The New Nordic Lexicon

The New Nordic Lexicon will bring experts and students together in a research-based discussion about society. It will comprise of 50+ Nordic terms and concepts in English & a variety of Nordic languages.

How to get involved

Now is the time for us to ask students and researchers from across the Nordic countries and from Scandinavian Studies around the world to help us choose which terms and concepts should be included. Click on the links below to let us know your views or to find out more about getting involved!

Online survey (now closed)

Fill in our online survey about which terms and concepts should be included: The New Nordic Lexicon - Tell us what you think!

Students

Fancy meeting young people from other Nordic countries and from Scandinvian Studies around the world online to discuss your views? Take the microphone!

Researchers

Please join our consultation, write for us, or get involved with podcasts and films. Click on this link to find out more.

  • For any other queries, please write to nordics.info@cas.au.dk.

The background of the NNL project

What lies behind the words ’flightshame’, ’the people’, ’MeToo’ and ’business vikings’ in a Nordic context? What do ’dugnad’, ’sisu’ and ’mys’ mean? And what relevance do they have in today’s society? The New Nordic Lexicon – written by researchers from across the Nordic countries and beyond – will answer these and other important questions about Nordic society, history and culture.

Clichés often dominate the rhetoric around the Nordic countries, and commercial and political branding can reduce ‘Norden’ to easily understandable messages. Peter Stadius, Research Director of the Centre for Nordic Studies in Helsinki, explains: ”What it means to be ’nordic’ is actually quite complex. It is easy to assume that we know what it means simply by virtue of living in the Nordics, but our experience is often limited to only one or two countries or regions. Our understanding of nordicity is also greatly influenced by how the surrounding world sees us. Research in the social sciences and humanities helps to unpick what 'nordic' means, providing a greater understanding of the Nordic countries and how we can solve societal challenges.”

The New Nordic Lexicon will bring experts from within the social sciences and humanities and students together in a research-based discussion about society. It will comprise of 50+ Nordic terms and concepts in English & a variety of Nordic languages. Students and researchers from across the Nordic countries will help to choose which terms and concepts will be included and their discussions will be shared also via films and podcasts. The lexicon will be launched in 2023.

The NNL partners

The team behind nordics.info at Aarhus University’s School of Culture and Society will coordinate the project with the collaboration of:

The New Nordic Lexicon has kindly been made possible by the support of the A.P. Moller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Moller Foundation (A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal).