Norwegian fаg (subject, discipline, etc) is cognate with English fack (sense: rumen) and Fach (method of classifying opera singers’ voices), all from Proto-West Germanic *fak (division, compartment, period, interval), which is speculated to come from the PIE root *peh₂ǵ- (attach, fix, fasten) which also gives us words as diverse as fang, fast, propaganda, hapax and peace.
Å slutte (to end, stop, quit etc) from Low German sluten from Proto-Germanic *sleutaną (to bolt, lock, shut, close) which is where we get the word slot (sense: broad, flat wooden bar for securing a door or window) from. Believably from the PIE root *(s)kleh₁w- (hook, cross, peg; to close something) whence also words like close, clavicle, cloister and claustrophobia.
This being said, slutt datafаg is not really a normal way to say “graduate computer science”. To me it reads more like commanding someone to “quit computer science!”, more like dropping out than graduating, right? A more normal phrasing in my eyes might be, I dunno, å fullføre utdanningen sin i datafаg, “to complete one’s education in computer science”.
Due to the Norwegian language conflict there have been various competing forms of written Norwegian over time, two of which have been officially recognized as equally valid by the Norwegian parliament since 1885. Both apparently changed their spelling of “slut” to “sludd” in the 21st century, Bokmål in 2005 and Nynorsk in 2012, presumably in an effort to encourage English speakers to make jokes about Swedes and Danes instead of them.
“Slutt” (means end) is not commonly used for “sludd” (means sleet), though. Never actually seen “sludd” spelled like that, but “slutt” meaning end is extremely common.
I wouldn’t expect any Norwegian to read “slutt” and assume it meant sleet.
Yeah, imagine words having different meanings in different languages
Rolig nå
Joke hinges on English “slut” being spelled like the Norwegian word for end, “slutt”, but it actually isn’t.
Swedes being very silent over in the corner…
I took two years of Norwegian in university, and in my first-ever class, tthe prof, a lovely woman originally from Sweden, brought us cookies.
One girl didn’t make it to the second class because sis could literally not say ‘småkaker’ without bursting into laughter.
