Immigrant Languages
Like many developed European countries from the late 1940s to the 1970s, Sweden has received tens of thousands of guest workers from countries in Southern Europe (i.e. Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, Turkey and former Yugoslavia). Second and third-generation Swedes of Southern European descent adapted Swedish as their main tongue, or in addition to languages passed down in families, such as Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Dutch, Serbo-Croatian and Turkish. However, the criteria in European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages state that minority languages need a long history in the country to receive the classification, and thus, these languages have not come into question. See further: Immigration to Sweden.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Sweden
Famous quotes containing the words immigrant and/or languages:
“Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)