Norway talk · Languages in Norway  TodayTourism All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels

Languages in Norway


Languages in Norway

There is no standard spoken Norwegian and a wide range of dialects is used even in public broadcasting, and there are even two standard ways of writing it, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Norwegians learn both at school. The two varieties are very close and mutually intelligible with the two other Scandinavian languages, Danish and Swedish. Sami is a minority language which has official status in some Northern regions. Road signs and other public information is then provided in both Norwegian and Sami (note that Norwegian and Sami place names may differ, maps will typically use the Norwegian name). Sami is related to Finnish, but not to Scandinavian languages. Almost all Norwegians speak English, and unless you approach someone really old and isolated you should have no trouble whatsoever getting around in English; 91% of the population can speak English, making Norway the most English proficient country on the planet where English is not an official language. German and French are spoken by some workers in the tourism industry. However, this does not mean you will actually get by in these languages, and English is what you should stick to if you don't speak the local language or another Nordic language.

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Norway


Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Norway - updated Mar 2024

SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Norway hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!


>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<

WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020


Norway Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | All Destinations