Editing Norwegian language (section)

==Written language==
[[File:Norwegian keyboard by Dell.jpg|thumb|right|Norwegian keyboard with keys for Æ, Ø, and Å]]
{{Main|Norwegian orthography}}

===Alphabet===
{{Main|Dano-Norwegian alphabet}}
The Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Publikasjoner/Spraaknytt/Arkivet/Spraaknytt_2001/Spraaknytt_2001_4/Bokstaver_og_alfabet/ |title=Bokstaver og alfabet |trans-title=Letters and alphabet |last=Torp |first=Arne |number=4 |date=2001 |journal=Språknytt |language=no |pages=1–4 |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630210752/http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Publikasjoner/Spraaknytt/Arkivet/Spraaknytt_2001/Spraaknytt_2001_4/Bokstaver_og_alfabet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| border=0 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=1 style="padding:0 .5em .2em; border:1px solid #999; margin:1em 0;"
|- style="font-size:large; text-align:center; "
| [[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]]
|- style="font-size:large; text-align:center; "
| 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
|}

The letters ''c'', ''q'', ''w'', ''x'' and ''z'' are only used in [[loanword]]s. As loanwords are assimilated into Norwegian, their spelling might change to reflect Norwegian pronunciation and the principles of Norwegian orthography, e.g. ''[[zebra]]'' in Norwegian is written {{Lang|no|sebra}}. Due to historical reasons, some otherwise Norwegian family names are also written using these letters.

Some letters may be modified by [[diacritic]]s: ''é'', ''è'', ''ê'', ''ó'', ''ò'', and ''ô''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Johansen |first=Pål |title=cirkumfleks |date=22 August 2023 |url=https://snl.no/cirkumfleks |work=Store norske leksikon |access-date=1 December 2023 |language=no |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922114946/https://snl.no/cirkumfleks |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Citation |last=Simonsen |first=Hanne Gram |title=aksenttegn og andre diakritiske tegn |date=22 August 2023 |url=https://snl.no/aksenttegn_og_andre_diakritiske_tegn |work=Store norske leksikon |access-date=1 December 2023 |language=no |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202192221/https://snl.no/aksenttegn_og_andre_diakritiske_tegn |url-status=live }}</ref> In Nynorsk, ''ì'' and ''ù'' and ''ỳ'' are occasionally seen as well.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} The diacritics are not compulsory, but may in a few cases distinguish between different meanings of the word, e.g.: {{Lang|no|for}} ('for/to'), {{Lang|no|fór}} ('went'), {{Lang|no|fòr}} ('furrow') and {{Lang|no|fôr}} ('fodder').<ref name=":2" /> Loanwords may be spelled with other diacritics, most notably ''ï, ü<ref name=":2" />'', ''á'' and ''à''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===Bokmål and Nynorsk===
{{Main|Bokmål|Nynorsk|Norwegian language conflict}}
[[File:Målformer i Norge.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Map of the official language forms of Norwegian municipalities: red is [[Bokmål]], blue is [[Nynorsk]], and gray depicts neutral areas.]]
The two legally recognized forms of ''written'' Norwegian are ''[[Bokmål]]'' (literally 'book tongue') and ''[[Nynorsk]]'' ('new Norwegian'), which are regulated by the [[Language Council of Norway]] ({{Lang|no|Språkrådet}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lov om språk (språklova) - Lovdata |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2021-05-21-42 |url-status=live |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=lovdata.no |archive-date=30 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830043808/https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2021-05-21-42 }}</ref> Two other written forms without official status also exist. One, called ''[[Riksmål]]'' ('national language'), is today to a large extent the same language as Bokmål though somewhat closer to the Danish language. It is regulated by the unofficial [[Norwegian Academy]], which translates the name as 'Standard Norwegian'. The other is ''[[Høgnorsk]]'' ('High Norwegian'), a more [[Linguistic purism|purist]] form of Nynorsk, which maintains the language in an original form as given by [[Ivar Aasen]] and rejects most of the reforms from the 20th century; this form has limited use.

Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, but not for how to speak the language. No standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most [[Norwegian dialects|Norwegians speak their own dialects]] in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in many other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect, whether it coincides with the written norms or not, is accepted as correct ''spoken'' Norwegian. However, in areas where [[Norwegian dialects|East Norwegian dialects]] are used, a tendency exists to accept a de facto spoken standard for this particular regional dialect, [[Urban East Norwegian]] or Standard East Norwegian ({{langx|no|Standard østnorsk| links=no}}), in which the vocabulary coincides with Bokmål.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/sin/article/viewFile/17027/14789 |title=Om begrepene språklig standard og språklig standardisering |trans-title=About the terms linguistic standard and linguistic standardization |last=Vannebo |first=Kjell Ivar |journal=Sprog I Norden |language=no |date=2001 |pages=119–128 |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015180751/http://ojs.statsbiblioteket.dk/index.php/sin/article/viewFile/17027/14789 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kristoffersen">{{cite book |last=Kristoffersen |first=Gjert |author-link=Gjert Kristoffersen |title=The Phonology of Norwegian |url=https://archive.org/details/phonologynorwegi00kris_297 |url-access=limited |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/phonologynorwegi00kris_297/page/n22 6]–11 |isbn=978-0-19-823765-5}}</ref> Outside [[Eastern Norway]], this spoken variation is not used.

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the standard written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to [[nationalism]], rural versus urban discourse, and Norway's literary history. Historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The now-abandoned official policy to merge Bokmål and Nynorsk into one common language called ''Samnorsk'' through a series of spelling reforms has created a wide spectrum of varieties of both Bokmål and Nynorsk. The unofficial form known as ''Riksmål'' is considered more [[conservative (language)|conservative]] than Bokmål and is far closer to Danish while the unofficial ''Høgnorsk'' is more conservative than Nynorsk and is far closer to [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] and [[Old Norse]].

Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. Each student gets assigned a native form based on which school they go to, whence the other form (known as {{Lang|no|Sidemål}}) will be a mandatory school subject from elementary school through high school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.udir.no/kl06/NOR1-05|title=Læreplan i norsk (NOR1-05)|website=www.udir.no|language=nb|access-date=19 July 2018|archive-date=14 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714221827/https://www.udir.no/kl06/NOR1-05|url-status=live}}</ref> For instance, a Norwegian whose main language form is Bokmål will study Nynorsk as a mandatory subject throughout both elementary and high school. A 2005 poll indicates that 86.3% use primarily Bokmål as their daily written language, 5.5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7.5% use primarily Nynorsk.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} Thus, 13% are frequently ''writing'' Nynorsk, though the majority ''speak'' dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.apollon.uio.no/vis/art/1998/1/dialekt |last=Venås |first=Kjell |year=1994 |title=Dialekt og normaltalemålet |trans-title=Dialect and normal speech |journal=Apollon |language=no |volume=1 |issn=0803-6926 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185459/http://www.apollon.uio.no/vis/art/1998/1/dialekt |archive-date=24 July 2011 |accessdate=12 January 2009 }}</ref> Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, and also in the upper parts of mountain valleys in the southern and eastern parts of Norway. Examples are [[Setesdal]], the western part of [[Telemark]] county ({{Lang|no|fylke}}) and several municipalities in [[Hallingdal]], [[Valdres]], and [[Gudbrandsdalen]]. It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago,{{As of?|date=December 2022}} it also had strongholds in many rural parts of [[Trøndelag]] (mid-Norway) and the southern part of northern Norway ([[Nordland]] county). Today, Nynorsk is the official language of not only four of the nineteen Norwegian counties but also various municipalities in five other counties. [[NRK]], the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all written publications, and Nynorsk in 8% (2000).{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

Like some other European countries, Norway has an official "advisory board"{{mdash}} [[Norwegian Language Council|Språkrådet]] (Norwegian Language Council){{mdash}} that determines, after approval from the Ministry of Culture, official spelling, grammar, and vocabulary for the Norwegian language. The board's work has been subject to considerable controversy throughout the years.

Both Nynorsk and Bokmål have a great variety of optional forms. The Bokmål that uses the forms that are close to Riksmål is called ''moderate'' or ''conservative'', depending on one's viewpoint, while the Bokmål that uses the forms that are close to Nynorsk is called ''radical''. Nynorsk has forms that are close to the original Landsmål and forms that are close to Bokmål.

===Riksmål===
{{Main|Riksmål}}
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2016}}
Opponents of the spelling reforms aimed at bringing Bokmål closer to Nynorsk have retained the name Riksmål and employ spelling and grammar that predate the Samnorsk movement. Riksmål and conservative versions of Bokmål have been the ''de facto'' standard written language of Norway for most 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 literary tradition. Since the reforms of 1981 and 2003 (effective in 2005), the official Bokmål can be adapted to be almost identical with modern Riksmål. The differences between written Riksmål and Bokmål are comparable to [[American and British English differences]].

Riksmål is regulated by the [[Norwegian Academy]], which determines acceptable spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.

===Høgnorsk===
{{Main|Høgnorsk}}
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2016}}
There is also an unofficial form of Nynorsk, called ''Høgnorsk'', discarding the post-1917 reforms, and thus close to Ivar Aasen's original Landsmål. It is supported by [[Ivar Aasen-sambandet]], but has found no widespread use.

===Current usage===
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}
In 2010, 86.5% of the pupils in the primary and lower secondary schools in Norway receive education in Bokmål, while 13.0% receive education in Nynorsk. From the eighth grade onwards, pupils are required to learn both. Out of the 431 municipalities in Norway, 161 have declared that they wish to communicate with the central authorities in Bokmål, 116 (representing 12% of the population) in Nynorsk, while 156 are neutral. Of 4,549 state publications in 2000, 8% were in Nynorsk, and 92% in Bokmål. The large national newspapers ({{Lang|no|[[Aftenposten]], [[Dagbladet]]}}, and [[Verdens Gang|''VG'']]) are published in Bokmål or Riksmål. Some major regional newspapers (including {{Lang|no|[[Bergens Tidende]]}} and ''[[Stavanger Aftenblad]]''), many political journals, and many local newspapers use both Bokmål and Nynorsk.

A newer trend is to write in dialect for informal use. When writing an SMS, Facebook update, or fridge note, many people, especially young ones, write approximations of the way they talk rather than using Bokmål or Nynorsk.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kornai |first1=András |title=Digital Language Death |journal=PLOS ONE |date=2013 |volume=8 |issue=10 |page=e77056 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0077056|pmid=24167559 |pmc=3805564 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...877056K |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dewey |first1=Caitlin |title=How the Internet is killing the world's languages |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/12/04/how-the-internet-is-killing-the-worlds-languages/ |access-date=30 April 2020 |agency=The Washington Post |date=2013 |archive-date=31 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131235733/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/12/04/how-the-internet-is-killing-the-worlds-languages/ |url-status=live }}</ref>