Nordic Language Variation Network (NLVN) is a cooperative effort of six excellent research groups to investigate issues of linguistic variation from a partly sociolinguistic and partly theoretical, generative perspective. In general there is a certain degree of tension and disagreement between these two schools with respect to both methods and to fundamental ontological questions, and the primary objective of NLVN is to create a forum for constructive confrontation and discussion between sociolinguists and grammarians so that a deeper and broader understanding of causes, limitations, and basis for linguistic variation can be established.

NLVN is funded in 2006–2009 by NordForsk (the Nordic Research Board) under their network scheme for national centers of excellence in the Nordic countries. The network is administered from CASTL at the University of Tromsø and by a steering committee of five scholars from the network.