Learning a language takes time and effort, and there is no one method that works for every person and every learning style. Your success will depend on a number of factors. Have you learned another language before? Which language? Are you a visual or aural learner? Do you prefer to have a teacher that you can see and interact with, or are you motivated to teach yourself? Do you just want the basics, or are you aiming for conversational Norwegian?
If you are an English- or German-speaker, or happen to know Dutch, Swedish or Danish, you already have a leg up in learning and understanding Norwegian, as they are on the same language branch of the Indo-European family of languages. If not, there is still hope for you. The internet is teeming with language-learning resources for Norwegian, and many of them are available for free.
Did you know that Norway is the only country that has two official written standards of the same language? Bokmål is the written form of Norwegian which was heavily influenced by Danish, and it is used by 80-90% of the population. Nynorsk is a written form that was compiled by linguist Ivar Aasen, who aimed to codify spoken Norwegian as it existed without Danish influence. As far as spoken Norwegian goes, there are many dialects and few Norwegians speak the same way that they write. Østfold and Vestfold counties in eastern Norway both have Bokmål as their official language, and the western counties of Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal have declared Nynorsk as their official language. The remaining 14 counties remain neutral.
Choosing a language program may involve some experimentation, since only you know what appeals to you and how you learn best. Here is a compilation of online Norwegian language resources (mostly Bokmål) to get you started. Some sites have video or audio clips to help with pronunciation.
Resources geared toward English speakers:
Duolingo (also available as a phone app)
Resources for Students and Teachers of Norwegian – Listening and reading sites
Learn Norwegian – compilation of online learning sites
YouTube Video series
Crienexzy’sNorwegian lessons (30+ videos)
The Norwegian Teacher (15 videos)
Norwegian in 3 Minutes (countless videos)
Learning Norwegian in Norwegian
Norsksidene – Includes a bokmål-nynorsk / nynorsk-bokmål ordbok (dictionary)!
