The status of Älvdalska

The plan gives Sweden a special responsibility to strengthen indigenous people's and national minorities' rights to identity, language and cultural heritage, seen in light of the state's historical injustices. An investigation into Älvdalen's status and the possibility of recognizing it as a minority or regional language is an application of that commitment. The plan does not mention Älvdalen, so the position is derived.

• minorities' language rightsdecisive»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“national minorities' rights to identity, language, cultural heritage”
• special responsibility for minorities»Sverige har en särskild uppgift att stärka urfolks och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has a special responsibility to strengthen indigenous peoples and”
• historical injustices»Den svenska staten har genom historien utsatt urfolk och nationella« (party programme ↗)“The Swedish state has throughout history subjected indigenous peoples and national”

The plan says nothing about Älvdal or about which languages should be recognized. The closest principle is the commitment to bring to life the Swedish cultural heritage and to cherish cultural diversity across linguistic and cultural boundaries. An investigation of Älvdal's status is a limited measure that points in that direction, but the position is entirely derived.

• living cultural heritagedecisive»Levandegörande av det svenska kultur- och världsarvet.« (party programme ↗)“Bringing to life the Swedish cultural and world heritage.”
• linguistic and cultural diversity»Kulturell mångfald med aktivt utbyte över språkliga, nationella och kulturella gränser.« (party programme ↗)“Cultural diversity with active exchange across linguistic, national and cultural boundaries.”
• minorities' rights»Rättigheter för nationella minoriteter.« (party programme ↗)“Rights for national minorities.”

The plan explicitly states that Älvdalen shall be recognized as a minority language or regional language. An investigation of Älvdalen's status and the possibility of such recognition is exactly the step that the plan's commitment requires. The plan also establishes that minority languages shall be preserved and developed and that the rights of minorities shall be strengthened.

• recognize Älvdalen as a languagedecisive»Vidare ska älvdalskan erkännas som ett« (party programme ↗)“Furthermore, Älvdalen shall be recognized as a”
• minority languages shall be preserved»De fem erkända nationella minoritetsspråken: finska, jiddisch, meänkieli, romani chib« (party programme ↗)“The five recognized national minority languages: Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib”
• strengthened minority rights»stärka nationella minoriteters och urfolket samernas rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen the rights of national minorities and the indigenous Sámi people”

The election manifesto commits to strengthening minority protection and minority language status, which bears the counter-proposal's demand for an investigation of Älvdalskan's status and the possibility of recognising it as a minority or regional language. The party programme additionally highlights the task of cultivating and developing cultural heritage and that culture should exist across the country, which supports an ancient dialect being given clearer protection. Älvdalskan not being named makes the conclusion inferred.

• strengthened status for minority languagesdecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen among other things property rights, the discrimination ban, minority protection, and minority language status”
• care for cultural heritage»till att vårda och utveckla ett kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“to care for and develop a cultural heritage”
• culture across the country»Att tillhandahålla kultur i hela landet är en viktig utgångspunkt för Centerpartiet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“For the Centre Party, providing culture across the country is an important starting point.”
• power close to rural areas»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralise more. People should decide more themselves and political decisions should be taken close to those affected.”

The plan mentions neither Älvdalska nor the question of new minority languages. The closest principle is that cultural heritage, explicitly including traditions and dialects, shall be kept accessible for future generations and that the public shall support supply with minority language profile. This speaks for investigating the status of Älvdalska, even though the plan only lists the five existing national minorities.

• dialects are cultural heritagedecisive»Kulturarvet – vårt gemensamma minne i form av historiska lämningar, kulturlandskap, arkiv, traditioner, dialekter och annat – utvecklas ständigt genom att samtiden ger sitt bidrag.« (party programme ↗)“Cultural heritage – our collective memory in the form of historical remains, cultural landscapes, archives, traditions, dialects and other – constantly develops as our time contributes.”
• preserve cultural heritage»Det kulturarv som finns i Sverige är en del av mänsklighetens gemensamma kulturarv och ska hållas tillgängligt för kommande generationer.« (party programme ↗)“The cultural heritage that exists in Sweden is part of humanity's shared cultural heritage and shall be kept accessible for future generations.”
• support for minority languages»Det offentliga ska understödja ett språk-, kultur- och medieutbud med minoritetsspråksprofil.« (party programme ↗)“The public shall support supply of language, culture and media with minority language profile.”
• existing national minorities»Samernas, sverigefinnarnas, tornedalingarnas, judarnas och romernas ställning som nationella minoriteter och samernas ställning som urfolk ska upprätthållas.« (party programme ↗)“The position of the Sámi, Swedish Finns, Tornedalians, Jews and Roma as national minorities and the Sámi's position as indigenous people shall be maintained.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme establishes that preserving the cultural heritage left behind by previous generations is a cultural policy task, and counts among this also the customs and practices that have grown up through history. Investigating the status of älvdalska and the possibility of recognizing it as a minority or regional language is a way to steward such a heritage, in line with minority languages being ensured a strong position through legislation. The demand is supported, although without direct support in the text about älvdalska.

• steward the cultural heritagedecisive»En god kulturpolitik måste sträva efter att ta tillvara det värdefulla kulturella arv som tidigare generationer har lämnat efter sig.« (party programme ↗)“A good cultural policy must strive to preserve the valuable cultural heritage that previous generations have left behind.”
• stewardship of customs and practices»Detta förvaltarskap omfattar det materiella kulturarv som vi ser i form av till exempel kulturhistorisk bebyggelse, fornlämningar och föremål men även de seder och bruk som vuxit fram genom historien.« (party programme ↗)“This stewardship encompasses the material cultural heritage that we see in the form of, for example, culturally historic buildings, archaeological remains and objects but also the customs and practices that have grown up through history.”
• statutory position for minority languages»Ett sätt att göra detta är att tillförsäkra minoritetsspråken en stark ställning genom lagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“One way to do this is to ensure minority languages a strong position through legislation.”
• minorities' interests are considered»Det är viktigt att dessa gruppers behov och intressen beaktas i alla delar av landet och på alla nivåer i den offentliga sektorn.« (party programme ↗)“It is important that these groups' needs and interests are considered in all parts of the country and at all levels in the public sector.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan says nothing about Älvdalian or language status issues. The closest related principle is that the Moderate Party values the continuity that Sweden as a nation represents and sees Swedish culture and history as something that unites across generations; an ancient indigenous language is part of that heritage. An investigation of its status is moreover a limited measure that does not tie up any resources in itself. The foundation is however weak.

• value cultural continuitydecisive»Moderaterna värdesätter den kontinuitet som Sverige« (party programme ↗)“The Moderate Party values the continuity that Sweden”
• Swedish cultural heritage»Svensk kultur och svensk historia« (party programme ↗)“Swedish culture and Swedish history”
• free and diverse cultural life»Fria medier och ett fritt kulturliv är fundament i ett pluralistiskt« (party programme ↗)“Free media and free cultural life are foundations in a pluralistic”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wishes to value, care for and show Swedish culture and emphasizes that language and dialects have developed organically over time and geography as part of cultural heritage. Älvdalskan is precisely such a deeply rooted linguistic heritage with local anchorage. An investigation of its status therefore aligns with the plan's commitment to respect for cultural heritage and a policy for the whole of Sweden.

• value Swedish culturedecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats wish to value, care for and show Swedish culture.”
• language and dialects as cultural heritage»Kulturen liksom språk och dialekter utvecklas organiskt, över tid, mellan generationer och över geografi.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Culture like language and dialects develop organically, over time, between generations and across geography.”
• respect for cultural heritage»Sammanhållningen och tilliten i samhället ska återupprättas, med en gemensam stolthet och respekt för det kulturella arvet, sociala koder, svensk demokrati och det sekulariserade samhället som har sina rötter i en kristen idégrund.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cohesion and trust in society shall be restored, with shared pride and respect for cultural heritage, social codes, Swedish democracy and the secularized society that has its roots in a Christian ideological foundation.”
• policy for the whole of Sweden»Bedriva en politik för hela Sverige« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conduct a policy for the whole of Sweden”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.