Finland-Swedes in everyday life – Part 3: Young people

Finland-Swedes are a minority nationally, but in the Österbotten region, where Jakobstad is located, they form the majority. The difference is tangible. In shops, customers are greeted in Swedish, and even a local bar quiz is conducted entirely in the language.

In many ways, Finland-Swedes have created a small society of their own within Finland.

“You do not feel like you belong to the Finns. We get a lot of culture from Sweden,” Brännbacka says.

At the same time, she does not feel Swedish either. Much like members of the Danish minority who value the term “South Schleswigian” for capturing an in-between identity, the label “Finland-Swede” carries similar meaning for these young people.

“We belong to neither one nor the other,” says 17-year-old Alvin Englund.

Englund grew up bilingual, with a Finnish-speaking mother and a Swedish-speaking father, and speaks both languages fluently. His schooling, however, has always been in Swedish.

For students such as Brännbacka, Smeds and Edvard Asplund, who did not grow up bilingual, Finnish can be challenging – largely because Swedish is so widely used in the area.

“You can get by very well in Swedish here,” Englund says.

Brännbacka and Smeds both say they are not particularly confident in Finnish, despite making an effort. “Finns understand what you are trying to say,” Smeds says.

Asplund speaks Finnish unusually well for a Finland-Swede, thanks to the primary school he attended. He went to a school for Finland-Swedes where classes were taught in Finnish, helping pupils become more comfortable with the language. A school with the opposite focus also exists. Even so, Asplund prefers to speak Swedish. The same is true for Englund, despite his bilingual background.

Not standard Swedish, they emphasise, but Swedish spoken with a local dialect. “There are many different dialects in a small area, and quite strong ones – dialects that Swedes in Sweden do not really understand,” Englund says.

Because of limited Finnish skills, many Finland-Swedes choose to study in Sweden after finishing upper secondary school, Smeds explains. Like the others, she is in her third year, but unlike them she will not graduate this summer. She has opted to complete her studies over four years, an option open to all students, allowing her to focus on additional subjects.

“It feels a bit strange that I am continuing while the others graduate. But I also have friends who have chosen four years, and younger friends as well,” she says.

Despite their limited confidence in Finnish, neither Smeds nor Brännbacka plan to study in Sweden after finishing school. Doing so, they believe, could limit future opportunities in Finland.

“If we move to Sweden, we will not be exposed to Finnish. Then it will not be easy to come back and get a job,” Brännbacka says. They do want to return and build their lives in Finland.

“Finland is a safe and good country. It is a place you want to live in in the future, so it is an advantage to know Finnish,” Smeds says.

Jakobstad Upper Secondary School shares a building with a Finnish-language school. Asked whether they have Finnish-speaking friends, the answers vary: “not that many”, “a few”, or “some through work”.

“We do not really have contact with those who speak Finnish,” Brännbacka says, although she herself has Finnish-speaking friends through her job.

Language plays a role. Although both Finnish and Swedish are official languages, and both are taught in schools, everyday interaction across language groups remains limited. “When you are in Sweden, it feels strange that everyone understands the language. Here, we are used to people outside Jakobstad speaking Finnish,” Brännbacka says.