In Norway, we have two written languages. Nynorsk and Bokmål. The Language Act must ensure that government bodies use at least 25 per cent of both written languages. But a recent report shows that it is poorly maintained. None of the ministries in government can do this. Do you write Nynorsk or Bokmål? Nynorsk Bokmål Show result Only one body does what it is supposed to Every year the Language Council checks how the state follows up its own language policy. Why? Everyone who has anything to do with the Norwegian language should become familiar with both Nynorsk and Bokmål. The Language Council has now completed a new report for 2022. The result? Almost without exception, Nynorsk is neglected quite strongly. The percentage of Nynorsk on the websites of selected ministries and their underlying bodies: – The situation we have today, where only one state body met all the requirements last year, is how it has been for many years. It is nothing new. We actually see very little progress from year to year, says head of section in the Language Council Margrethe Kvarenes. Out of 15 ministries and 157 subordinate state bodies, as well as the Prime Minister’s office, there is only one state body that meets the requirement: Section chief Margrethe Kvarenes in the Language Council says the reason is that little Nynorsk is compiled. Photo: Moment Studio Lack of knowledge and unwillingness Over time, the Language Council has noticed that the bodies under the ministry are bad at following the regulations. According to the report, many of them seem to lack the will to follow up on the legislation. Peder Lofnes Hauge is the leader of Norges Mållag. He believes the situation is very serious. – This shows that the government must take drastic measures. We have a long way to go to get the state to follow its own language rules. Norges Mållag has long believed that the law should have sanctions. – It must hurt to break the law, says Peder Lognes Hauge. Photo: Kristianne Marøy – Why is it so difficult for the ministries and state bodies to follow the legislation, and especially this with texts in Nynorsk? – It is a combination of a lack of knowledge and ill will, answers Hauge and adds: – Language policy in state bodies is a leadership responsibility, and we have far too many state leaders who are neither able nor able to follow the law. Some are even so arrogant that they don’t care. Is it bad will, or do they just not get it done? Graphics: Egil Ursin / news – What can the government bodies do better? – Courses and facilitation. The leaders can take the lead as linguistic role models, adopt Nynorsk, encourage the use of Nynorsk. Hauge emphasizes that they can also learn from other bodies that master Nynorsk and put in the work to reach the goal. Some of the findings from the report: The Language Council has examined 15 ministries, 157 subordinate state bodies and the Prime Minister’s office in the inspection report. Here are some of the findings: Almost no state body fulfills all the requirements in the regulations. As in 2021, only the Norwegian Media Authority fulfills all requirements. No ministry fulfills all the requirements in the regulations, but the Ministry of Children and Families and the Ministry of Local Government and Districts stand out with good results for language exchange. Eight out of 157 subordinate state bodies meet the requirement of at least 25% of each written language on their websites. If we only look at HTML content that the organizations created new for the websites in 2022, 13 of them meet the requirement. In four of the 157 subordinate state bodies, the Nynorsk percentage on the websites has increased by more than 5 percentage points from 2021 to 2022. In nine of the 157 subordinate state bodies, the Nynorsk percentage on the websites has decreased by more than 5 percentage points from 2021 to 2022. It seems to be easier for the state bodies to fulfill the language exchange requirement in social media than on the websites. Quite a few organizations meet the requirement in one or more social media. Seven organizations that have had so-called parallel websites have changed to pages with switching between Bokmål and Nynorsk. Eight bodies still have parallel websites. The achievement of targets in the subordinate bodies appears to a certain extent to be connected with the achievement of targets in the superior ministry. The threshold will be high The experts believe that there is both little knowledge and little will. Nord University is one of the state bodies that has done the worst. They believe that it is not about will, but about knowledge. – Nord University has, however, failed to meet the requirement of 25 per cent use of both target forms, even though this is something we have high on our agenda, writes communications manager Andreas Førde at Nord University. SLIT: Nord University is far from the requirement of 25 per cent Nynorsk. Photo: Bente H. Johansen – One of the main reasons for this probably lies in the fact that there are few employees who use Nynorsk as a written language on a daily basis, and that the threshold is therefore high for many. Førde emphasizes that they are not at all satisfied with coming out badly. – Therefore, this is something I am tackling in order to get better. Among other things, we set a requirement for a minimum of 25 per cent Nynorsk on the matters we publish in our communication channels, and lower the threshold for employees by acquiring a digital tool that can translate text from Bokmål into Nynorsk. – We must stick to the language requirements that have been set, so we are only forced to prioritize spending time on this in order to close, says Førde at Nord University. Graphics: Egil Ursin / news English hinders Nynorsk Another actor who is also struggling to meet the requirement of 25 per cent Nynorsk is the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority. In a letter to the Language Council, the Civil Aviation Authority has explained that they have an additional challenge, namely English. – As you can see from our letter, I have an additional challenge in that I and the rest of the aviation industry pay a lot of attention to English. It is the international aviation language, to put it simply, says Håvard Vikheim, director of communications. PLANNED MEETING: Håvard Vikheim in the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority says they are taking it seriously, and will now meet the Language Council – to get advice. Photo: Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority He emphasizes that they must act in accordance with Norwegian law. It will still be more difficult because they take care of three languages. – We have prioritized reaching our users in order to come out with relevant insurance information first and foremost, and then we have prioritized Bokmål and English first. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority has now arranged a meeting with the language council on 3 October. Head of section Margrethe Kvarenes is going there. She is happy that they are taking this seriously. These are the best No ministry meets all the requirements in the regulations, but the Ministry of Children and Families and the Ministry of Local Government and Districts stand out with good results. Both ministries are the ones that come closest to fulfilling all the requirements to use both Nynorsk and Bokmål. – In order to achieve a positive development in the use of Nynorsk, we are ambitious and plan for a much higher percentage of Nynorsk than the minimum requirement in the Language Act of 25 per cent, says Christoffer Sandvik Engelsøy – department director in the section for security and coordination in the Administration Department in the Ministry of Local Government and Districts . According to him, they are working long-term to develop and improve the Nynorsk knowledge of the employees in the ministry, among other things by offering courses in Nynorsk. – We have great faith that we will be able to meet the requirements in the years to come by continuing with the work we are doing now. We see that the effort so far is paying off, and now we must make sure to keep up the pressure in this work. But does he believe that the ministry will be able to achieve the goal in the long term? – Little by little, with steady work and good advice. And then we must mention that this is the legislation, it is not optional if you want to follow the law. So I have faith that I will get there.
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Almost no state body meets the Nynorsk requirement – news Nordland
