27 - Languages
FINLAND TODAY
The first thing that shocked me in Finland was the road signs, I couldn't understand them. To indicate a place there were always two names on them. Then I learned that there was a Finnish and a Swedish version.
Finland has 5.4 million inhabitants with a population density of 16 inhabitants per square kilometre. While 85% of the population lives in urban areas, 15% of Finns live in rural areas. In the vast areas of Lapland, the density does not exceed 2.2 inhabitants per km2. In addition to the Finns, who make up the majority of the population (93%), there are also three minorities in Finland. The largest is the 300 000 Finlandsvensker or Swedish-speaking Finns. The country is indeed bilingual with two official languages, and this minority group includes the few that coexist: Finnish and Swedish. The second settled north of the Arctic Circle. Unlike 7,000 Saami (formerly called Lapps) to the Inuit, they came into contact with the more southern peoples at a very early age and the intermingling was more profound. The third group consists of about 5,000 Gypsies who have lived in the country for 400 years. The Mustalaiset, as they are called here, former Romani nomads, are now settled. Immigration to Finland is almost non-existent.
Native speakers of Swedish: 88%.
Sami mother-tongue speakers: 5.3%.
Native Finnish speakers: 0.03%.
Native speakers of Russian: 1,3 %.
THE WAR OF LANGUAGES
Under the aegis of the philosopher Johan Vilhelm Snellman, the Fennomaniacs succeeded in convincing Tsar Alexander II to give Finnish the status of the Finnish language. From 1863 onwards, it was introduced into the administration. However, the 1919 constitution maintained official bilingualism. Gradually, linguistic duality took on a political dimension. Swedish-speaking Finns, who were the holders of wealth and power, were frequently the target of accusations. Extremist groups, such as the Lapua movement, obtained from the Ministry of Education a ban on the word "Finnish" in schools in favour of Finns. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Swedish-Finns, feeling the wind turning, cultivated their specificity and defended their prerogatives with their feet. In 1962, they obtained a law defining the bilingual status of the cities of Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish), Turku (Abo) and Vaasa (Vasa). The Finns of ex-Swedish pressure also obtained the right to use their own language in their contacts with the administration, to provide schooling for their children in Swedish, and to do their military service in a Swedish-speaking battalion. Because the Swedish-Finns have defined themselves according to linguistic rather than cultural criteria, the majority of the country has remained indifferent to their demographic decline. Today they account for only 6% of the Finnish population, compared with 12% at the beginning of the 20th century. The prospect of the disappearance of the Swedish language is therefore not unthinkable in the long term. Mixed marriages are speeding up the process. Young Finnish-speaking Finns are reluctant to learn Swedish, preferring English by far. However, when young people take a state examination, they are required to provide a certificate of bilingualism. The last Swedish-speaking foyes are concentrated along the southern coast, in the Turku archipelago, the Aland Islands and Ostrobothnia. Unofficially, some restaurants, cafés and even neighbourhoods are rather Swedish-speaking.
Finland has 5.4 million inhabitants with a population density of 16 inhabitants per square kilometre. While 85% of the population lives in urban areas, 15% of Finns live in rural areas. In the vast areas of Lapland, the density does not exceed 2.2 inhabitants per km2. In addition to the Finns, who make up the majority of the population (93%), there are also three minorities in Finland. The largest is the 300 000 Finlandsvensker or Swedish-speaking Finns. The country is indeed bilingual with two official languages, and this minority group includes the few that coexist: Finnish and Swedish. The second settled north of the Arctic Circle. Unlike 7,000 Saami (formerly called Lapps) to the Inuit, they came into contact with the more southern peoples at a very early age and the intermingling was more profound. The third group consists of about 5,000 Gypsies who have lived in the country for 400 years. The Mustalaiset, as they are called here, former Romani nomads, are now settled. Immigration to Finland is almost non-existent.
Native speakers of Swedish: 88%.
Sami mother-tongue speakers: 5.3%.
Native Finnish speakers: 0.03%.
Native speakers of Russian: 1,3 %.
THE WAR OF LANGUAGES
Under the aegis of the philosopher Johan Vilhelm Snellman, the Fennomaniacs succeeded in convincing Tsar Alexander II to give Finnish the status of the Finnish language. From 1863 onwards, it was introduced into the administration. However, the 1919 constitution maintained official bilingualism. Gradually, linguistic duality took on a political dimension. Swedish-speaking Finns, who were the holders of wealth and power, were frequently the target of accusations. Extremist groups, such as the Lapua movement, obtained from the Ministry of Education a ban on the word "Finnish" in schools in favour of Finns. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Swedish-Finns, feeling the wind turning, cultivated their specificity and defended their prerogatives with their feet. In 1962, they obtained a law defining the bilingual status of the cities of Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish), Turku (Abo) and Vaasa (Vasa). The Finns of ex-Swedish pressure also obtained the right to use their own language in their contacts with the administration, to provide schooling for their children in Swedish, and to do their military service in a Swedish-speaking battalion. Because the Swedish-Finns have defined themselves according to linguistic rather than cultural criteria, the majority of the country has remained indifferent to their demographic decline. Today they account for only 6% of the Finnish population, compared with 12% at the beginning of the 20th century. The prospect of the disappearance of the Swedish language is therefore not unthinkable in the long term. Mixed marriages are speeding up the process. Young Finnish-speaking Finns are reluctant to learn Swedish, preferring English by far. However, when young people take a state examination, they are required to provide a certificate of bilingualism. The last Swedish-speaking foyes are concentrated along the southern coast, in the Turku archipelago, the Aland Islands and Ostrobothnia. Unofficially, some restaurants, cafés and even neighbourhoods are rather Swedish-speaking.
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