Editing Norn language (section)

==Classification==
Norn is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] belonging to the [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] branch of the [[Germanic languages]]. Together with [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], it belongs to the West Scandinavian group, separating it from the East Scandinavian and Gutnish groups consisting of [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Gutnish]].

While this classification is based on the differences between the North Germanic languages at the time they split, their present-day characteristics justify another classification, dividing them into Insular Scandinavian and Mainland Scandinavian language groups based on mutual intelligibility. Under this system, Norwegian is grouped together with Danish and Swedish because the last millennium has seen all three undergo important changes, especially in grammar and lexis, which have set them apart from Faroese and Icelandic.

Norn is generally considered to have been fairly similar to Faroese, sharing many phonological and grammatical traits, and might even have been mutually intelligible with it. Thus, it can be considered an Insular Scandinavian language.

Few written texts remain. It is distinct from the present-day [[Shetland dialect]], which evolved from [[Middle English]].