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North Germanic languages is any of several Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia, parts of Finland and on the islands west of Scandinavia.
There are two main branches, Insular (West-) North Germanic and Continental (East-) North Germanic or Scandinavian. The Eastern branch, also known as Continental Scandinavian, is more influenced by German, Low German and Dutch. In contrast to the Western branch, new features developed in Danish and Swedish (with Finland-Swedish) to form the Continental varieties. Due to the long dominance of Danish in Norway, Bokmål, the first written standard language in Norway and now the dominating official language, is often considered continental.
As a result, Danish and Norwegian may in reality be somewhat more similar to each other than either is to Swedish. Due to the long political union between Norway and Denmark, the Norwegian Bokmål shares much of the Danish vocabulary. In addition, due to Danish pronunciation, Swedes usually find it easier to understand Norwegian than Danish. But even if a Swede finds it difficult to understand a Dane, it is not necessarily the other way around. One witticism about Norwegian that expresses the basic similarities and differences between the languages is that "Norwegian is Danish spoken in Swedish." The relationships between the three languages might be summarized by the following diagram:
+ phonology Norwegian ----------------- Swedish | - vocabulary | - phonology + vocabulary | | DanishThe North Germanic languages are often cited as proof of Max Weinreich's aphorismAn aphorism is a wise saying that bears repetition Some examples are: Marry in haste: repent at leisure. Scots Proverb Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Chinese Proverb, often attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt Lost time is never found aga "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy." The differences in dialects within the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are often greater than the differences across the borders, but the political independence of these countries leads continental Scandinavian to be classified into NorwegianNorwegian is a Germanic language spoken in Norway. Norwegian is closely related to, and generally mutually intelligible with Swedish and Danish. Together with these two languages, Norwegian belongs to the Northern, or Scandinavian group of the Germanic la, Swedish, and Danish in the popular mind. The creation of Nynorsk out of Insular dialects after Norway became independent of Denmark in 1814Events January 14 Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden January 29 French army of Emperor Napoleon I wins the Battle of Brienne January 31 Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina. February Congress of Chatillon see George Hamilton Gordo was an attempt to make the linguistic divisions match the political ones.