Nynorsk

Nynorsk ('new Norwegian') is one of the two official, standard varieties of the Norwegian language in Norway. It has been designed to replace Bokmål ('Book Language'), the other official standard, which bears a heavy heritage from Danish (as it was spoken in Norway during the time the country was under Danish rule, until 1814).

Nynorsk, initially called Landsmål ('country language') was carefully elaborated by Ivar Aasen in various publications between 1848 and 1873. It is based on the dialects that already existed in Norway and therefore avoids Danish influences.

The Norwegian government adopted together Nynorsk (initially called Landsmål) and Bokmål (initially called Riksmål) in 1885; later in 1929, it gave them their current names.

Each municipality and each school council can choose wether it uses Nynorsk or Bokmål. Nowadays, Nynorsk is majoritary in southwestern Norway but is minoritary in the whole of Norway.