A lecture about the Nynorsk language takes place

On the evening of February 6, when representatives from the Norwegian Museum of Written Culture in Norway visited House of Languages, a lecture Preservation and development of a lesser-used language: Nynorsk case in Norway was held in English. It was led by Tone Slenes, general manager of the The Norwegian Museum of Written Culture, and the lecture gathered many interested visitors.

At the beginning of the lecture, Hilde Berit Eide, adviser on cultural, political and economic issues of the Norwegian Embassy, introduced the audience to the operation and results of the European Economic Area financial instrument and the Norwegian financial instrument in Latvia.

The main issues discussed in the lecture concerned the activities carried out at the Norwegian Museum of Written Culture to spread the Nynorsk language and further ensure its legal status. It was also discussed how Norway as a country treats the languages used in it, what laws regulate the status of lesser-used languages and how state institutions treat the Nynorsk language. The attendees of the lecture also wanted to find out what exactly the Nynorsk language is, how it differs from the more widely used written language in Norway, Bokmål, how the New Norwegian language came into being, etc. The discussion with the audience took an hour and was very informative, confirming that the issue of lesser-used languages is also relevant in Latvia.

Thanks to all interested listeners!

Context: In 2021, in cooperation with the Latgalian cultural movement Volūda and the Nynorsk kultursentrum (Norway) the Language Museum Association started to implement the project “Exhibition on Latgalian and Nynorsk: cooperation and experience creating modern digital solutions”, which will result in the virtual exhibition Linguapolis about the Latgalian and Nynorsk in 2023. The implementation of the project is financed by the Fund for Bilateral Relations of the EEA and Norway grants 2014-2021.

More about the project and involved organizations: Exhibition on Latgalian and Nynorsk: cooperation and experience creating modern digital solutions.