[Wikipedia-l] Re: nn (Norw. Nynorsk) wikipedia

[Tim Starling]

Neil Harris wrote:
> I was told by a Norwegian that the Scandanavian languages are all so 
> closely related that they are effectively one language -- if you want to 
> look at it that way; or all quite different -- if you want to look at it 
> the other way. If that's true, it's certainly inconsistent to accept  
> "Norwegian" and Swedish as different languages, but regard Nynorsk as 
> merely a dialect of "Norwegian".
> 
> Perhaps the nearest equivalent might be "Scots" vs. "English". Read 
> http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/scots/index.htm to get a 
> flavor of Scots, which is an official language of the Scottish Parliament.

Norway was in union with Denmark from 1450 to 1814, during which time 
the elite, and eventually city-dwellers around them, began to speak 
Danish. Bokmål split off from Danish after they left. Nyorsk is based on 
the non-standardised language the peasants spoke during Danish rule. 
Both Danish/Bokmål and Nyorsk have their roots in Old Norse.

Here's the first four lines of the Lord's Prayer in these languages, 
courtesy of Pater Noster.

Nyorsk:

Fader vår, du som er i himmelen!
Lat namnet ditt helgast.
Lat riket ditt koma.
Lat viljen din råda på jorda som i himmelen.

Bokmål:

Fader vår, du som er i himmelen!
La ditt navn holdes hellig.
La ditt rike komme.
La din vilje skje på jorden som i himmelen.

Danish:

Vor Fader, du som er i Himlene!
Helliget vorde dit navn;
komme dit rige;
ske din vilje på jorden, som den sker i Himmelen;

-- Tim Starling