The title of this post (English: “There is a troll in the words”) suggests that we should choose our words carefully, because there may be a troll in what we say. But what exactly does that mean? In this post I hope to explain a popular Norwegian maxim while in the process, I hope to offer tips to improve our comunication with each other.
If you’ve heard any nursery rhymes or bedtime stories when you were a child, you likely learned that trolls were horrible creatures. They were evil, hideous, cruel, spirits of chaos, taking pleasure in causing fear and harm to others. Not only that, they were volatile and unpredictable. The more innocent the victim, the worse the troll would behave. Some trolls were said to live under bridges, and others in the mountains. People would avoid these places at all costs, even as you might avoid a house in your neighborhood that has a vicious dog. Today, we have trolls that pester and prey on us online. Internet trolls are not friendly people either. They insult us, provoke us, stir up hatred and even drive some young people to suicide. But trolls, whether they live in the mountains, hide under bridges or frequent our favorite websites are not very bright. It is possible to outwit them and turn the tables on them. The trick is not to fall for their lies in the first place.
Trolls form an important part of the bestiary of Norse folklore and myth. They are first mentioned in the Edda Poems (e.g. “Völuspá,” The Prophecy of the Seeress) that appeared between the ninth and twelfth centuries, though the popular belief in trolls may easily predate that. The appearance of the trolls differed somewhat from country-to-country, but in the rugged topography of Norway, trolls were part and parcel to the lofty, craggy caves and cliffs of that beautiful country. Common to all trolls was the notion that they feared Christianity (such as crosses and the ringing of church bells) and they turned to stone in the light of sun. In other words, like other nefarious creatures in folklore such as vampires and werewolves, they were creatures of the night. Some people see them as elemental spirits like fire and wind, giants (the Jötnar) or orges (from whom the Eiger mountain in Europe may have received its name.)
The Norwegian saying “Det går troll I ord” suggests that sentences can be ambiguous, or have double-meanings. However, it was pointed out to me that it can caution people to be careful what they say, less it comes true (sort of “Be careful what you wish for” in English.) I have spent a lot of time teaching online courses, grading papers and communicating with my students. Sometimes, a student has trouble understanding me simply on the basis of only what I am writing, because they cannot see me and judge my affect which often is important to be clearly understood. In the deep South of the U.S., a three-word sentence “Bless your soul” may indicate profound appreciation from someone or it may mean “Don’t bother me anymore.” In areas where trolls lived under bridges, they made it a point to quietly hide when an unsuspecting person approached. This was in order to suddenly accost or rob people. At the last moment, the troll would pop out with a loud cry, blocking the traveler’s means of escape. In Norway, you might hike a long way to a mountain, only to realize at the last moment that it is actually a troll and not a mountain at all. By that point, it is too late to escape.
There is also a power in our words. When I tell people about Jesus, and God’s desire to forgive us and His love for us, I frequently quote a Bible verse or two. This is because there is power in God’s word. The author of the book of Hebrews writes: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I can and sometimes do talk around some verses, adding my own commentary and interpretation, substituting contemporary slang for the King’s English and so on. In my experience, this is acceptable as long as you don’t overdo it. Otherwise, you are just shadow boxing. If I perceive I am dealing with some inner struggle within the person I am talking to, or I sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, then I am more likely to use the very words that David or Isaiah used in their day, or that Jesus and the Apostles used centuries later. I trust that the Word of God is true and will accomplish whatever purpose it is intended to accomplish.
Another point is that it is impossible to “unhear” a word. I’ve watched people who themselves are hurting within use words to hurt those who love them so that they may feel pain as well. I know of a mother who called her son a “bastard” his entire life (and he was in his late thirties when I knew him. This is not a good idea. Parents should never say to their children “I hate you” or “I’m sorry you were ever born.” And children sometimes say hurtful and regrettable things to their parents as well.
Then, there is the power of the lie. A false accusation perhaps? We have all experienced this in our lives or will if we live long enough. I knew of a wonderful seventy-something year-old-man who loved children. He would sit on the floor of the church narthex and play with them, bounce them on his knee, lift them up into the air in the company of their parents while waiting for the midweek dinner to be served. The children laughed and squealed in delight. The adults watched and smiled. Then, one day, this witchy, troubled woman yelled out “Stop molesting those young children! Leave them alone!” Nothing could be farther from the truth as far as his motives and actions were concerned. But after that outburst, he never played with the children again and the other adults lost a bit of their appreciation of his good character as well. This gentle soul had been attacked by a mudslinging troll, and some of the mud apparently stuck.
Trolls are deceitful and tricky, even as Satan is. Remember how in the Garden of Eden the serpent twisted God’s words around when speaking to Eve? And when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Satan misappropriated God’s words to Jesus? Sometimes in a courtroom, a prosecutor or defense attorney will badger a witness to confuse them or get them to misspeak.
On other occasions, words can be taken out of context which completely changes their meanings,
Today, we have a horrible situation at the highest levels of our U.S. government where people are saying mean, hurtful insults at people who are different than them. For example, If you do not believe as our leaders do, you are a traitor who hates this country. If you are a woman, you are possibly a nasty person who should get pregnant and have babies. If you have brown skin, then you might have escaped from a prison or mental facility in another country and crept into the U.S. when the authorities were not watching. You may be a dangerous murderer or rapist. Patriotic Americans should be suspicious of you. Perhaps even report you. If you are Asian, you may very well be a Chinese spy. If you are a black American, people wonder how you got your job? You might think it is because you went to university, worked twelve-hour day for six days a week. But many people wearing red hats in our society might say you were really hired for equal opportunity or affirmative action reasons and should be dismissed. If you are Muslim, you are probably antisemitic and if not a citizen, you may be deported, and so on.
Everyone in the U.S. should be aware of the consequences of using words irresponsiblly. Such words have hurt America’s friends, countries like Canada, Denmark and Ukraine who never said an unbkind word about us. Wars have been waged throughout human history over careless comments, insults or lies. Even today, these reckless words are driving us apart. Tell me that this is not the work of some troll.
Whether evil prevails over good depends in part on you and your willingness to stand firm for what is right and true. May God stregthen you in this task.
POSTSCRIPT
I solicited opinions on this post from Norwegians online and received some interesting feedback. Several pointed out that Norway is a secular country and very few Norwegians (less than 25%) attend a Christian church. There is no surprize there. However, I used Christian references in my text for reasons not necessarily related to the religious affiliation (if any) of present day Norwegians.
The other point raised was that “there is a troll in the words” had a different meaning to some, specifically that a careless word choice could bring about an unhappy consequence because a certain word was chosen. Finally, I subscribe to DeepL for language translation. The program is perhaps the most intuitive AI program currently available, but it is not correct 100% of the time. Someone pointed out a grammar error in the title of the post which could only be fixed by causing a redirect in the search. As a result, I just scrapped the Norwegian text. I’ll need to be more careful in the future.