Bokstavkoden følger symbolrekken.

Because Norwegian very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

• bokstav = letter
• kode = code
• bokstavkode = letter code

Then -n/-en is added to make it definite:

• bokstavkode = a letter code
• bokstavkoden = the letter code

This is very common in Norwegian. Where English often uses two words, Norwegian often prefers one compound word.

Both nouns are in the definite singular form.

• bokstavkode → bokstavkoden = the letter code
• symbolrekke → symbolrekken = the symbol sequence / the row of symbols

In Norwegian, definiteness is usually expressed by adding an ending to the noun, instead of always using a separate word like the.

So the sentence is literally structured like:

• Bokstavkoden = the letter code
• følger = follows
• symbolrekken = the symbol sequence

The dictionary forms are:

• bokstavkode = letter code
• følge = to follow
• symbolrekke = sequence/row/string of symbols

The sentence uses inflected forms:

• bokstavkoden = definite singular
• følger = present tense
• symbolrekken = definite singular

følger is the present tense of følge.

• å følge = to follow
• følger = follows / is following

So:

• Bokstavkoden følger symbolrekken. = The letter code follows the symbol sequence.

Norwegian present tense is often made by adding -r to the verb stem.

It can mean different kinds of follow, depending on context.

Common meanings of følge include:

• come after
• go along with
• follow a rule/instruction
• understand/keep track of in some contexts

In this sentence, the most natural meaning is probably comes after or follows in sequence, because the objects are a letter code and a symbol sequence. So it sounds like an ordering or pattern relationship, not obedience.

Because Norwegian usually puts the onto the end of the noun.

Compare:

• en bokstavkode = a letter code

• bokstavkoden = the letter code

• en symbolrekke = a symbol sequence
• symbolrekken = the symbol sequence

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Norwegian often uses a suffix for definiteness instead of a separate article.

The word order is the normal Norwegian subject–verb–object pattern:

• Bokstavkoden = subject
• følger = verb
• symbolrekken = object

So it works just like standard English word order here:

• The letter code / follows / the symbol sequence

This sentence is straightforward and not using any special inversion.

symbolrekke is another compound noun:

• symbol = symbol
• rekke = row, sequence, series

So symbolrekke means something like:

• sequence of symbols
• row of symbols
• string of symbols

The best translation depends on context. In technical or puzzle-like language, sequence of symbols is often a very natural choice.

That is mainly a question of noun gender and style.

Many feminine nouns in Norwegian can appear either with:

• -en definite ending, especially in Bokmål and more formal/neutral style
• -a definite ending, often also correct in Bokmål, depending on the word and style

So for some feminine nouns, both patterns may exist in Bokmål. But in many written contexts, -en is very common and neutral.

Here, symbolrekken is a standard definite form in Bokmål.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

BOOK-stahv-koh-den FUL-ger sim-BOOL-rek-ken

A few notes:

• å sounds roughly like the vowel in law
• y in følger has no exact English equivalent; it is a rounded front vowel
• g in følger is pronounced
• double consonants like kk in rekken usually show that the preceding vowel is short

A more Norwegian-like approximation is:

BOOK-stav-koh-den FURL-ger sym-BOOL-rek-ken

But pronunciation varies by dialect.

Yes, but the meaning would change slightly.

For example:

• En bokstavkode følger en symbolrekke.

That means A letter code follows a symbol sequence, which is more general or less specific.

The original sentence:

• Bokstavkoden følger symbolrekken.

means the specific letter code follows the specific symbol sequence.

So the definite forms suggest that both things are already known from the context.