Minority languages of Sweden
In 1999, Sweden formally recognized five minority languages of Sweden. They were decided by the Minority Language Committee, established in 1995, and following the criteria established by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 1997.
Sweden has no official language but the Swedish is the national language and de facto official language of the country, dominating commercial and cultural life. The minority status is given to minor languages as a way of protecting cultural and historical heritage.
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Required criterias
It is required that a language must have been spoken in Sweden for a "significant amount of time" – all though not expressed, this has been estimated to mean for at least 100 years. As a significant immigration to Sweden did not start until after World War I, it rules out many languages which are spoken by many immigrants, among them Arabic and Persian.
It is also required that the language be spoken by a significant amount of people, and that it is centered to a specific region.
Furthermore, it is requested that the promotion as a minority language would be beneficial for the group speaking it. Allegedly, this is the reason that the Swedish sign language is not included – eventhough it is a unique language with a history dating back to the 18th century, it is considered to have a stable incorporated in the Swedish culture.
Another reason for not granting sign language a status of minority language is that its users, the deaf people, do not have a common cultural heritage, which is yet another critera for inclusion.
Finally, languages that do not differ much from standard Swedish are considered dialects and are not included. These include Scanian, spoken in the southernmost province, and Gutniska, spoken on the island Gotland.
Affected languages
Sami languages
The Sami languages is actually not one language, but – at the least – three languages. They are spoken in northern Sweden, and also in the northern parts of Norway and Finland, by the native population. It traces its history back at least 2,000 years. In total, it is spoken by 40,000 people.
As a minority language, it may be used in government agencies, courts, preschools and nursing homes in the municipalities where it is most common: Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna and its immediate neighbourhood.
Meänkieli
Meänkieli-Finnish or Tornedals language is spoken by a population in northern Sweden. It is related to Finnish and is not intelligible by Swedes. The number of speakers amount to 50,000 or so.
Standard Finnish
Standard Finnish has been spoken in Sweden ever since the borders were drawn in the 13th century. Sweden has always had a significant immigration to and from Finland. As the two languages belong to different language families it is easy to distinguish them. Number of speakers in Sweden today amoung to over 200,000
Finnish and Meänkieli can be used in the northernmost municipalities of Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå and its immediate neighbourhood.
Romani
Romani chib, the language of Gypsies, has been spoken in Sweden since the 16th century. Today about 20,000 people speak it in Sweden. It does not have a geographical center, but is considered to be of historical importance.
Yiddish
Yiddish is the common language of the jews. The first jews were allowed in Sweden in the late 18th century. Certain evidence of Yiddish being spoken are about a century later. Of Sweden's 20,000 jews, about 4,000 are estimated to know enough of the language to claim to be speakers of it.
Romany and Yiddish have the position of "historical minority languages" throughout the country, and thus the Swedish state acknowledges a certain obligation to preserve them.
Reference
- Sveriges officiella minoritetsspråk, Svenska språknämnden 2003. (In Swedish)
See also
Categories: Languages of Sweden