Norway Languages

Norway Wiki Topics

Norway Beginning Research

Finding Town of Origin Getting Started Guided Research Online Learning Record Finder Research Strategies

Record Types

Business & Occupations Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Compiled Genealogies Court Records Emigration & Immigration Farm Books Land & Property Military Records Newspapers Nobility Online Genealogy Records Probate Records Religious Records Schools & Education Taxation Vital Records Websites

Norway Background

Biographies Dates & Calendars Encyclopedias & Dictionaries For Further Reading Gazetteers Handwriting History Jurisdictions Languages Maps Naming Customs Periodicals Place Names Social Life & Customs

Norway Genealogical Word Lists

Latin Norwegian

Cultural Groups

Cultural Groups Sami Peoples

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Local FamilySearch Center

Norway

Languages

Description

Most of the people in Norway speak Norwegian, a North Germanic language closely related to Danish and Swedish. There are two official variants of the language, Bokmål (also called Riksmål) strongly influenced by Danish; and a more rural version, Nynorsk, based Ivar Aasen's work to develop a standard Norwegian language (Landsmål) based on local dialects.

There are also many regional dialects which may be encountered when researching in printed materials. In addition to the two versions of Norwegian, Norway has several recognized regional or minority languages, Sámi (Northern, Lule, and Southern dialects), Kven, Romani, Scandoromani and Norwegian Sign Language.

Most materials used in Norwegian research are written in Danish or Norwegian. Although you do not need to speak or read these languages to do research, you do need some knowledge of the language to understand the records. You may also find some Latin words in Norwegian records. A list of words in various local dialects found in local histories can be found at Norwegian Dialect Word List.

Word Lists

• Norwegian Genealogical Word List
• Norwegian Dialect Word List
• Norwegian Medical Terms
• Latin Genealogical Word List

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Norwegian Alphabet

Letter Pronunciation A [ a ] as in car B [ b ] as in buy C before i,e,y [ s ] as in circus before a,o,u [ k ] as in camping D [ d ] as in dog E [ e ] as in get F [ f ] as in fine G [ g ] as in girl H [ h ] as in hat I [ i ] as in ski J [ y ] as in yes K [ k ] as in kite L [ l ] as in live M [ m ] as in map N [ n ] as in now O [ o ] as in school P [ p ] as in pen Q [ kv ] as in quiz R [ ɽ ] like a Scottish r S [ s ] as in see T [ t ] as in tea U [ u ] as in flu V [ v ] as in violin W [ v ] as in violin X [ ks ] as in tax Y [ y ] as in syrup Z [ z ] as in zoom

Other Letters Letter Pronunciation Æ [ a ] as in sad Ø [ u ] as in burn Å [ aw ] as in saw

Language Aids and Dictionaries

• Cambridge Dictionary English-Norwegian
• bab.la Norwegian-English Dictioanry
• Norwegian Class 101.com Norwegian Dictionary
• Det Norske Akademis Ordbok - online Norwegian dictionary

Additional Resources

• Bråtveit, Kari, Norwegian dictionary : Norwegian-English, English-Norwegian, London : Routledge, [2015?], available at Worldcat.org
• Holland, J Gill, Norwegian dictionary & phrasebook : Norwegian-English, English-Norwegian, New York : Hippocrene Books, ©2003., available at Worldcat.orgv
• Žiūkaitė-Hansen, Laura, Norwegian practical dictionary : Norwegian-English, English-Norwegian, New York : Hippocrene Books, ©2011., available at Worldcat.org
• Omniglot: Norwegian language, alphabet and pronounciation, Norwegian language learning material
• Norgesskolen: Norwegian Summer School - two week school in language in culture
• Concordia Language Villages: Norwegian