Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature
Encyclopedia
The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature is a Norwegian
learned body on matters pertaining to the Dano-Norwegian language. Its primary role is regulating the written standard known as Riksmål (in English: National Language).
The academy was founded in 1953 by several notable Norwegian
authors and poets, among them Arnulf Øverland
, Sigurd Hoel
, A.H. Winsnes, Cora Sandel
and Francis Bull
. They disagreed with the official language policy
aiming to merge Bokmål
with Nynorsk
and protested against what they called state discrimination against the dominant Norwegian written standard Riksmål. This was Norway's de facto written language, used by most large newspapers and by the majority of the population as a written standard (although not necessarily a spoken one). The Academy was modelled after the Swedish Academy
and the French Academy
.
In addition to regulating Riksmål, the most conservative and Danish
-near form of Norwegian, the academy publishes dictionaries and supports the publishing of literature in Riksmål.
The Academy has 44 members, each of whom is a specialist in miscellaneous areas of analysis, investigation and expertise. These include Nordic studies, German, English and French languages and literature, history, philosophy, law, political science, poetry et cetera. The President of the Academy is Nils Heyerdahl, former Head of Radio Drama in NRK, and the Presidium also consists of Tor Guttu, Associate Professor of Nordic languages and deputy chairman of the Riksmål Society, as well as Per Qvale, translator, Karin Gundersen, professor of French Literature and Helene Uri, linguist and author.
The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature was represented, along with other non-governmental language organisations, in the Norwegian Language Council
, which regulates the official Bokmål and Nynorsk languages, since its establishment in 1972 until it was reorganized in 2005.
In 1981, the Academy merged with Riksmålsvernet, founded in 1919.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
learned body on matters pertaining to the Dano-Norwegian language. Its primary role is regulating the written standard known as Riksmål (in English: National Language).
The academy was founded in 1953 by several notable Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
authors and poets, among them Arnulf Øverland
Arnulf Øverland
Ole Peter Arnulf Øverland was a Norwegian author born in Kristiansund and raised in Bergen. His works include Berget det blå and Hustavler .-Life:...
, Sigurd Hoel
Sigurd Hoel
Sigurd Hoel was a Norwegian author and publishing consultant, born in Nord-Odal. He debuted with the collection of short stories Veien vi gaar in 1922...
, A.H. Winsnes, Cora Sandel
Cora Sandel
Cora Sandel was the pen name of Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius, a Norwegian writer and painter who lived most of her life abroad. Her most famous works are the novels now known as the Alberta Trilogy.-Biography:Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius was born in Kristiania...
and Francis Bull
Francis Bull
Francis Bull was a Norwegian literary historian, professor at the University of Oslo for more than thirty years, essayist and speaker, and magazine editor.-Early and personal life:...
. They disagreed with the official language policy
Language policy
Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
aiming to merge Bokmål
Bokmål
Bokmål is one of two official Norwegian written standard languages, the other being Nynorsk. Bokmål is used by 85–90% of the population in Norway, and is the standard most commonly taught to foreign students of the Norwegian language....
with Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
and protested against what they called state discrimination against the dominant Norwegian written standard Riksmål. This was Norway's de facto written language, used by most large newspapers and by the majority of the population as a written standard (although not necessarily a spoken one). The Academy was modelled after the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
and the French Academy
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
.
In addition to regulating Riksmål, the most conservative and Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
-near form of Norwegian, the academy publishes dictionaries and supports the publishing of literature in Riksmål.
The Academy has 44 members, each of whom is a specialist in miscellaneous areas of analysis, investigation and expertise. These include Nordic studies, German, English and French languages and literature, history, philosophy, law, political science, poetry et cetera. The President of the Academy is Nils Heyerdahl, former Head of Radio Drama in NRK, and the Presidium also consists of Tor Guttu, Associate Professor of Nordic languages and deputy chairman of the Riksmål Society, as well as Per Qvale, translator, Karin Gundersen, professor of French Literature and Helene Uri, linguist and author.
The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature was represented, along with other non-governmental language organisations, in the Norwegian Language Council
Norwegian Language Council
The Norwegian Language Council was the regulation authority for the Norwegian language. It has been superseded by The Language Council of Norway .The council had 38 members, and created lists of acceptable word forms...
, which regulates the official Bokmål and Nynorsk languages, since its establishment in 1972 until it was reorganized in 2005.
In 1981, the Academy merged with Riksmålsvernet, founded in 1919.
Members
The following are current members of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature:- John Ole Askedal
- Bodil Aurstad
- Kjetil Bang-HansenKjetil Bang-HansenKjetil Bang-Hansen is a Norwegian actor, dancer, stage producer and theatre director.-Early and personal life:Bang-Hansen was born in Oslo as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and choreographer Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967...
- Liv Bliksrud
- Tor Bomann-LarsenTor Bomann-LarsenTor Bomann-Larsen is a Norwegian illustrator, children's writer, non-fiction writer and novelist. He started his career as a satirical illustrator for various newspapers, including Friheten, Ny tid, Dagbladet, Nationen and Arbederbladet...
- Fredrik Bull-HansenFredrik Bull-HansenFredrik Bull-Hansen is a Norwegian military officer, a General in the Norwegian Army. He served as Chief of Defence of Norway from 1984 to 1987....
- Bentein BaardsonBentein BaardsonBentein Baardson is Norwegian actor, instructor and theatre director.Bentein Baardson graduated from Teaterhøyskolen in 1975. He has set up plays at a number of theatres, including Nationaltheatret, Det Norske Teatret, Den Nationale Scene and Agder Teater...
- Lars Saabye ChristensenLars Saabye ChristensenLars Saabye Christensen, born 21 September 1953 in Oslo, is a Norwegian author.Saabye Christensen was raised in the Skillebekk neighbourhood of Oslo, but lived for many years in Sortland in northern Norway; both places play a major role in his work...
- Liv DommersnesLiv DommersnesLiv Dommersnes is a Norwegian actress and reciter of poetry. She was a member of group that founded Studioteatret in 1945.-Early and personal life:...
- Arnold EidslottArnold EidslottArnold Olav Eidslott is a Norwegian poet.He was born in Ålesund, and worked as a telegraphic engineer for the whole of his working life. Since 1986 he has been the poet laureate....
- Thor FalkangerThor FalkangerThor Falkanger is a retired Norwegian professor of law.He was born in Bergen as a son of district stipendiary magistrate Aage Thor Falkanger, Sr. and Haldis Brun . He grew up in Flekkefjord, and took the cand.jur. degree at the University of Oslo in 1958. He took the dr.juris degree in 1968 on...
- Ivo de FigueiredoIvo de FigueiredoIvo de Figueiredo is a Norwegian historian, biographer and literary critic.He was awarded the Brage Prize in 2002, for a biography of Johan Bernhard Hjort. He has written several books on Henrik Ibsen and his works.-References:...
- Lise FjeldstadLise FjeldstadLise Barbra Skappel Fjeldstad is a Norwegian actress, and daughter of the conductor and violinist Øivin Fjeldstad. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1963, and immediately started working at Det Norske Teatret...
- Dagfinn FøllesdalDagfinn FøllesdalDagfinn Føllesdal is the Clarence Irving Lewis Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University, and professor emeritus at the University of Oslo....
- Karin Gundersen
- Tor Guttu
- Erik Fosnes HansenErik Fosnes HansenErik Fosnes Hansen is a Norwegian writer.He was born in New York, and made his debut at age twenty with the novel Falketårnet. His most famous work is his second novel, Psalm at Journey's End, which in separate but steadily more interwoven stories follows the individual musicians that end their...
- Håkon Harket
- Per Egil HeggePer Egil HeggePer Egil Hegge is a Norwegian journalist.He was born in Trondheim as a son of two teachers from Skatval. He started his career in the Norwegian News Agency, and was hired in Aftenposten in 1962 and remained there for the rest of his career...
- Nils Heyerdahl
- Carsten HopstockCarsten HopstockCarsten Henrik Hopstock is a Norwegian curator and historian.He was born in Kragerø as a son of pharmacist Frantz Philip Hopstock and Lilly Haanshus . He graduated from the University of Oslo with the mag.art. degree in 1953, majoring in art history and minoring in history and archaeology...
- Roy JacobsenRoy JacobsenRoy Jacobsen is a Norwegian novelist and short-story writer. Born in Oslo, he made his publishing début in 1982 with the short-story collection Fangeliv , which won Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris...
- Christian Janss
- Anine KierulfAnine KierulfAnine Kierulf is a Norwegian lawyer and research fellow at the University of Oslo Law School, Norway. Her research area is the evolution of national free speech doctrines through judicial review, with a focus on the constitutionalizing elements of the European Convention on Human Rights.Kierulf...
- Knut KleveKnut KleveKnut Kleve is a Norwegian classical philologist and a former professor at the University of Bergen and at the University of Oslo. He is particularly known for his efforts on restoration of papyrus fragments from the ancient Roman town Herculaneum.-Personal life:Kleve was born in Oslo, the son of...
- Egil KraggerudEgil KraggerudEgil Kraggerud is a Norwegian philologist.He was born in Hemnes as a son of dentist John Kraggerud and teacher Borghild Johanne Westeren . He took the examen artium at Oslo Cathedral School in 1957, and studied classical philology for five years at the University of Oslo...
- Sissel Lange-NielsenSissel Lange-NielsenSissel Lange-Nielsen is a Norwegian writer, literary critic, and journalist. She won the Riksmål Society Literature Prize in 1982.She is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.-References:...
- Lars Roar LangsletLars Roar LangsletLars Roar Langslet was Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs in 1981, and Minister of Culture and Science 1982-1986 for the Conservative Party....
- Jørn Lund (korresponderende)
- Helge Nordahl
- William NygaardWilliam NygaardWilliam Nygaard is a retired Norwegian publisher who graduated with a degree in economics in 1967. He is also chairman of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.-Business career:...
- Kjell Arild PollestadKjell Arild PollestadFr. Kjell Arild Pollestad is a Norwegian author, essayist, translator, theologian, philologist, Catholic priest and Dominican....
- Per Qvale
- Arthur O. Sandved
- Francis SejerstedFrancis SejerstedFrancis Sejersted is a Norwegian history professor and former chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.Sejersted was educated in history as well as nordic language and literature at the University of Oslo and achieved a candidatus philologiæ in 1965 and a doctorate in 1973.From 1971 to 1973...
- Hilde Sejersted
- Ole Michael Selberg
- Rune SlagstadRune SlagstadRune Slagstad is a Norwegian historian, philosopher and legal theorist. In addition to professional work, he has since the late sixties contributed actively to public debate on a variety of issues.- Biography :...
- Kristian Smidt
- Eilif StraumeEilif StraumeEilif Straume is a Norwegian writer and critic.He holds the cand.philol. degree, and has worked as a high school teacher in Eidsvoll and at Stavanger Cathedral School. He is also known from his time in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He was also a consultant for Fjernsynsteatret and a...
- Henrik Syse
- Jan Jakob TønsethJan Jakob TønsethJan Jakob Tønseth is a Norwegian author, poet and translator.Tønseth debuted as a poet with the poetry collection Kimærer in 1971, when he was only 24 years of age...
- Helene Uri
- Finn-Erik VinjeFinn-Erik VinjeFinn-Erik Vinje is a Norwegian philologist. He was a professor at the University of Trondheim from 1971 to 1975, and at the University of Oslo from 1975 to 2006. He was a language consultant for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1971 to 1992. He has written several books on...
- Gunnar Christie WasbergGunnar Christie WasbergGunnar Christie Wasberg is Norwegian librarian and non-fiction writer.He was born in Brunlanes, and took his doctorate at Uppsala University in 1963, with the thesis Forsvarstanke og suverenitetsprinsipp. From 1967 to 1989 he was the prime librarian at the University Library of Oslo. He has...
- Egil A. Wyller
- Vigdis YstadVigdis YstadVigdis Ystad is a Norwegian literary historian. She was born in Verdal, and was married to fellow literary historian Daniel Haakonsen. Her thesis from 1974 was on the poetry of Kristofer Uppdal. She has later published several works on Henrik Ibsen. She was appointed professor at the University...
- Asbjørn Aarnes