Les forces centrípetes i centrífugues que afecten la política lingüística a Escandinàvia

Resum

The present article examines the phenomenon of Scandinavian cooperation since World War II and its effects on language policies implemented in the countries involved. According to the authors, the essence of such cooperation lies in certain centripetal forces resulting from linguistic and cultural similarities between Nordic countries. Most languages spoken in the region are cognates and their degree of intercomprehensibility is considerably high. Exceptions to this situation do not pose serious obstacles to cooperation thanks to bilingual practices in most of these countries. The historical background, the political situation, as well as the current language patterns of the population are analyzed. Another aspect taken into account are the means used in some cases to resist outside influence or to improvise situations of cultural or political inferiority of an autochthonous language. Even in the cases where language similarities are not so obvious, political and cultural connections compensate for such centrifugal factors and contribute to a general sense of cooperation and relatedness. Among these connections, an important common trait worth pointing out is the Scandinavian welfare system, which is based on a comprehensive social security system and on high standards in education. Despite the presence of both centrifugal and centripetal forces affecting Scandinavian cooperation, there exists general consensus to support centrifugal forces in order to strengthen internal Scandinavian ties.