View source for North Germanic languages

{{Short description|Languages of the Nordic countries}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox language family
|name=North Germanic
|altname=Nordic<br />Scandinavian
|region=[[Northern Europe]]
|ethnicity=[[North Germanic peoples]]
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3=[[Northwest Germanic]]

|protoname=[[Proto-Norse language|Proto-Norse]]
|iso5=gmq
|glotto=nort3160
|glottorefname=North Germanic
|map=File:North_germanic_languages.svg
|mapcaption='''North Germanic-speaking lands'''<br />
''Continental Scandinavian languages:''
{{legend|#6D1EAE|[[Danish language|Danish]]}}
{{legend|#0080FF|[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]}}
{{legend|#004080|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]}}
''Insular Nordic languages:''
{{legend|#2DCC71|[[Faroese language|Faroese]]}}
{{legend|#399A00|[[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]}}
{{legend|#1F1F1F|''[[Norn language|Norn]] (†)''}}
{{legend|blank|''[[Greenlandic Norse language|Greenlandic Norse]] (†)''}} 

*Extinct [[Norn language|Norn]] was spoken in [[Orkney]], [[Shetland]] and [[Caithness]] in what is now Scotland until the 19th century.
*Extinct [[Greenlandic Norse]] was spoken in the [[Norsemen|Norse]] [[Norse settlements in Greenland|settlements]] of [[Greenland]] until their demise in the late 15th century.
|child1='''West Scandinavian'''|child2='''East Scandinavian'''}}

The '''North Germanic languages''' make up one of the three branches of the [[Germanic languages]]—a sub-family of the [[Indo-European languages]]—along with the [[West Germanic languages]] and the extinct [[East Germanic languages]]. The language group is also referred to as the '''Nordic languages''', a direct translation of the most common term used among [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] scholars and people.

The term ''North Germanic languages'' is used in [[comparative linguistics]],<ref>Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90971 Language Family Trees Indo-European, Germanic, North] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003151054/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90971 |date=3 October 2012 }}. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International</ref> whereas the term '''Scandinavian languages''' appears in studies of the modern standard languages and the [[dialect continuum]] of [[Scandinavia]].<ref>[http://uit.no/scandiasyn/scandiasyn/1 Scandinavian Dialect Syntax] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112160915/http://uit.no/scandiasyn/scandiasyn/1 |date=12 January 2012 }}. Network for Scandinavian Dialect Syntax. Retrieved 11 November 2007.</ref><ref name="Torp" /> Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are close enough to form a strong [[mutual intelligibility]] where cross-border communication in native languages is very common, particularly between the latter two.

Approximately 20 million people in the [[Nordic countries]] speak a Scandinavian language as their native language,<ref name="Holmberg">Holmberg, Anders and Christer Platzack (2005). "The Scandinavian languages". In ''The Comparative Syntax Handbook,'' eds [[Guglielmo Cinque]] and Richard S. Kayne. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. [http://www.dur.ac.uk/anders.holmberg/resources/The%20Scandinavian%20Languages.pdf Excerpt at Durham University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203191740/http://www.dur.ac.uk/anders.holmberg/resources/The%20Scandinavian%20Languages.pdf |date=3 December 2007 }}.</ref> including an approximately [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|5% minority]] in [[Finland]]. Besides being the only North Germanic language with official status in two separate sovereign states, Swedish is also the most spoken of the languages overall. 15% of the population in [[Greenland]] speak Danish as a first language.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 February 2021|title=Sprog og politik i Grønland|url=https://unric.org/da/sprog-og-politik-i-groenland/|access-date=21 February 2022|website=Forenede Nationers|language=da-DK|archive-date=21 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221205325/https://unric.org/da/sprog-og-politik-i-groenland/|url-status=live}}</ref>

This language branch is separated from the [[West Germanic languages]], consisting of languages like English, Dutch, and German to the south, and does not include the [[Finnic languages|Finnic]] and [[Sami languages]] spoken in the same region, which belong to the completely unrelated [[Uralic languages|Uralic language family]].

== Modern languages and dialects ==
<!---KEEP IT SHORT, more detailed grouping is further down the page!-->
The modern languages and their dialects in this group are:
* '''East Scandinavian'''
** [[Danish language|Danish]]
*** [[Jutlandic dialect]]
**** [[North Jutlandic Island|North Jutlandic]]
**** East Jutlandic
**** West Jutlandic
**** [[South Jutlandic]]
*** [[Insular Danish]]
*** [[East Danish]]
** [[Swedish language|Swedish]]<ref>Leinonen, Therese (2011), "Aggregate analysis of vowel pronunciation in Swedish dialects", Oslo Studies in Language 3 (2) Aggregate analysis of vowel pronunciation in Swedish dialects]", Oslo Studies in Language 3 (2); Dahl, Östen (2000), ''Språkets enhet och mångfald''., Lund: [[Studentlitteratur]], pp. 117–119; Lars-Erik Edlund "Språklig variation i tid och rum" in Dahl, Östen & Edlund, Lars-Erik, eds. (2010), ''Sveriges nationalatlas. Språken i Sverige.''Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitets akademien, p. 9</ref>
*** [[Götamål|Göta dialects]]
*** [[Gotlandic|Gotland dialects]]
*** [[Svealand Swedish|Svealand dialects]]
*** [[Norrland dialects]]
*** East Swedish dialects
**** [[Finland Swedish]]
**** [[Estonian Swedish]]
**[[Gutnish]]<ref name=Konig2013 /><ref name=Bandle2008 />
* '''West Scandinavian'''
** [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
*** [[Bokmål]] (written)
*** [[Nynorsk]] (written)
*** [[Trøndersk|Trønder dialects]]
*** [[:no:Østlandsk|East Norwegian dialects]]
*** [[Vestlandsk|West Norwegian dialects]]
*** [[:no:Nordnorsk|North Norwegian dialects]]
** [[Dalecarlian language]]
*** [[Elfdalian]]<ref name=Kroonen/>
** [[Faroese language|Faroese]]
** [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]

== History ==

===Distinction from East and West Germanic===
The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: [[West Germanic languages|West]], [[East Germanic languages|East]] and North Germanic.<ref name=Hawkins>{{cite book|last=Hawkins|first=John A.|chapter=Germanic languages|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldsmajorlangu00comr/page/68 68–76]|editor=Bernard Comrie|editor-link=Bernard Comrie|title=The World's Major Languages|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/worldsmajorlangu00comr|chapter-url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1987|isbn=0-19-520521-9}}</ref> Their exact relation is difficult to determine from the sparse evidence of runic inscriptions, and they remained [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] to some degree during the [[Migration Period]] (AD{{nbsp}}300 to 600), so that some individual varieties are difficult to classify. Dialects with the features assigned to the northern group formed from the [[Proto-Germanic language]] in the late [[Pre-Roman Iron Age in Northern Europe]].

Eventually, around the year AD{{nbsp}}200, speakers of the North Germanic branch became distinguishable from the other Germanic language speakers{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}. The early development of this language branch is attested through [[runes|runic]] inscriptions.

===Features shared with West Germanic===

The North Germanic group is characterized by a number of [[phonology|phonological]] and [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] innovations shared with [[West Germanic]]:
* The retraction of Proto-Germanic ''ē'' ({{IPA|/ɛː/}}, also written ''ǣ'') to ''ā''.<ref>But see [[Fausto Cercignani|Cercignani, Fausto]], ''Indo-European ē in Germanic'', in «Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung», 86/1, 1972, pp. 104–110.</ref>
** Proto-Germanic *''jērą'' 'year' > Northwest Germanic *''jārą,'' whence
*** North Germanic *{{lang|gmq|āra}} > Old Norse {{lang|non|ár}},
*** West Germanic *{{lang|gmw|jāra}} > Old High German {{lang|goh|jār}}, Old English {{lang|ang|ġēar}} {{IPA|[jæ͡ɑːr]}} vs. Gothic {{lang|got|jēr}}.
* The raising of {{IPA|[ɔː]}} to {{IPA|[oː]}} (and word-finally to {{IPA|[uː]}}). The original vowel remained when nasalised *''ǭ'' {{IPA|[ɔ̃ː]}} and when before {{IPA|/z/}}, and was then later lowered to {{IPA|[ɑː]}}.
** Proto-Germanic *''gebō'' 'gift' {{IPA|[ˈɣeβɔː]}} > Northwest Germanic *''geƀu,'' whence
*** North Germanic *{{lang|gmq|gjavu}} > with ''u''-umlaut *''gjǫvu'' > ON {{lang|non|gjǫf}},
*** West Germanic *''gebu'' > OE {{lang|ang|giefu}} vs. Gothic {{lang|got|giba}} (vowel lowering).
** Proto-Germanic *''tungǭ'' 'tongue' {{IPA|[ˈtuŋɡɔ̃ː]}} > late Northwest Germanic *''tungā'' > *''tunga'' > ON {{lang|non|tunga}}, OHG {{lang|goh|zunga}}, OE {{lang|ang|tunge}} (unstressed ''a'' > ''e'') vs. Gothic {{lang|got|tuggō}}.
** Proto-Germanic gen. sg. *''gebōz'' 'of a gift' {{IPA|[ˈɣeβɔːz]}} > late Northwest Germanic *''gebāz,'' whence
*** North Germanic *{{lang|gmq|gjavaz}} > ON {{lang|non|gjafar}},
*** West Germanic *{{lang|gmw|geba}} > OHG {{lang|goh|geba}}, OE {{lang|ang|giefe}} (unstressed ''a'' > ''e'') vs. Gothic {{lang|got|gibōs}}.
* The development of [[Germanic umlaut|i-umlaut]].
* The [[Rhotacism (sound change)|rhotacism]] of {{IPA|/z/}} to {{IPA|/r/}}, with presumably a rhotic fricative of some kind as an earlier stage.
** This change probably affected West Germanic much earlier and then spread from there to North Germanic, but failed to reach East Germanic which had already split off by that time. This is confirmed by an intermediate stage ''ʀ'', clearly attested in late runic East Norse at a time when West Germanic had long merged the sound with {{IPA|/r/}}.
* The development of the [[demonstrative]] pronoun ancestral to English ''this''.
** Germanic *''sa'', ''sō'', ''þat'' 'this, that' (cf. ON {{lang|non|sá}} m., ''sú'' f., ''þat'' n.; OE {{lang|ang|se}}, {{lang|ang|sēo}}, {{lang|ang|þæt}}; Gothic {{lang|got|sa}} m., {{lang|got|so}} f., {{lang|got|þata}} n.) + proximal *''si'' 'here' (cf. ON {{lang|non|si}}, OHG {{lang|goh|sē}}, Gothic {{lang|got|sai}} 'lo!, behold!');
*** Runic Norse: nom. sg. ''sa-si'', gen. ''þes-si'', dat. ''þeim-si'' etc., with declension of the first part;
** fixed form with declension on the second part: ON {{lang|non|sjá}}, {{lang|non|þessi}} m., OHG {{lang|goh|these}} m., OE {{lang|ang|þes}} m., {{lang|ang|þēos}} f., {{lang|ang|þis}} n.

Some have argued that after East Germanic broke off from the group, the remaining Germanic languages, the [[Northwest Germanic]] languages, divided into four main dialects:<ref name=Kuhn>{{cite journal|last=Kuhn|first=Hans|title=Zur Gliederung der germanischen Sprachen|journal=Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur|volume=86|year=1955–1956|pages=1–47}}</ref> North Germanic, and the three groups conventionally called "West Germanic", namely
# [[North Sea Germanic]],
# [[Weser–Rhine Germanic]], and
# [[Elbe Germanic]].

The inability of the [[tree model]] to explain the existence of some features in the West Germanic languages stimulated the development of an alternative, the so-called [[wave model]].

Under this view, the properties that the West Germanic languages have in common separate from the North Germanic languages are not inherited from a "Proto-West-Germanic" language, but rather spread by [[language contact]] among the Germanic languages spoken in central Europe, not reaching those spoken in Scandinavia.

===North Germanic features===
Some innovations are not found in West and East Germanic, such as:
* Sharpening of geminate {{IPA|/jj/}} and {{IPA|/ww/}} according to [[Holtzmann's law]]
** Occurred also in East Germanic, but with a different outcome.
** Proto-Germanic *''twajjǫ̂'' ("of two") > Old Norse {{lang|non|tveggja}}, Gothic {{lang|got|twaddjē}}, but > Old High German {{lang|goh|zweiio}}
**Proto-Germanic ''*triwwiz'' ("faithful") > Old Norse {{lang|non|tryggr}}, Gothic {{lang|got|triggws}}, but > Old High German {{lang|goh|triuwi}}, German {{lang|de|treu}}, Old English {{lang|ang|trīewe}}, English ''true''.
* Word-final devoicing of [[stop consonant]]s.
** Proto-Germanic *''band'' ("I/(s)he bound") > *''bant'' > Old West Norse {{lang|non|batt}}, Old East Norse {{lang|non|bant}}, but Old English {{lang|ang|band}}
* Loss of medial {{IPA|/h/}} with compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel and the following consonant, if present.
** Proto-Germanic *''nahtų'' ("night", accusative) > *''nāttu'' > (by u-umlaut) *''nǭttu'' > Old Norse {{lang|non|nótt}}
* {{IPA|/ɑi̯/}} > {{IPA|/ɑː/}} before {{IPA|/r/}} (but not {{IPA|/z/}})
** Proto-Germanic *''sairaz'' ("sore") > *''sāraz'' > *''sārz'' > Old Norse {{lang|non|sárr}}, but > *''seira'' > Old High German {{lang|goh|sēr}}.
** With original {{IPA|/z/}} Proto-Germanic *''gaizaz'' > *''geizz'' > Old Norse {{lang|non|geirr}}.
* General loss of word-final {{IPA|/n/}}, following the loss of word-final short vowels (which are still present in the earliest runic inscriptions).
** Proto-Germanic *''bindaną'' > *''bindan'' > Old Norse {{lang|non|binda}}, but > Old English {{lang|ang|bindan}}.
** This also affected stressed syllables: Proto-Germanic *''in'' > Old Norse {{lang|non|í}}
* [[Vowel breaking]] of {{IPA|/e/}} to {{IPA|/jɑ/}} except after {{lang|gmq|w}}, {{lang|gmq|r}} or {{lang|gmq|l}} (see "gift" above).
** The diphthong {{IPA|/eu/}} was also affected (also {{lang|gmq|l}}), shifting to {{IPA|/jɒu/}} at an early stage. This diphthong is preserved in [[Old Gutnish]] and survives in modern [[Gutnish]]. In other Norse dialects, the {{IPA|/j/}}-onset and length remained, but the diphthong simplified resulting in variously {{IPA|/juː/}} or {{IPA|/joː/}}.
** This affected only stressed syllables. The word *''ek'' ("I"), which could occur both stressed and unstressed, appears varyingly as {{lang|non|ek}} (unstressed, with no breaking) and {{lang|non|jak}} (stressed, with breaking) throughout Old Norse.
* Loss of initial {{IPA|/j/}} (see "year" above), and also of {{IPA|/w/}} before a round vowel.
** Proto-Germanic *''wulfaz'' > North Germanic {{lang|gmq|ulfz}} > Old Norse {{Wikt-lang|non|ulfr}}
* The development of [[Old Norse#U-umlaut|u-umlaut]], which rounded stressed vowels when {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/w/}} followed in the next syllable. This followed vowel breaking, with ''ja'' {{IPA|/jɑ/}} being u-umlauted to ''jǫ'' {{IPA|/jɒ/}}.

===Middle Ages===
{{Old Norse language map}}
After the [[Old Norse]] period, the North Germanic languages developed into an East Scandinavian branch, consisting of [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Old Gutnish]],<ref name=Konig2013>{{cite book |last1=König |first1=Ekkehard |last2=Auwera |first2=Johan van der |title=The Germanic Languages |date=16 December 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-79958-0 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVBdAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22gutnish%22+%22east+scandinavian%22&pg=PA5 |language=en |quotation=The East Scandinavian branch is not so much a distinct language as the sum of the innovations that encompassed Denmark, most of Sweden, and adjacent parts of Norway at the end of the Viking Age, splitting during the Middle Ages (1050–1340) into Old Danish, Old Swedish and Old Gutnish, the written language of the island of Gotland.}}</ref><ref name="Bandle2008">{{cite book |last1=Bandle |first1=Oscar |last2=Braunmüller |first2=Kurt |last3=Jahr |first3=Ernst Hakon |last4=Karker |first4=Allan |last5=Naumann |first5=Hans-Peter |last6=Telemann |first6=Ulf |last7=Elmevik |first7=Lennart |last8=Widmark |first8=Gun |title=The Nordic Languages. Volume 2 |date=14 July 2008 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=978-3-11-019706-8 |page=1108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z17C7s3r_nwC&dq=bandle+gutnish&pg=PA1108 |language=en |quotation=The Gutnish /a:/ is less back than in the other Old East Nordic dialects.}}</ref> and a West Scandinavian branch, consisting of [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].<ref name=Bandle2005>Bandle, Oskar (ed.) (2005). ''The Nordic Languages: An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages''. Walter de Gruyter, 2005, {{ISBN|3-11-017149-X}}.</ref> Norwegian settlers brought Old West Norse to [[Iceland]] and the [[Faroe Islands]] around 800. Of the modern Scandinavian languages, written Icelandic is closest to this ancient language.<ref name="Lund">Lund, Jørn. [http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/FactsheetDenmark/Language/html/chapter01.htm Language] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815170436/http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/FactsheetDenmark/Language/html/chapter01.htm |date=15 August 2004 }}. Published online by Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Version 1 – November 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2007.</ref> An additional language, known as [[Norn language|Norn]], developed on [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] after [[Vikings]] had settled there around 800, but this language became extinct around 1700.<ref name="Holmberg" />

In medieval times, speakers of all the Scandinavian languages could understand one another to a significant degree, and it was often referred to as a single language, called the "Danish tongue" until the 13th century by some in Sweden<ref name="Lund" /> and Iceland.<ref name="Lindström">{{cite book|last1=Lindström|first1=Fredrik|last2=Lindström|first2=Henrik|title=Svitjods undergång och Sveriges födelse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0hhAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|year=2012|publisher=Albert Bonniers Förlag|isbn=978-91-0-013451-8}}, p. 259</ref> In the 16th century, many Danes and Swedes still referred to North Germanic as a single language, which is stated in the introduction to the first Danish translation of the Bible and in [[Olaus Magnus]]' ''[[A Description of the Northern Peoples]]''. Dialectal variation between west and east in Old Norse however was certainly present during the Middle Ages and several dialects had emerged. Old Icelandic was essentially identical to [[Old Norwegian]], at least until about 1000, and together they formed the Old West Norse dialect of Old Norse and were also spoken in settlements in the Faroe Islands, [[Ireland]], Scotland, the [[Isle of Man]], and Norwegian settlements in [[Normandy]].{{sfn|Adams|1895|pp=336–338}} The Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, settlements in Russia,<ref name="Nationalencyklopedin">Article ''Nordiska språk'', section ''Historia'', subsection ''Omkring 800–1100'', in ''[[Nationalencyklopedin]]'' (1994).</ref> England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. Old Gutnish was spoken in [[Gotland]] and in various settlements in the East.

Yet, by 1600, another classification of the North Germanic language branches had arisen from a [[syntax|syntactic]] point of view,<ref name="Holmberg" /> dividing them into an insular group (Icelandic and Faroese) and a continental group (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish). The division between Insular Nordic (''önordiska''/''ønordisk''/''øynordisk'')<ref>Jónsson, Jóhannes Gísli and Thórhallur Eythórsson (2004). [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=72768CEEDB6A49E6E7A7224C321A3A45.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=355925 "Variation in subject case marking in Insular Scandinavian"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504233812/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=72768CEEDB6A49E6E7A7224C321A3A45.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=355925 |date=4 May 2016 }}. Nordic Journal of Linguistics (2005), 28: 223–245 Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 9 November 2007.</ref> and Continental Scandinavian (''Skandinavisk'')<ref>[[Bernd Heine|Heine, Bernd]] and [[Tania Kuteva]] (2006). ''The Changing Languages of Europe''. Oxford University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-929734-7}}.</ref> is based on mutual intelligibility between the two groups and developed due to different influences, particularly the political union of Denmark and Norway (1536–1814) which led to significant Danish influence on central and eastern{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} Norwegian dialects ([[Bokmål]] or [[Dano-Norwegian]]).<ref name="Torp">Torp, Arne (2004). [http://www.norden.org/en/publications/publications/2004-010 Nordiske sprog i fortid og nutid. Sproglighed og sprogforskelle, sprogfamilier og sprogslægtskab] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104143651/http://www.norden.org/en/publications/publications/2004-010 |date=4 November 2011 }}. Moderne nordiske sprog. In ''Nordens sprog – med rødder og fødder''. Nord 2004:010, {{ISBN|92-893-1041-3}}, Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat, Copenhagen 2004. (In Danish).</ref>

==Demographics==
The North Germanic languages are [[national language]]s in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, whereas the non-Germanic [[Finnish language|Finnish]] is spoken by the majority in Finland. In inter-Nordic contexts, texts are today often presented in three versions: Finnish, Icelandic, and one of the three languages Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.<ref>The Nordic Council's/Nordic Council of Ministers' political magazine [https://web.archive.org/web/20081010222132/http://www.analysnorden.org/ Analys Norden] offers three versions: a section labeled "Íslenska" (Icelandic), a section labeled "Skandinavisk" (in either Danish, Norwegian or Swedish), and a section labeled "Suomi" (Finnish).</ref> Another official language in the [[Nordic countries]] is [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]] (in the [[Eskimo–Aleut languages|Eskimo–Aleut family]]), the sole official language of [[Greenland]].

In [[Southern Jutland]] in southwestern Denmark, German is also spoken by the [[North Schleswig Germans]], and German is a recognized minority language in this region. German is the primary language among the [[Danish minority of Southern Schleswig]], and likewise, Danish is the primary language of the North Schleswig Germans. Both minority groups are highly bilingual.

Traditionally, Danish and German were the two official languages of [[Denmark–Norway]]; laws and other official instruments for use in Denmark and Norway were written in Danish, and local administrators spoke Danish or Norwegian. German was the administrative language of [[Holstein]] and the [[Duchy of Schleswig]].

[[Sami languages]] form an unrelated group that has coexisted with the North Germanic language group in Scandinavia since prehistory.<ref>Sammallahti, Pekka, 1990. "The Sámi Language: Past and Present". In [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0008/000861/086162e.pdf Arctic Languages: An Awakening.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721155248/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0008/000861/086162e.pdf |date=21 July 2018 }} The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Paris. {{ISBN|92-3-102661-5}}, p. 440: "the arrival of a Uralic population and language in Samiland [...] means that there has been a period of at least 5000 years of uninterrupted linguistic and cultural development in Samiland. [...] It is also possible, however, that the earlier inhabitants of the area also spoke a Uralic language: we do not know of any linguistic groups in the area other than the Uralic and Indo-Europeans (represented by the present Scandinavian languages)."</ref> Sami, like [[Finnish language|Finnish]], is part of the group of the [[Uralic languages]].<ref>Inez Svonni Fjällström (2006). [http://www.eng.samer.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1185 "A language with deep roots"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005152013/http://www.eng.samer.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1185 |date=5 October 2007 }}.''Sápmi: Language history'', 14 November 2006. Samiskt Informationscentrum Sametinget: "The Scandinavian languages are Northern Germanic languages. [...] Sami belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family. Finnish, Estonian, Livonian and Hungarian belong to the same language family and are consequently related to each other."</ref>
During centuries of interaction, Finnish and Sami have imported many more loanwords from North Germanic languages than vice versa.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Language
!Speakers
!Official Status
|-
|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]||style="text-align:right;" |9,200,000[[#1|*]]||Sweden, Finland, European Union, [[Nordic Council]]
|-
|[[Danish language|Danish]]||style="text-align:right;" |5,600,000||Denmark, [[Faroe Islands]], European Union, Nordic Council
|-
|[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]||style="text-align:right;" |5,000,000||Norway, Nordic Council
|-
|[[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]||style="text-align:right;" |358,000||Iceland
|-
|[[Faroese language|Faroese]]||style="text-align:right;" |90,000||Faroe Islands
|-
|[[Gutnish language|Gutnish]]  ||style="text-align:right;" |5,000<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap | title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger | access-date=2 May 2022 | archive-date=2 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802160530/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap | url-status=live }}</ref>||
|-
|[[Elfdalian]] ||style="text-align:right;" |3,500||
|-
|'''Total'''||'''20,251,500'''|||
|}
:<div id="1"><nowiki>*</nowiki> The figure includes 450,000 members of the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland]]</div>

==Classification==<!-- This section is linked from [[Dutch language]] -->
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2010}}
[[File:Germanic languages in Europe.png|upright=1.35|thumb|right|
The present-day distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe:<br />
'''North Germanic languages'''
{{legend|#00FFFF|[[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]}}
{{legend|#00CED1|[[Faroese language|Faroese]]}}
{{legend|#007ffe|[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] (partially national boundaries)}}
{{legend|#003f7f|[[Swedish language|Swedish]] (partially national boundaries)}}
{{legend|#0000FF|[[Danish language|Danish]] (partially national boundaries)}}
'''West Germanic languages'''
{{legend|#D2691E|[[Scots language|Scots]]}}
{{legend|#ffa500|[[English language|English]]}}
{{legend|#E2BD00|[[Frisian languages|Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#FFF435|[[Dutch language|Dutch]] (partially national boundaries)}}
{{legend|#ADFF2F|[[Low German]] (partially national boundaries)}}
{{legend|#008000|[[German language|German]]}}
Dots indicate a few of the areas where [[multilingualism]] is common.]]
In historical linguistics, the North Germanic family tree is divided into two branches, ''West Scandinavian languages'' ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]) and ''East Scandinavian languages'' ([[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]), along with various dialects and varieties. The two branches are derived from the western and eastern dialect groups of [[Old Norse]] respectively. The East Scandinavian languages (and modern Norwegian, through Danish) were heavily influenced by [[Middle Low German]] during the period of [[Hanseatic League#Expansion|Hanseatic expansion]].

Another way of classifying the languages – focusing on mutual intelligibility rather than the [[tree of life|tree-of-life]] model – posits Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish as ''Continental Scandinavian'', and Faroese and Icelandic as ''Insular Scandinavian''.<ref name="Torp" /> Because of the long political union between Norway and Denmark, moderate and conservative Norwegian [[Bokmål]] share most of the Danish vocabulary and grammar, and was nearly identical to written Danish until the spelling reform of 1907. (For this reason, Bokmål and its unofficial, more conservative variant ''Riksmål'' are sometimes considered East Scandinavian, and [[Nynorsk]] West Scandinavian via the west–east division shown above.)<ref>Victor Ginsburgh, Shlomo Weber (2011). ''How many languages do we need?: the economics of linguistic diversity'', Princeton University Press. p. 42.</ref>

However, Danish has developed a greater distance between the spoken and written versions of the language, so the differences between spoken Norwegian and spoken Danish are somewhat more significant than the difference between their respective written forms. Written Danish is relatively close to the other Continental Scandinavian languages, but the sound developments of spoken Danish include reduction and assimilation of consonants and vowels, as well as the prosodic feature called ''[[stød]]'' in Danish, developments which have not occurred in the other languages (though the ''stød'' corresponds to the changes in pitch in Norwegian and Swedish, which are [[pitch-accent language]]s). Scandinavians are widely expected to understand some of the other spoken Scandinavian languages. There may be some difficulty particularly with elderly dialect speakers, however public radio and television presenters are often well understood by speakers of the other Scandinavian countries, although there are various regional differences of mutual intelligibility for understanding mainstream dialects of the languages between different parts of the three language areas.

Sweden left the [[Kalmar Union]] in 1523 due to conflicts with Denmark, leaving two Scandinavian units: The union of Denmark–Norway (ruled from Copenhagen, Denmark) and Sweden (including present-day Finland). The two countries took different sides during several wars until 1814, when the Denmark-Norway unit was disestablished, and made different international contacts. This led to different borrowings from foreign languages (Sweden had a francophone period), for example the [[Old Swedish]] word ''vindöga'' 'window' was replaced by ''fönster'' (from Middle Low German), whereas native ''vindue'' was kept in Danish. Norwegians, who spoke (and still speak) the Norwegian dialects derived from Old Norse, would say ''vindauga'' or similar. The written language of Denmark-Norway however, was based on the dialect of Copenhagen and thus had ''vindue''. On the other hand, the word ''begynde'' 'begin' (now written ''begynne'' in Norwegian Bokmål) was borrowed into Danish and Norwegian, whereas native ''börja'' was kept in Swedish. Even though standard Swedish and Danish were moving apart, the dialects were not influenced that much. Thus Norwegian and Swedish remained similar in pronunciation, and words like ''børja'' were able to survive in some of the Norwegian dialects whereas ''vindöga'' survived in some of the Swedish dialects. Nynorsk incorporates much of these words, like ''byrja'' (cf. Swedish ''börja'', Danish ''begynde''), ''veke'' (cf. Sw ''vecka'', Dan ''uge'') and ''vatn'' (Sw ''vatten'', Dan ''vand'') whereas Bokmål has retained the Danish forms (''begynne'', ''uke'', ''vann''). As a result, Nynorsk does not conform to the above east–west split model, since it shares a lot of features with Swedish.{{dubious|Classification and influence|date=September 2020}} According to the Norwegian linguist [[Arne Torp]], the Nynorsk project (which had as a goal to re-establish a written Norwegian language) would have been much harder to carry out if Norway had been in a union with Sweden instead of with Denmark, simply because the differences would have been smaller.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uniforum.uio.no/nyheter/2005/03/nynorsk-noe-for-svensker.html|title=Nynorsk – noe for svensker? – Uniforum|website=www.uniforum.uio.no|access-date=16 March 2021|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225054148/https://www.uniforum.uio.no/nyheter/2005/03/nynorsk-noe-for-svensker.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Currently, English [[loanword]]s are influencing the languages. A 2005 survey of words used by speakers of the Scandinavian languages showed that the number of English loanwords used in the languages has doubled during the last 30 years and is now 1.2%. Icelandic has imported fewer English words than the other North Germanic languages, despite the fact that it is the country that uses English most.<ref name="Urban">"Urban misunderstandings". In [https://web.archive.org/web/20050213062716/http://www.norden.org/norden_i_veckan/2005/uk/050117.asp Norden this week – Monday 01.17.2005]. The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Retrieved 13 November 2007.</ref>

=== Mutual intelligibility ===
{{see also|Germanic languages#Vocabulary comparison}}

The mutual intelligibility between the Continental Scandinavian languages is asymmetrical. Various studies have shown Norwegian speakers to be the best in Scandinavia at understanding other languages within the language group.<ref name="Delsing" /><ref>Maurud, Ø (1976). ''Nabospråksforståelse i Skandinavia. En undersøkelse om gjensidig forståelse av tale- og skriftspråk i Danmark, Norge og Sverige''. Nordisk utredningsserie 13. Nordiska rådet, Stockholm.</ref> According to a study undertaken during 2002–2005 and funded by the Nordic Cultural Fund, Swedish speakers in [[Stockholm]] and Danish speakers in [[Copenhagen]] have the greatest difficulty in understanding other Nordic languages.<ref name="Urban" /> The study, which focused mainly on native speakers under the age of 25, showed that the lowest ability to comprehend another language is demonstrated by youth in Stockholm in regard to Danish, producing the lowest ability score in the survey.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kordić|first=Snježana|author-link=Snježana Kordić|editor-last1=Nomachi|editor-first1=Motoki|editor-link1=Motoki Nomachi|editor-last2=Kamusella|editor-first2=Tomasz|editor-link2=Tomasz Kamusella|title=Languages and Nationalism Instead of Empires|publisher=[[Routledge]]|series=Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe|pages=167{{hyphen}}179|chapter=Ideology Against Language: The Current Situation in South Slavic Countries|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372202077|chapter-format=PDF|location=London|year=2024|doi=10.4324/9781003034025-11|doi-access=|isbn=978-0-367-47191-0|lccn=|oclc=1390118985|s2cid=259576119|s2cid-access=|ssrn=4680766|ssrn-access=free|id={{COBISS.SR|125229577}}. {{COBISS|171014403}}|archive-url=https://archive.org/details/kordic-ideology-against-language |archive-date=10 January 2024|access-date=21 January 2024|quote=Stockholm's youth understand 55% of spoken Norwegian and 34% of spoken Danish.|quote-page=169|url-status=live}}</ref> The greatest variation in results between participants within the same country was also demonstrated by the Swedish speakers in the study. Participants from [[Malmö]], located in the southernmost Swedish province of [[Scania]] (Skåne), demonstrated a better understanding of Danish than Swedish speakers to the north.<ref name="Delsing">Delsing, Lars-Olof and Katarina Lundin Åkesson (2005). ''Håller språket ihop Norden? En forskningsrapport om ungdomars förståelse av danska, svenska och norska''. Available in [http://www.norden.org/sv/publikationer/publikationer/2005-573/at_download/publicationfile pdf format] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514040259/http://www.norden.org/sv/publikationer/publikationer/2005-573/at_download/publicationfile |date=14 May 2011 }}. Numbers are from Figure 4:11. "Grannspråksförståelse bland infödda skandinaver fördelade på ort", p. 65 and Figure 4:6. "Sammanlagt resultat på grannspråksundersökningen fördelat på område", p. 58.</ref>

Access to Danish television and radio, direct trains to [[Copenhagen]] over the [[Øresund Bridge]] and a larger number of cross-border commuters in the [[Øresund Region]] contribute to a better knowledge of spoken Danish and a better knowledge of the unique Danish words among the region's inhabitants. According to the study, youth in this region were able to understand the Danish language slightly better than the Norwegian language, but they still could not understand Danish as well as the Norwegians could, demonstrating once again the relative distance of Swedish from Danish. Youth in Copenhagen had a very poor command of Swedish, showing that the Øresund connection was mostly one-way.<ref name="Delsing" />

The results from the study of how well native youth in different Scandinavian cities did when tested on their knowledge of the other Continental Scandinavian languages are summarized in table format,<ref name="Delsing" /> reproduced below. The maximum score was 10.0:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! City
! Comprehension<br />of Danish
! Comprehension<br />of Swedish
! Comprehension<br />of Norwegian
! Average
|-
| [[Århus]], Denmark
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 3.74
| align="center" | 4.68
| align="center" | 4.21
|-
| [[Copenhagen]], Denmark
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 3.60
| align="center" | 4.13
| align="center" | 3.87
|-
| [[Malmö]], Sweden
| align="center" | 5.08
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 4.97
| align="center" | 5.02
|-
| [[Stockholm]], Sweden
| align="center" | 3.46
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 5.56
| align="center" | 4.51
|-
| [[Bergen]], Norway
| align="center" | 6.50
| align="center" | 6.15
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 6.32
|-
| [[Oslo]], Norway
| align="center" | 6.57
| align="center" | 7.12
|{{n/a}}
| align="center" | 6.85
|-
|}

Faroese speakers (of the Insular Scandinavian languages group) are even better than the Norwegians at comprehending two or more languages within the Continental Scandinavian languages group, scoring high in both Danish (which they study at school) and Norwegian and having the highest score on a Scandinavian language other than their native language, as well as the highest average score. Icelandic speakers, in contrast, have a poor command of Norwegian and Swedish. They do somewhat better with Danish, as they are taught Danish in school (Icelandic is not mutually intelligible with Scandinavian languages, nor any language, not even Faroese, which is thought closest). When speakers of Faroese and Icelandic were tested on how well they understood the three Continental Scandinavian languages, the test results were as follows (maximum score 10.0):<ref name="Delsing" />

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Area/<br />Country
! Comprehension<br />of Danish
! Comprehension<br />of Swedish
! Comprehension<br />of Norwegian
! Average
|-
| [[Faroe Islands]]
| align="center" | 8.28
| align="center" | 5.75
| align="center" | 7.00
| align="center" | 7.01
|-
| [[Iceland]]
| align="center" | 5.36
| align="center" | 3.34
| align="center" | 3.40
| align="center" | 4.19
|-
|}

===Vocabulary===
The North Germanic languages share many lexical, grammatical, phonological, and morphological similarities, to a more significant extent than the [[West Germanic languages]] do. These lexical, grammatical, and morphological similarities can be outlined in the table below.

{| class="wikitable"
! Language !! Sentence
|-
| English || It was a humid, grey summer day at the end of June.
|-
| West Frisian || {{lang|fy|It wie in stribbelige/fochtige, graue simmerdei oan de ein fan Juny.}}
|-
| Low Saxon || {{lang|nds|Dat weer/was een vuchtige, griese Summerdag an't Enn vun Juni.}}
|-
| Afrikaans || {{lang|af|Dit was 'n vogtige, grou somer dag aan die einde van Junie.}}
|-
| Dutch || {{lang|nl|Het was een vochtige, grauwe zomerdag eind juni./aan het einde van juni.}}
|-
| German || {{lang|de|Es war ein feuchter, grauer Sommertag Ende Juni / im späten Juni.}}
|-
| Swedish || {{lang|sv|Det var en fuktig, grå sommardag i slutet av juni.}}
|-
| Danish || {{lang|da|Det var en fugtig, grå sommerdag i slutningen af juni.}}
|-
| Norwegian (Bokmål) || {{lang|nb|Det var en fuktig, grå sommerdag i slutten av juni.}}
|-
| Norwegian (Nynorsk) || {{lang|nn|Det var ein fuktig, grå sommardag/sumardag i slutten av juni.}}
|-
| Icelandic || {{lang|is|Það var rakur, grár sumardagur í lok júní.}}
|-
| Faroese || {{lang|fo|Tað var ein rakur, gráur summardagur síðst í juni.}}
|-
| Elfdalian || {{lang|ovd|Eð war ien fuktun, grå såmårdag i slutę åv juni.}}
|-
| Gutnish || {{lang|mis|De var en fuktur, graar summadag ei släutait av jäuni.}}
|}

===Language boundaries===
Given the aforementioned homogeneity, there exists some discussion on whether the continental group should be considered one or several languages.<ref name="nordenssprog">{{Cite web|url=http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2004-008/at_download/publicationfile|title=Nordens språk – med rötter och fötter|access-date=20 April 2012|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306211105/http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2004-008/at_download/publicationfile|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Continental Scandinavian languages are often cited as proof of the [[aphorism]] "[[A language is a dialect with an army and navy]]". The differences in dialects within the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark can often be greater than the differences across the borders, but the political independence of these countries leads continental Scandinavian to be classified into [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], and [[Danish language|Danish]] in the popular mind as well as among most linguists. The generally agreed upon [[language border]] is, in other words, politically shaped. This is also because of the strong influence of the [[standard language]]s, particularly in Denmark and Sweden.<ref name="nordenssprog" /> Even if the language policy of Norway has been more tolerant of rural dialectal variation in formal language, the [[prestige dialect]] often referred to as "Eastern Urban Norwegian", spoken mainly in and around the [[Oslo]] region, is sometimes considered normative. The influence of a standard Norwegian is nevertheless less so than in Denmark and Sweden, since the prestige dialect in Norway has moved geographically several times over the past 200 years. The organised formation of [[Nynorsk]] out of western Norwegian dialects after Norway became independent from Denmark in 1814 intensified the politico-linguistic divisions.

The [[Nordic Council]] has on several occasions referred to the (Germanic) languages spoken in Scandinavia as the "Scandinavian language" (singular); for instance, the official newsletter of the Nordic Council is written in the "Scandinavian language".<ref>[http://www.norden.org/sv/nordiska-ministerraadet/samarbetsministrarna-mr-sam/graenshindersarbete/informationstjaenster/informationstjaensten-hallaa-norden/nyhetsbrev ''Hello Norden'' newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409023041/http://www.norden.org/sv/nordiska-ministerraadet/samarbetsministrarna-mr-sam/graenshindersarbete/informationstjaenster/informationstjaensten-hallaa-norden/nyhetsbrev |date=9 April 2014 }}{{'}}s language of publication is described as ''skandinaviska'' (in Swedish) </ref>{{clarify|reason=Skandinavisk(a) is Swedish spoken with key words and constructs borrowed from Norwegian/Danish or the other way round|date=February 2021}} The creation of one unified written language has been considered as highly unlikely, given the [[Norwegian language conflict|failure to agree upon a common standardized language in Norway]]. However, there is a slight chance of "some uniformization of spelling" between Norway, Sweden and Denmark.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/scandilan.htm |title=The Scandinavian Languages: Their Histories and Relationships |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=19 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919235329/https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/scandilan.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.norden.org/no/aktuelt/nyheter/201dfinlandssvensk-boer-vaere-hovedspraak-i-nordisk-union201d Finlandssvensk som hovedspråk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012005926/http://www.norden.org/no/aktuelt/nyheter/201dfinlandssvensk-boer-vaere-hovedspraak-i-nordisk-union201d |date=12 October 2017 }} (in Norwegian bokmål)</ref>

=== Family tree ===
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2014}}
All North Germanic languages are descended from [[Old Norse]]. Divisions between subfamilies of North Germanic are rarely precisely defined: Most form continuous clines, with adjacent [[dialect]]s being mutually intelligible and the most separated ones not.
[[File:Germanic Languages Map Europe.png|thumb|Germanic languages division including West and East Scandinavian languages and dialects]]
* [[Old Norse]]
** [[Old West Norse|West Scandinavian]]
*** [[Dalecarlian dialects|Dalecarlian]] ([[Dalarna]]), including [[Elfdalian]] (which is considered a separate language from Swedish, [[Älvdalen|Älvdalen locality]])<ref name="Kroonen" />
*** [[Faroese language|Faroese]]
*** [[Greenlandic Norse]] (extinct)
*** [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]
*** [[Norn language|Norn]] (extinct)
*** [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
**** {{interlanguage link|Nordnorsk|no|Nordnorsk}} ([[Northern Norway]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Bodø dialect|no|Bodødialekt}} ([[Bodø Municipality]])
***** [[Brønnøy dialect]] ([[Brønnøy Municipality]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Helgeland dialect|no|Helgelandsk}} ([[Helgeland]])
***** ''other dialects''
**** [[Trøndersk]] ([[Trøndelag]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Fosen dialect|no|Fosendialekt}} ([[Fosen]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Härjedal dialect|sv|Härjedalska}} ([[Härjedalen]])
***** [[Jämtland dialects]] ([[Jämtland|Jämtland province]]) (high linguistic similarity with the [[Trøndersk]] dialects in Norway)
***** [[Meldal dialect]] ([[Meldal Municipality]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Tydal dialect|no|Tydalsdialekt}} ([[Tydal Municipality]])
***** ''other dialects''
**** [[Vestlandsk]] ([[Western Norway|Western]] and [[Southern Norway]])
***** West ''(Vestlandet)''
****** [[Bergensk|Bergen dialect]] ([[Bergen Municipality]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Haugesund dialect|no|Haugesund-dialekt}} ([[Haugesund Municipality]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Jærsk dialect|no|Jærsk}} ([[Jæren|Jæren district]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Karmøy dialect|no|Karmøydialekt}} ([[Karmøy Municipality]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Nordmøre dialects|no|Nordmørsdialekt}} ([[Nordmøre]])
******* {{interlanguage link|Sunndalsøra dialect|no|Sunndalsøramål}} ([[Sunndalsøra]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Romsdal dialect|no|Romsdalsdialekt}} ([[Romsdal]])
****** [[Sandnes-mål|Sandnes dialect]] ([[Sandnes Municipality]])
****** [[Sognamål|Sogn dialect]] ([[Sogn|Sogn district]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Sunnmøre dialect|no|Sunnmørsdialekt}} ([[Sunnmøre]])
****** [[Stavangersk|Stavanger dialect]] ([[Stavanger Municipality]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Strilar dialect|no|Strilamål}} ([[Midhordland|Midhordland district]])
***** South ''(Sørlandet)''
****** [[Arendalsk|Arendal dialect]] ([[Arendal Municipality|Arendal region]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Valle-Setesdalsk dialect|no|Setesdalsk}} (Upper [[Setesdal]], [[Valle Municipality]])
***** ''other dialects''
**** {{interlanguage link|Østlandsk|no|Østlandsk}} ([[Eastern Norway]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Flatbygd dialects|no|Flatbygdmål}} (Lowland districts)
****** [[Vikværsk|Vikværsk dialects]] ([[Viken, Norway|Viken district]])
******* {{interlanguage link|Andebu dialect|no|Andebumål}} ([[Andebu]])
******* {{interlanguage link|Bohuslän dialect|sv|Bohuslänska}} ([[Bohuslän|Bohuslän province]]) (Influenced by [[Swedish language|Swedish]] in retrospective)
******* {{interlanguage link|Grenland dialect|no|Grenlandsmål}} ([[Grenland|Grenland district]])
******* [[Oslo dialect]] ([[Oslo]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Midtøstland dialects|no|Midtøstlandsmål}} (Mid-east districts)
******* {{interlanguage link|Ringerike dialects|no|Ringeriksmål}} ([[Ringerike (traditional district)|Ringerike district]])
******** {{interlanguage link|Hønefoss dialect|no|Hønefossdialekt}} ([[Hønefoss]])
******** {{interlanguage link|Ådal dialect|no|Ådalsmål}} ([[Ådal]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Oppland dialect|no|Opplandsmål}} ([[Opplandene|Opplandene district]])
******* Hedmark dialects ([[Hedmark]])
******** {{interlanguage link|Solung dialect|no|Solung}} ([[Solør]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Hadeland dialect|no|Hadelandsdialekt}} ([[Hadeland|Hadeland district]])
****** {{interlanguage link|Østerdal dialect|no|Østerdalsmål}} ([[Viken, Norway|Viken district]])
******* [[Särna-Idremål|Särna-Idre dialect]] ([[Särna]] and [[Idre]])
***** {{interlanguage link|Midland dialects (Norway)|lt=Midland dialects|no|Midlandsmål}} (Midland districts)
****** [[Gudbrandsdalsmål|Gudbrandsdal dialect]] ([[Gudbrandsdalen]] and Upper [[Folldal Municipality]], [[Innlandet]])
****** [[Hallingmål-Valdris|Hallingdal-Valdres dialects]] ([[Hallingdal]], [[Valdres]])
******* {{interlanguage link|Hallingdal dialect|no|Hallingdialekt}}
******* [[Valdris|Valdris dialect]] ([[Valdres|Valdres district]])
****** Telemark-Numedal dialects ([[Telemark]] and [[Numedal]])
******* {{interlanguage link|Bø dialect|no|Bøhering (dialekt)}}
***** ''other dialects''
** [[Old East Norse|East Scandinavian]]
*** [[Danish language|Danish]]
**** [[Insular Danish]] (Ømål)
**** [[East Danish]] ([[Bornholmsk dialect|Bornholmsk]] along with former East Danish dialects in [[Blekinge]], [[Halland]] and [[Scania|Skåne]] ([[Scanian dialect]]) as well as the southern parts of [[Småland]], now generally considered [[South Swedish dialects]])
**** [[Jutlandic]] (or Jutish, in [[Jutland]])
***** Northern Jutlandic
****** East Jutlandic
****** West Jutlandic
***** [[Southern Jutlandic]] (in [[Southern Jutland]] and [[Southern Schleswig]])
**** [[Urban East Norwegian]] (generally considered a Norwegian dialect)
*** [[Swedish language|Swedish]]
**** ''[[Sveamål]]'' ([[Svealand]])
**** ''[[Norrland dialects]]'' ([[Norrland]])
**** ''[[Götamål]]'' ([[Götaland]])
**** ''[[Gotlandic]]'' ([[Gotland]])
**** ''[[Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia]]'' ([[Finland]] and [[Estonia]])
**** ''other dialects''
***[[Old Gutnish]]<ref name=Konig2013 /><ref name=Bandle2008 />
**** [[Gutnish]] ([[Gotland]])
*****Laumål
*****Fårömål

=== Classification difficulties ===
The [[Jamtlandic dialects]] share many characteristics with both Trøndersk and with Norrländska mål. Due to this ambiguous position, it is contested whether Jamtlandic belongs to the West Scandinavian or the East Scandinavian group.<ref>Dalen, Arnold (2005).  [http://www.sprakrad.no/Trykksaker/Spraaknytt/Spraaknytt_3_2005/Jemtsk_og_troendersk/ Jemtsk og trøndersk – to nære slektningar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318193458/http://www.sprakrad.no/Trykksaker/Spraaknytt/Spraaknytt_3_2005/Jemtsk_og_troendersk/ |date=18 March 2007 }}. Språkrådet, Norway. (In Norwegian). Retrieved 13 November 2007.</ref>

[[Elfdalian]] (Älvdalen speech), generally considered a ''Sveamål'' dialect, today has an official orthography and is, because of a lack of mutual intelligibility with [[Swedish language|Swedish]], considered as a separate language by many linguists. Traditionally regarded as a Swedish dialect,<ref name="Stickel2010">{{cite book |last=Ekberg |first=Lena |editor=Gerhard Stickel |title=National, Regional and Minority Languages in Europe: Contributions to the Annual Conference 2009 of Efnil in Dublin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFYa2ooeVXgC&pg=PA90|year=2010 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=9783631603659 |pages=87–92 |chapter=The National Minority Languages in Sweden }}</ref> but by several criteria closer to West Scandinavian dialects,<ref name=Kroonen>{{cite web|last1=Kroonen|first1=Guus|title=On the origins of the Elfdalian nasal vowels from the perspective of diachronic dialectology and Germanic etymology|url=http://inss.ku.dk/ansatte/?pure=files/35220983/elfdalian.pdf|website=Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics|publisher=University of Copenhagen|access-date=27 January 2016|quote=In many aspects, Elfdalian, takes up a middle position between East and West Nordic. However, it shares some innovations with West Nordic, but none with East Nordic. This invalidates the claim that Elfdalian split off from Old Swedish.|archive-date=6 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206012822/http://inss.ku.dk/ansatte/?pure=files/35220983/elfdalian.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Elfdalian is a separate language by the standard of mutual intelligibility.<ref name="Aftonbladet2007">{{cite news |author-last1=Dahl |author-first1=Östen |author-last2=Dahlberg |author-first2=Ingrid |author-last3=Delsing |author-first3=Lars-Olof |author-last4=Halvarsson |author-first4=Herbert |author-last5=Larsson |author-first5=Gösta |author-last6=Nyström |author-first6=Gunnar |author-last7=Olsson |author-first7=Rut |author-last8=Sapir |author-first8=Yair |author-last9=Steensland |author-first9=Lars |author-last10=Williams |author-first10=Henrik |title=Älvdalskan är ett språk – inte en svensk dialekt |date=8 February 2007 |language=sv |work=Aftonbladet |location=Stockholm |trans-title=Elfdalian is a language – not a Swedish dialect |url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/article11053696.ab |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825120038/http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/article11053696.ab |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dahl |first=Östen |title=Älvdalska – eget språk eller värsting bland dialekter? |date=December 2008 |language=sv |work=Språktidningen |trans-title=Elfdalian – its own language or an outstanding dialect? |url=http://spraktidningen.se/artiklar/2008/11/alvdalska-eget-sprak-eller-varsting-bland-dialekter |access-date=16 May 2013 |archive-date=7 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207110314/http://spraktidningen.se/artiklar/2008/11/alvdalska-eget-sprak-eller-varsting-bland-dialekter |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Zach |first=Kristine |year=2013 |title=Das Älvdalische – Sprache oder Dialekt? (Diplomarbeit) |trans-title=Elfdalian – Language or dialect? (Masters thesis) |publisher=[[University of Vienna]] |url=http://othes.univie.ac.at/26671/1/2013-02-27_0748117.pdf |language=de |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217105905/http://othes.univie.ac.at/26671/1/2013-02-27_0748117.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Sapir, Yair (2004). ''Elfdalian, the Vernacular of Övdaln''. Conference paper, 18–19 juni 2004. Available in [http://www.nordiska.uu.se/arkiv/konferenser/alvdalska/konferensbidrag/Sapir.pdf pdf format at Uppsala University online archive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722160911/http://www.nordiska.uu.se/arkiv/konferenser/alvdalska/konferensbidrag/Sapir.pdf |date=22 July 2011 }}.</ref>

Traveller Danish, Rodi, and Swedish Romani are varieties of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish with [[Romani language|Romani]] vocabulary or [[Para-Romani]] known collectively as the [[Scandoromani language]].<ref>LLOW – [http://languageserver.uni-graz.at/ls/desc?id=233 Traveller Danish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309101055/http://languageserver.uni-graz.at/ls/desc?id=233 |date=9 March 2016 }}</ref> They are spoken by [[Norwegian and Swedish Travellers]]. The Scando-Romani varieties in Sweden and Norway combine elements from the dialects of Western Sweden, Eastern Norway (Østlandet) and Trøndersk.

=== Written norms of Norwegian ===
{{see also|Norwegian language conflict}}
Norwegian has two official written norms, Bokmål and Nynorsk. In addition, there are some unofficial norms. ''[[Riksmål]]'' is more conservative than Bokmål (that is, closer to Danish) and is used to various extents by numerous people, especially in the cities and by the largest newspaper in Norway, {{lang|no|[[Aftenposten]]}}. On the other hand, ''[[Høgnorsk]]'' (High Norwegian) is similar to Nynorsk and is used by a very small minority.

== See also ==
* [[Comparison of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish]]
* [[Ingvaeonic languages]]
* [[Low Franconian languages]]
* [[Gender in Danish and Swedish]]
* [[High German languages]]
* [[Scanian dialect]]
* [[Svorsk]]
* [[East Germanic languages]]
* [[West Germanic languages]]
* [[South Germanic languages]]
* [[Pan-Germanic language]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book|last=Adams|first=Charles Kendall|title=Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia: A New Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8IXAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA336|year=1895|publisher=D. Appleton, A. J. Johnson}}
* {{citation|last=Jervelund|first=Anita|title=Sådan Staver Vi|year=2007}}. 
* {{citation|author=Kristiansen, Tore m.fl.|title=Dansk Sproglære|year=1996}}. 
* {{citation|last=Lucazin|first=M|title=Utkast till ortografi över skånska språket med morfologi och ordlista. Första. revisionen|year=2010|isbn=978-91-977265-2-8|url=http://www.maniskor.se/isbn9789197726528.pdf|access-date=21 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808193103/http://www.maniskor.se/isbn9789197726528.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2011|url-status=dead}} Outlined Scanian orthography including morphology and word index. First revision. 
* [[Friedrich Maurer (linguist)|Maurer, Friedrich]] (1942), ''Nordgermanen und Alemannen: Studien zur germanischen und frühdeutschen Sprachgeschichte, Stammes- und Volkskunde'', Strasbourg: Hünenburg. 
* Rowe, Charley. The problematic Holtzmann's Law in Germanic. (Indogermanische Forschungen Bd. 108, 2003).
* Iben Stampe Sletten red., ''Nordens sprog – med rødder og fødder'', 2005, {{ISBN|92-893-1041-3}}, [http://www.norden.org/da/publikationer/publikationer/2004-010 available online], also available in the other Scandinavian languages.

== External links ==
{{EB1911 Poster|Scandinavian Languages}}
* {{wikisource-inline|Portal:Scandinavian languages|Scandinavian languages}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Scandinavian Languages |volume= XXI |last=Noreen|first= Adolf |author-link= Adolf Noreen| pages=366–374 |short=1}}
* [http://germanic-studies.org/Middle-Low-German-loanwords-in-the-Scandinavian-languages.htm Middle Low German influence on the Scandinavian languages]
* [http://germanic-studies.org/Scandinavian-only-words.htm Scandinavian-only words]
* [http://germanic-studies.org/Scandinavian-loanwords-in-Old-and-Middle-English-and-their-legacy-in-the-dialects-of-England-and-modern-standard-English.htm Scandinavian loans in Old and Middle English, and their legacy in the dialects of England and modern standard English]
* [http://www.ezglot.com/most-similar-languages.php?l=dan#most-similar-languages Most similar languages to Danish]

{{Germanic languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Germanic Languages}}
[[Category:North Germanic languages| ]]
[[Category:North Germanic grammars]]
[[Category:Norse culture]]