Unn Røyneland

Dialects in Norway: catching up with the rest of Europe?

Abstract Norway has sometimes been described as a sociolinguistic paradise with its abundant linguistic heterogeneity — both written and spoken. Dialect diversity has been and is still considerable and dialects are used in practically all social domains. However, dialects in Norway are changing. In this article I will discuss the historical background for the linguistic situation in Norway, and I will take a closer look at present-day developments and discuss the structural, sociocultural, and psychological mechanisms behind them. The question is whether the dialect situation in Norway remains very different from most other parts of Europe, or if at least some areas of Norway may be experiencing similar developments.

Hvor parallelt om parallellspråkighet på Nordens universitet

Sprogpolitik er blevet et hot emne pa de nordiske universiteter. Det skyldes forst og fremmest at brugen af engelsk har bredt sig til snart sagt alle omrader, og at det i sig selv kalder pa bevidst ...

Revision of the Nynorsk standard: deliberation, decision and legitimisation

Questions of legitimacy and legitimisation are at the very core of any standardisation project. At the end of the day, what really matters is whether people see the standard as a legitimate representation of their “language” and are willing to use it. How such legitimacy is obtained, however, may of course differ in different sociopolitical contexts and at different points in time. Another question – equally pressing – is whether people want to write their language at all or if they prefer using an exoglossic standard. One of the first steps in a standardisation process is thus to find out whether people actually think that they have a language worthy of written representation and that a standard would be worth using. This may, in some circumstances, turn out not to be the case. In that situation, one may seek to convince people of the value of a standardised written representation. Or one may, alternatively, refrain from the endeavour. In situations where people and their languages have long been oppressed (cf. Lane this volume), establishing a standard may be a particularly difficult task. As a large body of research has shown, minority groups may not want to write their language, as it is not perceived as a useful vehicle for social mobility (e.g. Johansen 2013; May 2003; 2006). In other situations, people may not want a standard because creating a written or an oral standard almost inevitably will happen at the expense of diversity, as all possible forms and features of language in a community will not enter into the regulated standard (e.g. Oñederra this volume; Albury 2016 on Māori corpus planning). Standardisation, by necessity, implies the reduction of variation and the erasure of certain forms. If maintaining linguistic diversity is more important than establishing one authoritative written or oral standard, then agreement on what should constitute the standard is likely to be difficult, complex and perhaps undesirable. Also, similar issues may be at stake even in cases where a standard has existed for quite some time, such as the Norwegian minority standard Nynorsk. In this paper I will discuss the most recent developments in Norwegian language policy and planning by considering the language reforms that took place, and

MultiLing. Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan: A Center of Excellence in Norway

Abstract The world is connecting in many complex ways, driven by the globally integrated nature of technological innovation and human mobility across continents. Never before have so many different speakers and languages existed side by side in the OECD countries as they do today. This reality has placed multilingualism in the spotlight. Increased migration and transcultural flows across borders in Europe have highlighted the urgency for research on multilingualism in the individual and society. Academic institutions have recognized the necessity for such knowledge and research centers have evolved to meet this challenge (cf. Obermayer et al. 2014). MultiLing - the Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan is a research center aimed at academic excellence and financed by the Research Council of Norway through its Center of Excellence scheme. MultiLing is hosted by the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Oslo in Norway. It opened in June of 2013 and is currently in its first five-year period of operation. The main goal of the Center is to generate state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on individual and societal multilingualism across the lifespan that will address the challenges and potentials multilingualism poses for the individual in the family, school, other institutions, and society in general. Moreover, the Center aims at providing research-based knowledge on multilingualism to central policymakers and stakeholders. Language planning and the standardization of languages are some of the Center’s key research foci and are indeed vital issues today at the top of the agenda for policymakers. The Center’s vision is to contribute to how society can deal with the challenges of multilingualism through increased knowledge, promoting agency for individuals in society, and a better quality of life, no matter what linguistic and social background.