How prevalent is Swedish in the Swedish speaking parts of Finland

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Approximately 90% of Finns speak Finnish as their native language. Approximately 5% of Finns speak Swedish as their native language. Swedish is spoken the most on Finland's western and southern coast.

1. How common is Swedish in Finland?
2. What parts of Finland speak Swedish?
3. Can Swedes understand Finnish?
4. Why do some Finns speak Swedish?
5. Are Finns Swedes?
6. How many Finns live in Sweden?
7. Is Swedish hard to learn?
8. Is Swedish useful in Finland?
9. What is Finland's language?
10. Can Swedes understand German?
11. Is Finland rich or poor?
12. What language did Vikings speak?

How common is Swedish in Finland?

Swedish-speakers comprise 5.2% of the total Finnish population or about 4.9% without Åland. The proportion has been steadily diminishing since the early 19th century, when Swedish was the mother tongue of approximately 15% of the population and considered a prestige language.

What parts of Finland speak Swedish?

Today, Swedish dialects are spoken in four different regions in Finland: Ostrobothnia, Åland Islands, Southwest Finland and Uusimaa. Swedish as spoken in Finland is regulated by the Swedish Department of the Institute for the Languages of Finland.

Can Swedes understand Finnish?

The language of Finland belongs to a different family. Finnish is close to Estonian and Hungarian. Most people in Finland know Swedish, so the Finns can understand the Swedes, but most Swedes cannot understand Finnish. ... Often the written languages seem closer than the spoken languages.

Why do some Finns speak Swedish?

The Swedes appreciated the Finnish working culture (sisu). Swedish is an official language in Finland, that's why you have to learn it. Swedish speaking people have to learn Finnish, of course. There is a lot of people with Swedish as mother tongue in the Finnish west coast, even in southern Finland.

Are Finns Swedes?

The Sweden Finns are either native to Sweden or have emigrated from Finland to Sweden. An estimated 450,000 first- or second-generation immigrants from Finland live in Sweden, of which approximately half speak Finnish.

How many Finns live in Sweden?

Today, approximately 450,000 first- and second-generation Swedish Finns live in Sweden, of whom about half speak Finnish. The majority moved to Sweden after World War II.

Is Swedish hard to learn?

According to The Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State, Swedish is in fact on of the easier languages to learn. Good news! ... This is relatively easy, compared to some of the hardest languages – for example Japanese, Arabic and Chinese will take approximately 2,200 class hours to learn!

Is Swedish useful in Finland?

Swedish language skills could be useful when you look for work. However, please note that most jobs require proficiency in Finnish. Even if you choose Swedish-language integration training, you should also study Finnish at some point. In some municipalities, you can participate in Swedish-language integration training.

What is Finland's language?

FinnishSwedish

Can Swedes understand German?

Danish and Swedish are the most mutually comprehensible, but German and Dutch are also mutually intelligible. English is the most widely understood language of all the Germanic languages studied, but the British have the most trouble understanding other languages.

Is Finland rich or poor?

The economy of Finland is a highly industrialised, mixed economy with a per capita output similar to that of other western European economies such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

What language did Vikings speak?

Learn Old Norse: The Viking Language Series

Old Norse is the language of the Vikings, sagas, runes, eddic and skaldic poetry. The Norse language is still spoken by Icelanders today in a modern style.