The Parliament of Denmark has authorized deputies to use the languages ??of Greenland or the Faroe Islands in their interventions, after a Greenlandic legislator’s speech in May led to a debate on the legality of this language in the national chamber. .
The MP in question, Aki-Matilda Hoegh-Dam, gave a seven-minute speech in her Inuit language, without translating herself. Greenland, an autonomous territory, but under the sovereignty of Denmark, has the right to elect two representatives at the national level, the same as the Faroe Islands.
The Parliament board now wants to “find a solution to the linguistic problem” that “can work in practice”, in the words of the president, Soren Gade, who has made contacts with the four deputies from said territories. For the moment, they have already been granted the right to speak in their respective languages ??and more time to translate their words into Danish.
Gaden also wants to “improve communication about the work of the Danish Parliament in Greenlandic and Faroese”, so translations into both languages ??will be encouraged. The four deputies will also be able to have more funds to hire their own translators to make it easier for them to transmit parliamentary work.
On the other hand, Parliament will offer courses to deputies on the history, culture and language of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, according to a statement from the institution.
