The Nordic Language Convention is a convention of

linguistic rights Linguistic rights are the human rights, human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere. Other parameters for analyzing linguistic right ...

that came into force on 1 March 1987, under the auspices of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

. Under the Convention, citizens of the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

have the opportunity to use their

native language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable to any interpretation or

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

costs. The Convention covers health care, social security, tax, school, and employment authorities, the police and courts. The languages included are Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic.20th anniversary of the Nordic Language Convention
''Nordic news'', 22 February 2007. Retrieved on 25 April 2007. The Convention is not very well known and is mostly a recommendation. The countries have committed themselves to providing services in various languages, but citizens have no absolute rights except for criminal and court matters.Language Convention not working properly
''Nordic news'', 3 March 2007. Retrieved on 25 April 2007.Helge Niska
Community interpreting in Sweden: A short presentation
, International Federation of Translators, 2004. Retrieved on 25 April 2007. The Convention does not automatically require authorities to provide services in another language but a citizen must demand an interpreter. Civil servants in official institutions are often unaware of the regulations on interpreting and translating and neglect to provide these services when requested. Furthermore, the convention excludes

minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...

s, like Faroese, Kalaallisut, Romany and

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

, and immigrant languages. English has also assumed an increasingly prominent role in interaction between Nordic citizens.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Text of the Nordic Language Convention

Language news from Nordic Council
Linguistic rights Nordic countries

See also

References

External links