# Swedish vs Norwegian standards



## LMatt88

I understand that Norwegian has 2 written standards and no spoken standard since everybody uses a dialect. But when it comes to Swedish? does it have a spoken standard used by everybody?. Thanks in advance!.


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## DerFrosch

LMatt88 said:


> But when it comes to Swedish? does it have a spoken standard used by everybody?


It does. In Swedish the standard is called _rikssvenska_, which refers to written as well as spoken language.


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## LMatt88

DerFrosch said:


> In Swedish the standard is called _rikssvenska_



Ohh, so everybody writes and speaks that version along with regional accents and slang?


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## DerFrosch

Well, on second thought, I realize it's not accurate to say that the spoken standard is actually _used _by _everybody_. Such a standard exists, and many do speak it, but when most people are talking you can definitely identify elements in their speech that can be categorized as regional. Of course, many Swedes speak (or at least try to speak) _rikssvenska _or something very close to _rikssvenska _in official, formal contexts, whereas they speak a regional variant in informal situations.


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## raumar

One important difference between the two languages is of course that Norwegian has two written standards, while Swedish has one. (There is also a great variety of optional forms within each of the two Norwegian standards.) 

But when it comes to spoken language, you should not exaggerate the differences between Swedish and Norwegian, LMatt88. It is correct that there is no officially sanctioned standard for spoken Norwegian. However, some forms of spoken Norwegian have higher status than others. The spoken language of Western Oslo (the upper and middle class part of the city), which is quite close to written Bokmål, has traditionally been a kind of unofficial standard. Fifty years ago, people was expected to use this language (so-called "_standard østnorsk_") in official or formal contexts. Many people discarded their own dialects if they moved to Oslo, and started to speak like people in Oslo did. Today, the use of various dialects is much more accepted, also in official contexts, in radio and on TV, and so on. Nevertheless, there are also people today who adapt their spoken language to some kind of unofficial standard - while others don't.


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## LMatt88

Oh I know, but technically the dialect in Oslo is not exactly like Bokmål. 
I'm asking this cause I´m drawing a comic book and I wanted one of the characters to be Swedish or Norwegian (I would add some conversations in it), so I wanted to make sure one of the written forms was actually spoken as well cause if not it didn't really make sense.


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## raumar

I see, but I still don't think the question of a spoken standard matters. Both versions of written Norwegian are reasonably close to how some people actually speak, so I don't think it would look strange if you use one of them in your comic book. 

It is of course true that nobody speaks exactly like Bokmål or Nynorsk. But that is true for other languages as well, even if they have a spoken standard: the spoken standard is not exactly like the written language. In English, for example, there is often a big difference between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. The point is that you have to use some kind of written language in your comic book - you can't use a spoken standard in your text (unless you use some kind of phonetic alphabet, which would really look weird).


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## LMatt88

raumar said:


> In English, for example, there is often a big difference between how a word is written and how it is pronounced.



I think I get what you mean. So everybody (the ones that don't use Nyorks) in Norway writes Bokmål and pronounce it any way they want. 
Is Oslo dialect however grammatically different than Bokmål?


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## raumar

Well, I suppose you can say it that way (even though language experts probably would have said it differently). 

There is not one Oslo dialect, but two Oslo dialects or sociolects. Traditionally, spoken Norwegian was quite different in Eastern and Western Oslo. This was to some extent a class divison, between working class and middle class neighbourhoods. This distinction is less sharp today, and many speak something in-between, but the difference is still there. 

I would say that the main differences between dialects are pronounciation and intonation, while the basic features of the grammar are the same. There are some exceptions: some peoples use three genders for nouns, others use only two genders. But you will find the same differences in written Bokmål. There are a lot of optional forms in Bokmål (and in Nynorsk), so within the written Bokmål standard, you can choose to use two or three genders. In other word, you can to some extent adapt your written language to your own dialect, and still be within the standard. But many people (including myself) use more "conservative" forms when we write than when we speak.


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## MyriadLeaves

It is worth noting that there exists a third (written) variety of Norwegian called Riksmål, which for lack of a better word is a slightly more orthographically conservative version of Boksmål.  Not sure how commonly used it is nowadays though.


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## raumar

That's right, but Riksmål is not an official written standard. It is regulated and promoted by a non-governmental organization, not by the Norwegian state. 

I don't think the Riksmål standard has much practical importance today, since it is very close to the more "conservative" versions of Bokmål. As I mentioned, there are a lot of optional forms in Norwegian Bokmål. Riksmål only allows the more "conservative" of these optional forms (those forms that are closer to Danish and further away from Nynorsk).


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## LMatt88

Thanks guys, it helped a lot.


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