faglig

Faglig is an adjective used in Danish and Norwegian to describe things that relate to a particular subject, field of study, or profession. It denotes the professional, academic, or vocational aspects of a matter, and is commonly applied to content, standards, and practices within a discipline. In education and work contexts, faglig emphasizes knowledge, competence, and procedures that are appropriate to a specific domain.

The word stems from fag, meaning subject, discipline, or trade, with the suffix -lig meaning related to or characteristic of. In both Danish and Norwegian, faglig is used to flag a professional or subject-specific orientation. It is distinct from general or personal matters and from social or non-professional angles.

Common usages include faglig kompetanse (professional competence), faglig utvikling (professional development), faglig vurdering (professional assessment), and faglig etik (professional ethics). In Norwegian you might hear faglig ansvar (professional responsibility) or faglig holdning (professional attitude). The term is widely used in schools, universities, healthcare, public administration, and corporate settings to indicate content or actions aligned with a given field or profession.

Note that in other Scandinavian languages, a similarly spelled word can have different meanings; for example, Swedish facklig more often relates to unions or labor matters. Faglig thus functions as a field- or profession-specific qualifier within Danish and Norwegian discourse.