‘Et Skriftsprog gjør sig ikke selv’. Metacommentaar op het taalplanningsproces in Vlaanderen en Noorwegen in de 19e eeuw ‘van binnenuit’: Den Ny-Norske Sprog- og Nationalitetsbevœgelse (1877) van Arne Garborg als casestudy

Abstract

‘ Et Skriftsprog gjør sig ikke selv’. Meta-comments on the language planning process in 19th century Flanders and Norway : Arne Garborg’s Den Ny-Norske Sprog-og Nationalitetsbevægelse (1877) as a casestudy The research presented in this article is part of a larger comparative sociolinguistic project on the history of the language standardization of Norwegian (in Norway) and Southern Dutch (in Flanders) during the long 19th century (1794-1917). I discuss the views of Arne Garborg (1851-1924), one of the foremost Nynorsk-defenders in the language debate. This Norwegian author published a programmatic collection of essays, entitled Den ny-norske sprog-og nationalitetsbevægelse : Et forsøg paa en omfattende redegjørelse, formet som polemiske sendebreve til modstræverne (1877). In this work he systematically presents his views on language planning processes, both as a general principle and applied to the Norwegian case. Garborg also introduces a comparative European perspective in his discussion. Garborg’s comparison of the Norwegian and Belgian language struggle will be discussed in detail. This article presents a selection and an analysis of the language planningrelated sections in Den ny-norske sprog-og nationalitetsbevægelse, but also tries to discuss these views in the light of present-day insights in the linguistic historiography of Norwegian and Southern Dutch. We finally try to connect Garborg’s views to present-day language planning theories.