Editing Norway (section)

====Norwegian====
Norwegian is a [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] language descended from [[Old Norse]]. It is the main national language of Norway and is spoken throughout the country. Norwegian is spoken natively by over 5 million people mainly in Norway, but is generally understood throughout [[Scandinavia]] and to a lesser degree other [[Nordic countries]]. It has two official written forms, ''[[Bokmål]]'' and ''[[Nynorsk]]''. Both are used in public administration, schools, churches, and media. Bokmål is the written language used by a majority of about 85%. Around 95% of the population speak Norwegian as their first or native language, although many speak dialects that may differ significantly from the written languages. Norwegian dialects are mutually intelligible, although listeners with limited exposure to dialects other than their own may struggle with certain phrases and pronunciations.

Norwegian is closely related to and generally mutually intelligible with its neighbour [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian languages]]; [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], and the three main Scandinavian languages thus form both a [[dialect continuum]] and a larger language community with about 25 million speakers. All three languages are commonly employed in communication among inhabitants of the Scandinavian countries. As a result of the co-operation within the [[Nordic Council]], inhabitants of all Nordic countries always have the right to communicate with Norwegian authorities in Danish or Swedish as equal alternatives to Norwegian.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 January 2017|title=Interesting Facts About the Norwegian Language (Norsk)|url=https://www.nordictrans.com/blog/interesting-facts-norwegian-language/|access-date=17 November 2020|website=Nordictrans.com|language=en-US|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024114438/https://www.nordictrans.com/blog/interesting-facts-norwegian-language/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Norwegian language was subject to [[Norwegian language conflict|strong political and cultural controversies]]. This led to the development of Nynorsk in the 19th century and to the formation of alternative spelling standards in the 20th century.