Swedish was chosen over English ages ago to be the language of Nordic cooperation. The status of Swedish in Finland has always been a shakey one, however, and the most recent poll released shows just how extreme this may be. (Article reprinted in full because I've not yet been able to find the articles from Norden i veckan online, only in the email digest.)
Wednesday 21/01/2009
Finns: Yes to Nordic Region – No to Swedish
The majority of the Finnish-speaking population considers it important to belong to the Nordic Region but contacts with other Nordic citizens should be in English, not Swedish, the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet reveals.
A recent Taloustutkimus poll commissioned by the Finland-Swedish think-tank Magma quizzed Finns about their views of Nordic identity. No fewer than 93% consider belonging to the Nordic Region and having a Nordic identity to be important.
On the other hand only 9% agreed with the statement that Finns should speak Swedish and not English with their Nordic neighbours. Some 70% disagreed or disagreed strongly.
The position of Swedish as an official language in Finland is a controversial issue, and many of the respondents stressed the importance of English instead. Opposition is strong, for example, to all pupils in Finnish-speaking schools having to study Swedish. The regulations have been loosened up somewhat – since 2005 Swedish has no longer been a compulsory subject for Finnish-speakers taking high school exams.
The official Nordic co-operation, both in Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers, remains to promote the use of Scandinavian languages between Nordic citizens. The Nordic Youth Council would however prefer a bigger role for English.
Article in Hufvudstadsbladet: http://www.hbl.fi/text/inrikes/2009/1/21/w22446.php
Nordic language co-operation: http://www.norden.org/sprak/sk/index.asp?lang=1
