Nynorsk language

Norwegian Nynorsk
nynorsk
Pronunciation	[ˈnyːnɔʂk] or [ˈnyːnɔʁsk]
Native to	Norway
Native speakers	None (written only)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic North Germanic West Scandinavian Norwegian dialects Norwegian Nynorsk
Early forms	Old West Norse Old Norwegian Middle Norwegian Norwegian dialects Landsmål Norwegian Nynorsk
Standard forms	Nynorsk (official) Høgnorsk (unofficial)
Writing system	Latin (Norwegian alphabet)
Official status
Official language in	Norway Nordic Council
Regulated by	Norwegian Language Council
Language codes
ISO 639-1	nn
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	None
Linguasphere	52-AAA-ba to -be

Nynorsk, literally New Norwegian or New Norse, is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 1885, when the parliament declared them official and equal, until new voting in 1929, their names were Landsmål and Riksmål. The Landsmål language standard was constructed by the Norwegian linguist Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian-based alternative to Danish, which was commonly written, and to some extent spoken, in Norway at the time. The official standard of Nynorsk has since been significantly altered. A minor purist fraction of the Nynorsk populace has stayed firm with the Aasen norm, which is known as Høgnorsk (English: High Norwegian, analogous to High German).

In local communities, one-fourth of Norwegian municipalities have declared Nynorsk as their official language form, and these municipalities account for about 12% of the Norwegian populace. Of the remaining municipalities, half are neutral and half have adopted Bokmål as their official language form. Four of Norway's nineteen counties, Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal, have Nynorsk as their official language form. These four together comprise the region of Western Norway.

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. Nynorsk (New Norwegian) was the written Norwegian in use until it died out in the early 1600s during the period of Danish rule (1536-1814). A major source of old written material is Diplomatarium Norvegicum in 22 printed volumes.