Language policy on the code-collaboration platform
This is an interpretation of the Swedish Language Act (2009:600) in the context of code-collaboration platforms — when Swedish is used, when English as specialised language is acceptable, and with practical examples.
- Swedish is the administrative language for Swedish public authorities, and the language must be “well-cared-for, simple and intelligible”.
- This applies to all agency communication, regardless of channel (including code-collaboration platforms such as GitHub/GitLab).
- A pragmatic interpretation is allowed for technical or international contexts and specialised language.
Swedish first for user communication, but English as specialised language between colleagues is acceptable.
The starting point is that technical terms and discussions may follow the field’s conventions (English), but anything that addresses Swedish users should be in Swedish where possible.
Note that this does not lay down any project’s policy — it only describes the framework. A project policy could, for example, decide that “our API shall be in Swedish”, even though the Language Act’s interpretation would allow it in English.
As a guide, here are some practical examples:
| Situation | Language | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Bug-fixing among developers | English OK | Specialised language |
| Code-review comments | English OK | Technical documentation |
| Technical architecture discussion | Swedish (+ English) | Technology + decisions |
| Project decision or policy | Swedish (+ English) | Operational decision |
| README | Swedish (+ English) | General information |
| Issue from a Swedish-speaking citizen | Swedish | Public-agency communication |
| Issue otherwise | English OK | International dialogue |
| Contribution otherwise | English OK | Specialised language |
| Contribution (PR) from a Swedish-speaking citizen | Swedish | Public-agency communication |
| Program code | English OK | Specialised language |
| API | English OK | Specialised language |
| Logs | English OK | Specialised language |
Further examples
Swedish (mandatory)
- README main section (with parallel English if international)
- User guides and instructions (with parallel English if international)
- Project decisions and policy (parallel languages)
- Replies to questions submitted in Swedish
English (permitted as specialised language and practice)
- Code and code comments
- Technical PR discussions
- Commit messages (preferably)
- Code-review comments
- Technical API documentation
- International collaboration
See also
- Working on GitHub: account setup, security, issue handling and publication
- Roles in the GitHub organisation: Owner, Member, External Collaborator, Admin
- Glossary: concepts and terms used in the handbook
Links
- Digg’s GitHub — (parallel languages)
- Sweden Connect technical documentation — example of architecture and end-user documentation (parallel languages)
- Language Act (2009:600) | The Swedish Riksdag (in Swedish)