1 January 2022 marked a highlight in Norway’s plain language history: The government implemented the Act relating to Language with a section on plain language which states: “Public bodies shall communicate in plain and correct language adapted to the target group.” This act is the overriding law on language and language use in the public sector.
Since the 1960s, the government has put in place scattered plain language initiatives. In 2008, systematic action was taken when the high-priority program “Plain language in Norway’s civil service” was set up in response to a key message of a citizens’ conference: People didn’t understand information from the authorities. This message was supported by results from surveys showing that one third of the population didn’t understand letters from public bodies.
The Agency for Public Management and eGovernment, which had organizational and management knowledge, ran the program together with the Language Council of Norway. The program lasted five years and offered training, organizational development, project funding, a national award, new methods and tools for plain language work and user testing, a website with resources, and more. Over the following years, other important partners, such as the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and the University of Oslo, have carried out other programs such as Plain legal language, Plain language in Norwegian municipalities and Plain language in legal education and research.
The overall conditions for plain language in Norway are favourable. The programs have been top-down, but the push for plain language is bottom-up: People expect clear communication, and high-quality, user-friendly services. Plain language is a recognized tool to achieve this goal.
The ISO standard for plain language was adopted as a Norwegian standard on 6 December 2023, and it has been translated into both written versions of the Norwegian language.
Here are some official plain language resources in Norwegian:
