Table of Contents
What makes Norwegian and Danish different languages?
Danish, Norwegian (including Bokmål, the most common standard form of written Norwegian, and Nynorsk) and Swedish are all descended from Old Norse, the common ancestor of all North Germanic languages spoken today. Thus, they are closely related, and largely mutually intelligible.
What makes Danish language unique?
Like English, Danish uses the Roman alphabet, but it contains three extra vowels: Æ, Ø, and Å. Therefore, it has a total of nine vowels, which can be pronounced in sixteen different ways. For instance, the “a” in sal (hall), salt (salt), and saks (scissors) sounds distinct in each word.
What language family is Norwegian?
Germanic language
Linguistic background Norwegian belongs to the northern branch of Germanic language along with Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and Faroese.
What are the differences between Danish and Norwegian dialects?
If you compare Swedish and Norwegian in particular, the differences between their own internal dialects are just as great as the differences between the written, standard forms of the two languages. Danish is the odd one out as regards pronunciation, which can sound rather blurred and indistinct to Norwegian/Swedish ears.
Danish, Norwegian (including Bokmål, the most common standard form of written Norwegian, and Nynorsk) and Swedish are all descended from Old Norse, the common ancestor of all North Germanic languages spoken today. Thus, they are closely related, and largely mutually intelligible.
Generally, speakers of the three largest Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) can read and speak each other’s languages without great difficulty. This is especially true of Danish and Norwegian.
Which Nordic language is spoken by the most people?
Swedish is spoken by the most people amongst all the five Nordic languages – 10 million people. Swedish — Sweden’s national language and one of Finland’s national language — and Danish are written in a similar manner. If Swedish, Danish and Norwegian were sisters, Swedish would be the eldest of them all.