Capital: Helsinki

Area : 337,032 km²

Currency: Euro

Administrative divisions: 446 municipalities, 20 regions or districts and 6 provinces (Lapland, Oulu, Western Finland, Eastern Finland, Southern Finland, Åland)

Population in 2004: 5.2 million, 75% of whom live in Southern or Western Finland

Official bilingualism in Finland

by Jacques Leclerc

There are currently 193 sovereign states in the world, of which 45 are officially bilingual. These bilingual states have a variety of language policies and various forms of bilingualism or multilingualism. The Finnish model is of special interest because it works so well.

Status of languages in Finland

A large majority of Finland’s population speaks Finnish (92.1%), while a minority speaks Swedish (5.5%). Though Finnish and Swedish are the official languages of Finland, no legal document specifies this status; they are instead referred to as “national languages.”

As a result, Swedish is not legally speaking considered a minority language, but one of the two national languages, which have equal status even though the Swedish-speaking population is very small. "Swedish from Sweden" is spoken in the south, around Helsinki and on the Åland Islands, while a regional variety of Swedish, called Finlandssvenska or "Swedish from Finland," is spoken on the west coast.

The recognized minority languages are Sami, Russian, Romany and Tatar. All other languages have the status of foreign languages.

Legal instruments protecting language rights

Among the 45 bilingual states, Finland is one of 39 whose constitution mentions the status of national or official languages. Section 17 of the 2000 Constitution states that “the national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish.” This section also states that “the Sami, as an indigenous people, as well as the Roma and other groups, have the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture.”

Only 10 of the 45 bilingual states (22.2% of them) have one or more language laws. Finland has a considerable amount of language legislation, dating back to 1920. Here are some examples:

• Act on the Use of the Sami Language before the Authorities (1991),
• Sami Language Act (1992),
• Act on the Sami Parliament (1995),
• Act on the Knowledge of Languages Required of Personnel in Public Bodies (2004),
• the new Language Act (2004),
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
  
  

Type of protection chosen by Finland

Finland is one of a very few countries where language protection of languages is based both on the principle of individual rights and on the principle of territorial rights.

Protection is based on individual rights with regard to education and the institutions of the central government in Helsinki, but it is based on territorial rights with regard to the municipalities. Thus the basic unit of language rights in Finland is the municipality, whose status may be either bilingual or unilingual.

Municipal bilingualism

Under section 5 of the 2004 Language Act, a municipality is designated bilingual if the Finnish- or Swedish-speaking minority comprises at least 8% of the population or at least 3,000 persons. A municipality is designated unilingual if the minority comprises less than 3,000 persons and its proportion is below 6%.

As a result, a unilingual municipality may become bilingual and a bilingual municipality may become unilingual. This status is based on data from the census, which is taken every 10 years. When a municipality loses its bilingual status, the minority loses its language rights, except those pertaining to the central government.

In May 2006, there were 446 municipalities in Finland; however, the government has recently undertaken a major reform of municipal structures, which should be completed in 2009. After the municipalities are amalgamated, there may only be 90, or even 50, left.

In the unilingual Finnish municipalities, Swedish speakers cannot demand municipal services in Swedish. The same is true of Finnish speakers in the three unilingual Swedish municipalities. When a court is located in a unilingual municipality, its proceedings are conducted in that municipality’s official language.

In the bilingual municipalities, bilingualism applies to local government, the courts, business, transportation, radio, newspapers, language of work, etc. However, Swedish speakers sometimes find that government officials in bilingual municipalities do not speak Swedish very well. In principle they are required to know Swedish, but in fact their ability to speak the language is sometimes very rudimentary.

When a court is located in a bilingual municipality, the defendant’s language is used. If two defendants speak different languages, the court will generally choose the language that reflects the rights and interests of the parties.

Institutional bilingualism does not apply to the autonomous province of Åland, which is unilingual Swedish and has special status as a sovereign state associated with Finland. Finnish speakers have no language rights in the 16 unilingual Swedish municipalities in this archipelago.

Governmental bilingualism

In terms of government services, bilingualism is obligatory throughout the country. In principle, every Swedish-speaking citizen is guaranteed to receive services in his or her language, as long as they involve institutions under the central government.

Constitutional and statutory provisions mean that the entire legislative process is bilingual. Bilingualism applies to debates in the Parliament in Helsinki and to the drafting and enactment of laws. However, because the number of Swedish-speaking members of Parliament is so small (about a dozen), Swedish is in fact little used. Reports from state commissions or ministerial committees are always published in Finnish, but with a summary in Swedish.

Education

Municipalities, regardless of whether they have bilingual or unilingual status, are required to provide instruction in Finnish and in Swedish. All children are entitled to attend schools in the language of their choice, at the kindergarten, primary, secondary and university levels. In most Swedish schools, the proportion of Finnish-speaking students is high, sometimes reaching 80% in the Helsinki area, and this can lead to pedagogical problems.

Minority languages

Finnish legislation contains certain special measures for the Sami and the Roma, and some minimal provisions for Russians and Tatars. Members of the Sami Aboriginal minority in the province of Lapland enjoy the same rights as Swedish speakers with regard to government services and education; in the courts, however, interpreters may be used if court personnel do not speak Sami. The recognized minorities are entitled to their own schools and newspapers.

As a result, the Swedish-speaking community in Finland enjoys considerable protection compared to minorities elsewhere in the world. These rights can be considered exceptional, and while the system is not perfect, the Finnish model is unequalled in its effectiveness.