Resumen de Dialects in Norway: catching up with the rest of Europe?

Unn Røyneland

• Norway has sometimes been described as a sociolinguistic paradise with its abundant linguistic heterogeneity — both written and spoken. Dialect diversity has been and is still considerable and dialects are used in practically all social domains. However, dialects in Norway are changing. In this article I will discuss the historical background for the linguistic situation in Norway, and I will take a closer look at present-day developments and discuss the structural, sociocultural, and psychological mechanisms behind them. The question is whether the dialect situation in Norway remains very different from most other parts of Europe, or if at least some areas of Norway may be experiencing similar developments.