Modern Norwegian

Modern Norwegian is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350-1536). The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Protestant Reformation and the beginning of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway (1536-1814).

The Norwegian linguistic term for Modern Norwegian is Nynorsk, literally New Norwegian. Nynorsk is also the name of a Norwegian written standard based on Modern Norwegian dialects, as opposed to the Norwegianisation of Danish.

In contrast to Old Norse language, Modern Norwegian has simplified inflections and a more fixed syntax. Old Norse vocabulary is to a considerable degree substituted by Low German, and this is the main reason why Modern Norwegian, together with contemporary Norwegian in general, Danish and Swedish, is no longer mutually intelligible with Insular Nordic (Icelandic and Faroese); see North Germanic languages.

While Modern Norwegian is a linguistic term with a specific historical meaning, contemporary Norwegian also includes the Dano-Norwegian koiné now commonly known as Standard Østnorsk (Standard East Norwegian) and the related official written standard Bokmål. Standard Østnorsk is spoken by a large and rapidly growing minority of Norwegians, and Bokmål is by far the most widely-used written language, even among users of Modern Norwegian dialects.

The terms Nynorsk, Modern Norwegian and Contemporary Norwegian is somewhat confusing, because in Norwegian the same term Nynorsk is used for the two former, while Contemporary Norwegian easily could be called moderne norsk (literally Modern Norwegian) in Norwegian.

See also

Language history Old Norse language Old Norwegian Middle Norwegian Dano-Norwegian Norwegian language

Orthographies Bokmål (official written language, based on the Danish language, but with significant changes) Høgnorsk (unofficial, based on the original Landsmål and pre-1938 Nynorsk, has no standardising body) Landsmål (the official name of Nynorsk until 1929, sometimes referring to the original orthography developed by Ivar Aasen) Nynorsk (official written language, based on the Norwegian Dialects, compiled by Ivar Aasen) Riksmål (unofficial, based on Danish and pre-1938 Bokmål, but with some modernisation since. It is standardised by Det Norske Akademi for Sprog og Litteratur. It was also the official name of Bokmål until 1929.)