View source for Nynorsk

{{Short description|Written standard of Norwegian language}}
{{Infobox language
|name          = Norwegian Nynorsk
|nativename    = ''nynorsk''
|pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|nj|uː|n|ɔːr|s|k|,_|ˈ|n|iː|-}} {{respell|NEW|norsk|,_|NEE|-}}<br />{{IPAc-en|US|nj|uː|ˈ|n|ɔːr|s|k|,_|n|iː|ˈ|-}} {{respell|new|NORSK|,_|nee|-}}<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Nynorsk|access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nynorsk|title=Nynorsk|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190501110558/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Nynorsk "Nynorsk"] (US) and {{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Nynorsk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182505/https://www.lexico.com/definition/nynorsk |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-22 |title=Nynorsk |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Nynorsk|access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref><br />{{IPA|no-NO-03|ˈnỳːnɔʂk|lang|Nynorsk (Pronuncation).ogg}}
|states        = [[Norway]]
|speakers      = none
|speakers2     = (written only)
|familycolor   = Indo-European
|fam2          = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3          = [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]]
|fam4          = [[West Scandinavian languages|West Scandinavian]]
|fam5          = ''[[Norwegian dialects]]''
|ancestor      = [[Old West Norse]]
|ancestor2     = [[Old Norwegian]]
|ancestor3     = [[Middle Norwegian]]
|ancestor4     = ''[[Norwegian dialects]]''
|ancestor5     = [[Høgnorsk|Landsmål]]
|stand1        = Nynorsk (official)
|stand2        = [[Høgnorsk]] (unofficial)
|script        = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Norwegian alphabet]])
|nation        = {{ubl|Norway|[[Nordic Council]]}}
|agency        = [[Norwegian Language Council]]
|iso1          = nn
|iso2          = nno
|iso3          = nno
|glotto        = norw1262
|glottorefname = Norwegian Nynorsk
|lingua        = 52-AAA-ba to -be
}}

'''Nynorsk''' ({{IPA|no-NO-03|ˈnŷːnɔʂk|lang|Nynorsk (Pronuncation).ogg}}; {{literal translation|Modern Norwegian|New Norwegian}})<ref name="språkråd">{{cite web|last1=Vikør|first1=Lars S.|title=Norwegian: Bokmål vs. Nynorsk|url=http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Om-oss/English-and-other-languages/English/norwegian-bokmal-vs.-nynorsk/|website=Språkrådet|access-date=7 January 2017|date=2015|quote=... two distinct written varieties: Bokmål (‘Book Language’) and Nynorsk (‘New Norwegian’).}}</ref><ref>"«Nynorsk» skulle vise at det var tale om norsk på eit nyare utviklingssteg enn gamalnorsk. «Bokmål» hang saman med den nemninga som hadde hevd i lovspråket, «det almindelige bogsprog»." (Nynorsk was intended to refer to a later develepmental stage of [[Old Norwegian]]. "Bokmål" was due to the old term for the lanugage of law, "det almindelige bogsprog"(the calmon writen language") {{Citation |last=Grepstad |first=Jon |title=landsmål |date=2024-11-26 |work=Store norske leksikon |url=https://snl.no/landsm%C3%A5l |access-date=2025-11-01 |language=no |last2=Allkunne}}</ref> <!-- this probably should'nt use UEN, maybe some broad transcription to prevent privileging any one dialect?--> is one of the two official written standards of the [[Norwegian language]], the other being [[Bokmål]]. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of [[Ivar Aasen]]'s standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the [[Dano-Norwegian]] written standard known as [[Riksmål]]. The name Nynorsk was introduced in 1929. After a series of reforms, it is still the written standard closer to {{lang|no|Landsmål}}, whereas Bokmål is closer to Riksmål and Danish.

Between 10 and 15 percent of Norwegians (primarily in the west around the city of [[Bergen]]) have Nynorsk as their official language form, estimated by the number of students attending secondary schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gyldendal.no/Faglitteratur/Samfunnsfag/Historie/Hovuddrag-i-norsk-spraakhistorie|title=Hovuddrag i norsk språkhistorie {{!}} Gyldendal|last=Forlag|first=Gyldendal Norsk|work=www.gyldendal.no|language=no-bokmaal|access-date=10 August 2018}}</ref> Nynorsk is also taught as a mandatory subject in both high school and middle school for all Norwegians who do not have it as their own language form.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.udir.no/kl06/NOR1-05|title=Læreplan i norsk (NOR1-05)|website=www.udir.no|language=nb|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>

==History==
Norway had its own written and oral language—[[Old Norse|Norwegian]]. After the [[Kalmar Union]], Norway became a [[Denmark–Norway|less important part of Denmark]]. At that time, [[Danish language|Danish]] was declared the written language of Norway until 1814, and Danish with Norwegian intonation and pronunciation was on occasion spoken in the cities (see [[Dano-Norwegian]]). With the independence of Norway from Denmark, Danish became a foreign language and thus lost much of its prestige, and a conservative, written form of Norwegian, Landsmål, had been developed by 1850. By this time, however, the Danish language had been gradually reformed into the written language Riksmål, and no agreement was reached on which of the two forms to use. In 1885, the parliament declared the two forms official and equal.

Efforts were made to fuse the two written forms into one language. As a result, Landsmål and Riksmål lost their official status in 1929, and were replaced by the written forms Nynorsk and Bokmål, which were intended to be temporary intermediary stages before their final fusion into one hypothesised official Norwegian language known at the time as Samnorsk. This project was later abandoned<ref name="språkråd" /><ref name="jahr">Jahr, E.H., The fate of Samnorsk: a social dialect experiment in language planning. In: Clyne, M.G., 1997, Undoing and redoing corpus planning. De Gruyter, Berlin.</ref> and Nynorsk and Bokmål remain the two officially sanctioned standards of what is today called the Norwegian language.

Both written languages are in reality fusions between the Norwegian and Danish languages as they were spoken and written around 1850, with Nynorsk closer to Norwegian and Bokmål closer to Danish. The official standard of Nynorsk has been significantly altered during the process to create the common language form Samnorsk. A minor purist fraction of the Nynorsk population has stayed firm with the historical Aasen norm where these alterations of Nynorsk were rejected, which is known as [[Høgnorsk]] ({{langx|en|High Norwegian}}, analogous to [[High German languages|High German]]). [[Ivar Aasen-sambandet]] is an umbrella organization of associations and individuals promoting the use of Høgnorsk, whereas [[Noregs Mållag]] and [[Norsk Målungdom]] advocate the use of Nynorsk in general.

The Landsmål (Landsmaal) language standard was constructed by the Norwegian [[Linguistics|linguist]] [[Ivar Aasen]] during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian-based alternative to [[Danish language|Danish]], which was commonly written, and to some extent spoken, in [[Norway]] at the time.

The word ''Nynorsk'' also has another meaning. In addition to being the name of the present, official written language standard, Nynorsk can also refer to the Norwegian language in use after [[Old Norwegian]], 11th to 14th centuries, and [[Middle Norwegian]], 1350 to about 1550.<ref name="OldNyn">{{cite web|title=Nynorsk som talemål|url=http://www.sprakradet.no/svardatabase/?CurrentForm.SearchText=skulen+nynorsk+og+bokm%C3%A5l+i&CurrentForm.KategoriFilter|website=Språkrådet|access-date=8 January 2017|quote=[Nynorsk] kan i tillegg bety ‘norsk språk i nyere tid (etter 1500)’, altså etter gammelnorsk og mellomnorsk.}}</ref> The written Norwegian that was used until the period of Danish rule (1536-1814), closely resembles Nynorsk (New Norwegian).{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}  A major source of old written material is [[Diplomatarium Norvegicum]] in 22 printed volumes.

In 2023 [[Jon Fosse]] received the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]. He was the first person awarded this prize to write in Nynorsk.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/05/jon-fosses-nobel-prize-announces-his-overdue-arrival-on-the-global-stage|title=Jon Fosse's Nobel prize announces his overdue arrival on the global stage|first=Philip|last=Oltermann|date=5 October 2023|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Early Nynorsk studies and dictionaries==
[[Image:Olav Rusti-Ivar Aasen.jpg|thumb|[[Ivar Aasen]] (drawing by Olav Rusti)]]
[[File:Adolph Tidemand & Hans Gude - Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The [[Norwegian romantic nationalism]] movement sought to identify and celebrate the genuinely Norwegian.]]

After the transition from Middle Norwegian to New Norwegian/Nynorsk ({{Circa|1525}}), several studies of the language were assembled. The oldest of these is a language overview and collection of proverbs from the early 1600s Vest-Agder. Later in the century, a dictionary from Robyggjelaget was written. Neither of these works were printed until more recently. In 1646, however, Christen Jensøn (1610-1653), born in Askvoll, Norway, released a dictionary which documented the Nynorsk language in Sunnfjord.<ref>Jensøn, Christen. 1946. Den norske dictionarium eller glosebog. A/S J.W. Eides forlag. Bergen, 1946. (including foreword)</ref>

In 1749, [[Erik Pontoppidan]] released a dictionary of Norwegian words that were incomprehensible to Danish people, ''Glossarium Norvagicum Eller Forsøg paa en Samling Af saadanne rare Norske Ord Som gemeenlig ikke forstaaes af Danske Folk, Tilligemed en Fortegnelse paa Norske Mænds og Qvinders Navne''.<ref name="runeberg">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/glossnor/|title=Glossarium Norvagicum eller Forsøg paa en Samling af saadanne rare Norske Ord|publisher=runeberg.org|access-date=2015-10-05}}</ref> Pontoppidan's dictionary was criticised by [[Torleiv Hannaas]] for being a somewhat haphazard collection of rarities, and for being written by someone who was not proficient in Nynorsk, in contrast with Jensøn's dictionary. It is agreed, and also admitted by Pontoppidan himself, that the scope of Pontoppidan's work was not to provide a complete or rigid study of Nynorsk, but to make an attempt to further the understanding of the language.<ref>Hamre, Håkon. 1972. Erik Pontoppidan og hans Glossarium Norvagicum. Norwegian Universities Press, Bergen, Oslo.</ref>

==Ivar Aasen's work==
A systematic study of the Norwegian language was made by [[Ivar Aasen]] in the mid 19th century. After the dissolution of [[Denmark–Norway]] and the establishment of the [[union between Sweden and Norway]] in 1814, Norwegians considered that neither Danish, by now a foreign language, nor by any means Swedish, were suitable written norms for Norwegian affairs. The linguist [[Knud Knudsen (linguist)|Knud Knudsen]] proposed a gradual Norwegianisation of Danish. Ivar Aasen, however, favoured a more radical approach, based on the principle that the spoken language of people living in the Norwegian countryside, who made up the vast majority of the population, should be regarded as more Norwegian than that of upper-middle class city-dwellers, who for centuries had been substantially influenced by the Danish language and culture.<ref name="språkråd" /><ref name="jahr" /> This idea was not unique to Aasen, and can be seen in the wider context of [[Norwegian romantic nationalism]]. In the 1840s, Aasen traveled across rural Norway and studied its dialects. He preferred the rural dialects of [[Vestlandet]] and inland [[Østlandet]], whilst avoiding the city dialects and focusing less on the dialects of southern Østlandet and southern coast of [[Skagerrak]], which he considered to be too much corrupted by Danish. In 1848 and 1850, he published the first Norwegian grammar and dictionary, respectively, which described a standard that Aasen called Landsmål. New versions detailing the written standard were published in 1864 and 1873, and in the 20th century by [[Olav Beito]] in 1970.<ref>Venås, Kjell. 2009. Beito, Olav T. In: Stammerjohann, Harro (ed.), ''Lexicon Grammaticorum: A Bio-Bibliographical Companion to the History of Linguistics'' p. 126. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.</ref>

During the same period, [[Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb]] standardised the orthography of the [[Faroese language]]. Spoken Faroese is closely related to Landsmål and dialects in Norway proper, and [[Lucas Debes]] and [[Peder Hansen Resen]] classified the Faroese tongue as Norwegian in the late 17th century.<ref>Sandøy, H., Frå tre dialektar til tre språk. In: Gunnstein Akselberg og Edit Bugge (red.), Vestnordisk språkkontakt gjennom 1200 år. Tórshavn, Fróðskapur, 2011, pp. 19-38. [http://folk.uib.no/hnohs/Publikasjonar/Sandoy,%201410,%20Fraa%20tre%20dialektar%20til%20tre%20spraak.pdf]</ref> Faroese is now regarded as a separate language.

Aasen's work is based on the idea that Norwegian dialects had a common structure that made them a separate language alongside Danish and Swedish. The central point for Aasen therefore became to find and show the structural dependencies between the dialects. In order to abstract this structure from the variety of dialects, he developed some basic criteria, which he called ''the most perfect form''. He defined this form as the one that best showed the connection to related words, with similar words, and with the forms in [[Old Norwegian]]. No single dialect had all the "perfect forms"; each dialect had preserved different aspects and parts of the language. Through such a systematic approach, Aasen believed one could arrive at a uniting expression for all Norwegian dialects, what he called ''the fundamental dialect''; [[Einar Haugen]] called it ''Proto-Norwegian''.

The idea that the study should end up in a new written language marked Aasen's work from the beginning. A fundamental idea for him was that the fundamental dialect should be [[Modern Norwegian]], not [[Old Norwegian]] or [[Old Norse]]. Therefore, he did not include grammatical categories which were extinct in all dialects. At the same time, the categories that were inherited from the old language and were still present in some dialects should be represented in the written standard. Haugen has used the word ''reconstruction'' rather than ''construction'' about this work.

===Conflict===
{{Main|Norwegian language conflict}}

From the outset, Nynorsk was met with resistance among those who believed that the [[Dano-Norwegian]] then in use was sufficient. With the advent and growth of mass media, exposure to the standard languages increased, and Bokmål's position is dominant in many situations. This may explain why negative attitudes toward Nynorsk persist, as is seen with many [[minority language]]s. This is especially prominent among students, who are required to learn both of the official written languages. There are however many individual reasons for both positive and negative attitudes towards Nynorsk. Many claim that obligatory learning of both language forms is unnecessary, and that students would be better off spending their time on learning a foreign language, or simply focusing on one of the language forms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forskning.no/ntnu-partner-sprak/nynorsk-bor-vaere-valgfag/264660|title=– Nynorsk bør være valgfag|date=June 2018}}</ref>

Some critics of obligatory Nynorsk and Bokmål as school subjects have been very outspoken about their opposition. For instance, during the 2005 election, the [[Norwegian Young Conservatives]] made an advertisement where a candidate for parliament threw a copy of the Nynorsk dictionary into a barrel of flames. After strong reactions to this [[book burning]], they apologized and chose not to use the video.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/2005/08/17/440490.html|title=Brenner nynorsk-bok i tønne|access-date=2008-02-02|date=2005-08-17}}</ref>

== Geographical distribution ==
[[File:Målformer i Norge.svg|alt=|thumb|Map of the official language forms of Norwegian municipalities as of 2007, with Nynorsk in cyan, Bokmål in orange, and neutral in grey]]

Bokmål has a much larger basis in the cities and generally outside of the [[Western Norway|western part]] of the country.<ref name="Kristoffersen">{{cite book|last=Kristoffersen|first=Gjert|author-link=Gjert Kristoffersen|title=The Phonology of Norwegian|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-19-823765-5}}</ref> Most Norwegians do not speak either Nynorsk or Bokmål as written, but a Norwegian dialect that identifies their origins. Nynorsk shares many of the problems that minority languages face.

In Norway, each [[Municipalities of Norway|municipality]] and [[Counties of Norway|county]] can choose to declare either of the two language standards as the official language or remain "standard-neutral". As of 2020, 90 municipalities had declared Nynorsk the official standard, while 118 had chosen Bokmål; another 148 were "neutral" between the two,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2019-12-20-2114|title=Forskrift om målvedtak i kommunar og fylkeskommunar (målvedtaksforskrifta) - Lovdata|work=lovdata.no|access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> numbers that have been stable since the 1970s.<ref name="tunet">{{cite web|date=2015|title=Ivar Aasen-tunet|url=http://www.aasentunet.no/11+Offentleg+forvaltning.d25-SxdLK0y.ips?get=content|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715010956/http://www.aasentunet.no/11+Offentleg+forvaltning.d25-SxdLK0y.ips?get=content|archive-date=15 July 2018|access-date=13 November 2015|publisher=Nynorsk kultursentrum|language=nn}}</ref> As for counties, three have declared Nynorsk as their official standard: [[Møre og Romsdal]], [[Telemark]] and [[Vestland]]. Most municipalities in [[Rogaland]] and few in the "standard-neutral" counties have declared Nynorsk as their official standard. [[Ålesund Municipality]] was the largest municipality with Nynorsk as its official language form,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrk.no/mr/alesund-blir-landets-storste-nynorskkommune-1.14814958|title=Ålesund blir landets største nynorskkommune|last=Stenberg|first=Marius André Jenssen|work=NRK|language=nn-NO|quote=Den nye storkommunen Ålesund blir landets største nynorskkommune, trass i at dei aller fleste som bur i området skriv bokmål. Det får folk til å ønskje at Ivar Aasen aldri blei fødd.|date=15 December 2019|access-date=23 March 2020}}</ref> until the area of the old [[Haram Municipality]] (a Nynorsk-majority area) was separated from the rest of the municipality from 1 January 2024, and the remaining [[Ålesund Municipality]] opted for "standard-neutrality".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://alesund.kommune.no/kommunen/administrativ-organisering/malform/|title=Målform - skriftspråk|work=Ålesund kommune|language=nn-NO|quote=Sak om målform ble behandlet av Ålesund kommunestyre 7. desember 2023. Dette er vedtaket: Ålesund kommunestyre vedtar at ein går tilbake til å praktisere språknøytralitet på den måten tidlegare Ålesund kommune før 2019 gjorde det.|date=7 December 2023|access-date=27 March 2024|archive-date=27 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327102040/https://alesund.kommune.no/kommunen/administrativ-organisering/malform/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The main standard used in primary schools is decided by referendum within the local school district. The number of school districts and pupils using primarily Nynorsk has decreased from its height in the 1940s, even in Nynorsk municipalities. Nynorsk is also part of the school curriculum in high school and elementary school for all students in Norway, where students are taught to write it.

The prevailing regions for Nynorsk are the rural areas of the [[Western Norway|western counties]] of [[Rogaland]], [[Vestland]] and [[Møre og Romsdal]], where an estimated 90% of the [[population]] writes Nynorsk. Some of the rural parts of [[Innlandet]], [[Buskerud]], [[Telemark]] and [[Agder]] also write primarily in Nynorsk. In the [[Sunnmøre]] region of Møre og Romsdal, all municipalities (except the Bokmål-majority Ålesund) have stated Nynorsk as the official standard. In Vestland, almost all municipalities have declared Nynorsk as the official standard – [[Bergen Municipality]] and [[Askøy Municipality]] being the only two exceptions.

== Status of the language form ==
Written Nynorsk is found in all the same types of places and for the same uses ([[newspaper]]s, [[commercial product]]s, [[computer program]]s, etc.) as other written languages. Most of the biggest newspapers in Norway have certain articles written in Nynorsk, like [[VG (Newspaper)|''VG'']] and ''[[Aftenposten]]'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://framtida.no/2018/05/28/aftenposten-opnar-for-nynorsk|title=Aftenposten opnar for nynorsk|last=Haugtrø|first=Beate|date=2018-05-28|work=Framtida|access-date=2018-07-14|language=en-US}}</ref> but are mainly Bokmål. There are also nationwide newspapers where Nynorsk is the only Norwegian-language form of publication, among them are ''[[Dag og Tid|Dag & Tid]]'' and ''[[Framtida.no]]''. Many local newspapers have also chosen Nynorsk as the only language form of publication, like ''[[Firdaposten]]'', ''[[Hallingdølen]]'', ''[[Hordaland (newspaper)|Hordaland]]'' and ''[[Bø blad]]''. Many newspapers are also officially neutral, conforming to either Nynorsk or Bokmål in an article as they see fit, like ''[[Klassekampen]]'' and ''[[Bergens Tidende]]''. Commercial products produced in the Nynorsk areas of Norway are also often distributed with Nynorsk text, like types of [[Gamalost]]. Many computer programs and apps that serve the whole country often present a choice between Bokmål and Nynorsk, especially those produced by the Norwegian government.

There are also requirements by law that many Norwegian institutions have to follow. These laws are in order to keep Nynorsk and Bokmål as equals, which has been seen as an important case since the creation of the language forms. For instance the State-owned broadcaster [[NRK]] is required by law to have at least 25% of their content on broadcast and online media in Nynorsk.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nrk.no/etikk/sprakreglar-i-nrk-1.6880516|title=Språkreglar i NRK|last=Fordal|first=Jon Annar|work=NRK|access-date=2018-07-14|language=nb-NO}}</ref> There is also a requirement for state organs and universities to have content written in Nynorsk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1980-04-11-5|title=Lov om målbruk i offentleg teneste [mållova] |website=Lovdata |language=no|access-date=2018-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181004193435/https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1980-04-11-5 |archive-date= Oct 4, 2018 }}</ref> Every student in the country should be presented the opportunity to take their exam in either Nynorsk or Bokmål.

== Spoken Nynorsk ==
Nynorsk is first and foremost a written language form but it does appear as a spoken language. Spoken Nynorsk is often referred to as normed Nynorsk speech.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Publikasjoner/Spraaknytt/Arkivet/Eldre/Normering_av_nynorsk_talemaal/ |date=1983 |first1=Kjell |last1=Venås |title=Normering av nynorsk talemål|website=Språkrådet|language=no|access-date=2018-07-22}}</ref> Bokmål speech in [[Eastern Norway]] often conforms to [[Urban East Norwegian]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Languages in the European Information Society |publisher=META-NET |first1=Koenraad |last1=De Smedt |first2=Gunn Inger |last2=Lyse |first3=Anje Müller |last3=Gjesdal |first4=Gyri S. |last4=Losnegaard |url=https://meta-nord.w.uib.no/files/2012/01/bokmaal-main_v10kds.pdf |access-date=9 October 2023 |website=META-NORD}}</ref> whereas Bokmål speech in [[Bergen]] and [[Trondheim]] is called ''pen-bergensk'' (lit. fine Bergenish) and ''pen-trøndersk'' (lit. fine Trondheimish), respectively. Normed Nynorsk speech is mostly used in scripted contexts, like news broadcasts from television stations, such as [[NRK]] and [[TV 2 (Norway)|TV2]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.firda.no/sportsanker-fekk-mediemalpris/s/5-15-54261|title=Sportsanker fekk mediemålpris|date=2015-04-21|work=www.firda.no|access-date=2018-07-22|language=no}}</ref> It's also widely used in theaters, like [[Det Norske Teatret]] and by teachers. Since the 1970s, the motto of the Nynorsk movement has largely been "speak dialect, write Nynorsk", which has marginalized the use of normed Nynorsk speech to mainly scripted contexts. This is in contrast to the normed Bokmål speech which many speakers use in all social settings. Outside of scripts, it is quite common to rather speak a Norwegian dialect. Compared to many other countries, dialects have a higher social status in Norway and are often used even in official contexts.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJgECwAAQBAJ&q=high+status+norwegian+dialects&pg=PR15|title=Colloquial Norwegian: The Complete Course for Beginners|last1=O'Leary|first1=Margaret Hayford|last2=Andresen|first2=Torunn|date=2016-05-20|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317582601|language=en}}</ref> At the same time, it is not uncommon for dialect speakers to use a register closer to the Nynorsk writing standard when deemed suitable, especially in formal contexts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sprakradet.no/svardatabase/sporsmal-og-svar/nynorsk-som-talemal/|title=Nynorsk som talemål|website=Språkrådet|language=no|access-date=2018-07-22}}</ref>

==Grammar==
{{For|a grammatical comparison between Bokmål and Nynorsk|Norwegian_language#Bokmål_and_Nynorsk}}

Nynorsk is a [[North Germanic language]], close in form to both Icelandic and the other form of written Norwegian ([[Bokmål]]). Nynorsk grammar is closer in grammar to Old West Norse than Bokmål is, as the latter was influenced by Danish.

===Nouns===
Grammatical genders are inherent properties of [[noun]]s, and each gender has its own forms of inflection.

Standard Nynorsk and all [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] dialects, with the notable exception of the [[Bergensk|Bergen dialect]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Skjekkeland|first=Martin|title=dialekter i Bergen|date=2016-09-16|url=http://snl.no/dialekter_i_Bergen|work=Store norske leksikon|language=no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> have three [[grammatical gender]]s: [[masculine]], [[feminine]] and [[Grammatical gender|neuter]]. The situation is slightly more complicated in Bokmål, which has inherited the Danish two-gender system. Written Danish retains only the neuter and the common gender. Though the common gender took what used to be the feminine inflections in Danish, it matches the masculine inflections in Norwegian. The Norwegianization in the 20th century brought the three-gender system into Bokmål, but the process was never completed. In Nynorsk these are important distinctions, in contrast to Bokmål, in which all feminine nouns may also become masculine (due to the incomplete transition to a three-gender system) and inflect using its forms, and indeed a feminine word may be seen in both forms, for example {{lang|nb|boka}} or {{lang|nb|boken}} ("the book") in Bokmål. This means that {{lang|nb|e'''n''' lit'''en''' stjerne – stjern'''en'''}} ("a small star – the star", only masculine forms) and {{lang|nb|e'''i''' lit'''a''' stjerne – stjern'''a'''}} (only feminine forms) both are correct Bokmål, as well as every possible combination: {{lang|nb|e'''n''' lit'''en''' stjerne – stjern'''a'''}}, {{lang|nb|e'''i''' lit'''en''' stjerne – stjern'''a'''}} or even {{lang|nb|e'''i''' lit'''a''' stjerne – stjern'''en'''}}. Choosing either two or three genders throughout the whole text is not a requirement either, so one may choose to write {{lang|nb|tida}} ("the time" {{abbr|''f''|feminine}}) and {{lang|nb|boken}} ("the book" {{abbr|''m''|masculine}}) in the same work in Bokmål. This is not allowed in Nynorsk, where the feminine forms have to be used wherever they exist.

In Nynorsk, unlike Bokmål, masculine and feminine nouns are differentiated not only in the singular form but also in the plural forms. For example:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of nouns, Nynorsk
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Singular
! colspan="2" |Plural
|-
!Indefinite
!Definite
!Indefinite
!Definite
|-
! rowspan="2" |masculine
|{{lang|nn|ein bil}}
|{{lang|nn|bilen}}
|{{lang|nn|bilar}}
|{{lang|nn|bilane}}
|-
|a car
|the car
|cars
|the cars
|-
! rowspan="2" |feminine
|{{lang|nn|ei seng}}
|{{lang|nn|senga}}
|{{lang|nn|senger}}
|{{lang|nn|sengene}}
|-
|a bed
|the bed
|beds
|the beds
|-
! rowspan="2" |neuter
|{{lang|nn|eit hus}}
|{{lang|nn|huset}}
|{{lang|nn|hus}}
|{{lang|nn|husa}}
|-
|a house
|the house
|houses
|the houses
|}
That is, nouns generally follow these patterns,<ref name="Språkrådet">{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/hovudreglane_for_substantivboying|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> where all definite articles/plural indefinite articles are suffixes:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Noun inflections in Nynorsk
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |Singular
! colspan="2" |Plural
|-
!Indefinite
!Definite
!Indefinite
!Definite
|-
!masculine
|{{lang|nn|ein}}
|{{lang|nn|-en}}
|{{lang|nn|-ar}}
|{{lang|nn|-ane}}
|-
!feminine
|{{lang|nn|ei}}
|{{lang|nn|-a}}
|{{lang|nn|-er}}
|{{lang|nn|-ene}}
|-
!neuter
|{{lang|nn|eit}}
|{{lang|nn|-et}}
|{{lang|nn|-}}
|{{lang|nn|-a}}
|}
The gender of each noun normally follows certain patterns. For instance will all nouns ending in {{lang|nn|-nad}} be masculine, like the word {{lang|nn|jobbsøknad}} (job application). Almost all nouns ending in {{lang|nn|-ing}} will be feminine, like the word {{lang|nn|forventning}} (expectation). The {{lang|nn|-ing}} nouns also get an irregular inflection pattern, with {{lang|nn|-ar}} and {{lang|nn|-ane}} in the plural indefinite and plural definite (just like the masculine) but inflected like a feminine noun in every other way.<ref name="Språkrådet"/> There are a few other common nouns that have an irregular inflection too, like {{lang|nn|mann}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=mann&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=begge|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> which means man and is a masculine word, but for plural it gets an [[Umlaut (linguistics)|umlaut]] (just like English): {{lang|nn|menn}} (men) and it gets a plural definite that follows the inflection pattern of a feminine word: {{lang|nn|mennene}} (the men). The word {{lang|nn|son}} which means son is another word that is inflected just like a masculine word except for the plural, where it is inflected like a feminine noun with an [[Umlaut (linguistics)|umlaut]]:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=son&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=begge|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> {{lang|nn|søner}} (sons), {{lang|nn|sønene}} (the sons).

Here is a short list of irregular nouns, many of which are irregular in Bokmål too and some of which even follow the same irregular inflection as in Bokmål (like the word in the first row: {{lang|nn|ting}}):

{| class="wikitable"
|+A few common irregular nouns<ref name="Språkrådet"/>
! colspan="2" |Singular
! colspan="2" |Plural
|-
! width="25%" | Indefinite
! width="25%" | Definite 
! width="25%" | Indefinite
! width="25%" | Definite
|-
| {{lang|nn|ein ting}} (a thing)
| {{lang|nn|tingen}} (the thing)
| {{lang|nn|ting}} (things)
| {{lang|nn|tinga}} (the things)
|-
| {{lang|nn|ein far}} (a dad)
| {{lang|nn|faren}} (the dad)
| {{lang|nn|fedrar}} (dads)
| {{lang|nn|fedrane}} (the dads)
|-
| {{lang|nn|ein bror}} (a brother) 
| {{lang|nn|broren}} (the brother)
| {{lang|nn|brør}} (brothers)
| {{lang|nn|brørne}} (the brothers)
|-
| {{lang|nn|eit museum}} (a museum)
| {{lang|nn|museet}} (the museum)
| {{lang|nn|museum}} (museums)
| {{lang|nn|musea}} (the museums)
|}

==== Genitive of nouns ====
{{Main|Norwegian language#Genitive of nouns}}
Expressing ownership of a noun (like "the girl's car") is very similar to how it is in Bokmål, but the use of the reflexive possessive pronouns {{lang|nn|sin}}, {{lang|nn|si}}, {{lang|nn|sitt}}, {{lang|nn|sine}} are more extensive than in Bokmål due to the preservation of historical grammatical case expressions.

=== Compound words ===
{{Main|Norwegian language#Compound words}}
Compound words are constructed in exactly the same way as Bokmål.

===Inflection===
A grammatical gender is not characterized by [[noun]] [[inflection]] alone; each gender can have further inflectional forms. That is, gender can determine the inflection of other parts of speech which agree grammatically with a noun. This concerns [[Determiner (linguistics)|determiners]], [[adjective]]s and [[past participles]].

The inflection patterns and words are quite similar to those of Bokmål, but unlike Bokmål the feminine forms are not optional, they have to be used. As for adjectives and determiners, the list of words with a feminine inflection form are quite few compared to those for the masculine and neuter after the 2012 language revision. All the past participles for strong verbs are for instance no longer inflected for the feminine (with an inflection ending {{lang|nn|-i}}) and there is just a handful of adjectives left with a feminine form, one of which is the adjective {{lang|nn|liten}} as is shown in the inflection table below.

====Adjectives====
[[Adjective]]s have to [[Agreement (linguistics)|agree]] with the noun in both gender and number just like Bokmål.<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no">{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/samsvarsboying_adjektiv|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> Unlike Bokmål, Nynorsk has a more completed system of adjective agreement comparable to that of the [[Swedish language]] (see [[#Participles|Nynorsk past participles]]).
{| class="wikitable"
|+
[[Adjective#Predicative adjective|Predicative agreement]]
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|{{lang|nn|Bilen er '''liten'''}}
|The car (masculine) is '''small'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Linja er '''lita'''}}
|The line (feminine) is '''small'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Huset er '''lite'''}}
|The house (neuter) is '''small'''
|}
Just like in Bokmål, adjectives have to agree after certain [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] verbs, like in this case the verb for "to be": {{lang|nn|vere}} ({{lang|nn|er}} is its present tense). Other important copula verbs where predicative agreement happens are {{lang|nn|verte}} and {{lang|nn|bli}} (both mean "become"). Other copula verbs are also {{lang|nn|ser ut}} (looks like) and [[#Reflexive verbs|the reflexive verbs in Nynorsk]]. When verbs are used other than these copula verbs, the adjectives like in the example above will no longer be adjectives but an adverb. The adverb form of an adjective is the same as the neuter form of the adjective, just like in Bokmål.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.norsksidene.no/web/PageND.aspx?id=99110|title=Adverb|website=www.norsksidene.no|language=nb-NO|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> For instance {{lang|nn|Han gjør lite}} (he does little). Adverbs are not inflected, like most European languages. The system of agreement after copula verbs in the Scandinavian languages is a remnant of the grammatical case system. The verbs where the subject and predicate of the verb had the same case are known as copula verbs. The system of grammatical case disappeared but there was still specific gender forms that was left.
{| class="wikitable"
|+[[Adjective#Predicative adjective|Attributive agreement]]
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|{{lang|nn|Ein '''liten''' bil}}
|A '''small''' car (masculine)
|-
|{{lang|nn|Ei '''lita''' linje}}
|A '''small''' line (feminine)
|-
|{{lang|nn|Eit '''lite''' hus}}
|A '''small''' house (neuter)
|}
Most adjectives will follow this pattern of inflection for adjectives, which is the same as in Bokmål:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/samsvarsboying_adjektiv|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-06-17}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+The most common inflection
!Masculine/feminine
!neuter
!Plural/definite
|-
|  {{lang|nn|—}}
|  {{lang|nn|-t}}
|  {{lang|nn|-e}}
|}
Examples of adjectives that follow this pattern are adjectives like fin<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=fin&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=begge|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> (nice), klar<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=klar&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=nynorsk|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> (ready/clear), rar<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=rar&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=nynorsk|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> (weird).

Adjectives/perfect participles that end in a [[diphthong]] (like the word {{lang|nn|grei}}, which means straightforward/fine) will follow this inflection pattern:<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Inflection for adjectives ending on diphthong
!Masculine/feminine
!neuter
!Plural/definite
|-
|  {{lang|nn|—}}
|  {{lang|nn|-tt}}
|  {{lang|nn|-e}}
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples, adjective inflections
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|{{lang|nn|Hagen er '''fin'''}}
|The garden (masculine) is '''nice'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Løypa er '''fin'''}}
|The trail (feminine) is '''nice'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Været var '''fint'''}}
|The weather (neuter) was '''nice'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Løypa er nokså '''grei'''}}
|The trail (feminine) is pretty '''straightforward'''
|-
|{{lang|nn|Det er '''greitt'''}}
|It (neuter) is '''fine'''
|}

=====[[Comparison (grammar)|Comparison]]=====
All [[Comparison (grammar)|adjective comparison]] follow this pattern:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Verb comparison
!Positive
!Comparative
!Superlative
|-
| {{lang|nn|—}}
| {{lang|nn|-are}}
| {{lang|nn|-ast}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Example, verb comparison
!Positive
!Comparative
!Superlative
|-
|{{lang|nn|fin}} (nice)
|{{lang|nn|fin'''are'''}} (nicer)
|{{lang|nn|fin'''ast'''}} (nicest)
|}

====Participles====
[[Participle|Past participles]] of verbs, which are when the verb functions as an adjective, are inflected just like an adjective.<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/> This is very similar to the system of agreement in [[Swedish grammar|the Swedish language]], where all participles have an inflection for gender, number and definiteness. In contrast, participles in Bokmål are only in general inflected for number and definiteness and shares many of the inflections it got from the Danish language. The inflections of these participles are inferred from the verb conjugation class they pertain to, described in the verb section. In Nynorsk, the verb {{lang|nn|skrive}} (to write, strong verb) has the following forms:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=skrive&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=nynorsk|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Skrive (to write, strong verb)
! Masculine/feminine
! Neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
|{{lang|nn|skriv'''en'''}}
|{{lang|nn|skriv'''e'''}}
|{{lang|nn|skriv'''ne'''}}
|}In fact, all strong verbs are conjugated in this pattern:<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Strong verbs
! Masculine/feminine
! Neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
| '''{{lang|nn|-en}}'''
| '''{{lang|nn|-e}}'''
| '''{{lang|nn|-ne}}'''
|}

Strong verbs had an optional feminine form {{lang|nn|-i}} prior to the 2012 language revision that still are used among some users.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples, strong verbs
! Norwegian
! English
|-
| {{lang|nn|Protokollen er skriv'''en'''}}
| The protocol (masculine) is written
|-
| {{lang|nn|Boka er skriv'''en'''}}
| The book (feminine) is written
|-
| {{lang|nn|Brevet er skriv'''e'''}}
| The letter (neuter) is written
|-
| {{lang|nn|Bøkene er skriv'''ne'''}}
| The books are written
|-
| {{lang|nn|Ein skriv'''en''' protokoll}}
| A written protocol (masculine)
|-
| {{lang|nn|Ei skriv'''en''' bok}}
| A written book (feminine)
|-
| {{lang|nn|Eit skriv'''e''' brev}}
| A written letter (neuter)
|-
| {{lang|nn|To skriv'''ne''' brev}}
| Two written letters
|}

Some of the weak verbs have to agree in only number (just like in Bokmål), while many have to agree in both gender and number (like in Swedish). The weak verbs are inflected according to their conjugation class<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/> (see [[#Verb conjugation|Nynorsk verb conjugation]]).

All {{lang|nn|a}}-verbs get the following inflections:<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{lang|nn|a}}-verbs
! Masculine/feminine
! Neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{lang|nn|'''-a'''}}
|}

All {{lang|nn|e}}-verbs (with {{lang|nn|-de}} in preterite) and {{lang|nn|j}}-verbs get the following inflections:<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+{{lang|nn|e}}-verbs ({{lang|nn|-de}} in preterite), {{lang|nn|j}}-verbs
! Masculine/feminine
! Neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
| {{lang|nn|'''-d'''}}
| '''{{lang|nn|-t}}'''
| {{lang|nn|'''-de'''}}
|}

All other {{lang|nn|e}}-verbs (those with {{lang|nn|-te}} in preterite) get the following inflections:<ref name="elevrom.sprakradet.no"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+{{lang|nn|e}}-verbs ({{lang|nn|-te}} in preterite)
! Masculine/feminine/neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
| '''{{lang|nn|-t}}'''
| {{lang|nn|'''-te'''}}
|}

All short verbs get the following inflections:<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/svake_VERB|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Short verbs
! Masculine/feminine
! Neuter
! Plural and definite
|-
| {{lang|nn|'''-dd'''}}
| {{lang|nn|'''-dd'''/'''-tt'''}}
| {{lang|nn|'''-dde'''}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples, weak verbs
! Norwegian
! English
|-
| {{lang|nn|Boka er sel'''d'''}}
| The book (feminine) has been sold
|-
| {{lang|nn|Bordet er sel'''t'''}}
| The table (neuter) has been sold
|-
| {{lang|nn|Ein val'''d''' president}}
| An elected president (masculine)
|-
| {{lang|nn|Eit utval'''t''' barn}}
| A chosen child (neuter)
|-
| {{lang|nn|Målet er oppnå'''tt'''}}
| The goal (neuter) has been achieved 
|-
| {{lang|nn|Grensa er nå'''dd'''}}
| The limit (female) has been reached
|}
[[Present participle]]s are like all other living Scandinavian languages not inflected in Nynorsk. In general, they are formed with the suffix {{lang|nn|-ande}} on the verb stem; {{lang|nn|Ein skrivande student}} (a writing student).

==== Definiteness inflection ====
As can be seen from the inflection tables for [[adjective]]s and [[Participle|past participles]], they all have their own inflection for definiteness. Just like Bokmål, when adjectives and past participles are accompanied by the articles in the following table below, the adjective/past participle gets the definite inflection and the following noun also gets the definite inflection - a form of double definiteness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kontakt-pabygg.cappelendamm.no/ento/seksjon.html?tid=1823011|title=Kontakt påbygg: Dobbel bestemming, aktiv og passiv|website=kontakt-pabygg.cappelendamm.no|language=nb|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> Nynorsk requires the use of double definiteness, where as in Bokmål this is not required due to its Danish origins, but the usage in Bokmål depends on the formality of the text. That is, in Bokmål it is perfectly fine to write ''I første avsnitt'' (which means; "in the first paragraph"), while the same sentence in Nynorsk would be ''I det første avsnittet'' which is also the most common way to construct the sentence in the Norwegian dialects<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spenn1.cappelendamm.no/c52255/artikkel/vis.html?tid=69742|title=Nynorsk som sidemål|website=spenn1.cappelendamm.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> and is also legal Bokmål.

Like most Scandinavian languages, when the noun is definite and is described by an adjective like the phrase "the beautiful mountains", there is a separate definite article dependent on the gender/number of the noun. In Nynorsk these articles are: ''den''/''det''/''dei''. The following noun and adjective both gets a definite inflection. When there is no adjective and the articles ''den''/''det''/''dei'' are used in front of the noun (like ''dei fjella'', English; "those mountains"), the articles are inferred as the demonstrative "that"/"those" depending on if the noun is plural or not. The difference between the demonstrative "that" and the article "the" is in general inferred from context when there is an adjective involved.
{| class="wikitable"
|+[[Article (grammar)|Articles]]: "this/that/these/the"
!Masculine/feminine
!Neuter
!Plural
|-
|''den'' (that/the)
|''det'' (that/the)
|''dei'' (those/the)
|-
|''denne'' (this)
|''dette'' (this)
|''desse'' (these)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples: definiteness
!Masculine/feminine
!English
|-
|''Den fin'''e''' bil'''en'''''
|That/the nice car
|-
|''Den bil'''en'''''
|That car
|-
|''Det rar'''e''' kjøleskap'''et'''''
|That/the weird fridge
|-
|''Dei storsleg'''ne''' fjord'''ane'''''
|Those/the magnificent fjords
|-
|''Dei nydeleg'''e''' fjell'''a'''''
|Those/the beautiful mountains
|-
|''Denne fin'''e''' jent'''a'''''
|This nice girl
|-
|''Dette stor'''e''' fjell'''et'''''
|This big mountain
|-
|''Desse rar'''e''' jent'''ene'''''
|These weird girls
|}

====Determiners====
The [[Determiner|determinative]]s have inflection patterns quite similar to Bokmål, the only difference being that the masculine form is often used for the feminine in Bokmål.
{| class="wikitable" 
|+[[Possessive]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/eigedomsord|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>
! English !! Masculine !! Feminine !! Neuter !! Plural
|- 
! my/mine
| ''min'' || ''mi'' || ''mitt'' || ''mine''
|-
! your/yours (singular)
| ''din'' || ''di'' || ''ditt'' || ''dine''
|-
! his
| colspan=4| ''hans''
|-
! her/hers
| colspan=4| ''hennar''
|-
! its
| colspan=4| ''dess''
|-
! his/her/its ([[Reflexive pronoun|reflexive]])
| ''sin'' || ''si'' || ''sitt'' || ''sine''
|-
! our/ours
| colspan=2| ''vår'' || ''vårt'' || ''våre''
|-
! your/yours (plural)
| colspan=4| ''dykkar''
|-
! their/theirs
| colspan=4| ''deira''
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+English: "own"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=eigen&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=nynorsk|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> (determinative)
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neuter
!Plural/definite
|-
|''eigen''
|''eiga''
|''eige''
|''eigne''
|}
Examples:

* ''Min '''eigen''' bil'' (My own car)
* ''Mi '''eiga''' hytte'' (My own cabin)
* ''Mitt '''eige''' hus'' (My own house)
* ''Mine '''eigne''' bilar'' (My own cars)

''Bil'' (car) is a masculine noun, ''hytte'' (cabin) is a feminine noun and ''hus'' (house) is a neuter noun. They all have to agree with the determinatives ''min'' and ''eigen'' in gender and number.
{| class="wikitable"
|+English: "no"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=ingen&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=nynorsk|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> (determinative)
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neuter
!Plural
|-
|''ingen''
|''inga''
|''inkje''
|''ingen''
|}
Examples:

* ''Eg har '''ingen''' bil'' (I have no car)
* ''Eg har '''inga''' hytte'' (I have no cabin)
* ''Eg har '''inkje''' hus'' (I have no house)
* ''Eg har '''ingen''' hytter'' (I have no cabins)

''Bil'' (car) is a masculine noun, ''hytte'' (cabin) is a feminine noun and ''hus'' (house) is a neuter noun. They all have to agree with the determinative ''ingen'' in gender and number.
{| class="wikitable"
|+English: "someone/something/some/any"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=noko&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&begge=+&ordbok=begge|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>(determinative)
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neuter
!Plural
|-
|''nokon''
|''noka''
|''noko''
|''nokre/nokon''
|}
These words are used in a variety of contexts, as in Bokmål.

''Nokon/noka'' means someone/any, while ''noko'' means something and ''nokre/nokon'' means some (plural).

Examples:

* ''Eg har ikkje sett '''nokon''' bil'' (I have not seen any car)
* ''Eg har ikkje sett '''noka''' hytte'' (I have not seen any cabin)
* ''Eg har ikkje sett '''noko''' hus'' (I have not seen any house)
* ''Eg har ikkje sett '''nokre'''/'''nokon''' bilar'' (I have not seen any cars)

''Bil'' (car) is a masculine noun, ''hytte'' (cabin) is a feminine noun and ''hus'' (house) is a neuter noun. They all have to agree with the determinative ''nokon'' in gender and number.

===Verb conjugation===
As in other continental [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian languages]], [[verb conjugation]] in Nynorsk is quite simple as verbs are not conjugated by person, unlike [[English language|English]] and other Indo-European languages. Verbs are divided into two conjugation classes: strong and weak verbs. The weak verbs are further divided into different categories: ''a''-verbs, ''j''-verbs, short verbs and ''e''-verbs (some ''e''-verbs with ''-de'' in the preterite tense and some with ''-te'' in the preterite tense). The conjugation class decides what inflection the verb will get for the different tenses and what kind of past participle inflection it gets. ''E''-verbs with ''-de'' in the preterite will for instance be inflected in both gender and number for the past participles; while those with ''-te'' will be inflected only in number, as described in the past participle section. Unlike Bokmål, Nynorsk has a more marked difference between strong and weak verbs—a common pattern in dialects across Norway. The system resembles the [[Swedish grammar|Swedish verb conjugation system]].
{| class="wikitable"
|+Weak verbs<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
![[Infinitive]]
![[Imperative mood|Imperative]]
![[Present tense|present]]
![[preterite]]
![[present perfect]]
!Verb category
|-
|''å kaste'' (to throw)
|''kast''
|''kastar''
|''kasta''
|''har kasta''
|''a''-verb
|-
|''å kjøpe'' (to buy)
|''kjøp''
|''kjøper''
|''kjøpte''
|''har kjøpt''
|''e''-verb (''-te'' preterite)
|-
|''å byggje'' (to build)
|''bygg''
|''byggjer''
|''bygde''
|''har bygt''
|''e''-verb (''-de'' preterite)
|-
|''å krevje'' (to demand)
|''krev''
|''krev''
|''kravde''
|''har kravt''
|''j''-verb
|-
|''å bu'' (to live)
|''bu''
|''bur''
|''budde''
|''har budd/butt''
|short verb
|}
To identify what conjugation class a verb pertains to; ''j''-verbs will have ''-je'' or ''-ja'' in the infinitive, ''e''-verbs have ''-er'' in the present tense, ''a''-verbs have ''-ar'' in the present tense and ''-a'' in the preterite. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Strong verbs<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/sterke-verb|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>
![[Infinitive]]
![[Imperative mood|Imperative]]
![[Present tense|present]]
![[preterite]]
![[present perfect]]
|-
|''å skrive'' (to write)
|''skriv''
|''skriv''
|''skreiv''
|''har skrive''
|-
|''å drepe'' (to kill)
|''drep''
|''drep''
|''drap''
|''har drepe''
|-
|''å lese'' (to read)
|''les''
|''les''
|''las''
|''har lese''
|-
|''å tillate'' (to allow)
|''tillat''
|''tillèt''
|''tillét''
|''har tillate''
|}
Strong verbs have no ending in their present and preterite forms. The only difference between these forms is [[Ablaut (linguistics)|ablaut]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Comparison with English, strong verb ''drikke''
!Language
![[Infinitive]]
![[Imperative mood|Imperative]]
![[Present tense|present]]
![[preterite]]
![[present perfect]]
|-
|Nynorsk:
|''å drikke''
|''drikk''
|''drikk''
|''drakk''
|''har drukke''
|-
|English:
|to drink
|drink
|drink/drinking
|drank/was drinking
|have drunk/have been drinking
|}
Just like in Bokmål and in most other Germanic languages, there is no difference between the simple tenses and the continuous tenses in Nynorsk. This means for instance that ''drikk'' will cover both of the English present forms "drink" and "drinking".

All users can choose to follow a system of either an ''-e'' or an ''-a'' ending on the infinitives of verbs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sprakradet.no/sprakhjelp/Skriverad/Nynorskhjelp/Rettleiing-om-konsekvent-nynorsk/|title=Rettleiing om konsekvent nynorsk|website=Språkrådet|language=no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> That is, one can for instance choose to write either ''å skrive'' or ''å skriva'' (the latter is common in west Norwegian dialects). There is also a system where one can use both ''-a'' endings and ''-e'' endings at certain verbs, this system is known as [[kløyvd infinitiv]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Skjekkeland|first=Martin|title=kløyvd infinitiv|date=2017-12-14|url=http://snl.no/kl%C3%B8yvd_infinitiv|work=Store norske leksikon|language=no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>

As can be shown from the conjugation tables, the removal of the vocal ending of the infinitive creates the [[Imperative mood|imperative]] form of the verb ''kjøp deg ei ny datamaskin!'' (buy yourself a new computer!). This is true for all weak and strong verbs.

====Ergative verbs====
There are [[ergative verb]]s in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A verb in Norwegian that is ergative has two different conjugations, either weak or strong. The two different conjugation patterns, though similar, have two different meanings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/parverb|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref> A verb with a weak conjugation as in the section above, will have an object, that is, the weak conjugated verb is [[Transitive verb|transitive]]. The verb with strong conjugation will not have an object. The strongly conjugated verbs are [[Intransitive verb|intransitive]]. The system of ergative verbs is more pronounced in Nynorsk than in Bokmål. An ergative verb in Bokmål will have two different conjugations only for the [[preterite]] tense for strong verbs due to the influence of Danish that did not have strong ergative verbs, while all ergative verbs in Nynorsk have two different conjugations for all tenses like Swedish. Ergative verbs are also very common in Norwegian dialects, like in the following example.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Ergative verb ''brenne'' (to burn)
![[Infinitive]]
![[Present tense|present]]
![[preterite]]
![[present perfect]]
![[Participle|perfect participle]], masc/fem
![[Participle|perfect participle]], neuter
|-
|rowspan=2|''å brenne''
|''brenn''
|''brann''
|''har brunne''
|''brunnen''
|''brunne''
|-
|''brenner''
|''brende''
|''har brent''
|''brend''
|''brent''
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Example, ergative verb brenne''
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|''Låven '''brenn'''''
|The barn is burning (intransitive)
|-
|''Hytta '''brann'''''
|The cabin was burning (intransitive)
|-
|''Eg '''brenner''' ned huset''
|I'm burning down the house (transitive)
|-
|''Eg '''brende''' ned treet''
|I burned down the tree (transitive)
|}
Other verbs that are ergative are often j-verbs; ''liggje'' (to lie down), ''leggje'' (to lay down). These are differentiated for all tenses, just like Bokmål.

====Passive construction====

Just like the other Scandinavian languages and Bokmål, there is [[Passive voice|passive construction]] of verbs. In general, the passive is created by taking the verb stem and adding the suffix ''-ast''. For instance the verb ''hente'' (English: fetch) has the passive form ''hentast''. This suffix was inherited from [[Old Norse]] and is the same suffix that exists in modern-day [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]. In fact, all the verb forms ''berast'', ''reddast'', ''opnast'', ''seljast'' in the table below are Icelandic verb forms too.

In contrast to Bokmål, the passive forms of verbs are only used after [[auxiliary verb]]s in Nynorsk, and never without them. Without an auxiliary verb there would rather be a passive construction by the use of the verbs ''vere''/''bli''/''verte'' (to be/to become) and then the [[#Participles|past participle verb]] form. For instance, the following sentence is not a valid sentence in Nynorsk:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ntnu.no/trykk/publikasjoner/nynorsk/files/assets/downloads/publication.pdf|title=NTNU Nynorsk for studentar|last=Fridtun|first=Kristin|date=2011|website=www.ntnu.no|access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref> ''Pakka hentast i dag'' (the package will be fetched today), there would rather be a construction like ''Pakka vert henta i dag''. This is due to the reduction of sentences that are ambiguous in meaning and due to the historic legacy of [[Old Norse]]. Bokmål and certain languages like Swedish and Danish have evolved another passive construction where the passive is not reflexive. In the general case, this can lead to confusion as to ''han slåast'' means that "he is fighting"» or that "he is being hit", a reflexive or a non reflexive meaning. Nynorsk has two different forms that separate this meaning for the verb ''slå'' (''slåast'' and ''slåst''), but in the general case it does not. Nynorsk solves this general ambiguity by mainly allowing a reflexive meaning, which is also the construction that has the most historical legacy behind it. This was also the only allowed construction in Old Norse.

There are reflexive verbs in Nynorsk just like the other Scandinavian languages, and these are not the same as passives.<ref name=":0" /> Examples are ''synast'' (think, looks like), ''kjennast'' (feels), etc. The reflexive verbs have their own conjugation for all tenses, which passives do not. A [[dictionary]] will usually show an inflection table if the verb is reflexive, and if it is passive the only allowed form is the word alone with an ''-ast'' suffix.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of passives
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|''Eska skal '''berast'''''
|The box shall be carried
|-
|''Barna må '''reddast'''''
|The children must be saved 
|-
|''Døra vil '''opnast'''''
|The door will be opened 
|-
|''Sykkelen burde '''seljast'''''
|The bike should be sold
|}

====Reflexive verbs====
[[Reflexive verb]]s like ''å kjennast''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ordbok.uib.no/perl/ordbok.cgi?OPP=kjennast&ant_bokmaal=5&ant_nynorsk=5&nynorsk=+&ordbok=begge|title=Bokmålsordboka {{!}} Nynorskordboka|website=ordbok.uib.no|access-date=2018-07-15}}</ref> (to feel) are conjugated this way
{| class="wikitable"
|+''å kjennast'', English: "feel"
![[Infinitive]]
![[Present tense|present]]
![[preterite]]
![[present perfect]]
|-
|''å kjenn'''ast'''''
|''kjenn'''est'''''
|''kjen'''test'''''
|''har kjen'''st'''''
|}
In general, all reflexive verbs are conjugated by this pattern. These have a reflexive meaning, see the examples below. Every reflexive verb is also a copula verb, so they have [[#Adjectives|adjective agreement]] with adjectives like ''kald'' (cold), just like in Bokmål and the other Scandinavian languages.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples, reflexive verb: «å kjennast»
!Norwegian
!English
|-
|''Dyna byrjar å kjenn'''ast''' varm''
|The blanket (feminine) is starting to feel warm
|-
|''Maten kjenn'''est''' kald''
|The food (masculine) feels cold
|-
|''Bollene kjen'''test''' kald'''e'''''
|The buns (plural) felt cold
|-
|''Det har kjen'''st''' god'''t'''''
|It has felt good
|-
|''Det kan kjenn'''ast''' kald'''t'''''
|It can feel cold 
|}

====''T'' as final sound====
One of the [[wiktionary:past participle|past participle]] and the preterite verb ending in Bokmål is ''-et''. Aasen originally included these ''t''s in his Landsmål norms, but since these are silent in the dialects, it was struck out in the first officially issued specification of Nynorsk of 1901.

Examples may compare the Bokmål forms ''skrevet'' ('written', past participle)  and ''hoppet'' ('jumped', both past tense and past participle), which in written Nynorsk are ''skrive'' (Landsmål ''skrivet'') and ''hoppa'' (Landsmål ''hoppat''). The form ''hoppa'' is also permitted in Bokmål.

Other examples from other classes of words include the neuter singular form ''anna'' of ''annan'' ('different', with more meanings) which was spelled ''annat'' in Landsmål, and the neuter singular form ''ope'' of ''open'' ('open') which originally was spelled ''opet''. Bokmål, in comparison, still retains these ''t''s through the equivalent forms ''annet'' and ''åpent''.

===Pronouns===
The [[personal pronoun]]s in Nynorsk are the only [[Grammatical case|case]] inflected class in Nynorsk, just like English.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Pronouns<ref name="ReferenceC">{{Cite web|url=http://elevrom.sprakradet.no/skolen/minigrammatikk/tema/personlege_pronomen|title=Språkrådet|website=elevrom.sprakradet.no|access-date=2018-07-14}}</ref>
![[Subject (grammar)|Subject form]]
![[Object (grammar)|Object form]]
!Possessive
|-
|''eg'' (I)
|''meg'' (me)
|''min'', ''mi'', ''mitt'' (mine)
|-
|''du'' (you)
|''deg'' (you)
|''din, di, ditt'' (yours)
|-
|''han'' (he/it)<br>
''ho'' (she/it)<br>
''det'' (it/that)
|''han'' (him/it)<br>
''henne/ho'' (her/it)<br>
''det'' (it/that)
|''hans'' (his)<br>
''hennar'' (hers)<br>
''dess'' (its)
|-
|''vi/me'' (we)
|''oss'' (us)
|''vår'', ''vårt'' (ours)
|-
|''de/dokker'' (you, plural)
|''dykk/dokker'' (you, plural)
|''dykkar/dokkar'' (yours, plural)
|-
|''dei'' (they)
|''dei'' (them)
|''deira'' (theirs)
|}
As can be seen from the inflection table, the words for "mine", "yours" etc. have to agree in gender with the object as described in the [[#Determiners|determiners]] section.

Like in [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] and [[Old Norse]] (and unlike Bokmål, [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]), nouns are referred to by ''han'', ''ho'', ''det'' <ref name="ReferenceC"/> (he, she, it) based on the [[Grammatical gender|gender]] of the [[noun]], like the following:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Examples of the use of the pronoun ''it''
!Nynorsk
!Bokmål
!English
|-
|''Kor er boka mi? '''Ho''' er her''
|''Hvor er boka mi? '''Den''' er her''
|Where is my book (feminine)? '''It''' is here
|-
|''Kor er bilen min? '''Han''' er her''
|''Hvor er bilen min? '''Den''' er her''
|Where is my car (masculine)? '''It''' is here
|-
|''Kor er brevet mitt? '''Det''' er her''
|''Hvor er brevet mitt? '''Det''' er her''
|Where is my letter (neuter)? '''It''' is here
|}

==== Ordering of possessive pronouns ====
{{Main|Norwegian language#Ordering of possessive pronouns}}
The main ordering of possessive pronouns is where the possessive pronoun is placed after the noun, while the noun has the definite article, just like in the example from the table above; ''boka mi'' (my book). If one wishes to emphasize ownership, the possessive pronoun may come first; '''''mi''' bok'' ('''my'''' book). If there is an adjective involved, the possessive pronoun also may come first, especially if the pronoun or adjective is emphasized; ''mi eiga hytte'' (my own cabin), ''mi første bok'' or ''den første boka mi'' (my first book). In all other cases the main ordering will be used. This is in contrast to other continental Scandinavian languages, like Danish and Swedish, where the possessive comes first regardless, just like English. This system of ordering possessive pronouns in Nynorsk is more similar to how it is in the Icelandic language today.

=== Adverbs ===
{{Main|Norwegian language#Adverbs}}
Adverbs are in general formed the same way as in Bokmål and other Scandinavian languages.

=== Syntax ===
{{Main|Norwegian language#Syntax}}
The [[syntax]] of Nynorsk is mainly the same as in Bokmål. They are for instance both [[Subject–verb–object|SVO]].

==Word forms compared with Bokmål Norwegian==

Many words in Nynorsk are similar to their equivalents in Bokmål, with differing form, for example:

{| class="wikitable"
! width="15%" | Nynorsk
! width="25%" | Bokmål
! width="50%" | other dialect forms
! width="10%" | English
|-
| ''eg''
| ''jeg''
| ''eg'', ''æg'', ''e'', ''æ'', ''ei'', ''i'', ''je'', ''jæ'' 
| I
|-
| ''ikkje''
| ''ikke''
| ''ikkje'', ''inte'', ''ente'', ''itte'', ''itj'', ''ikkji''
| not
|}

The distinction between Bokmål and Nynorsk is that while Bokmål has for the most part derived its forms from the written Danish language or the common Danish-Norwegian speech, Nynorsk has its orthographical standards from Aasen's reconstructed "base dialect", which are intended to represent the distinctive dialectical forms.
<!--YET TO TRANSLATE
==Nynorsk compared with Bokmål==
===Word forms===
Det man ofte først tenker på når man sammenligner nynorsk og bokmål er iøynefallende forskjeller som ordformene ''eg'' og ''ikkje'' kontra ''jeg'' og ''ikke''. Som mange slike frekvente ord finnes disse i mange varianter i dialektene, for eksempel ''e(g)''/''æ(g)'', ''(e)i'', ''je'' og ''ikkje'', ''inte''/''ente'', ''itt(e)''. Forskjellen mellom bokmål og nynorsk er at mens bokmål hovedsakelig har hentet formene fra det danske skriftspråket eller det dansk-norske talemålet, er det nynorske standardspråkets former hentet fra Aasens (re)konstruerte grunndialekt, og således ment å representere de forskjellige dialektformene.

Et eksempel er formene ''hovud'' og ''hode'' som i dialektene også kan hete ''håve'', ''hau(d)'', ''høvv'', ''huvvu'', ''huggu'', ''hue'' og flere. D-en er for det meste stum, bortsett fra i sunnmørsformen ''haud''. Vokalen ''o'' har ofte en åpen uttale, det vil si ''å'' eller ''ø'', og dette finner vi i formene den sørvestlandske ''håve'' og det trondheimske ''høvv''. En slik open ''o'' kan også bli til kort vokal som i ''høvv'', ''huvvu'' og ''huggu''. De to siste formene har beholdt endevokalen ''u'' og denne har påvirket o-en ved ''jevning''. Ellers kan trykklette endevokaler svekkes til ''e'' som i ''håve'' og østlandsformen ''hue'', eller forsvinne helt ([[apokope]]) som i ''høvv''. Videre er lang ''v'' i noen dialekter herdet til ''g'' som i ''huggu'', mens v-en i andre tilfeller er falt bort som i den sammentrekte formen ''hau(d)''. Bokmålsformen ''hode'' kommer på sin side direkte fra det dansk-norske [[koinéspråk]]et, trolig som et kompromiss mellom det danske ''hoved'' og det norske ''hue''. En annen side av saken er at både ''hode'' og andre former fra vårt største standardspråk nå sprer seg i dialektene, trolig på grunn av bokmålets dominans og prestisje.

Et annet eksempel er formene ''hol'' og ''hull''. Igjen har vi en open ''o'' som forklarer dialektformene ''hål'', ''høl'' og ''håll''. Bokmålsformen kommer på sin side fra den danske skriftformen (med den forskjellen at man i dansk rettskrivning forenkler doble konsonanter i slutten av ord: ''hullet'', men ''et hul'').-->

== See also ==
{{Portal|Norway|Language}}
* [[Norwegian dialects]]
* [[Modern Norwegian]]
* [[Spynorsk mordliste]], a term used by opponents to mock Nynorsk
{{clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* Haugen, Einar. ''Norwegian'', [http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Om-oss/English-and-other-languages/English/Norwegian online at Språkrådet]

==External links==
{{Interwiki|code=nn}}
*[http://www.nm.no/ Noregs Mållag] [[Noregs Mållag]] is the major organization promoting Nynorsk.
*[http://nynorsk.no/ Norsk Målungdom] [[Norsk Målungdom]] is Noregs Mållag's youth organization.
*[https://nynorsk.no/aasentunet/# Ivar Aasen-tunet] ''The Ivar Aasen Centre'' is a national centre for documenting and experiencing the Nynorsk written culture, and the only museum in the country devoted to Ivar Aasen's life and work.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185743/http://www.utdanningsdirektoratet.no/upload/Rapporter/Sidemalsrapport.pdf Sidemålsrapport] – 2005 report (in Bokmål) on the state of Nynorsk and Bokmål in Norwegian secondary schools.

{{Norwegian language forms}}
{{Languages of Norway}}
{{Germanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nynorsk| ]]
[[Category:North Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Norwegian orthography|*]]
[[Category:Standard languages|Norwegian (Nynorsk)]]
[[Category:Norwegian nationalism]]