Language Research

Finnish has deep roots in Sweden because Sweden and Finland were one State for about 650 years (1155-1809). During that period, there were constant migrations from one side of the territory to the other. Even when Finland was separated from Sweden and annexed to the Russian empire in 1809, migrations continued in both directions. Only in the north of the country, in the Torne Valley, the Finns have stayed since settling there in the 11th century. These Finns are considered to be the genuine autochthonous Finnish community of Sweden.

SAMI/LAPP

The oldest description of the Sami people was given by Tacitus in “De origine et situ Germanorum” in 98 B.C. The Lapps, as they are colloquially known, lived originally by hunting and fishing in small communities. Their way of living was affected during the 17th and 18th centuries when colonists settled in the northern territories. The mores of these colonists, who were mainly farmers living in houses and producing wool and butter, were very different from the traditional occupations of the Lapps. However, the colonists were able to integrate with and adapt to the Sami's life. In the 19th century, the establishment of a school system changed behavior towards the Lapps and their culture and led to a limitation of the use of “Samegiella”, which would subsequently be eliminated.

The Sami language belongs to the Finno-Ugric family. It has three main dialects: East Sami, Central Sami and South Sami. The differences between the three main dialects are sometimes so great that they can be described as different languages. The Central Sami is the most widely spoken; meanwhile, East Sami and South Sami are spoken in the areas where the Sami are a minority. Estimates are that 70% of Sami speak the Sami language.

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Updated (November 2001)

The Finns' history in Sweden dates back to the Middle Age and the Finnish congregation in Stockholm, which is around 500 years old. However, migration increased dramatically during the 1960's and 70's, due to lack of work in Finland.

In the book “Finnarnas historia i Sverige 3” (The Finns' History in Sweden 3), Risto Laakkonen wrote that the majority of Finns were employed in the industry. There existed no interpretation or other language services; Swedish was used at the workplaces.

Now and then extreme cases prevailed, like in the mining communities in the region of Norrbotten in the 1950's, when Finns were forbidden to talk Finnish with each other during work and breaks. An impulse for it was to decrease the accident risk.

During the 60's, Sweden admitted almost 200,000 Finnish immigrants, of which 80,000 arrived during 1968-69. A new problem was the lack of suitable apartments so many Finns ended up living in barracks. Simultaneously, Sweden recruited working labor from other parts of Europe so the employees belonged to different ethnic groups. This was also a new experience that the Finns were not prepared for.

The 80's were the decade when many refugees arrived to the country. This raised the Finns' status, since new ethnic groups took over the low-paid work. According to Pasi Salmela, recently elected Executive Director for the National Association of Finns in Sweden, (NAFS) Swedes do not see Finns as immigrants today and there is no negative undertone.

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Updated (November 2002)

MEÄNKIELI AND SWEDEN FINNISH

Meänkieli and Sweden Finnish, which are seen by some as varieties of Finnish, and by the others as separate languages, have historical roots in Sweden. Meänkieli dates back to the 11th and 12th Century. It has developed from Finland Finnish since the Hamina Peace Treaty in 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to Russia. About 8,000 inhabitants in the border region of Tornedalen, in which Meänkieli was spoken, remained on the Swedish side, while about 11,000 stayed on the Finnish side. Until about 1980, Meänkieli was considered a dialect of Finnish, and was called Tornedalen Finnish. The province of Norrbotten, in which Tornedalen is situated, covers about one fourth (98,911 km2) of the total area of Sweden, but it is populated only by about 3 percent of the total population.

Sweden Finnish has been used frequently since about the same period of time as the term Meänkieli (instead of Tornedalen Finnish) came into more general use. Sweden Finnish is predominantly spoken in and around the capital of Stockholm, in the central Swedish Mälardalen region, in urban centers along the Baltic shore, and in and around the second largest city, Gothenburg. It is also spoken in the region of Tornedalen at the border of Finland, and thus overlaps with the Meänkieli-speaking area. Meänkieli is spoken mainly in rural, Northern Sweden, and Sweden Finnish in central, urban Sweden.

Source: Mercator Education, The Finnic Languages in Education in Sweden, http://www1.fa.knaw.nl/mercator/regionale_dossiers/regional_dossier_meankieli_in_sweden.htm

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Updated (September 2006)

SWEDEN'S ROMA

On 2 December 1999 the Swedish Parliament adopted the Government's proposals for a new unified policy on minorities, thus conferring national minority status on the country's Roma and recognizing Romany Chib as an official minority language.

A SHORT HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ROMA IN SWEDEN

The history of the Roma in the Nordic area is not fully known. Sweden has had a Romany population since the 16th century.

In Stockholm's Book of Meditation, the clergyman Olai Petri described how a large company of Roma visited the city in 1512. He referred to them as Tater. Until about 100 years ago, they were alternately referred to as tattare (a catch-all word for wandering vagrants, vagabonds, travelers, carrying negative connotation) or Gypsies. A great number of the Roma who originally reached Sweden were deported over the centuries to Finland, which used to be part of the Swedish empire.

In Sweden as elsewhere, the secular and ecclesiastical authorities issued various edicts during the 17th century decreeing that the Roma were to be driven out of the country.

During the 18th century many Roma were drafted into the army. Others were dispatched to forced labor or forced settlement. A ban on Romany immigration was introduced in Sweden in 1914 and remained in place until 1954.

During the period between the two world wars, the 'Gypsy and tattare' issue was the subject of a fierce debate, which had racist overtones and frequently drew on racial biology.

The present population of Sweden includes an estimated 40,000- 50,000 Roma, including Travelers. The number is difficult to determine, as Swedish population statistics do not include details of ethnic background.

It is worth mentioning that the Romany population in Sweden is not homogeneous. It includes descendants of the Romany groups referred back to the 16th century, but also Roma who moved to Sweden during the second half of the 20th century. About 3,200 Finnish Kalé Roma are considered one of the oldest groups on the territory even though some of them move back and forth between Sweden and Finland. In addition, the Travelers estimated to the number of about 20,000, have their roots back in the 16th century. The Romany community in Sweden also includes 2,500 or more so-called Swedish Kelderash Roma whose ancestors came there as immigrants about 100 years ago. The majority of the country's Roma, the 'non-Nordic' Roma, estimated to about 15,000, arrived in Sweden in the 1960s or later. Out of these, some came as immigrant labor force, others as refugees from former Yugoslavia and other countries. Among the non-Nordic Roma currently living in Sweden, there are also many with personal experience of the Romany Holocaust during the World War II.

Romany population in Sweden is characterized by a great diversity. Not only are there many varieties of the language, Romany Chib, but the groups also differ in the traditions and cultures. Despite these differences, however, it is important to emphasize that the Roma see themselves as one nation. The things that the various groups have in common are of great importance to them and bind them together in their Romany identity - the language, awareness of a common origin, as well as similar values, traditions, cultures and experiences, all of what have made the Roma culturally indomitable.

Roma in Sweden have been domiciled since the 1960s. Most of them live in metropolitan Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, or surrounding areas. The Roma still occupy a highly vulnerable position in Swedish society and are exposed to discrimination. Many Roma encounter great difficulties in virtually all spheres of society. This applies to education, the labor market, housing and health care and to their possibility of participating in the community on the same terms as the majority population.

Source: Sweden's Roma - A National Minority, Fact Sheet of the Ministry of Justice, Sweden, June 2003 http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/2188/a/19444

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