Norwegian
Norsk
Norwegian has a feature found nowhere else in Europe: two official written standards coexist. Bokmål, by far the more widespread, descends from Danish; Nynorsk was reconstructed in the nineteenth century from rural dialects. This goes back to centuries of Danish rule, which also explains why written Norwegian looks so like Danish while its pronunciation is closer to Swedish.
- Family
- North Germanic
- Script
- Latin
- Speakers
- ≈ 5 million
- Where
- Norway
- In the game
- Mid-range language
How to spot it
Looks like Danish on paper, but with æ, ø, å and forms in -kk-, -tt-. “ikke” means not.
A few sentences
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Hun har bodd her i mange år nå.
She has lived here for many years now.
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Vi spiser middag klokka seks.
We have dinner at six o’clock.
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Jeg har mistet nøkkelen til leiligheten.
I have lost the key to the flat.
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Han har jobbet som lærer i tjue år.
He has worked as a teacher for twenty years.
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Naboen vår har fått en liten baby.
Our neighbours have had a baby.