ABSTRACT
Non-Scandinavians are occasionally astonished to hear Danes, Norwegians and Swedes conversing, each in their own language, without interpreters. The fact that some degree of mutual intelligibility exists between these languages has led some to suggest that together they should really be regarded as only one language. While for some purposes it is convenient to bracket them together, it is hardly correct to speak of only one Scandinavian tongue. Such a practice would require a rather restricted definition of the term ‘language’. It would neglect those aspects that are not purely linguistic, but are also social and political. To call them ‘dialects’ is only historically true, i.e. in that they have branched off from a once common language.
