Norwegian Language

Norwegian Language, a member of the Western group of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European languages. It is the language of the people of Norway.



Like the other Scandinavian languages, Norwegian is derived from an ancient common Scandinavian language, which can be traced through runic inscriptions to the 3rd century ad. Because of the significant dialectal changes that occurred during the Viking age (about 800-1050), Old Norse (or Old Norwegian), a language from which the modern language is derived, came into being and was spread by Norwegian migration to Iceland and other areas in the North Atlantic. The Latin alphabet, replacing runic signs, was introduced with Christianity, and a distinct Norwegian written language evolved in the 11th century. During the subsequent centuries, the Norwegian language was influenced by Danish, Low German, and Swedish. The Danish influence was dominant between 1380 and 1814, when Norway was united with Denmark under the Danish crown.

Danish, adopted as the official language of Norway in 1397, became also, in the 16th century, the written language of Norway. Danish was generally spoken by the educated classes, especially in the cities, while Norwegian dialects continued in use in the country districts and among the working and middle classes of the towns. During the 19th century, the spoken Danish developed into a language called Dano-Norwegian, which was heavily Danish in structure and vocabulary, but with native Norwegian pronunciation and some native grammatical influences. Later termed Riksmål, it became the official language of Norway. Dano-Norwegian is the language of such literary figures as the poet and dramatist Henrik Ibsen.

Subsequently, however, a strong nationalistic and romantic movement awakened a desire for a language Norwegians felt was their own. In response to this desire, the linguist Ivar Aasen began, in the middle of the 19th century, the construction of a new national literary language, the Landsmål (“country speech”), based on Norwegian dialects and free of Danicisms. This endeavor won public support, and the Landsmål, further developed, became an important secondary language.

Under pressure of the Landsmål movement, the Riksmål went through a series of significant reforms (1907, 1917, and 1938) emphasizing strictly Norwegian speech and spelling. The names of the two languages were officially changed: The Riksmål became the Bokmål (“book language”) and the Landsmål, the Nynorsk (“New Norse”). Both versions of Norwegian are still taught in the schools and used in official documents. Bokmål, the leading language, is far more common in urban areas and strongest in eastern Norway; Nynorsk is more common in the countryside and in western Norway. Most youngsters are now taught Bokmål first in school. Nynorsk is more likely to be used by older people. Changes continue to occur in both languages.


Contributed By:
Jens Nyholm
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