1151 | 706 | Standardization and recognition in law of Sámi and Kven place names in Norway | Kaisa Rautio Helander
The Norwegian Place Name Act (Lov om stadnamn) was passed by the National Assembly (Stortinget) for the first time on 18 May 1990 and came into force on 1 July 1991. The other Nordic countries have no similar Place Name Act to that of Norway. In the Act, minority language place names used in Sámi and Kven languages are protected along with place names used in the majority language Norwegian._x000D_
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The Norwegian Place Name Act primarly regulates the spelling of place names in official use, which means that the main purpose of the Act is to standardize the written forms of these place names. In addition to this, the Act regulates also the official use of majority and minority place names._x000D_
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Sámi and Kven place names are gradually gaining greater recognition in official use. Even though the legal basis for official use of minority names is secured through the Place Name Act, the Norwegian model of official recognition still creates a number of difficulties._x000D_
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Although laws and signposting recommendations provide a clear framework for the execution of legislation, the current situation in Norway shows that authorities in all levels of the society still exercise the power in order to maintain a long heritage of toponymic silencing. There are also regional differences regarding recognition of minority place names, and in many areas, official use of minority toponymy is still sporadic._x000D_
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In my paper, I will discuss the challenges connected to the officializing the minority toponymy in Norway. The history of toponymic policy aiming at Norwegianizing the minority place names will also be discussed as a background for the current situation. _x000D_
Kaisa Rautio Helander
Sámi allaskuvla | Sámi University of Applied Sciences
ID Abstract: 706