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
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
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
