xocet
You know - modern Norwegian, have a lot of german words in it - as the late 1300s - 1400s was a time when a lot of things changed rather dramatically in Norway - first of all we was going from been an in depended state - to be under the same crown as Denmark - and as an result of the plague who hit Norway rather hard in 1349 - (In Bergen one of the largest trading city's in middle age Norway) most of he educational class - the priest - and monks - was killed off - and a lot of our language, who was based on the old norse language was going true some rather strong changes - in fact the written language - and the spoken language was splitting apart - and difficult to learn if you was not a scholar... Or educated if you want....
In the 1400s and the 1500s - the language benefited largely from being open for new words - and germany was one of the languages who influencing what become modern Norwegian - largely true the Danish Crown - who used german as their preferred consular language - specially after the Protestant reform in 1537, who by the way was demanded by the danish king - who wanted the land of the Catholic church to his own needs - most Norwegians was rather happy with their Catholic Faith - and it was a cultural disaster when the Protestant church - under the control of the danish crown - but we managed to survive - even that onslaugt...
What become Norwegian is also very influenced by danish - even if most people have a dialect - we write in one of two main Norwegian - Bokmål - who was based on largely day to day written and spoken language - and Nynorsk - who was made as a way of making ordinary people who had not the education to write "riksmål" - to have a language who was based on the dialects people was speaking.. One of the most important persons - to make it possible was an educated man with the name Ivar Aasen - who basically was going from village to village all over Norway, wrote down words and expression - and out of that - made a language who he hoped -should make some progress of giving the peasants (who basically was the lagers bulk of the population in Norway at the time) a language who they could read and write on - and who could give them some hope of education and so one....... And even though most of Norway now write bokmål in one way or another - nynorsk have been ale to make strong influence at the west coast in Norway - and is also a side-language who everyone have to have when in school...
It is interesting what you have been able to dig up - I guess in time you would be able to write pretty good Norwegian if you tried The google translate is able to make head and tail about it all - but the finer meaing of norwgian - is lost in the translation Im afriad for the most part...
Diclotican