Norsk Learning

8/8/2019 Norsk Learning

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Norwegian Learning

……Contents from internet www.101languages.net



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Contents table

CHAPTER I Pronunciation...............................................................................................................3Vowels ..............................................................................................................................3Consonants........................................................................................................................4Diphthongs........................................................................................................................5Exceptions.........................................................................................................................7

CHAPTER II Phrases & Vocabulary................................................................................................7Basics ................................................................................................................................7Problems .........................................................................................................................10Numbers..........................................................................................................................12Time ................................................................................................................................16

Colors..............................................................................................................................20Transportation.................................................................................................................21Lodging...........................................................................................................................24Money .............................................................................................................................26Eating ..............................................................................................................................27Bars .................................................................................................................................30Shopping .........................................................................................................................32Driving ............................................................................................................................34Authority.........................................................................................................................35

CHAPTER III Norwegian languages..............................................................................................36Overview.........................................................................................................................36Dialects ...........................................................................................................................37Grammar .........................................................................................................................38History.............................................................................................................................39Vocabulary......................................................................................................................41Wrriten language.............................................................................................................41



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CHAPTER I Pronunciation

Vowels

Each vowel can be pronounced either as "long" or "short". A short vowel isalways be followed by a double consonant (i.e. two similar consonants, suchas ll or tt). A long vowel is not.

For example, in Norwegian "it" will be pronounced as in 'eet', whereas "itt"will be pronounced as english 'iht'.The Norwegian vowels are pronounced in almost the same way as inGerman. There are three additional vowels.æ (Æ), ø (Ø), and å (Å).

alike 'a' in "father"

elike 'e' in "better"(but like æ if it is followed by an r)

ilike 'i' in "pin"

o (short)like 'o' in "lord"

o (long)like 'oo' in "spooky"

ulike 'oo' in "foot"

ylike 'i' in "pin"(but firmer; y doesn't correspond to any sound in English.English speakers may have difficulty distinguishing Norwegian's i and y.)

ælike 'a' in "hat"



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ølike 'u' in "burn"

å

like 'o' in "lord"

Consonants

blike 'b' in "book"

clike 'c' in "cat" (mostly foreign words)

dlike 'd' in "dog"

f like 'f' in "face"

glike 'g' in "good", like 'y' in "yes" (before i or j), silent at the end of words hlike 'h' in "hat"

jlike 'y' in "yes"

klike 'k' in "keep", like 'ch' in Scottish "loch" (before i or j)

llike 'l' in "late"

mlike 'm' in "mouse"

nlike 'n' in "nice"



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plike 'p' in "push"

q

like 'q' in "quick" (mostly foreign words)rlike 'r' in "feather" (very soft, as in German)

slike 's' in "sun" (not like 'z' in "zap")

tlike 't' in "top"

vlike 'v' in "viper"

wlike 'w' in "water" (mostly foreign words)

xlike 'x' in "box" (mostly foreign words)

zlike 'z' in "zipper" (mostly foreign words)

Diphthongs

eilike 'a' in "babe" (æ-i)

ailike 'i' in "pine" (a-i)

aulike 'ou' in "mouse" (æ-u)

oi

like 'oy' in "boy" (å-y)



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øylike 'ooey' in "gooey" (ø-y)

sj

like 'sh' in "shit"skjlike 'sh' in "shit"

rslike 'sh' in "shit"

kjlike 'ch' in Scottish "loch", German "ich", very similar to Greek '?'

nglike 'ng' in "long"

rtlike 'rt' in "art"

rnlike 'rn' in "burn"

ldlike 'll' in "ball" (makes vowels long, too)

ndlike 'nn' in "banner" (makes vowels long)

hjlike 'y' in "yes"

hvlike 'v' in "victory"

ljlike 'y' in "yes" (rare)



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Exceptions

delike "dee" in "deer" (just as a whole word)

oglike 'o' in "lord" (just as a whole word)

CHAPTER II Phrases & Vocabulary

Basics

Good morning.God morgen. (goh moh-ohrn)

Good evening.God kveld. (goh kvel)

Good night (to sleep)God natt. (goh naht)

Hello. (informal)Hei. (hay)

How are you?Hvordan går det? (vohrd-ahn gohr deh?)

Fine, thank you.(Jo) takk, bare bra. (yoh)

What is your name?Hva heter du? (Va he-ter du)

My name is ______ .Jeg heter ______ . (jei he-ter _____ .)

Nice to meet you.Hyggelig å treffe deg. (Hygg-e-li å treff-e dei)





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It was nice seeing/meeting you. Goodbye.Det var hyggelig å treffe deg. Ha det bra! (De var hygg-e-li å treff-e dei. Hade bra!)

I can't speak norwegian.Jeg snakker ikke norsk. (Jei snakk-er ikk-e nåsjk)

I only know a little norwegian.Jeg kan bare litt norsk. (Jei kan ba-re litt nåsjk)

Excuse me. Do you know how to speak English?Unnskyld, kan du snakke engelsk? (Unn-skyll, kan du snakk-e eng-elsk?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?Er det noen som kan engelsk her? (Ær de no-en såm kann snakk-e eng-elskhær?)

Help!Hjelp! (Yelp!)

Good morning.God morgen. (Go må-årn)

Good evening.God kveld. (Go kvell)

Good night.God natt. (Go natt)*Note* Never used as a greeting, unless you you want to make a joke. Thisis potentially troublesome. If you must greet someone at night, use Hallo,Hei, Hyggelig å møte deg (Nice to meet you), or even God dag (even thoughit's in the middle of night).

Good night (to sleep)God natt. (Go natt)

I don't understand (you).Jeg forstår [deg] ikke. (Jei forst-år [dei] ikk-e)

Where is the toilet/bathroom?Hvor er toalettet? (Vor ær toa-lett-et?)



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Problems

Leave me alone (please).Kan du (være så snill å) la meg være alene.

Don't touch me!Ikke rør meg!

I'll call the police.Jeg ringer politiet*Note* This really means dial the police on the phone. Since there aren'tmany street cops in Norway, if it's really an emergency, it would make moresense to simply cry Hjelp! (Help), and hope a random person will come to

your rescue.Police!Politi!

Stop! Thief!Stopp tyven!

I need your help.Jeg trenger din hjelp.*Note* Might sound too strong. See below for a more reasonablealternative.

May I ask you for a little assistance?Kan jeg spørre deg om litt hjelp?

It's an emergency.Det er et nødstilfelle.

I'm lost.Jeg har gått meg bort.

Can you tell me where I am?Kan du fortelle meg hvor jeg er?

Can you tell me the way to ___?Kan du fortelle meg veien til ___?

I lost my ___.Jeg har mistet ___ [min (sg. m./f.)/mitt (sg. neu.)/mine (pl.)].*Note* While almost any kind of carry-on item can be called bag in English,



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in Norwegian it means a duffle bag. You usually have to be more specific,here are a few alternatives, as part of this sentence, you should also read thepart in parenthesis to get the grammar right.

...luggagebaggasje(n)

...suitcasekoffert(en)

...backpackryggsekk(en)

...duffle bagbag(en)...shoulder bagskulderveske(n)

...handbaghåndveske(n)

...plastic bag

plastikkpose(n)...computer bagcomputer bag(en)

...handbaghåndveske(n)

...walletlommebok(en)

...child/childrenbarn(et)/barn(a)

I'm sick.Jeg er syk.

I've been injured.Jeg har blitt skadet.



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I've contracted an injuriy.Jeg har fått en skade.

I need a doctor.

Jeg trenger (å få treffe) en lege.Can I use (your) phone?Kan jeg få låne telefonen (din) litt?

Numbers

0null

1en

2to

3tre

4fire

5fem

6seks

7sju, syv

8åtte

9ni

10ti



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11elleve

12tolv

13tretten

14fjorten

15femten16seksten (seis-ten)

17sytten (søtt-en)

18

atten19nitten

20tjue (shoe-e)*Note* Used in new counting system (see below).

20tyve

21 & Above

Numbers larger than twenty can be written several ways in Norwegian.Sometimes each word is written separately. Sometimes hyphens are used.And sometimes, the whole number is written as one large word. There aretwo ways of counting from 21-99.

New Counting System



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The new counting is what most people use nowadays. It is also probablyadvisable for people not very familiar with Norwegian to learn this wayfirst.

21tjue en (kju-e en)

22tjue to

23tjue tre

Old Counting SystemThe old counting system is slightly more illogical, but still quite a fewpeople use it. It's popularity increases with the age of the speaker. Mostpeople will probably revert to the new counting system if they realize thespeaker is not fluent in Norwegian, but here it is for completeness.

21en og tyve (en å tyv-e)

22to og tyve (to å tyv-e)

23tre og tyve

Regardless of System30tretti

40førti

50femti

60seksti

70



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sytti

80åtti

90nitti

100(ett) hundre

121(ett) hundre og 21 (100 å 21)

200to hundre

300tre hundre

1000ett tusen

1021ett tusen og 21 (ett tu-sen å 21)

1100ett tusen ett hundre (ett tu-sen ett hun-dre)

1121ett tusen ett hundre og 21

2000to-tusen1000000en million (en milli-on)

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)nummer _____ (tog, buss, etc) (nomm-er)

half halv (hall)



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lessmindre (minn-dre)

more

mer

Time

nownå

latersenere

beforetidligere (tid-li-re)

morningmorgen (må-årn)

afternoonettermiddageveningkveld (kvell)

nightnatt

Clock TimeIt is worth noting that whenever you say 'one o'clock', you use 'ett' instead of 'en'.24 Hour SystemThe simplest way to say time is to use the 24 hour system.

8.00klokka åtte null null

19.37klokka nitten tretti sju



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1.01klokka ett null en

12 Hour SystemThere is no universal AM/PM usage in Norway. It can be hard to choose thecorrect preposition/grammar to use for distinguishing between AM and PM(which depends a lot on context, past, future, etc), so the easiest is to simplyadd the time of day after having said the time.

10.00klokka 10

10.05fem over 10 (femm åv-er ti)

10.10ti over 10

10.15kvart over 10

10.20ti på halv 11

10.25fem på halv 11

10.30halv 11 (hall 11)

10.35fem over halv 1110.40ti over halv 11

10.45kvart på 11

10.50ti på 11



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10.55fem på 11

Duration_____ minute(s)_____ minutt(er)

_____ hour(s)_____ time(r)

_____ day(s)_____ dag(er)

_____ week(s)_____ uke(r)

_____ month(s)_____ måned(er) (må-ned/månt-er)

_____ year(s)_____ år

Daystodayi dag

yesterdayi går

tomorrowi morgen (i må-årn)

this weekdenne uka

last weekforrige uke (fårr-je u-ke)

next weekneste uke

Sunday



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Søndag

MondayMandag

TuesdayTirsdag

WednesdayOnsdag

ThursdayTorsdag

FridayFredag

SaturdayLørdag

MonthsJanuary

JanuarFebruaryFebruar

MarchMars

AprilApril

MayMai

JuneJuni

JulyJuli

August



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August

SeptemberSeptember

OctoberOktober

NovemberNovember

DecemberDesember

Writing Time & DateJan 5 19795 jan. 1979

Jan 5 19795/1-1979

Colors

blacksvart

blacksort*Note* mostly archaic

whitehvit (vit)

graygrå

redrød (rø)



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blueblå

yellow

gulgreengrønn

orangeorange (o-ransj)

purplelilla

purplefiolett

brownbrun

Transportation

Bus & TrainHow much is a ticket to _____?Hvor mye koster en billett til _____?

One ticket to _____, please.Kan jeg få en billett til _____.

Where does this train/bus go?Hvor går dette toget/denne bussen?

Where is the train/bus to _____?Hvor finner jeg toget/bussen til _____?

Does this train/bus stop in _____?Stopper dette toget/denne bussen i _____?

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

Når reiser toget/bussen til _____?



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When will this train/bus arrive in _____?Når kommer vi fram til _____?Directions

How do I get to _____ ?Hvordan kommer jeg til _____ ?

...the train station?

...togstasjonen?

...the bus station?

...bussholdeplassen?

...the airport?

...flyplassen?

...downtown?

...sentrum?

...the youth hostel?

...ungdomsherberget?

...the _____ hotel?

... _____ hotel?

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British embassy/consulate?

...den amerikanske/kanadiske/australske/britiske ambassade/konsulat?

Where are there (a lot) of...Hvor kan jeg finne (mange)...

...hotels?

...hoteller?

...restaurants?

...restauranter? (res-tu-rang-er)

...bars?

...barer?

...sites to see?

...turistattraksjoner? (tu-rist-att-rak-sjo-ner)

Can you show me ____ on the map?



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Kan du vise meg ___ på kartet?

streetgate/vei

Turn left.Snu til venstre.

Turn right.Snu til høyre.

leftvenstre (venn-stre)

righthøyre (høy-re)

straight aheadrett fram/rett framover

towards the _____mot _____

past the _____forbi _____

before the _____rett før _____

Watch for the _____.Se etter _____.

intersectionkryssroundaboutrundkjøring (runn-kjø-ring)

northnord

southsør



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eastøst

west

vestuphilloppover(bakke) (åpp-åv-er-bakk-e)

downhillnedover(bakke) (ned-åv-er-bakk-e)TaxiTaxi!Taxi!*Note* To get a taxi, either call one by phone, walk to a taxi stop, or waveyour hand if you see one (with a lighted roof-sign) driving past.

Take me to _____, please.Kan du kjøre meg til _____.

How much does it cost to get to _____?Hvor mye vil det koste å kjøre til _____?

*Note* Unless it's a really long (several hours) and thus ridiculouslyexpensive drive where you can make a special deal with the driver, it'sgonna cost as much as the meter shows. Expect an approximate reply if any.

Take me there, please.Kan du kjøre meg dit?

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available?Har du noen ledige rom?

How much is a room for one person/two people?Hvor mye koster et enkelt/dobbelt-rom?

Are bedsheets included in the price?Er sengetøy inkludert i prisen?

I would like some bedsheetsKan jeg få med sengetøy?



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Does the room come with...Har rommet...

...a bathroom?...eget bad?

...a telephone?

...egen telefon?

...a TV?

...TV? (te-ve)

May I see the room first?Kan jeg få se rommet først?Do you have anything _____?Har du et _____ rom?

...quieter

...mer stille

...bigger

...større

...cleaner

...renere

...cheaper

...billigere?

OK, I'll take it.OK, jeg tar det. (o-kå, jei tar de)

I will stay for _____ night(s).Jeg blir her _____ natt/netter.

Can you suggest another hotel?Har du et annet hotell å foreslå?

Do you have a safe?Har du en safe? (har du en seif)



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Do you have a locker?Har du ett låsbart skap?

Is breakfast/supper included?

Er frokost/middag inkludert?What time is breakfast/supper?Når er det frokost/middag?

Please clean my room.Kan du vaske rommet mitt.

Can you wake me at _____?Kan du vekke meg klokka _____?

I want to check out.Kan jeg få sjekke ut nå?

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?Godtar du amerikanske/australske/kanadiske dollar?Do you accept (British) pounds?Godtar du (britiske) pund? (Go-tar du brit-isk-e punn)

Do you accept credit cards?Godtar du kredittkort?

Can you change money for me?Kan du hjelpe meg å veksle penger?

Where can I get money changed?Hvor kan jeg få vekslet penger?

Can you change a traveler's check for me?Kan du veksle en reisesjekk for meg?

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?Hvor kan jeg få vekslet reisesjekker?



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What is the exchange rate for ___?Hva er valutakursen for ___?

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)

Hvor er nærmeste minibank?

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.Kan jeg få et bord for en/to personer?

Can I look at the menu, please?Kan jeg får se på menyen?

Can I look in the kitchen?Kan jeg få se kjøkkenet?*Note* This is usually a grave insult. If you feel that bad about eating there,go somewhere else instead.

Is there a house specialty?Hva er spesialiteten deres?

Is there a local specialty?Er det en lokal rett jeg bør smake på?

I'm a vegetarian.Jeg er vegetarianer.

I don't eat pork.Jeg spiser ikke svin.

I'm on a diet. Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)Jeg slanker meg. Kan jeg få så lite fett som mulig? (mindre olje/smør/fett)

fixed-price mealdagens rett

a la cartéa la carté

breakfastfrokost



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lunchlunch

tea (meal)kaffe og kaker*Note* This literally means 'coffee and cakes' in Norwegian. You could of course still order tea, if you prefer that.

suppermiddag

I would like _____.Kan jeg få _____.

I want a dish containing _____.Jeg vil ha en rett med _____.

chickenkylling (kjyll-ing)

beef oksekjøtt

fishfisk

hamskinke

sausagepølse

cheeseost

eggsegg

saladsalat

(fresh) vegetables(ferske) grønnsaker



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(fresh) fruit(fersk) frukt

bread

brødtoastristet brød

noodlesnudler

riceris

beansbønner

May I have a glass of _____?Kan jeg få et glass _____?

May I have a cup of _____?Kan jeg få en kopp _____?

May I have a bottle of _____?Kan jeg få en flaske _____?

coffeekaffe

tea (drink)te

juice juice (jus)

(bubbly) waterfarris

watervann

beerøl



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red/white winerødvin/hvitvin (rø-vin/vit-vin)

May I have some _____?

Kan jeg få litt _____?saltsalt

(black) pepper(sort) pepper

buttersmør

Excuse me, waiter?Unnskyld, kelner?

I'm finished.Jeg er ferdig.

It was delicious.Det smakte utmerket.

Please clear the plates.Kan du ta med tallerknene.

The check, please.Kan jeg få regningen?

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?Serverer dere alkohol?

Is there table service?Kommer dere til bordene?

A beer/two beers, please.

Kan jeg få en/to øl?



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A glass of red/white wine, please.Kan jeg få et/to glass rødvin/hvitvin?

A pint, please.

Kan jeg få en halvliter? (hall-i-ter)In a bottle, please.Kan jeg få det på flaske?

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.Kan jeg få _____ og _____?

whiskeywhiskey

vodkavodka

rumrom (romm)

watervann

club sodaclub soda

tonic watertonic

orange juiceappelsin juice (app-el-sin jus)

Coke (soda)Cola (brus)

Do you have any bar snacks?Har du noe bar snacks?

One more, please.Kan jeg få en til?

Another round, please.En runde til!



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When is closing time?Når stenger dere?

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?Har du denne i min størrelse?

How much is this?Hvor mye koster den?

That's too expensive.Det er for dyrt.

Would you take _____?Ville du godtatt _____?*Note* Bargaining of this type is going to get you nothing but puzzled looksand make people suspicious of you in Norway. It costs how much theprice-tag says, unless the goods are damaged, or in some other way deservea lower price. Trades involving insurance, cars, volume rebates, hotels in theoff-season, and a few other things might be exceptions.

expensivedyrt

cheapbillig

I can't afford it.Jeg har desverre ikke råd.

I don't want it.Nei, jeg trenger den ikke.

(I think) You're cheating me.(Jeg tror) Du lurer meg.*Note* It may not be wise to tell someone this, unless you are quiteconfident it's true. Even then, I think it would be better to consult a nativethird-party before you start throwing allegetions around.

I'm not interested.Desverre, jeg er ikke interresert.



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OK, I'll take it.OK, jeg tar den.

Can I have a bag?Kan jeg få en pose?

Do you ship to ____?Kan du sende ting til ___?

I need...Jeg trenger...

...toothpaste.

...tannpasta.

...a toothbrush.

...en tannbørste. (tann-bøsj-te)

...tampons.

...tamponger.

...soap.

...såpe.

...shampoo.

...shampoo. (sjam-po)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)

...smertestillende. (f.eks Dispril eller Ibux)

...cold medicine.

...hostesaft.*Note* This translates as 'cough lemonade'. If that doesn't come close towhat you need, go to a doctor.

...a razor.

...en barberhøvel.

...an umbrella.

...en paraply.

...sunscreen lotion.

...solkrem.



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...sunblock lotion.

...sunblock.

...a postcard.

...ett postkort.

...postage stamps.

...frimerker.

...batteries.

...batterier.

...writing paper.

...skrivepapir/brevpapir.

...a pen.

...en penn.

...English-language books.

...engelske bøker.

...English-language magazines.

...engelske blader.

...an English-language newspaper.

...en engelsk avis.

...an English-Norwegian dictionary.

...en engelsk-norsk ordbok.

Driving

I want to rent a car.Kan jeg få leie en bil?

Can I get insurance?Kan jeg få forsikring?

stop (on a street sign)stop



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one wayenveiskjørt/enveiskjøring

yield

vikepliktno parkingparkering forbudt

speed limitfartsgrense

gas/petrol stationbensinstasjon

gas/petrolbensin

dieseldiesel

Authority

haven't done anything wrong.Jeg har ikke gjort noe galt.

It was a misunderstanding.Det var en misforståelse.

Where are you taking me?Hvor tar dere meg?

Am I under arrest?Er jeg arrestert?

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.Jeg er en amerikansk/australsk/britisk/kanadisk statsborger.

I demand to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadianembassy/consulate.

Jeg forlanger å få snakke med denamerikanske/australske/britiske/kanadiske ambassade/konsulat.



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I want to talk to a lawyer.Jeg vil ha en advokat.

Can I just pay a fine now?Kan jeg bare betale boten nå?*Note* Usually you can't. That would mean bribery is accepted. Oneexception: public transportation in Oslo (maybe elsewhere too) if you forgotto buy a ticket.

CHAPTER III Norwegian languages

Overview

Norwegian is a Germanic language spoken in Norway. Norwegian isclosely related to, and generally mutually intelligible with Swedish andDanish. Together with these two languages as well as Faroese and Icelandic,Norwegian belongs to the North Germanic languages, (also calledScandinavian languages). Native speakers of Norwegian are, for the mostpart, quite proficient in understanding Danish and Swedish, in spoken as

well as written form. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was thestandard written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related tonationalism, rural versus urban discourse, and Norway's literary history.

As established by law and governmental policy, there are currently twoofficial forms of written Norwegian – Bokmål (literally "book language")and Nynorsk (literally "new Norwegian"). The Norwegian LanguageCouncil recommends the terms "Norwegian Bokmål" and "NorwegianNynorsk" in English, but these are seldom used. The language question inNorway has been subject to much controversy during the past generations.Though not reflective of the political landscape in general, writtenNorwegian is often described as a spectrum ranging from the conservative tothe radical. This is because successive spelling reforms have resulted in anincreased number of optional forms in spelling and grammar, allowing forgreater possibility of combining elements from both written forms,particularly in the Bokmål variant. The current forms of Bokmål andNynorsk are considered moderate forms of conservative and radical versionsof written Norwegian, respectively.



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The unofficial written form known as Riksmål is considered moreconservative than Bokmål, and the unofficial Høgnorsk more conservativethan Nynorsk. Those forms became popular among enthusiasticconservative people due to the reforms in the 1920s and 30s when the two

official languages were brought closer together. Although Norwegians areeducated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, around 86-90% use Bokmål as theirdaily written language, and 10%-12% use Nynorsk, although many of thespoken dialects resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål, mostly interms of vocabulary and accent. Broadly speaking, Bokmål and Riksmål aremore commonly seen in urban and suburban areas; Nynorsk in rural areas,particularly in Western Norway. The Norwegian broadcasting corporation(NRK) broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmentalagencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in92% of all written publications, Nynorsk in 8% (2000). According to theNorwegian Language Council, "It may be reasonably realistic to assume thatabout 10-12% use Nynorsk, i.e. somewhat less than half a million people."In spite of concern that Norwegian dialects would eventually give way to acommon spoken Norwegian language close to Bokmål, dialects findsignificant support in local environments, popular opinion, and publicpolicy.

Dialects

There is general agreement that a wide range of differences makes itdifficult to estimate the number of different Norwegian dialects. Variationsin grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation cut across geographicalboundaries and can create a distinct dialect at the level of farm clusters.Dialects are in some cases so dissimilar as to be unintelligible to unfamiliarlisteners. Many linguists note a trend toward regionalization of dialects thatdiminishes the differences at such local levels; but there is renewed interestin preserving distinct dialects.

Examples:

Below are a few sentences giving an indication of the differences betweenBokmål and Nynorsk, compared to the conservative (nearer to Danish) formRiksmål, and to Danish itself:

B=BokmålR=RiksmålD=Danish

N=Nynorsk



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H=HøgnorskE=English

B/R/D: Jeg kommer fra NorgeN/H: Eg kjem frå Noreg.E: I come from Norway.

B/R: Hva heter han?D: Hvad hedder han?N/H: Kva heiter han?E: What is he called?

B/R/D: Dette er en hest.N/H: Dette er ein hest.

E: This is a horse.B: Regnbuen har mange farger.R/D: Regnbuen har mange farver.N: Regnbogen har mange fargar.H: Regnbogen hev mange fargar. (Or better: Regnbogen er manglíta).E: The rainbow has many colours.

Grammar

The number of grammatical genders in Norwegian is somewhat disputed,but the official view is that Norwegian nouns fall into three genders:masculine , feminine andneuter . The inflection of the nouns depends on thegender.

Bokmål

en gutt gutten gutter guttenem.:(a boy) (the boy) (boys) (the boys)en/ei dr dren/dra drer drene

f.:(a door) (the door) (doors) (the doors)et hus huset hus husene/husa

n.:(a house) (the house) (houses) (the houses)

Note that feminine nouns can be inflected like masculine nouns in Bokmål.Riksmål rejects the feminine gender and merges it with the masculine into acommon gender (utrum ), like in Danish.



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Nynorsk

ein gut guten gutar gutanem.:(a boy) (the boy) (boys) (the boys)ei sol sola/soli soler solene(a sun) (the sun) (suns) (the suns)ei kyrkje/ kyrkjer/ kyrkjene/ kyrkja

kyrkjakyrkjor kyrkjone

f.:

(a church) (the church) (churches) (the churches)eit hus huset hus husa/husi

n.: (a house) (the house) (houses) (the houses)

History

The languages now spoken in Scandinavia developed from the Old Norselanguage, which did not differ greatly between what are now Danish,Norwegian, and Swedish areas. In fact, Viking traders spread the languageacross Europe and into Russia, making Old Norse one of the mostwidespread languages for a time. According to tradition, King HaraldFairhair united Norway in 872. Around this time, a runic alphabet was used.According to writings found on stone tablets from this period of history, thelanguage showed remarkably little deviation between different regions.Runes had been in limited use since at least the 3rd century. Around 1030,Christianity came to Norway, bringing with it the Latin alphabet. Norwegianmanuscripts in the new alphabet began to appear about a century later. TheNorwegian language began to deviate from its neighbors around this time aswell.

Viking explorers had begun to settle Iceland in the 9th century, carryingwith them the Old Norse language. Over time, Old Norse developed into"Western" and "Eastern" variants. Western Norse covered Iceland andNorway, while Eastern Norse developed in Denmark and Sweden. Thelanguages of Iceland and Norway remained very similar until about the year1300, when they became what are now known as Old Icelandic and OldNorwegian. In 1397, Norway entered a personal union with Denmark, whichcame to be the dominating part, and Danish was eventually used asNorway's written language. Danish, a language since medieval times mostlyinfluenced by Low German, came to be the primary language of theNorwegian elite, although adoption was slower among the commoners. The



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union lasted more than 400 years, until 1814 when Norway becameindependent of Denmark, but was forced to enter a personal union withSweden. Norwegians began to push for true independence by embracingdemocracy and attempting to enforce the constitutional declaration of being

a sovereign state. Part of this nationalist movement was directed to thedevelopment of an independent Norwegian language. Two major paths wereavailable: modify the elite's Danish, or attempt to undo centuries of foreignrule and work with the commoners' Norwegian. Both approaches wereattempted.

From Danish to Norwegian

In the 1840s, many writers began to "Norwegianize" Danish by

incorporating words that were descriptive of Norwegian scenery and folklife. Spelling and grammar were also modified. This was adopted by theNorwegian parliament as Riksmål, or "Standard Language" in 1899.

However, a nationalistic movement strove for the development of a newwritten Norwegian. Ivar Aasen, a self-taught linguist, began his work tocreate a new Norwegian language at the age of 22. He traveled around thecountry, comparing the dialects in different regions, and examined thedevelopment of Icelandic, which had largely escaped the influencesNorwegian had come under. He called his work, which was published inseveral books from 1848 to 1873, Landsmål, or "National Language".

After the personal union with Sweden was dissolved, both languages weredeveloped further. Riksmål was in 1929 officially renamed Bokmål (literally"Book language"), and Landsmål to Nynorsk (literally "New Norwegian")— the names Dano-Norwegian and Norwegian lost in parliament by onesingle vote, as the Danish label was (and still is) very unpopular amongBokmål users.

Bokmål and Nynorsk were made closer by reforms in 1917, 1938 and 1959.This was a result of a state policy to merge Nynorsk and Bokmål into onelanguage, called Samnorsk (Common Norwegian). A 1946 poll showed thatthis policy was supported by 79% of Norwegians at the time. However,opponents of the official policy still managed to create a massive protestmovement against Samnorsk in the 50's, fighting in particular the use of "radical" forms in Bokmål text books in schools. The Samnorsk policy hadlittle influence after 1960, and was officially abandoned in 2002. Users of either written language resented the efforts to dilute the distinctness of theirwritten language in general and spelling in particular. Over the years, thestandards for Bokmål have increasingly accommodated Riksmål forms. As a



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result, some people prefer to follow a more traditional way of spelling of Nynorsk, called Høgnorsk.

Vocabulary

Compound words are written together in Norwegian (see Nominalcompositum), which can cause words to become very long, for examplesannsynlighetsmaksimeringsestimator (maximum likelihood estimator).Another example is the titlehøyesterettsjustitiarius (originally put togetherof supreme court and the actual title, justitiarius). However, because of theincreasing influence the English language is having on Norwegian, andinadequate computer spell checkers, this is often forgotten, sometimes withhumorous results. Instead of writing for examplelammekoteletter (lamb

chops), people make the mistake of writinglamme koteletter (paralyzed, orlame, chops). The original message can even be reversed, as whenrøykfritt (smoke-free) becomesrøyk fritt (smoke freely).Other examples include:

~ Terrasse dør ("Terrace dies") instead of Terrassedør ("Terrace door")~ Tunfisk biter ("Tuna bites", verb) instead of Tunfiskbiter ("Pieces of tuna",noun)~ Smult ringer ("Lard calls", verb) instead of Smultringer ("Doughnuts")

~ Tyveri sikret ("Theft guaranteed") instead of Tyverisikret ("Theft proof")These misunderstandings occur because most nouns can be interpreted asverbs or other types of words. Similar misunderstandings can be achieved inEnglish too. The following are examples of phrases that both in Norwegianand English mean one thing as a compound word, and something differentwhen regarded as separate words:

~ stavekontroll (spell checker) orstave kontroll (spell "checker")~ kokebok (cookbook) orkoke bok (cook book)~ ekte håndlagde vafler (real handmade waffles) orekte hånd lagde vafler .(Real hand made waffles.)

Wrriten language

The Alphabet

The Norwegian alphabet is as follows:



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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Æ Ø Å (29letters)

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z æ ø å

Bokmål and Nynorsk

Like some other European countries, Norway has an official "advisoryboard" – Språkrådet (Norwegian Language Council) – that determines, afterapproval from the Ministry of Culture, official spelling, grammar, andvocabulary for the Norwegian language. The board's work has been subjectto considerable controversy through the years, and much work lies ahead.

BothNynorsk andBokmål have a great variety of optional forms,particularly Bokmål. The Bokmål that uses the forms that are close toRiksmål is called moderate or conservative, depending on one's viewpoint,while the Bokmål that uses the forms that are close to Nynorsk is calledradical. Nynorsk has forms that are close to the original Landsmål and formsthat are close to Bokmål.

Riksmål

Opponents of the spelling reforms aimed at bringing Bokmål closer toNynorsk have retained the name Riksmål and employ spelling and grammarthat predate the Samnorsk movement. Riksmål and conservative versions of Bokmål have been the de facto standard written language of Norway formost of the 20th century, being used by large newspapers, encyclopedias,and a significant proportion of the population of the capital Oslo,surrounding areas, and other urban areas, as well as much of the literarytradition. Since the reforms of 1981 and 2003 (effective in 2005), theofficial Bokmål can be adapted to be almost identical with modern Riksmål.The differences between written Riksmål and Bokmål are today comparableto Commonwealth English vs American English.

Riksmål is regulated by the Norwegian Academy, which determinesacceptable spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.

HøgnorskThere is also an unofficial form of Nynorsk, called Høgnorsk, discarding thepost-1917 reforms, and thus close to Ivar Aasen's original Landsmål. It issupported by Ivar Aasen-sambandet, but has found no widespread use.

Current Usage



About 85.3% of the pupils in the primary and lower secondary schools inNorway receive education in Bokmål, while about 14.5% receive educationin Nynorsk. From the eighth grade onwards pupils are required to learn both.Out of the 433 municipalities in Norway, 161 have declared that they wish

to communicate with the central authorities in Bokmål, 116 (representing12% of the population) in Nynorsk, while 156 are neutral. Of 4,549Norwegian publications in 2000 8% were in Nynorsk, and 92% inBokmål/Riksmål. The large national newspapers (Aftenposten, Dagbladetand VG) are published in Bokmål/Riksmål. Some major regionalnewspapers (including Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad), manypolitical journals, and many local newspapers use both Bokmål andNynorsk.

Documents

Norsk Learning