Editing North Germanic languages (section)

==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 though 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.