Up to and including primary school, pupils in Hjartdal municipality have had Nynorsk as their main target. That will end from the autumn. On Wednesday, a narrow majority in the municipal council decided that the school should switch to Bokmål. Conducted referendum Målforma has long been a hot topic in the tiny Telemark municipality. A survey conducted by FAU at the school earlier this year showed that 85 per cent of parents and 77 per cent of pupils wanted to replace Nynorsk. Several pupils have chosen to switch to Bokmål when they started secondary school, and were able to choose. In the 9th grade at the local school, there are now no Nynorsk users. In March, the municipality therefore carried out an advisory referendum to hear what the villagers thought about the matter. It showed that a small majority still wished to keep Nynorsk as the main language. On Wednesday, it was the municipal politicians’ turn to make the final decision. After a long debate, nine of the representatives voted to change, while eight wanted to keep Nynorsk as before. Mayor satisfied Mayor Bengt Halvard Odden (Ap) himself voted for Bokmål, and is thus satisfied with the result. Bengt Halvard Odden, Ap mayor in Hjartdal. Photo: Gry Eirin Skjelbred / news – There is a large majority of pupils at the school who have applied for and been granted teaching in Bokmål. What we are doing now is actually to adapt the main rule for education in line with what the pupils have actually had, he says. The decision will be introduced in the autumn. – We have been busy getting this clarification now, so that school books can be bought into the target that was chosen. He does not think this will have major financial consequences for the municipality. – Right decision Heidi Katrine Solberg Særsland is a mother at the school in Hjartdal, and a teacher in Notodden municipality. She understands that the decision was difficult for the politicians to make, but thinks the conclusion is important and right. – When you see with my experience as a teacher that many struggle with the training, I think it is important that they can acquire knowledge through Bokmål, she says. Heidi Katrine Solberg Særsland has become involved in the case. She is a mother at the school, and works as a teacher in the neighboring municipality. Photo: Private – As long as the majority at Sauland school have chosen Bokmål, it should also be taught in Bokmål. This is in the best interests of the children and young people. That’s what counts, says Særsland. – It seems very wrong. It’s not Solvor Mowinckel Småkasin’s composition. She was one of those who didn’t like Nynorsk when she went to school, and would rather have it gone. – But then you grow up and gain a bit more perspective in life. I moved to Oslo and studied, and then I suddenly began to realize that Nynorsk is very useful to have with you. Read articles or subjects in Nynorsk and avoid having to spend a lot of energy on it. Solvor Mowinckel Småkasin with children Gisle and Saga who start school in the autumn. Photo: Privat She is grateful for that in retrospect. She thinks life would have looked quite different. In the autumn, her children Gisle and Saga start school. She had a strong desire that they should experience the same and become confident in reading and understanding Nynorsk. – They have taken that opportunity away from me and the children. I think that’s a real shame. Småkasin believes that the municipality and the children are losing a lot for the future. – This feels very wrong. For the future, they lose a lot by not getting that understanding of Nynorsk written language and where we live. Fewer schools with Nynorsk Schools with Nynorsk as the main goal have decreased by 20 per cent in ten years, according to figures from the Directorate of Education. It is also about Nynorsk schools being rural schools that are closed down or merged. The decline nevertheless makes the Language Council uneasy. They see that the change is taking place in areas bordering Bokmål municipalities. – Nynorsk is strong in many places, but is under more pressure in the East. That this is a Telemark municipality is not entirely untypical, said linguist Daniel Ims in the Language Council to news in March.
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Switching from Nynorsk to Bokmål at the children’s school in Hjartdal – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
