Although Norwegians are educated in both Bokmal and Nynorsk, around 86-90% use Bokmal or Riksmal as their daily written language, and 10%-12% use Nynorsk as theirs.
Broadly speaking, Bokmal and Riksmal are more commonly seen in urban and suburban areas; Nynorsk in rural areas, particularly in Western Norway.
Bokmal or Riksmal are used in 92 % of all written publications, Nynorsk in 8 % (2000).
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While there are some countries (Canada for example) which have more than one national language, Norway has only one language, but two expressions of it.
Riksmal or Bokmal was the official language of Norway until 1885.
Its spelling and grammar are largely Danish, and reflects the long Danish rule in Norway.
Soon, she and her class were corresponding regularly with Tante Kari, who wrote in Riksmal, explaining her preference for the older language.
She wrote to them about life as a senior citizen in Norway, the consequences of living in a colder climate, and of her personal frustration with Norwegian newspapers for using Bokmal for the crossword puzzles.
By the end of the semester, the class had learned to use both Bokmal and Riksmal, had far exceeded Oxfeldt's early expectations, and had become quite attached to their octogenarian pen pal.
Both of these have a variety of optional forms, 85% of pupils in primary and secondary schools receive their education in Nynorsk but eventually pupils are required to learn both.
Riksmal and Nynorsk have been the standard written languages for Norway for most of the 20th century.
Official Bokmal can be adapted to be almost identical with modern Riksmal.
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Universal suffrage would have altered the balance of power in Norway and was resisted by the established educated bureaucracy who used Riksmal, as the Danish based version of Norwegian was known.
The threat to the established language from the minority Landsmal was countered by Bjornesterne Bjornson (1832-1910), the literary heir to Wergeland who declared that Landsmal “was artificial, regional, culturally undeveloped and fit only for peasants.” Ibsen was also an opponent and made fun of the language in Peer Gynt.
Thus language, or more particularly, differing versions of the language were chosen as weapons by the political and cultural representatives of two conflicting interpretations of Norwegianness.
Today there are two official forms of Norwegian: bokmal [book language] and nynorsk [new Norwegian].
Bokmal, also called riksmal [national language] and Dano-Norwegian, was greatly influenced by Danish, which was the dominant language of officialdom when Norway was under Danish rule (1397–1814).
The language of the cities, the official and professional classes, and literature, bokmal came to differ greatly from the Norwegian spoken by the common people.
(BOKMAL, RIKSMAL, DANO-NORWEGIAN, NORWEGIAN) [NRR] 4,250,000 including Landsmal, 99.5% of population (1991 WA); 612,862 in USA (1970 census); 28,000 in Sweden (1993); 27,405 in Canada (1971 census); 11,000 in Ecuador; 5,000,000 in all countries (1995 WA).
It was reported in 1971 that 82.5% of the pupils used Riksmal as their main language.
Forum discussions with the word(s) 'Riksmal' in the title:.
...; Riksmal- WordWeb dictionary definition - One of two official languages of Norway; closely related to Danish - Bokmal, Dano-Norwegian.
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The Norwegian language, a close relative of both Danish and Swedish, is a source of major controversy in the country, and two versions of it are spoken today.
Bokmal, previously known as Riksmal, derives from Danish and was introduced by the Danes, and until the middle of the nineteenth century it was the country’s only written language.
Then, many Norwegians sought to rid their language of its Danish influence.
There are also a number of Norwegian speakers in the United States.
Modern Norwegian has two dialects, bokmal ("book language") or Dano-Norwegian, formerly called riksmal ("state language"), and nynorsk ("New Norse"), formerly called landsmal ("country -- as opposed to city -- language").
Efforts are under way to combine these two dialects into samnorsk ("Common Norwegian").
