system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian & Swedish) are mutually intelligible, why are they considered distinct languages instead of different dialects of the same language?
gpt
Its kind of a semantic argument, you could make the same point for Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. 

while it is a partially political distinction the many thing is that mutually intelligible is really hard to prove as a set concept. The main theory being that just because you can understand a few words doesn't mean you can hold a conversation. and there is a fuzzy line in there somewhere that splits dialects and languages.

I wish there was a better answer but there is no golden rule.