Norwegian Language
Norwegian is the official language of Norway, located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, and has two primary written forms: Bokmål and Nynorsk. Bokmål, once known as Riksmål, is influenced by Danish and reflects urban colloquialism, while Nynorsk, developed by Ivar Aasen, draws from rural dialects and Old Norse. The language has its roots in Old Norse and has evolved through historical events, including the Viking Age and periods of Danish rule, which significantly shaped its development.
Norwegian is part of the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, sharing similarities with other Nordic languages like Swedish and Danish. The diversity of regional dialects in Norway is notable, with four main categories: Eastern, Western, Northern, and Trøndelag. While Bokmål is used predominantly by the population, schools teach both forms, allowing students to choose their preferred version. The Norwegian Language Council oversees the grammar and vocabulary for both forms. Despite ongoing debates about the relevance of Nynorsk, the language continues to adapt, incorporating modern influences, including English loanwords.
Norwegian Language
The Norwegian language is the official language of Norway, the westernmost country on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The language is unique in that it has two forms: Bokmål (Book Language) and Nynorsk (New Norwegian). Both forms are used by the Norwegian population and are declared the official language of the country along with a third, minority language, Sami. Only about 200,000 people, mostly in Troms and Finnmark, speak Sami as a first language.
Bokmål, originally called Riksmål (National Language), draws from colloquial and regional dialects located in city-centers that were once populated by the educated and upper classes. It is very similar to the written Danish language but with a Norwegian flavor.
Nynorsk, originally known as Landsmål (Language of the Country), was developed by poet and playwright Ivar Aasen, who believed that the Norwegian language should be culturally separate from the Danish language and other foreign influences. Aasen traveled across Norway and far into the remote areas in the west and north cataloging dialects and vocabulary. He drew from Old Norse for inspiration and to fill in gaps.
Norway used the runic alphabet until the arrival of Christianity brought the Latin alphabet. The letters c, q, w, x, and z are used only in words borrowed from other languages, and some letters are modified by diacritics, which are small marks that indicate how a letter should be pronounced.
Norwegian literature has existed since the Middle Ages when the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson wrote the Heimskringla, the most well-known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. By the mid-nineteenth century, Norwegian folk and fairy tales were collected and transcribed in the Norwegian language.
History and Classification
The Norwegian language is an Indo-European language that is sub-classified as North Germanic or Nordic. Other Nordic languages include Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, and Faroese. The Norwegian language descended from Old Norse, a language that was common throughout Scandinavia after 800 C.E. Early Norwegians spoke West Norse and wrote in the Futhark runes, the oldest runic alphabet. Vikings were Scandinavian warriors and traders who traveled into Europe and across the Atlantic to Iceland, Greenland, and the United States, spreading the language and picking up new vocabulary from other cultures. Hanseatic merchants brought both High and Low German to Norway when trading in cities such as Oslo and Bergen. Norwegians were able to understand people from other Nordic countries as the languages were so similar.
From the ninth century through the fourteenth century, the Norwegian kingdom dominated other Nordic countries. However, the arrival of the Black Death, a devastating pandemic, in 1349 decimated the Norwegian population; 50 percent of the population and many of the literate clergymen died from the disease. In the aftermath, Norway was taken over first by Sweden and then by Denmark through royal marriage and the Kalmar Union, which was a Scandinavian union in which Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were under a single monarch. Danish became the official language of the state and was used in literature and education while Norwegian only lingered as several dialects in rural areas.
Norway separated from Denmark in 1814, and the Danish language that was so widespread was renamed Norsk or Modersmaal. By the 1830s, a movement had begun to create a true nationalistic language that was Norwegian. Intense debates took place over how to create this language; one side wanted to eliminate all foreign influences and draw only from the rural dialects while the other side wanted to simply "Norwegianize" the Danish language by changing the spelling of some words and adding culture-specific vocabulary that Danish lacked. In the end, both options were utilized, creating Nynorsk and Bokmål.
Modern spoken Norwegian is not standardized. Bokmål is written Norwegian. It is used by 85-90 percent of the population. Many people in Norway consider Nynorsk to be heavy and outdated, but the debate over the cultural significance of the language continues. The Norwegian Language Council, an official advisory board working in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, determines spelling, grammar, and vocabulary for both forms of the language.
Geographic Distribution and Modern Usage
The harsh climate and terrain in Norway often kept communities in isolation, which led to the development of a myriad of regional dialects. The dialects are distinct—people can often tell what region of the country a person is from by listening to his or her dialect. These dialects are commonly grouped into four categories: Eastern Norwegian, Western Norwegian, Northern Norwegian, and the Trøndelag dialect, which is spoken by people in the Trødersk region.
Schools in Norway teach students both forms of the language, Bokmål and Nynorsk, but students can choose which form they would like to study as a major language. Some Norwegians tried to create a single language called Samnorsk (Union Norwegian). However, most people did not support the idea, and the Samnorsk Project officially ended in 2002.
English words continue to make their way into the Norwegian language. These words come from many sources, including movies, television, books, and music.
Bibliography
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