Page Type: languageNorwegian | Ethnologue

NOR ISO 639-3

Norwegian

Norsk Autonym

A language of Norway

nor
Norsk
5,190,000 in Norway (2017). Total users in all countries: 5,296,770.
1 (National). De facto national language.
Indo-European, Germanic, North, East Scandinavian, Danish-Swedish, Danish-Bokmal
SVO; prepositions; noun head final; gender (masculine/feminine/neuter); definite and indefinite articles; passives (active, middle, passive); comparatives; 24 consonants, 12 vowels, 5 diphthongs; 2 pitch contours; stress on first syllable.
Most also use English [eng].
Fully developed. Bible: 1904–1985.
OLAC resources in and about Norwegian
Latin script [Latn].
Norwegian has 2 written standards, both of which are assigned codes in the ISO 639-3 standard: Bokmål Norwegian (nob) and Nynorsk Norwegian (nno). Bokmål differs from Nynorsk in numerous details in the lexicon, morphosyntax and the use of diphthongs versus single vowels. These written norms have neither a precise geographical delineation nor a direct correspondence with spoken dialects, although Nynorsk is closer to the western dialects and is more in use in western Norway. The written norms are grammatically and lexically very similar. Nynorsk, used by a minority of Norwegians, can be classified as West Scandinavian; Bokmål, the written standard of the majority of the population, tends towards East Scandinavian. Thus, Norwegian draws lexicon and syntax from both West Scandinavian and East Scandinavian speech varieties.
Norwegian
2,900 in Australia (2016 census).
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
4,620 in Canada (2016 census).
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
6,620 in Germany (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
15,700 in Denmark (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
4,930 in Russian Federation (2012 UNSD).
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
32,600 in Sweden (2020 census). , based on nationality.
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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Norwegian
39,400 in United States (2015 census).
Scattered.
Unestablished
Non-indigenous.
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