INTRODUCTION

This book is about language planning, especially its limits. How far can language planners go? How extensively can they change and/or direct the development of a given language? What are the sociolinguistic and sociopolitical boundaries within which language planning can operate and succeed? Is it possible to change the sociolinguistic pattern of a country through language planning? To what extent can language planning be a sociolinguistic and sociopolitical experiment? This book will explore these questions through an analysis of the development of modern Norwegian.

Two written Norwegian standards

Since 1885, Norway has maintained two written language standards, now known as Bokmål and Nynorsk. Through various reforms in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – the latest having been put into effect on 1 August 2012 – these standards have moved much closer to each other linguistically. Bokmål is the majority form, and about 90 per cent of the population report that they use this standard, while 10 per cent report using Nynorsk. However, Nynorsk has a better foothold in society than the 9–1 ratio may suggest, and has its stronghold in the western part of the country.