Riksmål Society

The Riksmål Society, known in Norwegian as Riksmålsforbundet, is the principal organization associated with Riksmål, a conservative written variety of Norwegian rooted in the Danish-Norwegian literary tradition. The organization describes its purpose as preserving and advancing traditional standard Norwegian. Riksmål is not a separate official language standard in Norway; it exists alongside the two official written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk, and is closely related to the historical form of Bokmål used before the language reforms of 1938. The society was founded in Oslo on 7 April 1907 by the poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who later received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Its origins lie in an earlier campaign to organize support for Riksmål, with preparatory activity dating to 1899. The movement emerged during a period of intense Norwegian language conflict. Supporters of landsmål, later known as Nynorsk, sought a stronger position for a national written standard based on Norwegian dialects, while Riksmål advocates defended the established Danish-Norwegian literary and administrative tradition. For much of the twentieth century, Riksmålsforbundet was a prominent opponent of the government's samnorsk policy. Samnorsk was an attempted convergence of Bokmål and Nynorsk into a single common written standard. In practice, the policy introduced or encouraged forms that many Riksmål supporters regarded as artificial, politically imposed, or incompatible with established literary usage. The society campaigned against compulsory language policies in schools and public administration and argued for the continued legitimacy of conservative spellings and grammatical forms. The organization has been associated with a substantial circle of Norwegian writers, literary figures, public intellectuals, and cultural activists. Named participants in or supporters of the broader Riksmål movement have included Jens Bjørneboe, André Bjerke, Terje Stigen, Carl Keilhau, Agnar Mykle, Arnulf Øverland, Sigurd Hoel, Johan Bernhard Hjort, Knut Wigert, Margrete Aamot Øverland, Sofie Helene Wigert, and Varg Vikernes. Earlier literary figures connected with the Riksmål cause or its public advocacy included Claes Gill, Nils Kjær, Knut Hamsun, Gabriel Scott, and Henrik Ibsen. These affiliations reflect the movement's historical presence in Norwegian literary and cultural debate rather than a single uniform political or aesthetic program. Riksmålsforbundet's activities include language advocacy, public debate, cultural education, and publication. It publishes the magazine Ordet, whose title means “The Word,” and uses its public platform to discuss spelling, grammar, literary language, education, and language policy. Its work is primarily domestic and civic rather than commercial: the society promotes a language position, supports users of Riksmål, and participates in debates concerning the relationship between official language policy and actual written usage. The political environment changed significantly in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The samnorsk policy was eventually abandoned, and reforms in 1981 and 2005 restored or accepted many forms that had been associated with Riksmål and had previously been restricted in schools or government use. These reforms did not simply reproduce an older standard, since they also introduced, retained, or excluded forms on the basis of contemporary usage. Nevertheless, they represented important successes for several long-standing objectives of the Riksmål movement. The society remains active as an advocate for linguistic choice, traditional written Norwegian, and reduced state control over language usage.

Organized support for Riksmål began to take shape in the late nineteenth century, with activity dating to 1899. The movement responded to efforts to give landsmål, later called Nynorsk, a dominant or exclusive role in Norway's written public language. Riksmål supporters defended the established Danish-Norwegian literary tradition and sought recognition for a conservative written form used by important parts of the press, literature, education, and administration. Riksmålsforbundet was formally established on 7 April 1907 under the leadership of the poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. From its beginning, it functioned as a cultural and language-policy association rather than a commercial enterprise. Its central objective was to preserve Riksmål and resist measures that would weaken established written usage through government regulation. Over subsequent decades, it became the main organized institution representing the Riksmål position in Norway's language conflict. The society's most sustained political dispute concerned samnorsk, the state-backed project to bring Bokmål and Nynorsk progressively closer together and eventually create a common written standard. Riksmålsforbundet opposed the policy, particularly where reforms imposed unfamiliar forms in schools and public administration or restricted traditional spellings. Its campaign combined public argument, cultural activity, and support from writers and other prominent figures in Norwegian intellectual life. The Riksmål movement was associated with numerous authors and cultural personalities, including Jens Bjørneboe, André Bjerke, Terje Stigen, Carl Keilhau, Agnar Mykle, Arnulf Øverland, Sigurd Hoel, Johan Bernhard Hjort, Knut Wigert, Margrete Aamot Øverland, Sofie Helene Wigert, and Varg Vikernes. Other writers connected to the cause or its wider public advocacy included Claes Gill, Nils Kjær, Knut Hamsun, Gabriel Scott, and Henrik Ibsen. These associations helped make the language dispute a major cultural question as well as an administrative one. Riksmålsforbundet also developed a publishing role. Its magazine Ordet provides a continuing forum for discussion of language, literature, grammar, spelling, and language policy. Through publications and public engagement, the organization has promoted the view that written Norwegian should reflect established literary and popular usage rather than be directed primarily by centralized convergence policy. Language reforms gradually changed the context in which the society operated. The 1981 reforms restored or accepted a number of forms favored by Riksmål users, while the 2005 reforms further altered Bokmål's relationship with conservative usage. The 2005 changes were not a complete return to an earlier standard, because they also reflected newer usage and made additional independent choices. Even so, many forms previously associated with Riksmål became acceptable in Bokmål after having been restricted for decades. The Norwegian authorities eventually abandoned the samnorsk project, and political support grew for ending compulsory speech policies. Riksmålsforbundet's contemporary role therefore centers less on preventing an imminent merger of the written standards and more on defending linguistic choice, traditional forms, and the cultural legitimacy of Riksmål.

• 2005

  Further Bokmål reform

  [1]Riksmål Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Another major reform changed the set of accepted Bokmål forms. Many traditional Riksmål spellings were now permitted, although the reform also introduced or excluded forms on the basis of contemporary usage.

• 1981

  Language reforms advance several Riksmål objectives

  [1]Riksmål Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Norwegian language reforms accepted or restored a number of forms associated with conservative written Norwegian, marking a partial reversal of earlier restrictions.

• 1907

  Riksmålsforbundet founded

  [1]Riksmål Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson founded the Riksmål Society on 7 April, creating the principal organized body for the preservation and promotion of Riksmål.

• 1899

  Early organization for the Riksmål cause

  [1]Riksmål Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Organized efforts in support of Riksmål are recorded before the society's formal creation, reflecting opposition to proposals that landsmål should become Norway's single written language.

A cultural and language-policy organization defending traditional written Norwegian and promoting Riksmål as a legitimate alternative within Norway's plural written-language environment.

• Magazine

  Ordet

  Ordet is the Riksmål Society's magazine and a principal publication associated with the organization. It covers Norwegian language, spelling, grammar, literature, and language-policy questions, providing a public forum for the society's cultural and linguistic arguments.

• Opposition to samnorsk

  Norway

  Riksmålsforbundet conducted a long-running campaign against the state policy of merging Bokmål and Nynorsk into a common written standard. The campaign defended established Riksmål forms and opposed compulsory language rules in education and public administration.

  Outcome. The samnorsk policy was eventually abandoned, and later reforms made many conservative forms acceptable in Bokmål.

  Source

• Sustained advocacy for traditional written NorwegianStrategy

  Background

  The organization operated during Norway's prolonged conflict over the relationship between Riksmål, Bokmål, and Nynorsk, particularly in opposition to the samnorsk program.

  Action taken

  It made preservation and promotion of Riksmål its central organizational strategy and supported public discussion, cultural activity, and resistance to compulsory convergence policies.

  Aftermath

  The policy environment later shifted toward acceptance of greater variation within Bokmål, while the samnorsk project was discontinued.

  Source

1. 1Riksmål Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Riksmålsforbundet official websiteriksmalsforbundet.no