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Norwegian

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties; some Norwegian and Swedish dialects, in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic, as well as some extinct languages, constitute the North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are not mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. As established by law and governmental policy, the two official forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål (literally "book tongue") and Nynorsk (literally "new Norwegian"). The official Norwegian Language Council is responsible for regulating the two forms, and recommends that a Norwegian-speaker choose one over the other. Norwegian is similar to Swedish and Danish, but the pronunciation is more uniform and the vocabulary has been significantly influenced by Low German (a West Germanic language spoken in the lowlands of northern Germany and the eastern Netherlands). Norwegian has also been strongly influenced by English, especially in the last century. As a result, Bokmål has a significantly larger English influence than Nynorsk. Norwegian is a relatively young language. It was first codified in the early 19th century, and the first Norwegian-language newspaper was not published until 1811. It is, however, the descendant of Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings, and has been influenced by Danish, Swedish, and Low German throughout its history.

Language group

North Germanic languages

Language locales, regions and scripts

Norwegian
no
Norwegian, Norway, Latin
no-Latn-NO
Norwegian, Latin
no-Latn
Norwegian, Norway
no-NO