The purpose of Språkåret 2013 was to embrace and celebrate the diversity of language that exists in Norway. One sought to put focus on the positive effects that arise out of living in a country with several languages. The two official written versions of Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk, the language of the indigenous people in the north, Sámi, and the three recognised national minority languages; Kvensk, romani, romanes as well as Norwegian sign language, another official language. In addition there is huge variation in local dialects as well as the many languages spoken by immigrants. The year of 2013 was dedicated to celebrating, discussing, and trying to raise awareness of the valuable cultural expressions and identities that are connected to languages and dialects.
