Norwegian: Bokmål vs. Nynorsk
Norwegian has two official written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk, which sit atop a wide continuum of regional dialects and carry a long history of politics, identity, and reform efforts such as the abandoned “Samnorsk” unification project. Commenters describe how Bokmål dominates public life and foreign-language teaching, while Nynorsk remains a minority standard tied more closely to rural speech, cultural elites, and certain regions, and is often resented when imposed in schools. The thread also highlights practical consequences: inconsistent support in tools like Google Translate and search, shifting number systems influenced by telephone infrastructure, and the challenges learners and immigrants face when confronting both written standards and highly divergent spoken dialects.
Prevalence of Bokmål vs. Nynorsk
- Bokmål dominates; around 90% of written Norwegian uses it, and most everyday exposure (web, UI, media) is Bokmål.
- Nynorsk is regionally strong in parts of western and southwestern Norway and was historically more widespread (e.g., Trøndelag, some northern areas).
- State bodies must publish a fixed share of content in Nynorsk; many Norwegians never use it otherwise.
Written Standards vs. Spoken Dialects
- Consensus: Bokmål and Nynorsk are written standards; nobody’s native spoken language is “Bokmål” or “Nynorsk”.
- Norway is a dialect continuum with very large regional differences, often over short distances, shaped by geography (fjords, mountains, coastal vs inland).
- People often “smooth” their dialect or approximate written Bokmål when talking to foreigners or on national media, but everyday speech diverges heavily from both standards.
Number Systems and Language Reform
- Historically, Norwegian used “reverse” German-style two-digit numbers (“five-and-thirty”), which stem from Old Norse.
- A mid‑20th‑century reform, driven by the telephone administration to reduce dialing errors, promoted “forward” (English-style) numbers.
- Change has been gradual: old forms persist in speech (especially older generations and some regions) but are now rare in writing.
Education, Policy, and Attitudes
- Many posters recall compulsory Nynorsk in school (essays, separate notebooks) and describe it as politically driven and resented, sometimes “ruining” grades or even career plans.
- Others later came to appreciate Nynorsk, especially in literature (e.g., Nobel-winning authors) and older forms, and see it as a threatened minority standard analogous to Sami.
- There is disagreement over Nynorsk’s status: some see a “cultural elite” within its user base; others stress it is low-prestige nationally and under constant pressure.
Technology, Translation, and Search
- Google Translate offers only “Norwegian” and ignores the Bokmål/Nynorsk split; Nynorsk suffers from a smaller corpus.
- Machine translation and grammar tools often mishandle Norwegian; search lacks basic synonym mapping between Bokmål and Nynorsk forms, frustrating users.
Comparisons and Practical Advice
- Comparisons are drawn to Cantonese vs Mandarin, German–Czech, Indo-European vs Japanese number systems, and Swedish reforms.
- For learners and SaaS localization, commenters advise: target Bokmål first; Nynorsk is useful regionally and culturally but not essential for basic comprehension.