The Nordic Youth Council (UNR), the youth political organisation of the Nordic Council, has decided that it will allow the English language to be used when necessary in meetings. This goes against the official Nordic language policy which stipulates that the working languages are Swedish/Norwegian/Danish (which are mutually intelligible).
According to UNR, Nordic cooperation should be open to all individuals in the Nordic countries and not be an exclusive club for those that can speak a Scandinavian tongue.
UNRs president Lisbeth Sejer Götzsche said that she had come to the conclusion that speaking English on occasion would not make her any less Danish or Nordic. However, she pointed out it would be easier for UNR to operate in solely the Scandinavian languages if it received more support for interpretation.
It’s hard to understand why this decision is necessary. Finnish-speaking Finns, Icelanders, Greenlanders and the Faeroese all must study one of the mainland Scandinavian languages (in practice Swedish for Finnish-speaking Finns and Danish for the others) in school. UNR seems to be sending out a signal that says the education systems are failing to perform their roles. It also seems to be conceding and even collaborating with the English take-over of various domains which is damaging for the vitality of the Scandinavian languages. Of course, English is a global language and it’s convenient that we have such a tongue - afterall, this blog is written in it to reach out. But the Nordic Council and its youth wing are meant to be forums for the Nordic countries - it’s not an entity that encompasses the wider globe. English or any other non-Nordic language simply shouldn’t be necessary.
Picture is of the Nordic Youth Council’s members. Source: Nordbild/norden.org
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Wednesday 16.4.08 at 12:54
giustino
Well, I am interested in learning Swedish. If you can recommend any good books for beginners, I would definitely snap them up given the chance.
Wednesday 16.4.08 at 16:46
Jonas
Are you learning it from the beginning? Do you want a course book or something else?
Wednesday 16.4.08 at 22:58
giustino
Yes, from the beginning, though I took a semester of Danish when I studied in Copenhagen.
Thursday 17.4.08 at 17:02
Jonas
I see. That should help you with at least recognising some basic words then. Although in Swedish, we actually try to pronounce them with some kind of similarity to how they are written
I don’t really know what to recommend for course books. But having just had a quick Google-session, there seems to be very many Swedish for beginners type books available (presumably that segment of the book market is booming from Sweden’s high immigration). The best-selling seem to be Svenska utifrån, Nya mål and På G. But these seem to involve buying seperate text books, excercise books, CD etc. Helsinki’s adult education service seems to use Svenska utifrån according to their website (of course many of the Swedish-teaching books in the Finnish shops are designed for Finnish-speakers).
Åbo akademi is using a book called ‘På svenska!’ for teaching Swedish to exchange students. Notably in the book shop description, this is the only one that specifies it can be used in self-study. So, perhaps worth checking out. https://www.akateeminenkirjakauppa.fi/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10052&productId=2661177&langId=-12
It seems that you should also buy the study booklet in your own language to accompany it… (the English version
https://www.akateeminenkirjakauppa.fi/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10052&productId=8719285&langId=-12
There is also a more optional excercise book:
https://www.akateeminenkirjakauppa.fi/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10052&productId=8629973&langId=-12
and CD (probably not as necessary):
https://www.akateeminenkirjakauppa.fi/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10052&productId=8828403&langId=-12
Expensive if you buy it all. Might be cheaper to order directly from Sweden, e.g. Bokus.com.
As you can see, I’m really not sure what to recommend! Perhaps there are the CD/book courses that are made for English speakers that you could find?
Otherwise, you can listen to Radio Vega, which is the main radio station in Swedish from Finland here: http://arenan.yle.fi/mediaspelare/radiovega/. The long news magazine at 17.00 Finnish time is a very high quality programme.
Failing all of this, please track down a lesser-spotted estlandssvensk!
Tuesday 22.4.08 at 17:40
JL
Jonas, you’re really out of touch with what the majority of people in Finland think about this. Just about all Finnish-speakers have a better command of English than Swedish. Most Finns don’t really speak Swedish apart from a few stock phrases. This is not because the education system fails to teach them, but rather because there is little use for Swedish in Finland. In order to be fluent in a language it is not enough to attend classes–you also need to constantly use the language with native speakers.
The average Finn doesn’t really get to speak Swedish after finishing secondary schooling. Personally, just about the only time I’ve used Swedish after high school is when I took the compulsory Swedish exam in university. When talking to Swedish-speaking Finns, Finnish-speakers use Finnish, and when talking to Swedes, they typically use English. The other Scandinavian languages, especially Danish, are very difficult to understand for Finns even if they have a better-than-average command of Swedish; so English is used there, too. This is at least my experience and that of all my friends.
The fact that the working languages of the Nordic Council are the three Scandinavian ones necessarily puts most Finns at a disadvantage in negotiations etc. The adoption of English by the Nordic Youth Council is a welcome development, because it promotes equality: everybody has to speak in a foreign language, and the Scandinavians can no longer dominate the discussions. Hopefully the Nordic Council itself follows suit.
I don’t know what’s the take of the Icelanders, Greenlanders and Faeroese on this, but I suspect they that, like the Finns, regard the use of English in Nordic cooperation as a positive development.
Tuesday 22.4.08 at 21:29
Jonas
I may be out of touch with what the majority of Finnish-speaking Finns think on this, but I think most Swedish-speaking Finns are probably of this opinion. Although in the past at some EU gatherings where it’s been proposed that they leave out translation into Swedish, it’s been Finland that has protested and had it reinstated (and not Sweden).
I am also a Finn, so I do know the score with Swedish in Finland today. It really does depend where you live. Naturally, if you’re in Jyväskylä you’re not going to be having a lot of call in it in your daily life. Where I am, of course people speak Swedish and expect the authorities/businesses to do so as well. Now of course, that’s not always the case in the case of especially the private-sector and even more especially smaller companies owned by Finnish speakers. And of course, some Swedish-speaking people either can’t be bothered are rather inconsiderate towards Finnish-speakers who try to help them in Swedish and just do everything in Finnish - which I agree, doesn’t help. I always start in Swedish - sure if the person can’t speak it, then that’s fine by me, and we can speak Finnish. And equally, I realise it’s not much help to someone who is doing their best but is maybe not brilliant in Swedish to just speak Finnish to them - as that’s slightly rude when they are trying and won’t help them either. So yes, you’re right, it sometimes is our fault that the Swedish language isn’t used.