6.7 Norway: Dictionaries and study-material
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
6.7 Norway: Dictionaries and study-material
Nynorskorboka (Det Norske Samlaget) and Bokmålsordboka
(Universitetsforlaget) form the official standard of the the two forms
of written Norwegian, "nynorsk" and "bokmål".
Nynorskordboka and Bokmålsordboka are available on the huge web of the
world at this location: <http://dina.uio.no/ordboksoek.html> This page
is entirely in Norwegian, though, so a minimal knowledge of Norwegian
(or Swedish or Danish) is necessary.
In addition, the following dictionaries can be mentioned:
* W. A. Kirkeby. Norsk-engelsk ordbok (Kunnskapsforlaget).
Especially good for Norwegian-speakers looking for the idiomatic
way to say something in English.
* Aschehoug og Gyldendals Store norske orbok ("moderat bokmål og
riksmål")
* W. A. Kirkeby. Engelsk-norsk ordbok
* Einar Haugen. Norsk-engelsk ordbok. Universitetsforlaget. OR the
American edition, Norwegian-English Dictionary (not sure of
publisher). Especially useful to English-speakers learning
Norwegian; includes both Bokm}l and Nynorsk words.
* The latest, most up-to-date version of Guttu's dictionary is Norsk
illustrert ordbok. Moderat bokmål og riksmål (Oslo 1993, 1009
pages). The format is now almost exactly like that of
Bokmålsordboka (17cm x 25.5cm). Both are excellent dictionaries,
which can be recommended. However, Norsk illustrert ordbok has a
layout that makes it easier to find what you are looking for in
big articles.
Dave Golber writes:
(1) Get Einar Haugen's Norwegian-English dictionary. It's great.
(Also, it's got a introductory section that describes Nyn-Bokm.) It's
written in English in the sense that the explanations, extended
descriptions, etc, are in English, not Norwegian.
For English-Norwegian, I don't have any strong opinion. I have and use
Kirkeby's Dictionary, and it's good.
The Haugen you should be able to order from your local bookstore. The
Kirkeby might be harder. I can get you the particulars (publisher,
ISBN number, etc). You might have to order it from Norway, but that
isn't as hard as you think. Perhaps someone else in the group here
will have suggestions.
(2) I started using the tapes "Norsk for Utlendingar" (Norwegian for
Foreigners). This is used in Norway for teaching Norwegian to
immigrants. I think it's great. I wish I'd started using it long ago.
It's available in the USA from Audio Forum, with the Norwegian texts
that go with it, plus an American supplement. For an outrageous price.
But it's worth it.
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