Language Council of Norway

The Language Council of Norway (Norwegian: Språkrådet, Urban East Norwegian: [ˈsprôːkroːdə]) is the administrative body of the Norwegian state on language issues.[1] It was established in 2005 and replaced the Norwegian Language Council (Norsk språkråd, Urban East Norwegian: [ˈnɔʂk ˈsprôːkroːd]) which existed from 1974 to 2005. It is a subsidiary agency of the Ministry of Culture and has thirty-five employees.[2] It is one of two organisations involved in language standardization in Norway, alongside the Norwegian Academy.

Language Council of Norway
Formation1 January 2005 (2005-01-01)
HeadquartersOslo, Norway
Director
Åse Wetås
Websitewww.sprakradet.no

History

Norwegian Language Council

The Norwegian Language Council (1974–2005) had 38 members, which represented different stakeholders, such as other language organisations including the Norwegian Academy, Riksmålsforbundet and Noregs Mållag, but also the educational sector and the media. The council created lists of acceptable word forms. Some words previously had two forms, the official form which were to be used in government documents and textbooks, and optional forms, which could be used by students in state schools.[3] However, after 2005 this difference no longer exists in the lists published by the Language Council of Norway.

Controversies

In 2006, the Norwegian newspaper Ny Tid requested that the council choose an alternative to the term "ethnic Norwegians" because the term might be alienating or exclusionary to immigrants to Norway. In response, the council denied that immigrants were Norwegians or could ever become Norwegians, writing: "We do not believe that there is a need to replace ‘ethnic Norwegian’ by another term. We believe it is incorrect to call people from other countries ‘Norwegians’ because ‘Norwegian’ by definition refers to someone of ethnic Norwegian descent. A Pakistani who settles in Norway does not become Norwegian, not even if he becomes a Norwegian citizen." The council's narrow definition of Norwegian identity sparked controversy in Norwegian news media and on Norwegian social media.[4]

References
  1. Lov om språk (språklova) §19 lovdata.no (Unofficial english version here) quote: § 19.Språkrådet Språkrådet er statens forvaltningsorgan i språkspørsmål og forvaltar dei offisielle skriftnormalane for bokmål og nynorsk. Språkrådet skal gje statsorgan råd om skrivemåte og namneskikk før det blir gjort vedtak om namn på statsorgan. Språkrådet fører tilsyn med korleis statsorgan etterlever reglane i § 10 andre ledd og §§ 12 til 17. Språkrådet skal rettleie offentlege organ om reglane i denne lova.
  2. The Language Council of Norway The Language Council of Norway. Retrieved 16 December 2013
  3. Janus, Louis (1999). Norwegian Verbs And Essentials of Grammar. Chicago: Passport Books. pp. 4. ISBN 0-8442-8596-X.
  4. Language, Youth and Identity in the 21st Century. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. 2015. p. 143. ISBN 9781107016989.

Further reading


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.