30th Anniversary of The Place Names Act in Norway

 In 1990 the Norwegian national assembly (Stortinget) passed an act on the standardization of place names (geographical names) in official use.

The main provisions of the Place Name Act are: 

– the written standardized form should be based on the traditional, local pronunciation, while at the same time keeping to current spelling rules; 

– the public body which uses a place name should authorize the spelling (in most cases the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority); 

– geographical names which have been determined by law should be used by other public bodies. 

The results and consequences of this Act are discussed and analysed in the article "30 år med lov om stadnamn" by Aud-Kirsti Pedersen.