑Norwegian accent:
- Jeg melder meg på kurset i norsk uttale
→ Yai MEL-der mai paw KUR-set ee norshk OOT-ta-leh
More precisely in IPA (still approximate):
- jeg [jæi] or [jæ]
- melder [ˈmɛldər]
- meg [mæi] or [mæ]
- på [poː]
- kurset [ˈkʉːʂə] (the r
- s often becomes a ʂ sound)
- i [i]
- norsk [nɔʂk]
- uttale [ˈʉːˌtɑːlə]
Norwegians often reduce vowels a bit in unstressed syllables, so kurset may sound close to KUR-se with a very light final vowel.