Høgnorsk
Encyclopedia
Høgnorsk, meaning "High Norwegian", is a term for varieties of the Norwegian language
form Nynorsk
that reject most of the official reforms that have been introduced since the creation of Landsmål
. Høgnorsk accepts the initial reforms that, among other things, removed certain silent letters of etymological
origin, while keeping most of the Landsmål grammar intact.
Professor Torleiv Hannaas
is often credited for introducing the term 'Høgnorsk' in an article in 1922, "Høgnorsk eller flatnorsk?". He used it analogously to High German
(Hochdeutsch) , pointing out that Ivar Aasen
, the creator of Nynorsk
orthography, had especially valued the dialects of the mountainous areas of middle and western Norway, as opposed to the dialects of the lowlands of eastern Norway, which Hannaas called flatnorsk (Flat Norwegian, like Plattdeutsch). More commonly today, "high" is thought to imply that Høgnorsk stands above the Norwegian dialects
, both as a common denominator linguistically and as a national cultural expression.
The Høgnorsk movement grew out of opposition to the official Samnorsk policy which aimed at evening out the differences between Nynorsk and the other main variety of Norwegian language, Bokmål
. Reforms to this end were carried through in 1938 and 1959. Initially there was considerable resistance
against these reforms, but the resulting standard is now widely accepted. Høgnorsk is currently supported by the Ivar Aasen-sambandet
and the activists behind Målmannen, but has relatively few active users.
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
form Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
that reject most of the official reforms that have been introduced since the creation of Landsmål
Landsmål
Landsmål, meaning "language of the land/country", was the name Ivar Aasen gave the Norwegian orthography he created in the 19th century. In 1885 it was adopted as an official language in Norway alongside Danish. In 1929, Landsmål was renamed Nynorsk...
. Høgnorsk accepts the initial reforms that, among other things, removed certain silent letters of etymological
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
origin, while keeping most of the Landsmål grammar intact.
Professor Torleiv Hannaas
Torleiv Hannaas
Torleiv Hannaas was a Norwegian philologist.Born in Hornnes, he became professor at Bergen Museum in 1918. His most important publications was Norske bygder I and Norske bygder II , about the dialects in Setesdal and Vest-Agder...
is often credited for introducing the term 'Høgnorsk' in an article in 1922, "Høgnorsk eller flatnorsk?". He used it analogously to High German
High German languages
The High German languages or the High German dialects are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighboring portions of Belgium and the...
(Hochdeutsch) , pointing out that Ivar Aasen
Ivar Aasen
Ivar Andreas Aasen was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright and poet.-Background:...
, the creator of Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
orthography, had especially valued the dialects of the mountainous areas of middle and western Norway, as opposed to the dialects of the lowlands of eastern Norway, which Hannaas called flatnorsk (Flat Norwegian, like Plattdeutsch). More commonly today, "high" is thought to imply that Høgnorsk stands above the Norwegian dialects
Norwegian dialects
The Norwegian dialects are commonly divided into 4 main groups, North Norwegian , Trøndelag Norwegian , West Norwegian , and East Norwegian...
, both as a common denominator linguistically and as a national cultural expression.
The Høgnorsk movement grew out of opposition to the official Samnorsk policy which aimed at evening out the differences between Nynorsk and the other main variety of Norwegian language, Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
. Reforms to this end were carried through in 1938 and 1959. Initially there was considerable resistance
Norwegian language struggle
The Norwegian language struggle is an ongoing controversy within Norwegian culture and politics related to spoken and written Norwegian. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the standard written language of Norway due to Danish rule...
against these reforms, but the resulting standard is now widely accepted. Høgnorsk is currently supported by the Ivar Aasen-sambandet
Ivar Aasen-sambandet
Ivar Aasen-sambandet is an umbrella organization of associations and individuals promoting the use of the Høgnorsk variant of the Norwegian language.- History :...
and the activists behind Målmannen, but has relatively few active users.
External links
- Mållekken, a Høgnorsk wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
. - Høgnorskportalen sambandet.no, a resource page with hundreds of articles written in Høgnorsk.
- Tidskriftet Målmannen, a magazine promoting the Høgnorsk language.