Languages Of Svalbard
Svalbard has a population of approximately 2,395 people as of 2011. Approximately 70% of the people are Norwegian; the remaining 30% are Russian and Ukrainian. The official language of Svalbard is Norwegian. Russian is used in the Russian settlements, but formerly, Russenorsk was the lingua franca of the entire Barents Sea region.
The annual population growth is -0.02%, but as may be seen from the following chart, the ex-Soviet population has atrophied, while the Norwegians have been increasing.
| Year | Total | Norwegian | Russian/Soviet | Polish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3,544 | 1,125 | 2,407 | 12 |
| 1995 | 2,906 | 1,218 | 1,679 | 9 |
| 2000 | 2,376 | 1,475 | 893 | 8 |
| 2005 | 2,400 | 1,645 | 747 | 8 |
Read more about Languages Of Svalbard: Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Dutch, Danish, English, French, Other Languages, Swedish
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“The less sophisticated of my forbears avoided foreigners at all costs, for the very good reason that, in their circles, speaking in tongues was commonly a prelude to snake handling. The more tolerant among us regarded foreign languages as a kind of speech impediment that could be overcome by willpower.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)