{"id":14320,"date":"2013-01-11T06:57:10","date_gmt":"2013-01-11T05:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=14320\/"},"modified":"2017-01-21T00:45:43","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T00:45:43","slug":"stand-off-over-danish-language-at-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/stand-off-over-danish-language-at-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Stand-off over Danish language at meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is one thing that the University of Copenhagen is having a hard time ensuring that information in e-mails and newsletters is also in English.<\/a> <\/p>\n

It is another that the University is finding it hard to ensure that both Danish and non-Danish speaking staff and scientists can hold face-to-face meetings effectively without getting into a tug-of-war over language.<\/p>\n

The University of Copenhagen’s parallel-language policy stipulates that e-mails to all staff should also be in English. The level of information in English to non-Danes, according to the policy, (but not in practice, as a soon to be released report shows) should be the same as in Danish to Danes. But in the University of Copenhagen’s parallel-language policy statement (here in Danish)<\/a> there is no direct reference to a parallel language policy for staff and scientists at meetings<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And, as some international scientists tell the University Post, the broad policy guideline of ensuring that non-Danish staff and scientists are included can be met by a form of language civil disobedience by both Danish and non-Danish staff. <\/p>\n

Don’t understand Danish? … You don’t have to be here<\/h2>\n

The University of Copenhagen\u2019s parallel language policy stipulates that non-Danish students and staff should be ensured the same level of information as their Danish colleagues. But a staff meeting at the former Faculty of Life Sciences over new immigration rules turned into a confrontation.<\/p>\n

A professor refused to speak English at the meeting, relates Sasan Nazemi, an Iranian PhD student.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI simply asked if it was OK for people to speak English, as there were, as far as I could see, at least two who did not understand Danish. But the professor responded back to me in Danish.\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bb\u2018If you don\u2019t understand Danish, you don\u2019t have to be here!\u2019\u00ab, Sasan quotes him as saying. \u00bbThe crazy thing was, that he was not even a Danish professor\u00ab, Sasan comments.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t want to make a deal out of this<\/h2>\n

In a letter of protest, Sasan subsequently thanked his head of secretariat for inviting him to the meeting, and went on to outline why he would have a hard time turning up to this kind of meeting again.<\/p>\n

\u00bbI can understand Danish a little bit, and I am improving my Danish language not because I have to, but because I want it to,\u00ab he wrote, and continued: \u00bbI\u2019m not familiar with everybody in our department but apparently the professor, who gave his speech in Danish, has a problem with international students.\u00ab <\/p>\n

\u00bbI don\u2019t want to make a big deal out of this but some people, no matter where they are coming from and what sort of education they have, they can\u2019t communicate with others as they should.\u00ab<\/p>\n

Back and forth between English and Danish<\/h2>\n

The argument for holding meetings in Danish is that some Danish staff and scientists will be at a disadvantage relative to international colleagues if the meetings are held in English, and that it is of course easier among a majority Danish staff. The argument for meetings in English is that it is more inclusive of non-Danes. <\/p>\n

Holding an effective meeting in parallel-language terms, in two languages seems, so far seems to be an insoluble paradox.<\/p>\n

\u00bbThe trouble is, of course, that there is always going to be someone who is at a disadvantage,\u00ab says Joyce Kling Soren who is doing her PhD on the use of English-language teaching at the Centre for Parallel Language Use (CIP).<\/p>\n

The CIP is a University of Copenhagen unit that researches the use of English and Danish in academia, and does English-language teaching courses for academics. The CIP itself has attempted to experiment and find best practice for communication in its own meetings. It includes Danish and non-Danish speakers, but most fluent in English – and they switch freely between the two languages.<\/p>\n

According to Joyce, there is no easy solution.<\/p>\n

\u00bbRight now CIP meetings are going through a transition period, and we have not yet landed on a policy, but prior to this, we just responded in whatever language we felt comfortable with.\u00ab<\/p>\n

\u00bbIf something was not understood, the rule was that you asked for clarification.\u00ab<\/p>\n

The language in meetings debate is far from being over.<\/p>\n

universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n

Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One professor pulled his weight and insisted on speaking Danish at a staff meeting. Disrespect to non-Danish staff and scientists, a PhD student protested. But a language compromise seems impossible<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":14322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nStand-off over Danish language at meetings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/stand-off-over-danish-language-at-meetings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stand-off over Danish language at meetings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One professor pulled his weight and insisted on speaking Danish at a staff meeting. Disrespect to non-Danish staff and scientists, a PhD student protested. But a language compromise seems impossible\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/stand-off-over-danish-language-at-meetings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-21T00:45:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/meetingsillu2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1771\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta 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professor pulled his weight and insisted on speaking Danish at a staff meeting. Disrespect to non-Danish staff and scientists, a PhD student protested. But a language compromise seems impossible","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Mike Young","contributor_title":" ","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>It is one thing that the University of Copenhagen is having a <a href=\"node\/17903\">hard time ensuring that information in e-mails and newsletters is also in English.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>It is another that the University is finding it hard to ensure that both Danish and non-Danish speaking staff and scientists can hold face-to-face meetings effectively without getting into a tug-of-war over language.<\/p>\n<p>The University of Copenhagen’s parallel-language policy stipulates that e-mails to all staff should also be in English. The level of information in English to non-Danes, according to the policy, (but not in practice, as a soon to be released report shows) should be the same as in Danish to Danes. But in the University of Copenhagen’s <a href=\"https:\/\/intranet.ku.dk\/KOMMUNIKATION\/ENGELSKKOMMUNIKATION\/RETNINGSLINJER_STRATEGI\/Sider\/Sprogpolitik.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">parallel-language policy statement (here in Danish)<\/a> there is no direct reference to a parallel language policy for staff and scientists at <em>meetings<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>And, as some international scientists tell the University Post, the broad policy guideline of ensuring that non-Danish staff and scientists are included can be met by a form of language civil disobedience by both Danish and non-Danish staff. <\/p>\n<h2>Don’t understand Danish? … You don’t have to be here<\/h2>\n<p>The University of Copenhagen\u2019s parallel language policy stipulates that non-Danish students and staff should be ensured the same level of information as their Danish colleagues. But a staff meeting at the former Faculty of Life Sciences over new immigration rules turned into a confrontation.<\/p>\n<p>A professor refused to speak English at the meeting, relates Sasan Nazemi, an Iranian PhD student.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI simply asked if it was OK for people to speak English, as there were, as far as I could see, at least two who did not understand Danish. But the professor responded back to me in Danish.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bb\u2018If you don\u2019t understand Danish, you don\u2019t have to be here!\u2019\u00ab, Sasan quotes him as saying. \u00bbThe crazy thing was, that he was not even a Danish professor\u00ab, Sasan comments.<\/p>\n<h2>Don\u2019t want to make a deal out of this<\/h2>\n<p>In a letter of protest, Sasan subsequently thanked his head of secretariat for inviting him to the meeting, and went on to outline why he would have a hard time turning up to this kind of meeting again.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI can understand Danish a little bit, and I am improving my Danish language not because I have to, but because I want it to,\u00ab he wrote, and continued: \u00bbI\u2019m not familiar with everybody in our department but apparently the professor, who gave his speech in Danish, has a problem with international students.\u00ab <\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI don\u2019t want to make a big deal out of this but some people, no matter where they are coming from and what sort of education they have, they can\u2019t communicate with others as they should.\u00ab<\/p>\n<h2>Back and forth between English and Danish<\/h2>\n<p>The argument for holding meetings in Danish is that some Danish staff and scientists will be at a disadvantage relative to international colleagues if the meetings are held in English, and that it is of course easier among a majority Danish staff. The argument for meetings in English is that it is more inclusive of non-Danes. <\/p>\n<p>Holding an effective meeting in parallel-language terms, in two languages seems, so far seems to be an insoluble paradox.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe trouble is, of course, that there is always going to be someone who is at a disadvantage,\u00ab says Joyce Kling Soren who is doing her PhD on the use of English-language teaching at the Centre for Parallel Language Use (CIP).<\/p>\n<p>The CIP is a University of Copenhagen unit that researches the use of English and Danish in academia, and does English-language teaching courses for academics. The CIP itself has attempted to experiment and find best practice for communication in its own meetings. It includes Danish and non-Danish speakers, but most fluent in English – and they switch freely between the two languages.<\/p>\n<p>According to Joyce, there is no easy solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbRight now CIP meetings are going through a transition period, and we have not yet landed on a policy, but prior to this, we just responded in whatever language we felt comfortable with.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf something was not understood, the rule was that you asked for clarification.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>The language in meetings debate is far from being over.<\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":48,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1036,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/meetingsillu2-1280x885.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35043,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320\/revisions\/35043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}