Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Preface
- Map of Norway
- 1 Land and people, language and language planning
- PART I THE NATIONALIST PERIOD, 1814–1917
- 2 Before the start of language planning: 1814–45
- 3 A language based on upper-middle-class speech or peasant dialects? The programmes proposed by Knud Knudsen and Ivar Aasen
- 4 The language question becomes a major political issue: 1860–1907
- 5 Two Norwegian written standards: is linguistic reconciliation possible? Early twentieth century up to the 1917 language reforms
- PART II THE SOCIOPOLITICAL PERIOD, 1917–66
- PART III FROM A SINGLE-STANDARD TO A TWO-STANDARD STRATEGY
- References
- List of terms of language varieties
- Timeline for the different written varieties of Norwegian
- Timeline of important events for language planning and conflict in modern Norway
- Index
4 - The language question becomes a major political issue: 1860–1907
from PART I - THE NATIONALIST PERIOD, 1814–1917
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- Preface
- Map of Norway
- 1 Land and people, language and language planning
- PART I THE NATIONALIST PERIOD, 1814–1917
- 2 Before the start of language planning: 1814–45
- 3 A language based on upper-middle-class speech or peasant dialects? The programmes proposed by Knud Knudsen and Ivar Aasen
- 4 The language question becomes a major political issue: 1860–1907
- 5 Two Norwegian written standards: is linguistic reconciliation possible? Early twentieth century up to the 1917 language reforms
- PART II THE SOCIOPOLITICAL PERIOD, 1917–66
- PART III FROM A SINGLE-STANDARD TO A TWO-STANDARD STRATEGY
- References
- List of terms of language varieties
- Timeline for the different written varieties of Norwegian
- Timeline of important events for language planning and conflict in modern Norway
- Index
Summary
Political developments from 1845 to 1905
The main political issues in Norway in the second half of the nineteenth century were the troubled relationship with Sweden – leading ultimately to the dissolution of their union in 1905 – followed by the change to parliamentary rule, together with an increase in the number of people given the right to vote in local and national elections (in 1897 suffrage was extended to all men, and in 1913 to all women). Political parties were slow to emerge in Norway as compared with other European countries. The Liberal Party (Venstre/‘Left’, which was against the union with Sweden) and the Conservative Party (Høire/‘Right’) were both established in 1884, and the Labour Party followed in 1887.
However, the Labour movement had much earlier origins. Inspired partly by the 1848 wave of revolutions in Europe, the Norwegian teacher, journalist and author Marcus Thrane (1817–90) initiated a protest movement in 1849 which was supported by working-class people in large parts of the country. At its peak, the movement consisted of almost 400 local associations with a total membership of close to 30,000. Thrane himself was arrested in 1851 and was convicted of being involved in subversive activities. He spent seven years in jail. Having their leader incarcerated shortened the local organisations' lifespan, but the Labour movement and Labour Party continued to take their inspiration from Thrane's movement (Bjørklund 1970; Pryser 1993).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Language Planning as a Sociolinguistic ExperimentThe Case of Modern Norwegian, pp. 57 - 76Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2014