Linguistics, which is the scientific study of language form and meaning, has been a prominent academic pursuit in the Nordics since the Middle Ages, including the specialised branch of runology. Runes were a specifically Northern script, carved on stones for memorials, and on wood for everyday communication. There are some unique and interesting features of the Nordic languages which are interesting from a linguistic point of view, like the Danish ‘stød’ (glottal stop), and the Swedish double accentuation (which is why it is sometimes described that it sounds like Swedes are singing).

Is ’Scandinvanian’ a language?

The three Scandinavian languages Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are part of the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European family. From a practical point of view, ‘Scandinavian’ was – and still is – used when many Danish, Norwegian and Swedish people communicate with one another. Young people, however, increasingly resort to English in communication with other Scandinavians. Danes, Norwegians and Swedish speakers can primarily speak their own language, perhaps replacing some words, phrases, or pronouncing things slightly differently, depending on who they are talking to. At meetings of the Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers, for example, and in their documentation, ‘Scandinavian’ can refer to Danish, Norwegian or Swedish, while the other Nordic languages (usually Finnish and Icelandic) are separate.

That said, mutual intelligibility – even between speakers of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish – is not straightforward, but often depends on factors like accent and dialect, among others. It also depends on the degree of exposure: Danes in Copenhagen may hear Swedish regularly, but that is not the case far from the border. Formally, the Helsinki Treaty (the founding document of Nordic cooperation) has included a provision since 1982 that Nordic schools shall include ”an appropriate measure of instruction in the languages, cultures and general social conditions of the other Nordic countries, including the Færoe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands.” (Article 8). This policy is not implemented everywhere, however.

Linguistic variety in the Nordic countries

There is a wide variety of other, smaller languages in the region and tracing their history can provide insight into the indigenous and non-indigenous peoples of the Nordic countries, often reflecting important political and socio-economic contexts of minority groups. Linguistic minorities have existed for centuries, such as the Finns and Sámi in Sweden, but since the 1960s particularly, minority languages have often been associated with immigration. Policies with regard to minority languages have ranged from assimilation on the one hand, where the majority language is a necessity, to multicultural pluralism on the other, where minority languages are encouraged.

Meänkieli and Kven are two languages that both stem from Finnic varieties, that is, the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family, together with Estonian, Ingrian and Karelian. They have no language status in Finland, but are instead usually regarded as Finnish dialects  However, in Sweden and Norway, Meänkieli and Kven are recognised as languages and have the status of national minority languages. Meänkieli was spoken along the shores of the Tornio and Muonio river.

In Southern Denmark, there is a German-speaking minority. The historical duchy of Schleswig, which stretched over the area where the border between the two countries is now, was divided between Germany and Denmark following two plebiscites in 1920. National minorities were left behind on both sides of the border, so a minority of people who live in southern Denmark identify as German and speak German, and a minority of German nationals south of the border identify as Danish and speak Danish. In 1955, the German and Danish governments recognised the minorities in two unilateral declarations.

Immigration has added many new community languages. The oldest of these is Romani, whose history in the Nordic countries appears to go as far back as at least the 1500s. Romani (in different varieties) is a recognised minority language in Sweden, Finland and Norway, but not in Denmark. Another minority language traditionally spoken in Scandinavia was Yiddish, but this is no longer in use today, although it remains a recognised minority language in Sweden.

It was not until the 1960s that large numbers of people speaking non-indigenous languages began to settle in Scandinavia. The long-term linguistic effect of late twentieth- and twenty-first century immigration is difficult to predict. Most probably the immigrant languages will gradually disappear locally, unless continually reinforced from the homeland, but they are likely to leave some traces in the indigenous tongues of the region; indeed such influence has already been reported. For example, ‘Rinkebysvenska’ or Rinkeby Swedish is a contemporary urban vernacular (CUV), which has developed in multi-ethnic urban areas of Sweden including a suburb of Stockholm called Rinkeby. This speech variety is mainly used by young people in addition to other languages and language varieties depending on context, and its use is reflected in rap and fiction. Similar immigrant varieties of the majority language have developed in the major cities of Denmark and Norway as well, and in other cities in Sweden.   

Official policies and economic opportunities, together with cultural pressure to assimilate, can create a language shift away from heritage languages – a term which can encompass both indigenous and non-indigenous languages – towards more dominant ones. Maintaining the language and identity associated with heritage languages in the Nordic countries can therefore be challenging.