Denmark - September 2023

On 21 September, the Presidium of the Parliament announced that speeches in Greenlandic and Faroese are permitted in the Parliament’s chamber, if the speech is translated to Danish afterwards. To facilitate the translation, funds will be provided for parliamentarians to hire interpreters. Further, the Parliament website alongside records of relevant debates will be translated and all parliamentary staff will receive training in the two regions’ histories, cultures and politics. The decision comes after Danish-Greenlandic parliamentarian Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam spoke in Greenlandic during a debate in May, sparking discussion on the language policy of the Parliament. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are autonomous territories within the Kingdom of Denmark, which classifies Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese as official languages. The decision is widely supported among lawmakers, although some hoped for the introduction of simultaneous interpretation, as is done in the Greenlandic parliament.

Sources: DR, Euractiv, Danish Parliament