Finland's language strife
Finland's language strife (Swedish: Finska språkstriden, lit. 'Finnish language dispute'; Finnish: Suomen kielitaistelu, lit. 'Finnish language struggle') was a major conflict in mid-19th century Finland. Both the Swedish and Finnish languages were commonly used in Finland at the time, associated with descendants of Swedish colonisation and leading to class tensions among the speakers of the different languages. It became acute in the mid-19th century. The competition was considered to have officially ended when Finnish gained official language status in 1863 and became equal to the Swedish language.
Background
Finland had once been under Swedish rule (
As a result of the Finnish War, Sweden ceded Finland to Russia in 1809. Finland became the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.[4] Under Russian rule, the laws of the Sweden–Finland era remained largely unchanged, and Swedish continued to be used in administration.[3]
The language strife became more acute in the second half of the 19th century. Johan Vilhelm Snellman, a Swede who wished to increase education in Finland, became a chief initiator of conflict in the 1850s due to his concern about the changing language use among the educated classes, many of whom were using Russian or Finnish.[5] He wrote to Zachris Topelius in 1860: "My view is this: Whether Russian or Finnish will win, only God knows. I dare not hope for anything. But that Swedish will lose - that I do know."[5] Elias Lönnrot compiled the first Finnish-Swedish dictionary (Finsk-Svenskt lexikon), completing it in 1880.[6]
Nationalism and the question of language
The rise of
In 1863 Alexander II (AsK 26/1863) ruled that Finnish had an official language status comparable to that of Swedish; it could thereafter be used in an official capacity in legal and state office matters.[7][8][9] Within a generation, the Finnish language use gained predominance in the government and the society of Finland.
During the
After independence
After
In the newly independent Finnish constitution of 1919, Finnish and Swedish were given equal status as national languages. The language strife thereafter centered on this and on the role of Swedish in universities, particularly regarding the number of professors who spoke and wrote in Swedish in their teaching. In the interwar period, the University of Helsinki was the scene of conflict between those who wanted to advance the use of Finnish and those who wished to maintain the use of Swedish.[10] Geographer Väinö Tanner was one of the most vocal defenders of Swedish.[11] A campaign initiated by the Swedish People's Party of Finland collected 153,914 signatures in defense of Swedish in a petition that was presented to the parliament and government in October 1934.[10] The conflict at the university generated an international reaction when academics from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland sent letters to the diplomatic representatives of Finland in their respective countries warning that diminishing the role of Swedish at the university would result in a weakening of Nordic unity.[10]
The government issued a language decree on 1 January 1923 making Finnish and Swedish equal in status.[8]
During the resettlement of more than 420,000 Karelian refugees after the Winter War against the Soviet Union (1939–1940), the Swedish-speaking minority feared that the new Finnish-speaking settlers would change the linguistic balance of their neighborhoods. Since the late 20th century, there has been discussion of whether the policy of mandatory Swedish classes in schools should continue.
See also
- Language revival
- Language policy
References
- ^ "Aleksis Kivi - Kansalliskirjailija". Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ Minna Helminen. "Suomen kielen asema". Otavan Opisto. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ a b Kaisa Häkkinen. "Suomen kieli vallan kielenä" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ "Sprengtporten, Georg Magnus (1740 - 1819)". Biografiakeskus. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ a b Matti Klinge. "Snellman, Johan Vilhelm (1806 - 1881)". The National Biography of Finland. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Lönnrot, Elias (1802 - 1884)". Biografiakeskus. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
- ^ "1863 kieliasetus". Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ a b Rita Trötschkes (2013-12-09). "Keisarivierailu vauhditti yhteiskunnan muutosta". Yle. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ISBN 9781476625652.
- ^ a b c Lasse Sundman (2011-04-24). "Universitetsadresserna". Uppslagsverket Finland (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-11-30.
- ^ Johan Lindberg (2011-08-05). "Tanner, Väinö". Uppslagsverket Finland (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-11-30.
Further reading
- Coleman, Michael C. (March 2010). "'You Might All Be Speaking Swedish Today': Language Change in 19th-century Finland and Ireland". Scandinavian Journal of History. 35 (1): 44–64. .
- Hult, F.M., & Pietikäinen, S. (2014). "Shaping discourses of multilingualism through a language ideological debate: The case of Swedish in Finland", Journal of Language and Politics, 13, 1-20.