Should I learn Bokmål or Norsk?

Should I learn bokmål or nynorsk? Since 90% of the Norwegian population use bokmål, we strongly recommend starting with bokmål.

What is the difference between Norsk and Bokmål?

Grammar: The most important difference between Bokmål and Nynorsk lies in the grammar, in the form and inflection that the words have. Bokmål follows the grammar rules of written Danish, while Nynorsk has its own unique grammar rules based on Norwegian dialects.

What language should I learn for Norway?

Norway has two official languages: Norwegian and Sami. There are two main dialects of Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk. They're quite different. Most international students choose to learn Bokmål as it's the more widely spoken dialect.

Do all Norwegians understand Bokmål?

Today Bokmål is the main language for 85% of Norwegians, and therefore a good choice to learn if you want to understand as many Norwegians as possible. And due to its Danish roots, it also gives you some advantages if you cross the border to Denmark for a Post-Covid vacation!

How hard is it to learn Bokmål?

Due to being a Germanic language, Norwegian is one of the easiest languages to learn by native English speakers. In fact, according to the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) of the US government, an English speaker would need about 575 hours or 23 weeks of practice to become fluent in Norwegian.

Ask a Norwegian Teacher - Bokmål or Nynorsk?

Is Norwegian the hardest language to learn?

In fact, the Foreign Service Institute places Norwegian in the category of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers, only requiring about 600 hours of study to reach professional level proficiency. Norway has also borrowed plenty of words from English.

Can Duolingo make you fluent in Norwegian?

It'll give you very good grounds with a classroom course, but definitely won't make you any kind of fluent. If you finish all Duolingo lessons, can you say you're fluent in that language? Short answer: No.

Do more people speak Bokmål or Nynorsk?

Well, both forms are used in the country and both forms are taught at Norwegian schools. Bokmål is the form that is more popular in Norway, about 85-90 % of writing is done in Bokmål. However, in some areas, Nynorsk is more popular, especially in Western Norway. So it comes to your preferences and your place of living.

What percentage of Norwegians speak Bokmål?

Bokmål (literally "book tongue", or,,book language'') is a Norwegian variety of the common Scandinavian language spoken in Norway. It is used by 95% of the population, although 5% of Norwegians have an accent that sounds more like Nynorsk, which is used by 2% of the population.

What percent of Norway speaks Bokmål?

In contrast, 80 to 90 percent of Norway's population uses Bokmål as its written standard. Due to the complex nature of Norway's history, you'll find that few Norwegians speak the way they write. An abundant mix of spoken dialects exists in Norway.

Which Nordic language is most useful?

Swedish is the largest of the Scandinavian languages, spoken by 10 million people. It's also an official language in Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. This means that it will be useful if you are planning to travel or work in any of these countries.

Is it OK to speak English in Norway?

Most Norwegians have a reasonable level of English. You will find that you can speak English in most shops and restaurants, as well as in public offices and with service providers.

What are the top 3 languages spoken in Norway?

Many languages are spoken, written and signed in Norway. In Norway, the indigenous languages, Norwegian and Sámi, have official status. Out of them, Norwegian is the most widely spoken language in Norway. English, a foreign language, is the second most widely spoken language in Norway.

Does anyone speak Bokmål?

Today Bokmål is dominating in all sectors of the Norwegian society as 85–90 % of the population are writing in Bokmål. The users are living in all parts of the country. To some degree Bokmål is used as a spoken language. Some dialects are more similar to Bokmål than others.

Is the Norwegian language dying?

Norwegian will most likely die in a few centuries or milennia, but currently population growth — albeit caused by immigration — and the frequency of which new generations are learning the language indicates that Norwegian is stable is in stable condition.

Does Duolingo teach Bokmål or Nynorsk?

Norwegian for English is a Duolingo language course teaching Norwegian to speakers of English. The course teaches a standardized, moderate form of Bokmål, but other valid vocabulary and grammar variations will be accepted. Nynorsk is not included in the course except as a bonus skill.

Is Bokmål similar to Danish?

Note that Norwegian (moderate Bokmål/Riksmål) evolved from a language that was almost completely Danish in 1907. Thus Danish spellings only fell into disuse over a long period in the 20th century.

What language is closest to Norwegian?

Danish and Norwegian are very similar, or indeed almost identical when it comes to vocabulary, but they sound very different from one another. Norwegian and Swedish are closer in terms of pronunciation, but the words differ. Let's imagine the Scandinavian languages as three sisters.

Can Nynorsk understand Bokmål?

Bokmål and Nynorsk are written languages only. Nobody speaks one or the other. Norwegian speakers speak Norwegian. The differences between speakers has to do with dialects.

Does Bergen use Nynorsk or Bokmål?

Nynorsk has been chosen as the official written language in Vestland in all, but in Bergen, bokmål is the dominant written language. Nynorsk was developed in the middle of the 19th century to be based on Norwegian dialects, in order to more accurately reflect how Norwegian is spoken.

How similar are Bokmål and Nynorsk?

We can also say that bokmål and nynorsk are similar. Many words are the same, some words are slightly different, while other look completely different. There are also some differences when it comes to grammar and sentence structure.

Is it easy to learn Norwegian if you speak German?

Build upon the language(s) you already speak.

Much of the vocabulary in Norwegian is very close to either English or German, so if you speak either of those languages, you can use this to your advantage.

Is Norwegian hard for English speakers?

In truth, Norwegian is not at all difficult to learn for English speakers. After all, 50.000 Americans in the Midwest speak it. And Norwegian grammar has much in common with English, because both languages derive from the Germanic language group.

What level of Norwegian does Duolingo teach?

Duolingo only teaches the Bokmål version of Norwegian.

Norwegian is a simple enough language to learn, that's why we in Norwegian Community say we can get you to fluency within three months if you work it our way. But Norway actually has two official languages. Bokmål and Nynorsk.