Why is it mandatory to learn Swedish in Finland?
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Why is it mandatory to learn Swedish in Finland?
Supporters of Mandatory Swedish argue that the policy brings Finland closer to the Nordic countries, since Swedish is part of the larger Scandinavian dialect continuum and mutually intelligible with both Danish and Norwegian. On the contrary, Finnish belongs to the unrelated Finnic language group.
Why are Swedish people in Finland?
Why do they speak Swedish in Finland? As a result of the colonization of Finnish coastal areas and the former capital Turku during the Middle Ages, Finland gradually became part of Sweden. The country stayed under Swedish rule for almost 700 years, until 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to Russia.
Is Swedish useful in Finland?
Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Approximately 87\% of Finns speak Finnish as their native language. Approximately 5\% of Finns speak Swedish as their native language. You can use Swedish with government authorities, such as Kela or the TE Office.
Did Finland used to be a part of Sweden?
Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years from around 1150 until the Finnish War of 1809 after which Finland became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. Both Finland and Sweden joined the European Union together in 1995.
Does Helsinki speak Swedish?
Helsinki, the capital, had a Swedish-speaking majority until late in the 19th century. Currently 5.9\% of the population of Helsinki are native Swedish speakers and 15\% are native speakers of languages other than Finnish and Swedish. The Swedish dialects spoken in Finland mainland are known as Finland-Swedish.
What is Finland’s main religion?
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The great majority of the people belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, whose status gradually changed from an official state church to a national church beginning in the 19th century.