World Languages: Languages index
 Home
 Languages
   Most spoken
   By country
 People
  African
   Asian
   North American
   Pacific
   South American
 About
 Contribute
 Rainforests
   Mission
   Introduction
   Characteristics
   Biodiversity
   The Canopy
   Forest Floor
   Forest Waters
   Indigenous People
   Deforestation
   Consequences
   Saving Rainforests
   Country Profiles
   Works Cited
 Deforestation Stats
 Pictures
 Books
 Links
 Site Map
 Mongabay Sites
   Animal Photos
   Biodiversity
   Travel Tips
   Tropical Fish
 Contact


Norwegian language resources



Norwegian is spoken on a daily basis in: Norway Norwegian--> --> --> -->

Additional background on Norwegian

Norwegian is a Germanic language spoken in Norway. Norwegian is closely related to and generally mutually intelligible with Swedish and Danish. Together with these two languages as well as Faroese and Icelandic, Norwegian belongs to the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages). Due to isolation, Faroese and Icelandic are no longer mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form, because mainland Scandinavian has diverged from them.

As established by law and governmental policy, there are two official forms of written Norwegian � Bokm�l (literally "book language") and Nynorsk (literally "new Norwegian"). The Norwegian Language Council recommends the terms "Norwegian Bokm�l" and "Norwegian Nynorsk" in English, but these are seldom used.

There is no officially sanctioned spoken standard of Norwegian, but there is a de facto spoken standard of Bokm�l known as Standard �stnorsk (Standard East Norwegian), spoken mainly by the urban upper and middle class in East Norway. Standard �stnorsk is the form generally taught to foreign students. [1]

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the standard written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism, rural versus urban discourse, and Norway's literary history. Historically, Bokm�l is a Norwegianized variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The now abandoned official policy to merge Bokm�l and Nynorsk into one common language called Samnorsk through a series of spelling reforms has created a wide spectrum of varieties of both Bokm�l and Nynorsk. The unofficial form known as Riksm�l is considered more conservative than Bokm�l, and the unofficial H�gnorsk more conservative than Nynorsk.

Norwegians are educated in both Bokm�l and Nynorsk, but around 86�90% use Bokm�l as their daily written language, and 10�12% use Nynorsk, although most spoken dialects resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokm�l. Broadly speaking, Bokm�l and Riksm�l are more commonly seen in urban and suburban areas; Nynorsk in rural areas, particularly in Western Norway. The Norwegian broadcasting corporation (NRK) broadcasts in both Bokm�l and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokm�l is used in 92% of all written publications, Nynorsk in 8% (2000). According to the Norwegian Language Council, "It may be reasonably realistic to assume that about 10�12% use Nynorsk, i.e. somewhat less than half a million people." [1] In spite of concern that Norwegian dialects would eventually give way to a common, spoken, Norwegian language close to Bokm�l, dialects find significant support in local environments, popular opinion, and public policy.


Norwegian


What are the most spoken languages on earth?

All data is derived from UNESCO.





Home
About
Contribute
Contact

Languages
  • Most spoken
  • By country
  • People
  • African
  • Asian
  • North American
  • Pacific
  • South American

    Rainforests
  • Mission
  • Introduction
  • Characteristics
  • Biodiversity
  • The Canopy
  • Forest Floor
  • Forest Waters
  • Indigenous People
  • Deforestation
  • Consequences
  • Saving Rainforests
  • Country Profiles
  • Works Cited
  • Deforestation Stats

    Pictures
    Books
    For kids
    Tropical fish




  • what's new | tropical fish | help support the site | search | about | contact

    Copyright Rhett Butler 2005-2013