Language Research

Updated (September 2007)

Having once been a linguistically uniform country – albeit with certain traditional minorities having languages of their own – Sweden now has a wide range of mother tongues in its population. International migration after the Second World War has resulted in new immigrant minorities taking up residence in the country; whilst at the same time the historical and regional minorities have become more visible and vocal. Many Swedes believe that different languages spoken by immigrant groups are having an adverse impact on Swedish. The Swedish language is beginning to be perceived as under threat. Native speakers of Swedish are concerned about the future of their mother tongue.

Another factor that has contributed to the change in the linguistic landscape in Sweden is that English is becoming increasingly dominant in a number of domains¹, in which previously Swedish was the only language used.

The first, restricted, official recognition of linguistic diversity in Sweden dates back to the year 2000 when Sweden ratified the ECRML2, recognizing Sámi, Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Yiddish as official minority languages. The first three were accorded limited rights to be used in certain municipalities in northern Sweden, the other two (Romani Chib and Yiddish) even more limited rights, as they were considered non–territorial languages.

Due to the increased attention language has been given in recent years in Sweden, the authorities have taken the initiative to establish a governmental committee (The Swedish Language Council) to evaluate the status of the Swedish language and to propose measures to strengthen it. An “action plan” for the Swedish language has been published, partly in response to the increasing importance of English in Sweden, partly in response to the country's multilingualism, including its recognition of the five minority languages. The plan, “Speech: Draft Action Programme for the Swedish Language” was drafted in 2002 as a comprehensive language policy proposal for Sweden with the following goals:

1. Swedish shall be a complete language, serving and uniting our society;

2. Swedish in official and public use shall be correct and shall function well; and

3. Everyone shall have a right to language: to Swedish, to their mother tongue and to foreign languages.

The plan included an amazing eighty recommendations for the treatment of Swedish in relation to other languages in the country. A new language policy entitled “Best Language – a concerted language policy for Sweden” was based on these proposals and was approved by the Parliament in 2005. This policy document, amongst other measures, proposed an integrated language policy for Sweden, including a regional or minority language component.

Swedish is considered under the proposals still to be the main or majority language; yet there is no law stipulating that it is Sweden's official language.

The precedent legal framework governing the use of regional or minority languages in Sweden³ entitles individual citizens to use their mother tongue in the public domain; however, those Acts have a territorial application limited to certain municipalities in the Norrbotten County⁴, in which these languages have traditionally flourished and continue to be used to a sufficient extent.

Although the municipalities defined cover the territory on which Meänkieli has been traditionally present, this territorial limitation posed significant problems with respect to the Sámi and Finnish languages. Notably, some territories outside the administrative areas where South Sámi has been traditionally spoken, and those where there is a substantial traditional presence of Finnish, had been excluded from the legislation. Recently, however, the Swedish authorities have decided to improve the current situation and have proposed to extend the administrative area for Finnish to Stockholm and the Mälar Valley region, where approximately half of the Finnish speakers live. In addition, the Sámi administrative area should be extended to twenty further municipalities, in particular to territories where South Sámi speakers have been living.

Since the 1990's, a strong decentralization of political decision–making has made minority language laws a matter for local, not national implementation. The local authorities in the administrative areas are responsible for the practical implementation of the minority languages in public services, especially in the field of education. The status of Swedish regional or minority languages differs considerably from one municipality to another, therefore, as the use of these language in public life largely depends on the political will of the elected representatives of the municipalities.

Even though the legislation may stipulate the right to use a minority language, both in oral and written form, it is often in fact impossible to use it in administration and the courts due to a shortage of staff with adequate command of the respective minority language, particularly Sámi. For Finnish and Meänkieli, the administration usually has staff with adequate language proficiency, but these languages are still used mostly for oral communication only, as there is a lack of competence in producing written texts. Romani and Yiddish, protected by the Charter as non–territorial languages, remain absent from public life. Nevertheless, there have been some positive developments, notably regarding the time allocated for Romani broadcasting on radio.

Other minority languages have a relatively good presence on public radio and, to a much lesser extent, on television. The amount of television air–time devoted to minority language broadcasting has reduced over the years. In addition, there are still no newspapers in Sámi and Meänkieli, and the availability of Finnish–language newspapers has decreased⁵.

In the field of education, children speaking minority languages have a statutory right to mother–tongue education. Central State Government, in co–operation with the National Agency for Education, defines the targets for all the schools in Sweden in the national school curriculum. The municipalities, however, have the main responsibility for organizing the schools in accordance with those targets. They are obliged to organize education in minority language for children who have at least one parent with a mother tongue other than Swedish and who use this language for daily communication at home. However, education in the minority language can be provided only if the parents of at least five pupils request it and if teachers are available. For the Sámi, Meänkieli and Romani languages, however, daily use of the language is not a requirement and mother–tongue education can be provided even if only one pupil requests it.

In general, provision for minority languages is made through “mother–tongue” and “bilingual” education. In Sweden, these terms have specific meanings. “Mother–tongue” education only means teaching the language as a subject, usually outside normal school hours, perhaps for between forty minutes and two hours per week. “Bilingual” education means that part of the education, but not more than 50 percent, takes place through the medium of a language other than Swedish, although the share of Swedish must increase as the pupil advances to higher grades. Currently, the bilingual education model has almost disappeared from municipal schools; independent schools⁶ are the only institutions offering it (eight for Finnish and one for the Meänkieli minority). Moreover, the availability of secondary education in any minority language is very limited indeed. There is only one school, for instance, where the Sámi language is taught as a subject, although the Sámi Education Center in Jokkmokk does offer some vocational courses, which include teaching of the language.

Furthermore, one of the major problems affecting all levels of education is the serious lack of adequate teaching material and teachers. For example, available teaching materials for Finnish speakers must be obtained from Finland, and as a result their contents are not necessarily suited to the Swedish curricula or social context.

That municipalities neglect to inform the parents of their right to request education for their children in their mother tongue, claiming instead that there is insufficient demand, jeopardizes the future of minority–language education in Sweden, and thus the future of each minority language.

Sweden, in compliance with its national minority policy and international instruments, may support the national minorities living there, but only to a limited extent. A lot more needs to be done for the use of these languages in all areas of public life so each minority group can further develop and maintain their own cultural identity and their own language.

Sources:

1. Council of Europe, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of the Charter in Sweden, 2003
2. Council of Europe, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of the Charter in Sweden (2nd monitoring cycle), 2006
3. Council of Europe, Second Report Submitted by Sweden pursuant to Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 2006 www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/minorities/
4. National Minorities and Minority Languages (a summary of the Swedish Government's policy on national minorities), June 2003 http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/01/62/46/4cf4b38c.pdf
5. Ministry of Justice, Sweden's report to the Council of Europe on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Second Report submitted in accordance with Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention), June 2006
6. Committee on the Swedish Language, Speech – Draft Action Programme for the Swedish Language (2000) http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c4/14/43/50317e05.pdf

1. In Sweden, the use of English is described as quite pervasive, being commonly employed in the mass media, popular culture and entertainment, education (on all levels but especially at higher stages), science and research, and the business world.

2. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

3. The Act on the Use of Sámi in Administrative Authorities and Courts of Law and The Act on the Right to Use Finnish and Meänkieli in Administrative Authorities and Courts of Law, both enacted in 1999

4. The administrative areas for Sámi are the municipalities of Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna. For Finnish and Meänkieli, the administrative areas are the municipalities of Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå.

5. There used to be two weekly newspapers, “Ruotsin Suomalainen” and “Viikkoviesti”. In 2003, Viikkoviesti became a daily newspaper under the name “Ruotsin Sanomat”, however it declared bankruptcy in 2005.

6. Independent schools are open to all and must be approved by Skolverket, the National Agency for Education. This means that parents, teachers, organizations, foundations and companies could start their own schools, with their own teaching, content profile, or type of administration. When the profile is in accordance with the central educational goals for core subjects, and in accordance with the educational and democratic aims of the Swedish school system, the independent school's application is approved, and it receives grants from the municipality. However, if the independent schools are seen as impeding municipal education, or placing it at risk, the municipality is given the right to prohibit their approval.

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