Norwegian
Goddag! (Hello!) One of the Scandinavian or North Germanic languages, Norwegian is the official language of Norway, and is closely related to both Danish and Swedish. There are two main forms of the Norwegian language: Bokmål and Nynorsk (the Sami language of Norway’s indigenous people is of a totally different origin). Bokmål stems from the written Danish introduced during the union of Denmark and Norway from the 14th to 19th centuries, while Nynorsk was created during the mid-19th century in order to carry on the tradition of Old Norse.
Norwegian Fun Facts
Norwegian is closely related to both Danish and Swedish. In fact, these three languages are so close that the countries’ inhabitants can communicate with each other without major problems.
Norway has ranked number one on the quality of life category in the Human Development Index since 2009 (and from 2001-2006).
Etymologists think that Norway means “the northward route” or the “north way,” which in Old Norse would have been nor veg or *norð vegr.
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A view of Bergen, a city built around the Seven Mountains on the west coast of Norway. Photo submitted by Unni.
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Olso, capital of Norway, by night. Photo submitted by dalu.
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Sunrise over Trondheim, the third largest city in Norway. Photo submitted by Ingvild.
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Lillehammer, Norway, home of the 1994 Winter Olympics. Photo submitted by Hana hero ^_^.
Norwegian and the Livemocha Community
- 32% of Norwegians on Livemocha are learning Norwegian. The next most popular language for Norwegians to learn is English, with 18%.
- The top 5 countries with Livemocha members learning Norwegian are: Norway, the US, Brazil, Russia, and Lithuania.
- Norwegian is spoken most by Livemocha members in Norway, the US, Brazil, Sweden, and the UK.