Vol 9 (2026): Coherence and Fragmentation: The Languages of the Nordic Countries and Their Interrelations Today

This volume presents five contributions by leading scholars of Nordic linguistics and literature exploring three fundamental aspects of the current linguistic landscape in the Nordic region and in contemporary Nordic literature: 1) receptive multilingualism, specifically the asymmetry in mutual intelligibility between Danish and Swedish; 2) English as an everyday language and its impact on the Nordic language community and on young people’s ability to use their respective national language correctly; and 3) literary multilingualism. Grounded in close readings and exploratory case studies, these articles illustrate the coexistence of a plurality of languages on both societal and individual levels. They demonstrate that while the Nordic language community faces new challenges, it still exhibits remarkable coherence, and that new forms of mutual intelligibility between these languages may be evolving today.