A little bit of Norwegian culture

Language

The North Germanic Norwegian language has two official written forms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Both are recognized as official languages, which are both used in public administration, schools, churches and media, but Bokmål is used by the vast majority, about 85-90%. About 95% of the population speak Norwegian as their native tongue, although many speak dialects that may differ significantly from the written language. In general, most Norwegians are among intelligible dialects, although some may require considerable effort by a listener to understand. Several Finno-Ugric Sami languages are spoken and written throughout the country, especially in the north, the Sami people. Speakers are entitled to receive education in Sami language no matter where they live and receive communication from the government in various Sami languages. The minority Finno-Ugric language spoken Kven Kven / Finnish. No promotion of Norway for taking sign language an official Norwegian language.

In the 19th and 20th century, the Norwegian language was the subject of political and cultural controversy, which led to the creation of Nynorsk in the 19th century and the formation of the alternate spelling rules in the 20th century, including the standard Riksmål , which is more conservative (ie more similar to Danish) than Bokmål.

Norway is similar to the other Scandinavian languages, Swedish and Danish. The three languages are mutually intelligible and can be, and are commonly used in communication "among the inhabitants of Scandinavia. As a result of cooperation within the Nordic Council, inhabitants of all Nordic countries, including Iceland and Finland, have the right to communicate with the Norwegian authorities in their own language.

Any Norwegian student who is a child of immigrant parents are encouraged to learn the Norwegian language. The Norwegian government offers language instructional courses for immigrants wishing to obtain Norwegian citizenship.

The main foreign language taught in Norwegian primary school is English. The majority of the population is fluent in English, especially those born after the Second World War. German, French and Spanish are also commonly taught as a second or third language. Russian, Japanese, Italian, Latin and rarely Chinese (Mandarin) are available in some schools, particularly in cities. Traditionally, English, German and French were considered the main foreign languages in Norway. These languages, for example, were used in the passports of Norway until the 1990s, and college students have a general right to use these languages when submitting his thesis.