Text and language

To distinguish between study locations, we write:

• UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, in Narvik, etc.
• Exceptions: UiT The Arctic University of Norway on Bardufoss and on Svalbard.

In Norwegian, we use "studiested" to refer to the 11 locations where the university offers studies. In Englih we use "campus.".

Note on grammar: "Campus" is a masculine noun in Norwegian: en campus, campusen, campuser og campusene.

Here is an overview of job titles at UiT (Exel) with abbreviations in Nynorsk, Bokmål, Sámi, and English.

The document is missing some Sámi titles.

In Norwegian, we distinguish between the proper noun Arktis and the adjective arktisk.

In English, the same word is used for both.

• Arctic as a proper noun: "Tromsø is the gateway to the Arctic."
• Arctic as an adjective: "Tromsø is the Arctic capital." "Arctic cooperation is important."
• In English, both are written with a capital letter.

The words studium and studie have different meanings in Norwegian.

In English, studium is programme and studie means study: "She has been admitted to a master's programme in medicine and is working on a study of the coronavirus."

Remember that studium is a neuter noun: et studium, studiet, studier, and studiene.

Choose Norwegian over English words

As much as possible, use Norwegian words instead of English ones in Norwegian. For example, use "e-post" (mail), "strømming" (streaming), "lenke" (link), and "personal" (HR).

Use postposed possessive pronouns

To avoid sounding too formal, place the possessive pronoun after the noun. For example: "nettsiden din" (your website) and "studentene våre" (our students).

Write as you speak

Words and expressions you wouldn’t use in spoken language should not be used in written text either. For example: "i henhold til" (in accordance with) and "samt" (as well as). Here are other words you should replace.

Guidelines

• Do not use a colon after the main sentence if the bullet points continue it (commonly done in English). See the first and second examples below.
• When bullet points are incomplete sentences, start with a lowercase letter.
• When bullet points are complete sentences, start with a capital letter and end with a period.

Examples

The en dash (–) is long, while the hyphen (-) is short. 

We use the en dash:

• To indicate a time period: From 14:30–17:30, during the period 01.01.21–15.10.21.
• To indicate a distance: the Narvik–Alta route.
• When adding something: This is – despite the objections – the best solution.
• When quoting someone: – That’s unfair, he said.

Tip! To type an en dash on a PC, hold down the Alt key and type 0150. On a Mac, press Option and the hyphen key. There should be no spaces around the en dash in the first two cases.

We use the hyphen:

• To connect words: Ibsen-year, 2005-edition.
• To avoid mispronunciation or misunderstanding: glacier-ice (bre-is), work-email (jobb-e-post).

If in doubt, a lowercase letter is usually correct.

For example, departments, sections, and projects are written with a lowercase letter. The same applies to the police and the population register. Exceptions include the names of ministries and organizations.

Find an overview from the Norwegian Language Council here.

In continuous text, we write out abbreviations and mathematical symbols.

For example, instead of "etc.", "%", and "NOK", we write "and similar", "percent", and "kroner".

Check out the list of abbreviations here.

As a general rule, numbers from 1 to 12 are written out in words in continuous text, except for numbers we want to emphasize: "The complaint deadline is 3 weeks."

• Phone numbers are written in groups of two: 99 99 99 99
• Date: 30.09.2025. In continuous text: 30 April 2025
• Time: 2:30 PM

Italics are not well-suited for websites, and other typographic elements can disrupt readability.

In titles, a capital letter at the beginning is sufficient. Exception: titles of dissertations.
If we want to emphasize a word, we can place it more centrally in the sentence or add explanatory words: "The book Axel is good."

• Jump in and start writing! Don’t expect yourself to master everything at once.
• You need practice and repetition.
• Use the dictionary and let yourself be inspired by the other resources below.

Ordbokene.no – an excellent digital dictionary for both Nynorsk and Bokmål

Nynorsk resources (Språkrådet)

Nynorsk practice room (Språkrådet)

Oi, på nynorsk! – an introductory online course (DFØ/Språkrådet)

Nynorsk with Kristin – A YouTube series

Administrative word list Bokmål–Nynorsk

Guidance on consistent Nynorsk

The book Nynorsk for Dumskallar (Nynorsk for Dummies)

The book På godt norsk (In Good Norwegian)

At UiT, we aim to use language that is easy for the target audience to understand. This is called plain language.

A website, app, or document written in plain language is easy for the reader to understand and use.

Here are 10 tips to help you write clearly:

1. Identify your target audience first.

2. Create a descriptive headline.

3. Divide the text into paragraphs.

4. Provide step-by-step instructions to guide the reader forward.

5. Write short sentences.

6. Use active voice by specifying who is doing what.

7. Choose words you use when speaking. Replace words that feel unnatural.

8. Create descriptive links.

9. Get help from ChatUiT and AI.

10. Read the text aloud at the end.

Read more in the language profile (in Norwegian).

Online readers skim texts in search of information. If they don’t find what they need right away, they leave the website.

Here’s how to make your website more user-friendly.

How to write a good op-ed.