So, unfortunately, my computer with my current source downloaded on it broke down a few days ago. Luckily, as of now, I’ve gotten a new one with all of the files on the old one transferred, so nothing but time was lost. So, to make up for lost time, here’s some more background information (and personal theories) regarding the formalization of the Norwegian written languages of Bokmål and Nynorsk (called Landsmål at the time) around the 1840s-70s. First, while my source does not specify the date of Norway’s economic expansion and her introduction to the free market, it does refer to it as the “mid 19th century,” and I do still believe that the native paper, the presence of which would make books much cheaper to manufacture, industry played a role in the movement for a formal Norwegian written language, as would the introduction to an international market. At this time, a massive boom in the amount and variety of products that are exported from Norway occurred, and non-Norwegians, particularly traders and businessmen, would want to be able to understand the labels on these Norwegian products. Finally, around the same time, nationalist movements were spreading across Europe, with the Italian Risorgimento of 1848-1861/71 and the German Unification of 1864-1871.
Nov 17