10 Interesting Facts about Norwegian

1. Two written languages

As a result of the union with Denmark, the written language in Norway was Danish from around 1500 to 1850. The Norwegian upper class was speaking Danish while the rest of the population was speaking a lot of different Norwegian dialects. When Norway became its own nation in 1814 and they wanted their own written language, the people were divided between the two different written languages that were presented to them. Instead of choosing one of them, they were both considered equal.