What is borgerlig?
The word borgerlig is used when describing a conservative or right-of-centre political party. The Danish parliamentary parties traditionally described as borgerlig are Liberals (Venstre), Conservatives (De Konservative), and Liberal Alliance, although this has changed somewhat over the years as political alliances have shifted.
Far-right parties like the Danish People’s Party and Denmark Democrats are also conservative and you wouldn’t be incorrect if you used the word borgerlige to describe them. However, they’re more commonly described as nationalkonservative (national conservative) or sometimes højrefløjspartier (‘right-wing parties’), distinguishing them from their more centrist counterparts.
Borgerlig can also be used to describe something civil or secular. This could be a non-religious marriage where the couple in question are married by a state official rather than a religious official. Similarly, a borgerlig funeral is the term used to describe a non-religious funeral.
In Denmark, a borgerlig wedding can take place almost anywhere – in a park, forest, or even your garden, as long as there is a registrar present. Permission has to be granted by the relevant municipality.
Another translation of borgerlig is a term to describe someone or something upper-middle-class – roughly like the French petit bourgeois. This can have a slightly offensive meaning, depending on who's speaking.
Why do I need to know borgerlig?
Borgerlig's three meanings may seem unrelated at first, but they all have the same origin. The word borgerlig originally referred to people (borgere – from the German Bürger) living inside the walls of a fort or castle (borg). Later, it became the term used to describe the social class of people living in cities as opposed to people living in the countryside or the nobility.
Finally, this meaning developed to encompass things to do with the state – a borgerlig wedding or funeral is an event where the state is the authority carrying out the ceremony, rather than the church. This meaning can also be seen in the term borgerkrig – not a middle-class war, but a civil war.
Example sentences:
Er det ikke lidt småborgerligt at spille squash?
It's a bit middle-class to play squash, isn't it?
Vi overvejer et borgerligt bryllup.
We're thinking of having a civil wedding.
Der har været en stigning i opbakning for de borgerlige partier.
Voter support for the conservative block is increasing.
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