How did Ivar Aasen develop the Nynorsk written standard?

Ivar Aasen developed the Nynorsk written standard by conducting extensive research into contemporary Norwegian dialects, which he identified as the true descendants of Old Norwegian.12

His process involved several key steps:

• Linguistic Research: Supported by a stipend, Aasen traveled to survey rural dialects, particularly those in western and central Norway, to document their grammatical structures and vocabulary.12
• Publication: He codified his findings in Det norske folkesprog grammatik (1848) and Ordbog over det norske folkesprog (1850), later refining these into definitive versions in 1864 and 1873.1
• Literary Application: To demonstrate the viability of his composite language—originally called Landsmål—Aasen composed poems and plays to showcase its potential as a pure, national literary alternative to the Danish-influenced written norm.12

By constructing a norm that continued the Old Norwegian tradition, Aasen sought to provide a distinctively Norwegian language that eventually achieved co-official status with Bokmål.12