Noreg, a mistake?
Every stamp collector knows that if the word NORGE appears on a stamp, it refers to the Scandinavian country of Norway. The first stamp of Norway appeared on January 1, 1855, three years after the Netherlands. However, that stamp did not display the country's name, but rather the word frimærke, the Norwegian word for stamp. Just as in the Netherlands, where only the word stamp appeared alongside the value. The word frimærke can easily be translated upon seeing this block issued on October 6, 1985: Day of the Stamp, Frimerkets dag.
In 1856, the word Norge was used on a Norwegian postage stamp for the first time.
Norway has a stamp design that has existed since December 25, 1871, and is still in use today: the post horn. Here too, the word Norge. Just like on the many other hundreds of issues.
However, on October 31, 1964, two stamps were issued dedicated to two Norwegians, Hermann Anker and Olaus Arvesen, the founders of the Folk High School. On these, not the word NORGE, but NOREG.
Was this a misspelling? No, because soon afterwards even more stamps appeared with this 'changed' country name. Had Norway become bilingual?
The official language in Norway was called Bokmål for many years, loosely translated as book language. This Norwegian is used by 85% of the population. The official language was prescribed in 1907, after work on describing it had begun in 1897. Many words are derived from written Danish, from the period when Denmark and Norway were still a union. At that time, the language was called Riksmål. The name Bokmål was officially adopted in 1929.
The name Noreg originates from Nynorsk. This language was formed from Old Norse and several dialects and means New Norse. The first dictionaries featuring this language form were printed as early as 1840. However, this language is used by only slightly more than 10% of the Norwegian population.
Sometimes both names are printed on stamps. Would the animals care?
The bird perhaps does, but it has more interest in nature conservation and the urbanization that threatens its habitat. The sun sees all this happening and sheds a tear. Norge or Noreg, it doesn't matter much. It is a beautiful country; also in terms of postage stamps. Let it stay that way. 
Unfortunately, contrary to what this story suggests, Norway is not really a country that takes its own language (languages) to heart.
‘@Jan
Tell me more! Is Dutch being taught better than Norwegian?? Even in Poland they complain about the level of language use and knowledge among high school students, who are as lazy and uninterested as can be and are only willing to write phonetically at best, if they even get further than their SMS or Gadu-Gadu.
Not to mention the lack of interest in mathematics and even physical education. It is all the fault of those boring teachers….
'@Rein: “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye”? (Dutch …)
'@Rein, and aren't you by any chance a math teacher??
:-)))
No, Rein. It is quite difficult to find (popular) music in Norwegian. The country seems to have English as the norm in that regard. After that, my Norwegian lags behind as well. I also see some reports on Trefpunt Noorwegen that Norwegian education is not as good as we think it is.
Today I received the new stamps from Norway (Olympic Games). They have now also significantly simplified the Norwegian version of the information sheet about the new stamps. It used to be a small, square-format magazine (approximately 1.5 times the width of A5, or a shortened A4 size). Now it looks more like an A5-sized brochure. It is probably cost-cutting.
http://www.posten.no/Portal/Privat/SamleFrimerker/Frimerkeprogram/
In modern Norwegian (Bokmål), by the way, it is Frimerke. Frimærke is Danish. Norwegian has been de-Danish since the nineteenth century.