2.6.1 What is Janteloven?
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This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
2.6.1 What is Janteloven?
The word "Janteloven" occasionally pops up in s.c.n, often with no
hint given as to what it's supposed to mean since apparently it's
common knowledge in most Nordic countries. Not so with the rest of the
world, however, or Finland for that matter, so a brief explanation
warrants a place. It derives from the the novel "En flygtning krysser
sitt spor" ("A refugee crosses his tracks") by the Norwegian/Danish
author Aksel Sandemose. The book takes place in an imaginary Danish
small town called Jante, based on Sandemose's hometown Nykøbing Mors.
The book is about the ugly sides of Scandinavian smalltown mentality,
and the term "Janteloven" meaning "the Jante Law" has come to mean the
unspoken rules and jealousy of such communities in general.
The form and style of the Ten Commandments in Norwegian are
"straight," i.e. unencumbered by the "thous" and "thys" of the older
English translations of the Bible. I've made the assumption that
Sandemose deliberately chose 10 laws and that his style was
intentionally reminiscent of the Ten Commandments. It's also
interesting to note that the Ten Commandments (and the other laws of
Leviticus) are often referred to as Moseloven (or the Mosaic Law) in
Norwegian.
Also, there are some messages that are implied in these laws that are
not explicit.I've included those in brackets so as to convey the
meaning better, although they should properly be construed as
editorializing on my part.
This translation of the Jante Laws was suggested by Leif Knutsen
(except that I replaced "venture to think" with "to presume", as
suggested by someone in the group):
The Jante Law
1. Du skal ikke tro at du *er* noe.
Thou shalt not presume that thou art anyone [important].
2. Du skal ikke tro at du er like saa meget som *oss*.
Thou shalt not presume that thou art as good as us.
3. Du skal ikke tro at du er klokere en *oss*.
Thou shalt not presume that thou art any wiser than us.
4. Du skal ikke innbille deg du er bedre enn *oss*.
Thou shalt never indulge in the conceit of imagining that thou art
better than us.
5. Du skal ikke tro du vet mere enn *oss*.
Thou shalt not presume that thou art more knowledgeable than us.
6. Du skal ikke tro du er mere enn *oss*.
Thou shalt not presume that thou art more than us [in any way].
7. Du skal ikke tro at *du* duger til noe.
Thou shalt not presume that that thou art going to amount to
anything.
8. Du skal ikke le av *oss*.
Thou art not entitled to laugh at us.
9. Du skal ikke tro at noen bryr seg om *deg*.
Thou shalt never imagine that anyone cares about thee.
10. Du skal ikke tro at du kan lære *oss* noe.
Thou shalt not suppose that thou can teach us anything.
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