Perhaps one of the hardest concepts to master in the
Norwegian language is
intonation. Besides varying slightly between regional and
dialects, Norwegian intonation isn't subject to any official standard, and students may be expected to
intuitively pick it up.
In general, most two-syllable words will have either of two tones, which are influenced by Old Norse and differ according to dialect, whereas longer words, for instance loan words or compound words, may have simpler intonation. Like in many other languages, certain sentence structures, such as question sentences, can cause rises and falls in pitch.
For various reasons, correct intonation isn't a necessity to be understood in Norwegian. Certain words can be confused, though, such as the common examples "bønder" and "bønner".