Language Research

Updated (July 2007)

The Kingdom of Norway, known also as “The Land of the Midnight Sun”, is not the only country in the world with lots of dialects or accents, or the only one with more than one official language. But it is the only country in the world with two official versions of one national language.

Together with the Sámi language, two standard forms of Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk, are recognized as the official languages of the country. The peculiarities of the language situation arise from Norway's secession from Denmark in 1814: the two forms of Norwegian are products of two different policies in the process of establishing a ‘national’ language. Bokmål, on the one hand, is based on the Dano–Norwegian koiné language created in Norway over the 280 years of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway from the Eastern Old Norse base that had developed in Sweden and Denmark. Nynorsk, on the other hand, was codified, primarily by the linguist Ivar Aasen, from the Western Old Norse base (mutually intelligible with but less developed than the Eastern) that had developed in Iceland and Norway. Nynorsk and Bokmål were both accepted as official orthographic standard Norwegian by Parliamentary Resolution in 1929.

The two Norwegian languages have equal status, i.e. they are both used in public administration, in schools, churches, on radio and television. Books, magazines and newspapers likewise are published in both languages.

The local communities' inhabitants themselves decide which language is to be used as the language of instruction in their children's schools. Officially, the teaching language is called the primary language (hovedmål) and the other language is the secondary language (sidemål). However, both forms of Norwegian are compulsory for secondary school students. All must read material written in the secondary language and, at the upper secondary level, must also demonstrate their ability to write in it.

This is a consequence, among other things, of the requirements of the Language Usage Act, which regulates the use of language in public services and may be summed up as follows:

1. Private individuals and other private legal persons shall receive responses in the language (Bokmål or Nynorsk) they used when addressing a State agency.

2. Municipalities and counties may decide to require Bokmål or Nynorsk in the correspondence they receive from State agencies, or they may decide to remain linguistically neutral.

3. The so–called civil service language of a lower administrative level in the State shall determine the form used at a higher level to handle correspondence between them.

4. State agencies shall generally alternate between the two languages in all material they produce for the public, i.e. everything from parliamentary documents, books and magazines to stamps, bank notes and websites, so that neither language is ever used less than 25 percent of the time.

The main goal of the language policy is to protect and strengthen the two forms of the Norwegian language so that both Bokmål and Nynorsk can survive as equally important languages, used in all areas of social life and in the new information society.

Currently, there are 435 municipalities in Norway: of these, 115 have chosen Nynorsk as their official language; 160 have opted for Bokmål; the rest are “neutral”. Neutrality, however, usually means that the majority language form, Bokmål, dominates. The 115 Nynorsk–speaking municipalities cover only 12 percent of the population. Thus, language policy must also support and strengthen the position of Nynorsk both as a living language and as an official written language.

In general, more than 95 percent of the Norwegian population uses one of the Norwegian forms as their primary language. Everyone who speaks Norwegian, whether it is a local dialect or one of the two standard Norwegian forms, can be understood by other Norwegians: there are no real language barriers.

However, the minority Sámi language, also recognized as an official language, is not related to Norwegian and is incomprehensible to Norwegian speakers who have not learned it.

The Norwegian Constitution of 1988 recognized the Sámi as an indigenous people within the country's borders. This constitutional provision guarantees them the right to develop and preserve their own culture and society.

In the past, however, they suffered various forms of oppression and isolation. The State adopted a harsh and forceful policy and process of assimilation that was in line with the construction of a Norwegian way of life and with the establishment of a welfare state based on a Norwegian ideology of equality. Norwegian schooling was made compulsory and until the late 1950s pupils would have been punished for uttering a single Sámi word on school premises. Official Norwegian policy was to incorporate the Sámi population into Norwegian society; they forced the Sámi to become truly “Norwegian” and adopted a policy of official contempt for everything Sámi. This process of assimilation was devastating to their native language, religion and culture.

The right to receive education in Sámi was granted to Sámi children in the Law on Primary Education only in 1988. Nevertheless, since the Sámi Act of 1987, the rights of the Sámi population continue to improve. The Act legalized the establishment of the Sámi Parliament (Samediggi) and improved opportunities and economical conditions for Sámi language press, publishing and broadcasting, thus also for education and the official use of the language. In 1992, the Sámi language was finally adopted as Norway's third official language.

The country has signed the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, and has accepted certain obligations in respect of the regional or minority languages in Norway. Those covered by the Charter are: Sámi; Kven/Finnish; and two non–territorial minority languages – Romanes and Romani. Norway clarified the status of Kven only in 2005 and after a long dispute. It is now recognized as a language in its own right and not as a dialect of Finnish.

The Act on Place Names provides the rules for the use of multilingual place names. In the areas where Sámi and Kven are spoken, for example, they must generally be used widely by public authorities – on maps, signposts, in registers etc. Porsanger, for example, is a municipality in the northern part of Norway, which has three official names: Porsanger (Norwegian); Porsángu (Sámi); and Porsanki (Kven).

To safeguard the rights of minorities, Norway has ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe.

The term “national minorities” is understood to mean minorities with a long–term connection with the country. Minority groups must be in the minority and must hold a non–dominant position in society. Furthermore, they must have distinctive ethnic, linguistic, cultural and/or religious characteristics that make them substantially different from the rest of the population. The persons concerned must also have a common will to maintain and develop their own identity.

The term “long–term connection&rdqu; has not been defined, but in Norway the authorities have used a criterion suggested internationally to the effect that groups must be able to claim a minimum of 100 years of connection with the state in question. Thus, more recent immigrant groups are not considered national minorities in Norway.

In order for a minority group to become a national minority in Norway, it is also required that all or most of the members of the minority group are Norwegian nationals (generally speaking).

Within these definitions, the groups of people granted the status of national minorities in Norway included: the Sámi; the Kvens (Finnish–speaking people settled in northern Norway); the Skogfinns (Finnish–speaking inhabitants of southern Norway); the Romas/Travelers; the Romani/Gypsies; and Jews.

Note, however, that the Sámi are not covered by the Framework Convention. Since they have been recognized as indigenous people; they benefit from a specific protection regime. Moreover, they have clearly stated that they are not interested in the protection provided by the Framework Convention.

Today, the minorities enjoy a recognition that ensures them equal conditions for participation in society and the preservation of their language, culture and cultural identity. It is worth recalling, however, that Norway has long been characterized by strong nationalistic feelings. “Norwegianization” policies were at times characterized by racial theories that contributed to breaking down the identity of each minority. There was no room for minorities; it was difficult for them to persist in organized opposition against these strong assimilation policies.

In recent years, the authorities have paid closer attention to national minorities' involvement in public affairs. The “Forum for Contact between National Minorities and the Authorities”, set up in 2003, contributes to the institutional framework in this area and an Inter–Ministerial Commission for National Minorities has been set up to improve co–ordination between the government institutions concerned.

In order to support and strengthen their participation in society, the Government has allocated money for establishing and developing centers for national minorities, through which it can provide financial support. For example, the Travelers have received state support to compile and publish a Norwegian–Romani dictionary and the Kven newspaper Ruijan Kaiku, established in 1995, has been receiving Government support since its foundation.

Even though some improvements have been made, national minorities still receive little coverage in Norway's media and what limited broadcasting time has been allocated to national minorities is, in fact, confined to the Kvens. More resolute effort is needed to broaden national minorities' access to the media – be that press, radio or television – and to improve their public image.

With regard to education, national minorities in Norway have limited opportunities to learn their own languages and additional efforts are needed. Their rights are limited by the principles that apply to mother tongue instruction: that pupils receive bilingual instruction until they have acquired a sufficient knowledge of Norwegian to be able to follow ordinary instruction in school; and that when feasible, the mother tongue should be offered as an optional subject at lower secondary level.

Minority language education should not be designed only as a means for facilitating the integration of persons belonging to national minorities into the mainstream society. It is essential to the preservation of these persons' cultural identity. Nevertheless, in recent years the Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs has required the municipalities to provide pupils from linguistic minorities with the limited mother tongue instruction regulated.

The Government does provide additional support, however, for example to the revitalization and promotion of the Kven language, and to creating the conditions required to give effect to the Kvens' right to learn their language. Furthermore, it has paid attention to Roma and Romani children in education: special initiatives have been taken to facilitate their access to education and to adapt public educational programs to their traveling customs.

Despite the efforts made in recent years to improve the minorities' overall situation, additional improvements are still needed, especially in education and broadcasting. The authorities in Norway should continue to support the preservation of their national minorities' identities and cultures.

Sources:

1. Egeland, L.: Country Report on Multilingual Issues – Norway, July 7, 2005 http://www.mek.oszk.hu/minerva/html/dok/norway.pdf

2. Council of Europe, Report submitted by Norway pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 2001

3. Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Second Opinion on Norway adopted on 5 October 2006 www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/minorities/

4. Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs, Second periodical report on European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages – Norway, March 2002 http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kkd/Documents/rapporter_planer/rapporter/2002/European-charter-for-regional-or-minority-languages.html?id=420162

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