Bokmål/Riksmål and Nynorsk/Landsmål is the two writing systems in Norway. To explain these two, we have to go a little back in time. Here's the short version..:
After beeing controlled by Denmark for <em>(about)</em> 300 years, Norwegians wanted their own writing, instead of Danish. It was a lot of alternatives on how to create the new writing, but the two that still remains is Riksmål and Landsmål. Riksmål is based on Danish, and Landsmål is based on the Norwegian dialects. Later, these two got new names: Bokmål and Nynorsk.
People who live south-east in the country <em>(example: Oslo)</em> has a dialect which is very similar to Bokmål, while people who live south-west and west in the country have a dialect more similar to Nynorsk.
Norwegian students learn both writings at school, but they can choose to take one of them away <em>(but only in cases of having dyslexia ect.)</em>. They start to learn one of the writings in 1st grade, and then start to learn the other writing in 8th grade <em>(the north and east part of Norway start with Bokmål, and the west and south start with nynorsk)</em>.
It's been debates about having these two writings in Norway, for years and years. Now adays, Nynorsk become more similar to Bokmål little by little. It's said that the two maybe will become one some day.
<em style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Dette var egentlig en kjapp besvarelse på om hva Bokmål og Nynorsk er for noe. Jeg vil gå over for å korrektere senere, men vennligst si ifra hvis det er noe jeg har skrevet feil, noe jeg burde ta med o.l. På forhånd takk! -Tina</em>
The our Norwegian alphabet is similar to the English alphabet, except from that we have 3 more letters. The 3 letters <em>'</em>Æ' (æ), 'Ø' (ø), and 'Å' (å) comes after<em> 'Z' (z)</em> in the said order <em>(æ,ø,å)</em>. All three of them are vowels.
Pronunciation:
Æ: The æ-sound is similar to the 'a' in the english words <em>"bad"</em> and <em>"sad"</em>.
Ø: The ø-sound is similar to the 'u' in <em>"burn"</em> and <em>"sun"</em>.
Å: The å-sound is similar to the 'o' in <em>"born"</em> and <em>"horns"</em>.
Practicing:
Try practicing the sounds by saying the words with a long vowel. Example: Saying "bad" with a long 'a'; "baaad" - to practice the æ-sound.
After practicing the sounds, you can try pronouncing some Norwegian words with 'æ', 'ø', and 'å':
Bær <em>(= Berries)</em>. This word is pronunced with pressure on 'æ' <em>[Bææær]</em>. Try saying "b,b,b", "æ,æ,æ" and "r,r,r" to practice.
Båt <em>(= Boat)</em>. This word is pronounced with pressure on 'å' <em>[Båååt]</em>. Try saying "b,b,b", "å,å,å" and "t,t,t" to practice.
Bøker <em>(= Books)</em>. This word is pronounced with pressure on 'ø' and 'e' <em>[Bøøøkeeer]</em>. Try saying each of the letters repeatedly to practice.
Some "funfacts":
<em>"Bø!" </em>is the Norwegian version of <em>"Boo!" (when trying scare people).</em> It can be said with both a short and long 'ø'.
"Bæ" is the Norwegian spelling and pronounciation of a sheep's bleating <em>(English version: "Baah")</em>. It can be said with both a short and long 'ø' <em>(but mostly long)</em>.
Good luck!
<em>PS:</em>
<em>Jeg vil gjerne få tilbakemeldinger og eventuelt konstruktiv kritikk på om dette ble riktig, evt. skrivefeil, om det var lærerikt, om jeg burde utdype eller skrive mer om temaet, osv. Også hva jeg burde skrive om neste gang! Takk.</em>
<em>I really want to get some feedback on if this was helpful or not, and if I should write more about æøå! And also other things you want me to help with. Thank you.</em>
