Language Research

GERMAN

Approximately 20,000 people in Nord-Schleswig (which has a total population of about 250,000) speak German as a mother tongue and the language of cultural identification. A large proportion of the majority population masters German due to the proximity of the border.

There is not a great public presence for the language. The language is not used on official notices, in official documents or in the courts. Knowledge of German is not required for employment in the public service.

German is taught as a foreign language in all Danish schools in the region. In Nordschleswig some pupils attend private German schools where German is used as the language of instruction and Danish is taught as a subject. Within the act for private schools funding comes from several different sources. The schools are partially funded by the Danish government and local authorities as well as through subsidies from the German Federal government. Teachers may, on a voluntary basis, attend professional training courses in Denmark or Germany.

There are no television or radio stations broadcasting exclusively in German. There are, however, several bilingual cross-border programs in which German and Danish are used according to the subject matter. It is also possible to receive programs broadcast by German radio and TV channels. There is one German-language daily newspaper covering both regional and international news.

The Schleswigsche Partei has been the political representation of the German minority since 1920.

SCHOOLS

Mother tongue instruction is provided in approximately 35 languages. The most common are: Turkish, Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Albanian, Persian, Somali, Tamil, Vietnamese, Finnish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Polish, Russian and Chinese. A municipality must establish mother tongue instruction if a minimum of 12 pupils, who reside in the municipality, request it. In case of insufficient demand, pupils must be referred to another municipality in the same county.

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Updated (April 2001)

GREENLAND

Under the law in Greenland the principal language is Greenlandic (kalaallisut). It belongs to the East-Inuit language family and is closely related to the Inuit language in Canada and Alaska. Both Greenlandic and Danish can be used in public administration while English is the third language.

The Home Rule Act provides that Danish is taught comprehensively in primary schools. However, growing interest has caused that although ten years ago 60% of pupils were registered as Danish-speaking and only 40% as Greenlandic-speaking today, the situation is opposite.

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