The official language of Norway: how it originated, what it looks like and what types it is divided into

Norway is an amazingly beautiful country, which has been leading the list of the happiest countries in the world for many years. Every traveler and lover of natural beauties is obliged to visit Norway at least once, but is it possible for everyone to master the Norwegian language? And is it necessary?

Everyone finds the answer to this question for himself. Perhaps for a trip to magical land English is enough for you in the fjords - Norwegians usually speak this language excellently. However, if you plan to work and live in Norway, you cannot do without Norwegian. Let's take a look at what the Norwegian language is and what it is eaten with.

Norwegian language for the Russian mind

As a Norwegian teacher, I am often asked how difficult the Norwegian language is. I believe that each language has its own "pitfalls", but do not forget that everything is relative, and the same Polish, which is considered one of the most complex languages in the world, for a Russian-speaking person, it will not be difficult to learn.

Norwegian belongs to the Germanic languages ​​and is quite similar to German or the same English in its structure and logic, so if you are a native speaker of one of the Germanic languages ​​- congratulations, you already have an advantage, and it will be easier for you to learn Norwegian.

In general, we can say that the Norwegian language is a little more difficult than English, but easier than German. Like all Germanic languages, Norwegian is very logical, word order is important in sentences, a certain sequence of thoughts. By the way, this disciplines the mind well, at the same time allowing you to appreciate the freedom of your native language.

Some facts about the Norwegian language

It is worth mentioning that there are two forms of Norwegian in Norway: bokmål (Norwegian for “book speech”), nynorsk (Norwegian for “new Norwegian”). Bokmål is the most common form of the language in Norway.

“Book speech” was formed on the basis of the Danish language after four centuries of Danish rule over Norway. This language is spoken in Oslo, and it is also the one that is usually taught to foreigners. Interesting fact: Knowing bokmål, you can easily read Danish. Alas, read only, as Danish pronunciation is significantly different from Norwegian.

Nynorsk is translated as “new Norwegian”. After gaining independence, Norway was strongly concerned with the search for its linguistic identity. The Norwegian philologist and poet Ivar Osen came to the aid of the young nation. Nynorsk is spoken by about 10% of the Norwegian population.

Mission Possible?

Perhaps the biggest difficulty in learning Norwegian is the dialects. There are a great many of them in Norwegian due to some geographical isolation of certain regions of the country. Thus, you can be sure that you have learned Norwegian and pass the exam perfectly, but when you come to Norway, you will remain incomprehensible and not understand your interlocutor. No, I'm not scaring you, :) however, I advise you to learn Norwegian not only from books and “dry” teaching aids, but also using “live” resources such as films, radio, television, as well as communication with native speakers. In this regard, Norwegian language teachers living in Norway undoubtedly have an advantage, as they immerse themselves in the language environment on a daily basis and know the nuances of a “live” spoken language.

Tips and resources for learning Norwegian

So, a few words about resources for learning Norwegian.

Radio, movies, shows and podcasts

First of all, I would like to advise you to listen as much as possible. Listen to Norwegian in any form - from songs to news. At the very beginning, of course, you will not understand anything, but your mission is to ensure that the melody of the language, its intonations and sounds are deposited in your memory. Over time, along with the process of learning the language, you will begin to understand individual words even in the fastest Norwegian speech. Gradually, there will be more and more familiar words, and you will begin to catch the general meaning.

We are also engaged in the creation of video tutorials, links to which you can find on our page in

Official language of Norway

Official language of Norway

The official language of Norway is Norwegian, but many other languages ​​are also spoken in the country. Norwegian has some similarities with two Scandinavian languages: Danish and Swedish. Concerning colloquial speech, then the language of Norway is similar to Icelandic and the language of the Faroe Islands.

A small part of the Norwegian population speaks the Sami language, which belongs to the family of Finnish-Ugric languages. Despite the small number of native speakers of this language, it was even given official status in some regions of Norway. For example, road signs and any other public information in without fail dubbed in two languages: Norwegian and Sami.

Knowledge of foreign languages ​​has a gradation according to age. So, people of the older age category, for the most part, know English language because they studied it in school. Modern young people in recent decades as foreign language study German or French. In addition to them, Italian and Spanish are gaining popularity.

The largest number of ethnic groups live in Oslo, therefore it is in this city that the linguistic diversity of Norway is most widely represented.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia about Norwegian
Norwegian (Norsk) is a Germanic language spoken in Norway. Historically, Norwegian is closest to Faroese and Icelandic. However, thanks to the significant influence of Danish and some influence of Swedish, Norwegian is generally close to these languages ​​as well. More modern classification places Norwegian, along with Danish and Swedish, in the group of mainland Scandinavian languages, as opposed to the insular Scandinavian languages.

Languages ​​in Norway (www.visitnorway.com)
Norway has three languages. Two of them are similar to each other, and the Sami language has a completely different origin.

Both Norwegian languages ​​are used in government offices, schools, churches, radio and television. Books, magazines and newspapers are also published in both languages.

Anyone who speaks Norwegian, whether it be the local dialect or the two standard official languages, will be understood by other Norwegians.

Sami, spoken by the natives of Norway, has equal status with Norwegian in the northern provinces of Troms and Finnmark.

Language situation in Norway (www.lingvisto.org)
There is hardly a professor in the country who would have such a good command of the two official languages: Dano-Norwegian (bokmal, Bokmål) and New Norwegian (nynorsk, Nynorsk) to write an article without ever looking into a dictionary. Professor Reider Djupedal from the University of Trondheim, in an attempt to somehow justify the existence of two official languages ​​in the country, writes about the democratic nature of the state and the peculiar bilingualism of the inhabitants of Norway.

Language situation in Norway (www.norwegianlanguage.ru)
The language situation in Norway is unique and is a clear example of failed language planning.

In a country with a population of less than 5 million people, two literary languages ​​\u200b\u200bare officially functioning at once, however, a significant part of the population speaks dialects, and the rules of both literary languages ​​established by linguists are not followed in practice either in literature or in the press, which makes some philologists speak rather than about two, but about four literary languages ​​in Norway.

The normal development of the Old Norse language was interrupted in the Middle Ages when Norway became part of the Danish kingdom. As a result, Danish became the language of the Norwegian elite, and then most of the townspeople spoke Danish with local Norwegian features in vocabulary and phonetics. This is how riksmol (“sovereign speech”) arose - the first Norwegian literary language, which is closer to Danish than to Norwegian dialects.

In the nineteenth century, however, a movement began to recreate literary language on a local dialect basis, which led to the emergence of lansmol - the “language of the country”.

Norway - Norwegian language
The official language in Norway is Norwegian. Despite the ethnic homogeneity of Norway, two forms of the Norwegian language are clearly distinguished.

Bokmål, or bookish language (or riksmol - official language), which is used by most Norwegians, came from the Danish-Norwegian language common in the environment educated people during the time when Norway was under Danish rule (1397–1814).

Nynoshk, or New Norwegian language (otherwise called Lansmol - rural language), received formal recognition in the 19th century. It was created by the linguist I. Osen on the basis of rural, mainly western, dialects with an admixture of elements of the medieval Old Norse language.

Approximately one fifth of all schoolchildren own will chooses to train as a nanny. This language is widely used in rural areas in the west of the country.

At present, there is a tendency to merge both languages ​​into a single one - the so-called. Samnoshk.

There are many countries in the world, but even more different languages ​​and dialects, the emergence and consolidation of which took place over many thousands of years. The official language of Norway is Norwegian, but in some regions of this constitutional monarchy Sami is the official language.

Varieties and division of the official language

The world-wide recognized Norwegian language within this state has two forms:

• Bokmål is used as book speech;
• how the new Norwegian is used by the nurse.

Moreover, both forms of the language are widespread, used in everyday speech and official documents. That is why it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of what language is spoken in Norway.

These linguistic features are of interest not only to those who are going to visit Norway on a trip, but also to those who are simply interested in various features states of the globe.

Facts of history and statistics

To understand how it was formed official language Norway and where all its features came from, it must be borne in mind that all dialects and adverbs have a common beginning - the Old Norse language, which was used on the territory of several ancient states: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

In addition to the two main forms, the inhabitants of Norway also use several other varieties of the language. Rixmol and högnosk are considered popular, although they are not officially accepted. In general, almost 90% of the population of the country speak two forms of the language - Bokmål and Rixmol, and also use them in documents, correspondence, in the press and in Norwegian books.

Bokmål passed to the Norwegians during the Middle Ages, when the Norwegian elite used the Danish language. It developed on the basis of writing and was adapted to the Norwegian dialect in the east of the country. But nynoshk was created in the mid-1800s, it arose on the basis of the dialects of the west of Norway and introduced into circulation by the linguist Ivar Osen.

Dialects and features of the language

It has a slightly different history and roots, it belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group. Today it is spoken by about 20,000 people in Norway. total strength a population of just over 4.5 million. This is not such a small group, given that the official language of Norway is different from Sami.

Regardless of which language is official in Norway, almost every region and even village has its own characteristics and dialects. The number of dialects is several dozen, and it is rather difficult to find out their exact number. For this would have to long years study every remote piece of the territory of the constitutional monarchy.

Norwegian has 29 letters, just like official Danish. Many words have common origin and even the spelling, but over time they sound more and more different in the Norwegian performance. To learn written language Norway, will have to be like courses and long time tinker with grammar. The Norwegian language is far from the Slavic group, so it is not so easy to understand it.

When going on a trip or a business trip, you need to remember that this is a special country - Norway. The official language is revered by the inhabitants of the monarchy as something sacred and special, they respect and honor their history. Therefore, English is taught here little, and they speak it with reluctance, even with foreign tourists.

Globalization is being followed mainly by young Norwegians who live in major cities and tend to work in companies cooperating with other countries. In this case, they have to learn English and be able to speak fluently. However, even tourist places and monuments rarely have English description. To feel all the color and beauty of this one, you will have to learn at least a few phrases in Norwegian.

The official language of Norway seems complex and difficult to remember, but the simplest and most common phrases can be learned without much effort. Any Norwegian will be pleased if he is asked about where to live or eat deliciously, in his native language.

The most common words and phrases

When going to Norway, it is worth remembering at least a few basic phrases in the language of this country.

Norway is a beautiful and amazing country, although for many tourists it seems cold and inhospitable. But a travel lover needs to visit this state at least once, enjoy the beauties of nature, diverse national cuisine and be sure to learn to speak at least a few phrases in Norwegian.

Language in Norway

What is the language in Norway?

Traditional Scandinavian dialects developed in the country under the influence of neighboring Denmark. Today the official language in Norway is Nynorsk. It is considered literary and is used in the works of writers and journalism. At the level of official papers, the state language of Norway, riksmol, is used. Its development was associated with the country's dependence on Denmark and the dominance of the Danish. Colloquial Norway is Nynorsk. It was formed in the 19th century. Today, this language of Norway is used in the Vestlanne area. In addition, it is spoken in rural areas.

Until the second half of the last century, the government of the country tried to unite Nynorsk and Bokmål in order to create mutual language Norway. But then this practice was abandoned.

The Norwegian alphabet follows the Danish alphabet and consists of 29 Latin letters.