Mandatory Swedish - Overview

Overview

The status of Swedish as an official national language in Finland is defined by the Finnish constitution. The Swedish language is an official language in Finland as a result of the history of the country of Sweden, which gradually annexed what now is Finland from around A.D. 1200. There was also a migration of Swedish peasants to Finland during the Middle Ages. During this period, when Finland was a part of Sweden, Swedish language became part of the culture of Finland. Swedish was the language of the ruling class and the Finnish language was not given an official status until 1860, well into the period of Russian rule (1809–1917). Swedish did get an official status 1809, in Sweden its status was implicit. The autonomous Åland Islands (pop. 26,000, 95% Swedish, 5% Finnish) has only one official language, Swedish, and international treaties to some degree grant it the right of remaining exclusively Swedophone.

In Mainland Finland both official languages, Finnish and Swedish, are mandatory subjects for pupils in primary and secondary schools. The Swedish test of the Matriculation Examination was recently (2004) made voluntary, although all university graduates must demonstrate that their skills in the other official language meet the standard required of all academically educated public servants. Usually this means the completion of a so-called public servant's Swedish test. The Swedish language is also one of the main agendas of the Swedish People's Party that has been a minor partner in most Cabinets since Finland's independence, and in all Cabinets since 1979.

Supporters of Mandatory Swedish argue that it brings Finland closer to the Nordic countries, since Swedish is quite similar to, and to some extent mutually intelligible with, both Danish and Norwegian, while Finnish belongs to the unrelated Finnic language group. Supporters also say that studying Swedish makes it easier to learn other Germanic languages, such as English and German. Lastly, they argue, mandatory Swedish is necessary to ensure that Swedish-speakers can interact with governmental institutions and get service, such as health care, in their own mother tongue.