Knowra Scandinavian languages Scandinavian languages Scandinavian languages are a group of North Germanic languages that includes Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The term can also include Icelandic and Faroese in a broader linguistic sense.
North Germanic languages : A branch of Germanic languages comprising Scandinavian languages, including Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese. Scandinavian languages form the modern core of this branch.
Icelandic language : A North Germanic language spoken mainly in Iceland, retaining many features of medieval Old Norse. It is Nordic but usually excluded from the narrow meaning of Scandinavian languages.
Danish language : A North Germanic language spoken principally in Denmark and parts of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. It is one of the three languages at the group's modern core.
Viking Age : A period of Scandinavian expansion, trade, and raiding, conventionally dated from the late eighth to the eleventh century. The period's Old Norse speech spread across a wide northern European region.
Bokmål : One of Norway's two official written standards, developed from the Danish-based written tradition. Its history shows how Danish influence persisted in Norwegian writing after political separation.
Old Norse : The medieval North Germanic language from which modern Scandinavian languages developed. It is their principal historical ancestor.
Faroese language : A North Germanic language spoken mainly in the Faroe Islands and closely related to Icelandic. It belongs to the wider Nordic linguistic group, not usually the core Scandinavian trio.
Norwegian language : A North Germanic language spoken principally in Norway, with two written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Its dialects and written standards connect Danish and Swedish in distinctive ways.
Runic alphabet : A set of writing systems used for Germanic languages, including early Scandinavian inscriptions. Runic inscriptions provide some of the earliest evidence for Scandinavian language history.
Nynorsk : One of Norway's two official written standards, constructed from Norwegian dialects in the nineteenth century. Its creation made regional speech central to Norway's written-language politics.
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