Dansk Sprognævn ( "Danish Language Council") is the official regulatory body of the
Danish language
Danish (, ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are a ...
as a part of the
Danish Ministry of Culture and is located in
Bogense
Bogense () is a town in central Denmark, located on Funen in Nordfyn municipality, Region of Southern Denmark. The town has a population of 4,019 (1 January 2025). With its half-timbered houses, narrow streets and large marina, it is a popular t ...
. It was established in 1955. The committee has three main objectives:
* to follow the development of the language
* to answer inquiries about the Danish language and its use
* to update the official Danish dictionary, ''
Retskrivningsordbogen''
The working members of the committee follow written and broadcast media, read books to keep track of new words and record their usage. New words which have appeared enough in print and speech to be considered notable are added to ''Retskrivningsordbogen'', which all government institutions and schools are obliged by law to follow.
The committee receives some 14,000 inquiries by phone or mail each year about the Danish language, half of them from private companies, but also by private citizens.
Dansk Sprognævn cooperates on a daily basis with its equivalents in the other
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n countries, the
Swedish and
Norwegian Language Council
The Language Council of Norway (, ) is the administrative body of the Norwegian state on language issues. It regulates the two written forms of the Norwegian language: Bokmål and Nynorsk. It was established in 2005 and replaced the Norwegian Lan ...
s, to make sure that the three
Mainland Scandinavian languages, which are more or less mutually intelligible, do not diverge more than necessary from one another.
See also
*
Language policy
Language policy is both an interdisciplinary academic field and implementation of ideas about language use.
Some scholars such as Joshua Fishman and Ofelia García consider it as part of sociolinguistics. On the other hand, other scholars such as ...
References
External links
Official siteDanish Ministry of CultureThe legislation that regulates the objectives and the statutes of Dansk Sprognævn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dansk Sprognaevn
1955 establishments in Denmark
Sprognaevn
Language regulators
Danish language