Language Research

Updated (July 2007)

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK - A COUNTRY WITHOUT OFFICIAL LANGUAGE LAW

The Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark) is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries. It consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and a large number of islands. It also encompasses two offshore territories, Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, both enjoying autonomous status as "a distinct community within the Kingdom of Denmark".

The language of Denmark is Danish. It is not defined as the official language in the Constitution or in any other legal document, but it is, practically, the only language used in public life within the country. In the autonomous territories, Danish enjoys equality with the Faeroese and Greenlandic languages (in the Faeroe Islands and Greenland respectively) under the terms of the Home Rule Acts and is a compulsory school subject there. The Greenland Home Rule Act (1978) stipulates, for example: "Greenlandic shall be the principal language. Danish must be thoroughly taught. Either language may be used for official purposes."

With regard to ethnic groups living on Danish territory, the only officially recognized minority is German, settled at the Danish-German border in South Jutland¹. This is the result of historical developments - the area has been under alternating Danish and German rule for years. The existing border dates from 1920 as an outcome of World War I.

Current policy is based on the 1955 Copenhagen-Bonn Declarations, a bilateral agreement between Denmark and Germany that indicates in nearly the same words in both languages how each side intends to treat the minority on their national territory. Denmark secured the position of the German minority politically by guaranteeing its members full and equal access to the rights and liberties accorded to all Danish citizens. The Copenhagen Declaration is of particular importance with regard to the use of German in the country. Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Declaration provides that members of the German-speaking minority and their organizations may not be hindered from speaking and writing the language of their choice in public places². However, German is seldom used in public administration. Denmark is officially monolingual.

The German minority has been able to maintain its identity as a distinct national group in Denmark due to the increasing cross-border cooperation and the material and other support provided by the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and the Federal Republic of Germany. Moreover, the ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages by Denmark has secured the status of the German minority and their respective language. Even though German is officially recognized and supported within the minority area, it has no official status guaranteed by the Danish law.

The German minority is estimated to be of 15,000 - 20,000, most of whom have Danish nationality and are fluent in both German and Danish. German speakers reside mainly in the southern and western parts of the South Jutland County (in Danish, Sønderjyllands Amt)³, where they constitute between 5 and 20 percent of the population in some local authority areas. They run their own private schools and a wide spectrum of social and cultural institutions, which are accepted by the Danish government.

In private German schools, German is used as a teaching medium and Danish is taught as a subject. In compliance with the Act for Private Schools, these schools are partially funded by the Danish government and local authorities as well as through subsidies from the German Federal government.

The German-speaking minority in Denmark is officially represented by the "Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger" organization and its political party "the Schleswigsche Partei" as well as by the "Deutscher Schul- und Sprachverein für Nordschleswig" ("German School and Language Association for North Schleswig"), all of which actively promote German language and culture among the minority. Furthermore, Liaison Committee, a forum allowing representatives of the German minority to negotiate domestic policy affairs with the government and parliament, was set up in 1965. Similarly, in 1983, the Secretariat of the German-speaking minority was established in Copenhagen to represent the interests of the community vis-à-vis the Parliament and the Danish government⁴.

In general, there have not been any real problems between this minority and the majority population since the German-Danish Agreements of 1955. Previous conflicts have been overcome, and the German minority in Denmark is a good example of the peaceful co-existence between minorities and majorities in Europe.

Sources:

1. Mercator-Education, Minority Language Factsheets - Denmark, http://www.mercator-education.org/minority-languages/eu-minorities/denmark

2. The European Commission official website, The Euromosaic Study - German in Denmark, http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/langmin/euromosaic/da1_en.html

3. The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Official Denmark publication, http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap1/1-8.asp

4. Kodron, Ch. "German Minorities outside German-speaking Countries: Some Historical Aspects and Considerations" http://www.dipf.de/publikationen/volltexte/vortrag_kodron_valencia_1999.pdf

5. Herslund, M. "Language Policy and Language Policies" In: Sprogforum No.19, Journal of Language and Culture Pedagogics, February 2001 http://www.inet.dpb.dpu.dk

6. Second Periodical Report presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter, April 26, 2006 http://www.coe.int/

7. Report of the Committee of Experts on the application of the Charter in Denmark, May 26, 2004 http://www.coe.int/

1. The term "North Schleswig" is also used.

2. According to the Report of the Committee of Experts on the application of the Charter in Denmark, the minority is sometimes requested not to speak German when approaching administrative authorities or the authorities refuse to accept documents in German - they refer to the fact that the German minority speaks and understands Danish perfectly.

3. Since 1 January 2007, the South Jutland County is part of the South Denmark Region (Region Syddanmark). It is an administrative region of Denmark established as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties ("amter") with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 271 to 98.

4. For example, the leader of the secretariat has among other things participated as a member of the official Danish delegation at international meetings relevant to minority issues.

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