American Norwegian (Norwegian:amerikansk norsk) is akoiné dialect ofNorwegian spoken byNorwegian Americans.

While American Norwegian is notarchaic in its use of grammar, its lexicon can be described as slightly archaic.^[1][2]

American Norwegian formed as a result ofNorwegians migrating to the United States.^[2] In 1825, the first organized emigration party consisting of several dozen Norwegians leftStavanger on board theRestauration.^[2][3] Early migration was largely due toreligious persecution, particularly ofQuakers andHaugeans,^[4] but intensified and diversified in the second half of the 19th century. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Norwegian migration to North America continued, primarily through theWhite Star Line,^[5] and theCunard Line.^[6]

Between 1910 and theFirst World War, one million Americans had Norwegian as their first language, many of whom subscribed to Norwegian-language newspapers,^[7] such asDecorah Posten andSkandinaven. As of 2025, it is moribund.^[8]

Variations in grammar indicatekoineization.^[1]

In Norwegian, grammatical gender is opaque, meaning a word's gender is not immediately obvious based on meaning or phonetics. Children, thus, often overgeneralise masculine gender. This same effect can be observed in heritage speakers. This overgeneralization is far less common when words are used in their definite form. Similarly, overgeneralization is seen more in prenominal possession compared to postnominal possession.^[9]

In some European Norwegian dialects, feminine and masculine gender have combined into common gender,^[9] while in other dialects, words considered feminine elsewhere are masculine.

Below are examples of non-target consistent indefinite articles:^[9]

Masculine article used with feminine word

Masculine article used with neuter word

Feminine article used with neuter word

Pronouns in Norwegian and American dialects are relatively similar.^[1]

Due to less input in Norwegian, Norwegian-Americansacquire fewer native words. This has led to moreloaning andcalquing from English into American Norwegian (e.g.lage leving, a literal translation of "make [a] living", rather than the native expressiontjene til livets opphold) as well as the preservation of words nowobsolete in European Norwegian.^[10] Many such words are absorbed and adopt Norwegian pronunciation and grammar. Some of these include:farm,kæunti (county) andseidvåk (sidewalk).^[2] New words have also been developed, such as Americanhå ti, replacing Europeannår, meaning "when".^[11]

• Urban East Norwegian – Norwegian dialect spoken inOslo andEastern Norway
• Bergensk – Norwegian dialect spoken inBergen
• Trøndersk – Norwegian dialect spoken inTrøndelag
• American English – English dialect spoken in United States

• Norwegian dialects
• Norwegian-American culture
• Immigrant languages of the United States

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