Riksmål

Riksmål is a written Norwegian language form, meaning the National Language, based on the Dano-Norwegian language used by the upper class in Christiania in the 19th century.

After the dissolution of the union with Denmark in 1814 Norway had no national language of their own, that is the written language was Danish, while the verbal language consisted of numerous dialects - that to some extent were not mutual intelligible. The new union partner Sweden had a different language, Swedish, and there was a fear that if no measures were taken, their language would be imposed upon the Norwegians.

Hence, prominent Norwegians promoted a Norwegian language, incl. Henrik Wergeland and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson based on the legacy of the Danish language used in Norway by the upper class in Christiania. The person that made this effort was Knud Knudsen, a school teacher, that had experienced that the school children struggled with the Danish language they were thought, it was very different from the verbal language they were used to. However, as late as in 1883 the Danish intellectual Georg Brandes stated that the language in Norway was Danish, the Norwegians did not have a language of their own.