Official Status
Finnish is one of two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish, spoken by 5.42% of the population as of 2010) and an official language of the European Union. It enjoys the status of an official minority language in Sweden. Under the Nordic Language Convention, citizens of the Nordic countries speaking Finnish have the opportunity to use their native language when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable to any interpretation or translation costs.
Read more about this topic: Finnish Language
Famous quotes containing the words official and/or status:
“Our medieval historians who prefer to rely as much as possible on official documents because the chronicles are unreliable, fall thereby into an occasionally dangerous error. The documents tell us little about the difference in tone which separates us from those times; they let us forget the fervent pathos of medieval life.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“As a work of art it has the same status as a long conversation between two not very bright drunks.”
—Clive James (b. 1939)