Nynorsk

Nynorsk ("new Norwegian") is one of the two officially sanctioned written standards of Norwegian. It is used as the primary written language by 10-15% of Norwegian speakers in Norway. Nynorsk is modelled on the traditional Norwegian dialects and is considered more of a rural language by some, especially those who write in the majority standard, Bokm?l, which is mainly derived from written Danish. Bokm?l means "book language" which indicates that it is actually a written language, whereas many spoken dialects are in fact closer to Nynorsk than to Bokm?l, more so than the 10-15% usage would suggest.

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The situation between Bokm?l and Nynorsk remains to this day very much a socio-political one, alongside being a linguistic and cultural one. Aside from Bokm?l and Nynorsk, there is a more conservative variant of Nynorsk called H?gnorsk, which is claimed to be even more valid and exact in terms of spelling and grammar than Nynorsk as a Norwegian language without Danish influence.

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Ivar Aasen is considered the founding father of Nynorsk. The son of a farmer from western Norway, Aasen desired a written standard of Norwegian that better reflected the genuine dialects of the country, devoid of the evolution he believed that the written Norwegian at the time (Riksm?l) had from Danish influences. He travelled throughout Norway ?mostly the western and inner parts of the country? during the 1840s-50s, gathering information to build a truly Norwegian written language closer to these spoken dialects.

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In example, compare these two phrases in Nynorsk and Bokm?l:

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• Bokm?l: Jeg kommer fra Norge.
• Nynorsk: Eg kjem fr? Noreg.
• English: I come from Norway. (eg: I am from Norway)

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