Rektoren snakker med læreren.

The ending -en is the definite singular ending in Norwegian Bokmål for many common-gender nouns.

So:

• en rektor = a principal / a headteacher
• rektoren = the principal / the headteacher
• en lærer = a teacher
• læreren = the teacher

Unlike English, Norwegian often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

Because Norwegian usually expresses definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

In English:

• the principal
• the teacher

In Norwegian:

• rektoren
• læreren

So the meaning of the is already built into the noun.
A separate article is not normally needed here.

Snakker is the present tense form of the verb å snakke (to speak / to talk).

• å snakke = infinitive = to speak / to talk
• snakker = present tense = speaks / is speaking / talks / is talking

So:

• Rektoren snakker med læreren = The principal speaks/is speaking with the teacher

It can mean either one, depending on context.

Norwegian present tense often covers both:

• speaks / talks
• is speaking / is talking

So Rektoren snakker med læreren could mean:

• The principal speaks with the teacher
• The principal is speaking with the teacher

Context tells you which is more natural.

Because Norwegian verbs are much simpler than English verbs in this way. In the present tense, the verb form stays the same regardless of the subject.

For example:

• jeg snakker = I speak / am speaking
• du snakker = you speak / are speaking
• rektoren snakker = the principal speaks / is speaking
• de snakker = they speak / are speaking

So you do not get changes like English I speak vs he speaks.

Here med means with.

So snakker med means talks/speaks with.

This is a very common preposition in Norwegian.
In other contexts, med can also mean things like using or along with, but here it simply shows who the principal is talking to.

This is the normal word order for a basic statement:

• Subject: Rektoren
• Verb: snakker
• Prepositional phrase: med læreren

So it follows a straightforward pattern similar to English:

• The principal
  • speaks
    • with the teacher

This sentence also fits the Norwegian V2 pattern, where the finite verb typically comes in the second position in main clauses.

For example:

• I dag snakker rektoren med læreren.
  Today, the principal is speaking with the teacher.

Here I dag comes first, so snakker still stays in second position.

Yes. Then you would use the indefinite form:

• med læreren = with the teacher
• med en lærer = with a teacher

So:

• Rektoren snakker med læreren = the principal is speaking with the teacher
• Rektoren snakker med en lærer = the principal is speaking with a teacher

The definite form points to a specific teacher; the indefinite form does not.

Not necessarily. In modern Norwegian Bokmål, -en here mainly shows that lærer is a common-gender noun in the definite singular.

That does not mean the teacher must be male.

So læreren can refer to:

• a male teacher
• a female teacher

The grammatical gender of the noun and the real-life sex of the person are not the same thing.

It is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

In Norwegian, common nouns are not capitalized the way they are in German.

So normally you would write:

• rektoren
• læreren

But at the start of a sentence:

• Rektoren snakker med læreren.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

• rektoren ≈ REK-to-ren
• snakker ≈ SNAK-er
• læreren ≈ something like LAE-re-ren

A few helpful notes:

• æ in lærer is a vowel that does not exist exactly in English, but it is somewhat similar to the vowel in cat for many learners.
• The r sound in Norwegian is often clearer or more tapped/rolled than in most English accents.
• The final -er endings are usually not stressed.

The main stress is typically on the first syllable:

• REKtoren
• SNAKker
• LÆreren