Parallel language use in the Nordic countries
The term ”parallel language use” was first presented in 2002 in connection with a Nordic conference on language policy. It covers the simultaneous use of two or more languages within a certain domain. One language will not displace the other but the languages are used parallel.
With the Nordic Language Declaration from 2006 a focus was placed on the need for a policy regarding parallel language use at the universities:
- Both Nordic constitutional languages and English should be used for scientific purposes
- The teaching in scientific languages, in specific in writing, should be offered in both English and the Nordic languages
- Universities and other scientific institutions should develop long term strategies for the use of languages, parallel language use, teaching in languages and translation to support their activities
Within the Nordic countries there exists great differences in whether the use of the local language is secured by law or by voluntary agreements. The Nordic Council of Ministers published five country reports in 2014 with statistics etc. regarding the use of English at the Nordic universities.
In 2018 this was followed by a report, “More parallel, please” (Gregersen et.al) giving 11 recommendations regarding best practicies for use of local and international languages at university level.
More parallel, please
Nordic Co-operation
Reports from the Swedish language council
The Swedish language council, The Institute for Language and Folklore, has published two reports on multilingualism at the workplace and language choices in Swedish Higher Education, respectively, which are also of an interest for Danish readers within the field.
Johnson, Olvegård and Tingsell (2021): Flerspråkighet i arbete: En vågledning från Språkrådet