If Denmark is trying to attract more internationals and more foreign companies, not everyone seems to think the same way. There are also those who think that the government should actively do something to defend the language by law, discouraging the use of English.
To the point that it should not be used — or at least, it should be countered — in research or public services.
This is the proposal of Dansk Folkeparti, the populist far-right party of the country, currently holding 7 seats in the Folketinget, which has presented a bill that will be voted on today in parliament.
What is the proposal about? Here’s the text:
“The Folketing instructs the government to present a proposal for a Danish language law. The purpose is to ensure a coherent Danish language policy that contributes to strengthening and developing the Danish language as a complete and society-bearing language.
The law must counteract the diminishing significance of the Danish language. Through the law, it must be ensured that Danish is used in as many contexts as possible and does not give way to English, etc., within research and all forms of education — from kindergarten to PhD level — in business and in public administration.
The main foundations of the language law are the recommendations that have been presented over the years by the Language Committee (Sprogudvalget) and the Danish Language Council (Dansk Sprognævn), and reference may also be made to the guidelines set out in this proposal.”
Does this proposal – that follows a similar one, presented by DF ten years ago – have any chance of being approved? No.
The answer from the minister
You can easily see this by the comment of the Culture Minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, from the Moderates: “That’s a no from me. I share the intention: We must protect the Danish language! However, I cannot support the proposal. Preserving the Danish language is important, and I have even entertained the idea of a dedicated language law, inspired by the Norwegian model. But I’ve personally come to the conclusion that our society does not improve by asking a bunch of academics to sit around inventing (potentially silly) Danish versions of foreign words.”
The minister continues: “Especially not at a time when we are struggling with growing government bureaucracy and trying to create fewer rules and cut down on complicated red tape for citizens. The question is also: do Danes really want to start calling an iPad a ‘Nettbrett,’ or a computer a ‘datamaskin,’ as Norway’s Language Council insists, for example? In fact, the Danish People’s Party goes even further and proposes what might be the wildest tax I’ve heard in a long time: a fee on advertisements with foreign words. Yes, you read that right! A literal language tax. It’s mind-boggling!”
An open topic
Even if the discards the proposals, Jakob Engel-Schmidt says that the topic exists, and should be addressed: “I will present a smarter alternative – but feel free to share your input in this thread.”
The minister is not the only one who says so. The Conservative People’s Party recently made a proposal named “Proposal for a parliamentary resolution to strengthen and develop the Danish language through the adoption of a Danish language law.”
For a share of the population, the problem exists. According to a survey by NORDSTAT, commissioned by Sune Steffen Hansen and published by The Copenhagen Post, around 40% of the Danish population is uncomfortable with English replacing Danish in their daily life, and this share reaches around half of the interviewed people over 45 years old.
You can read more about it here:
Read also: More Danes are uncomfortable with English replacing Danish in daily life
