<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">1. </span><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Name of requester</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">: Mats Blakstad</span><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
2. <b>E-mail address of requester</b>: info @ <a href="http://globalbility.org/" target="_blank">globalbility.org</a></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">3. <b>Record Requested</b>: </div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br><b>Type</b>: variant </div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><b>Subtag</b>: alvda <br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<b>Description</b>: Elfdalian language, or Elfdalian dialect of Swedish<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><b>Prefix</b>:<b> </b>sv</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<b>Comments</b>: Elfdalian is spoken in Älvdalen, Dalarna, Sweden. It is by some people considered as a dialect of Swedish, by others as a language.<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">4. <b>Intended meaning of the subtag</b>:</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">The Elfdalian language/dialect as spoken in Älvdalen, Dalarna Sweden.<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">5. <b>Reference to published description of the language (book or article)</b>:</div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/language/swe">http://www.ethnologue.com/language/swe</a><br><br><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Garbacz,
Piotr, 2010. Word Order in Övdalian - A Study in Variation and Change.
Lund, Sweden: Lund University, Centre for Languages and Literature.<br><a href="http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1567392&fileOId=1567413">http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1567392&fileOId=1567413</a><br><br></div>
Helgander, John, 2005. Älvdalsmål i förändring – några reflektioner kring en fallstudie.<br><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Also see report from conference about Elfdalian arranged by Ulum Dalska and <span><span dir="auto"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">the Institute for Language and Folklore, with statements from different linguistics. English summary under each section:</span></span></span></span><br><a href="http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:431173/FULLTEXT03.pdf">http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:431173/FULLTEXT03.pdf</a><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">----------<br></div></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br>We have a translation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfdalian">Elfdalian</a> that we want to add to our website, but there doesn't exist any language tag or variant subtag for Elfdalian. The problem is that some people see Elfdalian as a language and others sees it as a variant/dialect of Swedish. I've tried my best to sum up how I understand the issue here, and I've also sent out an email to the people I've been in touch with so they see this subtag request and can correct me if misrepresenter something or if they want to clarify anything. I also want to ask if it is possible to add two extra weeks, on top of the normal two week process, so these people have a little bit better time to participate with their views in case they have something to add.<br><br>I've been in touch with both <a href="http://www.tnc.se/the-swedish-centre-for-terminology.html">The Swedish Centre for Terminology</a>, <a href="http://www.sis.se/en/">Swedish Standards Institute</a>, <a href="http://www.sprakochfolkminnen.se/om-oss/verksamhet/about-the-institute.html">the Institute for Language and Folklore</a> and the organization that works to maintain Elfdalian in Älvdalen: <a href="http://www.ulumdalska.se/">Ulum Dalska</a>. The
Swedish authorities I've been in contact with reject that Elfdalian is a language and consider it
as a dialect/variant of Swedish, while the Elfdalian people I've been
speaking with, and the organization Ulum Dalska, claims that Elfdalian
is a language.<br><br><span><span dir="auto">When the suggestions for new ISO 639-3 codes came in 2005 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalecarlian_dialects">Dalecarlian</a> (<span><span><span dir="auto">a group of dialects where Övdalian </span></span></span>is many times included) got the language code "DLC", but Swedish authorities requested it to be removed (under is an </span></span><span><span dir="auto"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">extract from the minutes from Swedish Standards Institute they sent me - only in Swedish). On email from the Institute for Language and Folklore I got arguments that weather something should be considered as a language or a dialect must been seen in context with the entire Swedish language situation and the overall language policy. It is seen as </span></span></span></span><span><span dir="auto"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class=""><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">ideology</span> questionable<span class=""> to</span> <span class="">reduce the number of</span> <span class="">dialects</span> to<span class=""> increase the number</span> <span class="">official minority</span> <span class="">in</span> <span class="">Sweden</span></span>. To argue in favour of redefining a distinctive dialect to a language is seen as strike a blow for dialect poverty.</span></span></span></span><span><span dir="auto"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class=""> To be defined as a minority language would of course trigger more rights than to have status as a dialect, more resources to help maintain the language</span></span></span></span>. However, should this then be done for other dialects too, in order to save them? <span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">A country with</span> <span class="">a dozen</span> <span class="">minority</span> languages <span class="">but</span> <span class="">no</span> <span class="">dialects</span> is <span class="">not considered very</span> <span class="">desirable</span><span> (Arguments from </span></span>Olle Josephson stated in a <a href="http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/108/a/50761"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">government</span> <span class="">bill about one united Swedish language policy from</span> <span class="">2005</span></span></a>). They admit that there are in fact several Swedish dialects that, from a purely linguistic perspective, could be seen as different languages, but Elfdalian has been the most contested language/dialect, where Swedish linguistic have learned the language, developed <span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><a href="http://www.larssteensland.se/Stavning.pdf"><span class="">spelling</span> </a><span class=""><a href="http://www.larssteensland.se/Stavning.pdf">rules</a> </span></span>and <a href="http://www.skrievum.se/grammatiken/">grammar</a>. However, according to representative from <span><span dir="auto"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">the Institute for Language and Folklore these are based on </span></span></span></span>Elfdalian spoken by people born before 1920, and the Elfdalian spoken by younger people is according to them much more similar to Swedish language, so many of the distinctive characters of Elfdalian is about to disappear (<a href="http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1567392&fileOId=1567413">Garbacz, p. 33-36</a>, <a href="http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:431173/FULLTEXT03.pdf">John Helgander, see English summary p. 84</a>). Some locals have also expressed that the <a href="http://spraktidningen.se/artiklar/2011/03/katt-med-ovanligt-manga-mal-i-mun">promotion of Elfdalian as a language has gone too far</a>. <br><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">The status of Elfdalian as been an issue for the Council of Europe when monitoring the implementation of European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages: <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/EvaluationReports/SwedenECRML4_en.pdf">2011</a>, <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/PeriodicalReports/SwedenPR5_en.pdf">2013</a>. And the Swedish government gave their <a href="http://www.manskligarattigheter.se/Media/Get/665/Ladda20ner20dokument20%28pdf%29">answer</a>, stating that concerning Elfdalian there are no consensus among linguistics, and people in Sweden normally consider it as being a dialect. They said that many parents don't speak Elfdalian with their children, and that there are 12 different variants of Elfdalian, and that making a standard for all of them could even thwart this diversity in the language, and some locals have rejected attempts to standardize the language.<br><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">However, other linguistics claim that Elfdalian so different from Swedish that it should be considered as a language within its own rights. This is also the view of Ulum Dalska and as their representative wrote me "<span id="result_box" class="" lang="en">We in Ulum Dalska believe that Elfdalian is a language, but it's not recognized by the Swedish government, even if the Council of Europe makes its pressure. [...]<span class=""> We, as</span> </span><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span class="">Elfdalian</span></span><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span>,</span> <span class="">believes</span> <span class="">that</span> <span class="">the</span> <span class="">Elfdalian</span> <span class="">is part of</span> <span class="">our identity</span><span>,</span> <span class="">I</span> <span class="">can</span><span class=""> not</span> <span class="">express myself</span> <span class="">in another way</span><span>."<br></span></span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span><br></span></span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span>However, after discussing the issue on the board, for the purpose of registering Elfdalian for online text, they accepted that we register it as a variant of Swedish, "for the meanwhile".<br><br></span></span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span>Therefore I'm submitting request for "</span></span>alvda" subtag to see how you will consider this issue.<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><span></span></span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br><br>----------<br><span id="result_box" class="" lang="en"><b><span class="">Extract from</span> <span class="">the minutes of the</span> <span class="">SIS / TK</span> <span class="">115</span><span>'s</span> <span class="">meeting</span> <span class="">2005-04-28</span><span></span></b><span><b> (Swedish):</b><br><br></span></span>Utdrag ur protokollet från SIS/TK 115:s möte 2005-04-28<br><br>Aktuella remisser<br>DIS 639 del 2 och 3 har just skickats till remisskretsen, och vi ska nu enas om svenskt ställningstagande. Del 2 röstar vi bara om att godkänna dess fastställning som svensk standard, men del 3 kan vi kommentera. Vi har fått en reaktion från vår remisskrets, nämligen från Svenska språknämnden. Språknämnden har reagerat över att man i 639-3 har infört språkbeteckningar för skånska, jämtländska, dalmål och därmed jämställt dessa dialekter med språk. Språknämnden vill därför avstyrka förslaget. Inom TK:n har Socialstyrelsen konstaterat att olika delar av standarden har olika definitioner av samma begrepp. Vi beslöt att gå på Språknämndens linje och rösta ”nej”, men tillägga att rösten omvandlas till ”ja” om våra kommentarer beaktas. De kommentarer vi vill lägga till är att man bör se över hur dialekter hanterats i olika språk; mer specifikt vill vi att koderna för skånska, jämtländska och dalmål tas bort ur standarden. Dessutom bör terminologiavsnitten i standarden ses över och också harmoniseras mellan olika delar av standarden. Del 2 bör fastställas som svensk standard.<br><br>Beslut 05-05: TK 115 beslöt godkänna att 639-2 fastställs som svensk standard.<br><br>Beslut 05-06: TK 115 beslutar att avstyrka 639-3 men påpeka att kommittén godkänner dokumentet om våra kommentarer beaktas<br></div></div></div>