Language is a carrier and transmitter of identity, content, and culture. Language is important for interaction and participation in society. Therefore, the government is working to ensure that the Norwegian language continues to be vibrant, full-fledged, and socially relevant.
A comprehensive language law came into effect on January 1, 2022. The law aims to safeguard the role of Norwegian as the socially relevant main language in the country and the fundamental function Norwegian language serves as a common language for all in Norway. At the same time, the law acknowledges the public responsibility for other languages with national traditions: Norwegian Sign Language, Sami languages, the national minority languages of Kven, Romani, and Romanes.
Language policy is cross-sectoral, meaning that all ministries have a responsibility to integrate language and language policy into policy development. The state shall pursue an active policy to maintain both Bokmål and Nynorsk as working languages in all sectors. The measures taken may vary. When Norwegian language is the topic, explicit consideration shall be given to Nynorsk and Nynorsk users, as Nynorsk, as a minority language, faces additional challenges in terms of usage and development.
The Language Council of Norway is the government’s administrative body on language issues (according to Section 19 of the Language Act). The main task of the Language Council is to promote the status and use of the Norwegian language in society. The Language Council shall also contribute to the protection and promotion of national minority languages and Norwegian Sign Language.
The Ministry of Culture and Equality has a threefold responsibility for language:
- Sectoral responsibility for language policy
The Language Council of Norway is the Ministry of Culture and Equality’s body for following up on the rules in the Language Act and other language policy measures. The Language Council is also responsible, along with the Ministry of Culture and Equality, for spelling standards in Bokmål and Nynorsk. Major proposals regarding the standardization of languages are subject to consultation by the Language Council.
- Language policy perspectives in the cultural and media sectors
The Ministry of Culture and Equality is responsible for incorporating language policy perspectives into its own sector policies and activities. This means, for example, ensuring that there is a cultural and media offering in the languages for which the state has a responsibility to safeguard under the Language Act.
- Encouraging public entities to take responsibility for language
The Ministry of Culture and Equality should encourage public entities to assume responsibility for Nynorsk, Bokmål, Norwegian Sign Language, Sami languages, Kven, Romani, and Romanes, in line with Section 1 of the Language Act. This entails an obligation to ensure that language policy considerations are taken into account in the assessments within policy areas for which other ministries are responsible.
A public report on Norwegian Sign Language was submitted to the Minister of Culture and Equality on June 13, 2023. The Sign Language Committee, appointed on August 13, 2021, was tasked with examining the situation of Norwegian Sign Language and making proposals on how to increase access to sign language. The report will now be subject to broad consultation.