1. The Sigurd project Grethe Haugøy Project co-ordinator

2. The Sigurd project ’Sigurd’ is an acronym for The Socrates Initiative for Germanic Understanding and Recognition of Discourse. The project was funded by the Lingua action of the Socrates programme 2001-2003. The aim of the project is to create an awareness of the similarities between the Germanic languages, to break down barriers and motivate for linguistic expansion.

3. The political background The 2000 Lisbon conference concluded that the EU was to become ”the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.” This ambitious goal calls for increased mobility of students and workers, as well as a greater cultural understanding (incl linguistic understanding) between the citizens of Europe.

4. The linguistic background The main foundation of the Sigurd project is the similarities between the Germanic languages. We grasp the meaning of a language similar to our own by the means of guesswork, association and memory. Another foundation is the recognition of partial skills – and the value of the passive skills of reading and listening.

5. Sigurd: method One of the main activities of the project was to collect texts and translate them into the languages taking part in the Sigurd project: Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch (both from the Netherlands and from Flanders) and German. The texts are presented in the original and use a hypertextual feature to show the translations. The student reads the text in the original language, and uses his mouse to find the translations, which pop up when he lets the cursor float over a particular word. This feature allows the student to guess at the words before he finds the translations, and he is able to see all translations at the same time, enabling him to see the similarities between the translated words.

6. Sigurd: method The website www.statvoks.no/sigurd/ also includes additional features like:www.statvoks.no/sigurd/ Full translations Sound files Exercises Illustrations Articles and links Guide to the website

7. Sigurd: The case of Low Saxon Low Saxon is a language spoken in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. It is not recognized as a national language in any country, and it is often considered a local dialect. Low Saxon has influenced the Scandinavian languages, and we included this language in the project because of its intercomprehension with other Germanic languages.

8. Sigurd: partners Partners: Vox, Norway Albeda College, the Netherlands Polhemsgymnasiet, Sweden Westfalen Kolleg Paderborn, Germany Centrum voor Taal en Spraak, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium

9. Sigurd: contact information Web portal: www.statvoks.no/sigurd/ Grethe Haugøy: grethe.haugoy@vox.no