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Sounding the alarm for Nordic languages

Expectations are high for the updated declaration on a Nordic language policy which is now being implemented. New technology and digitalisation are included as tools to strengthen the smaller languages and interest in language. But will young people rather use English?

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Being able to understand each other without using English is an important part of the Nordic community. Photo: norden.org

The Declaration in Brief

The declaration’s goal is to achieve a long-term and effective language policy, ensuring that the Nordic region's languages which are essential to the Nordic societies remain strong and vibrant.  

The languages must continue to serve their function in society and remain usable as languages of science.

Nordic cooperation should be conducted in the Scandinavian languages also in the future, namely Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.

All languages native to the Nordic region should survive and evolve, even in an era of digitalisation with artificial intelligence, internationalisation, and migration.

All Nordic citizens should be able to speak, understand, read, and write the language(s) essential to the society where they live. They should be able to communicate in at least one Scandinavian language and have knowledge of the other Scandinavian languages in order to participate in the Nordic language community.

The Nordic languages

Languages essential to society

Scandinavian: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk)

Others: Finnish, Icelandic, Faroese

Indigenous languages: Greenlandic, the Sami languages

National minority languages

Sweden: Meänkieli, Finnish, Yiddish, Romani Chib, Sámi (Northern Sámi, Lule Sámi, Pite Sámi, Ume Sámi, and Southern Sámi)

Finland: Sámi (Inari Sámi, Northern Sámi, and Skolt Sámi). In addition, Karelian and Romani have long been spoken.

Norway: Sámi (Northern Sámi, Southern Sámi, Lule Sámi), Kven, Romanes, and Romani.

Denmark: German (and in Germany, Danish is one of the official minority languages).

Sign languages

All the Nordic countries have their own sign language with official status.

In Finland, both Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign languages are protected by law.  

Danish sign language shares many similarities with Greenlandic and Faroese sign languages.

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