Språkkrönika: the land Borders are often language barriers

the Differences are not, after all, larger than most of the scandinavians with a little good will can understand each other.

What is a language and what is a dialect is generally more an issue for the politicians than for linguists. Often it is borders between countries that work as boundaries between languages and dialects.

In the former Yugoslavia highlighted the linguistic similarities. After the breakup, politicians have seized on the differences in order to emphasize the specificity. The language formerly known as serbo-Croatian is now split into Serbian, Croatian, bosnian and montenegrin.

as a tool for självständighetsrörelser. The mindset goes back to the idea of a private language should be spoken in a country of its own. As argued, for example, many icelanders when the union with Denmark was scrapped. And that's the reasoning many of today's separatists in the canadian Quebec.

During the work with Gustav Vasa's bible scolded he of translators who used the forms he perceived as Danish.

The mellannordiska the understanding of language has long been on the decline. Sweden, Denmark and Norway have not been united since I of denmark ended in 1523. Then there was no one who had a thought to create common standards for spelling and grammar. When tensions between the countries grew after the dissolution of the union, widening also the linguistic gap. During the work with Gustav Vasa's bible scolded he of translators who used the forms he perceived as Danish. When it was published in 1541 had danismerna been cleared out.

as a general rule that Norwegian is quite easy to understand. More people have problems with the Danish. The same pattern is found in Norway. A study from the Norwegian language council shows that 83 per cent of norwegians believe that spoken Swedish is easy to understand. Only 35 percent say that the Danish spoken language does not create any troubles.

The linguistic affinity thus live. But it is doing so-so. Every fifth Norwegian speaking any English in Denmark. In Sweden, it is a Norwegian of twenty who prefer English. And it is, above all, young people choose English. Without the political initiative in the opposite direction, it is a language shift that will become increasingly common.

anders@spraktidningen.se

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