Norwegian profanity

Profanity in the Norwegian language is referred to in Norwegian as banneord (curse words) or simply upassende språk (inappropriate language). Many words are characterized by dialect. The offensiveness and strength of a word may be very different between regions.

People from Northern Norway in particular are known for swearing in public.[1] Numerous decisions by Northern district courts have confirmed that saying terms like hestkuk (literally horsecock) to a police officer is not punishable, as it is common usage (one ruling said: "[hestekuk] is not more than one should tolerate in daily conversation.").[2] At the same time, Northerners have been punished for using similar phrases in other parts of the country.[3] However, a 2022 ruling by the West Finnmark district court in Northern Norway, where a man was fined 42 000 kroners after calling a police officer hestkuk, concluded that Northerners swearing was "a stigmatizing and dated idea – and under no circumstance correct", suggesting a reversal of this trend.[4]

  1. ^ Thonhaugen, Markus (2015-03-15). "Nordlendinger hardest i språkbruken". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  2. ^ Lorentsen, Hilde Mangset (2012-09-08). "Dette får du bot for å si". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  3. ^ "Hestkuk greit i nord – verre i sør". Østlands-Posten (in Norwegian). 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  4. ^ Johansen, John M. (2022-08-30). "Nordlending dømt – ikke lenger lov å kalle politiet «hæstkuk»". inyheter.no - Nyheter og aktuelt - Innenriks og Utenriks. (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-06-20.