"Are you Swedish?" the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students

This study aims to shed light on how Finland-Swedish students perceive and understand their identity and the Swedish-speaking minority. According to the Finnish Constitution, the national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. In Finland, there is a Swedish-speaking minority living mainly on...

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Main Author: Hildén, Linda
Other Authors: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos, Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylän yliopisto
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/95738
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author Hildén, Linda
author2 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
author_facet Hildén, Linda Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto Hildén, Linda Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
author_sort Hildén, Linda
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description This study aims to shed light on how Finland-Swedish students perceive and understand their identity and the Swedish-speaking minority. According to the Finnish Constitution, the national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. In Finland, there is a Swedish-speaking minority living mainly on the coast of the Baltic Sea. People who speak Swedish as their mother tongue are called Swedish-speaking Finns or Finland-Swedes. The present study is from the perspective of Finland-Swedish students who go outside the Swedishspeaking area to study in a predominately Finnish-speaking area of Finland. This aspect has hardly been researched to date. At the same time, this study is also a response to the call for more qualitative research on the Finland-Swedish minority. It is conducted through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion, and the data is analysed using Bamberg’s three level model of narrative positioning. The research questions of the study are: How do Finland-Swedish students perceive their identity? How do FinlandSwedish students navigate their positioning in a predominantly Finnish-speaking environment? Interview data was collected from six participants, three of whom also participated in a focus group discussion. All participants self-identified as Swedish speaking Finns and the individual interviews were grouped into four categories: Finland-Swedish identity, Finland-Swedishness in Finnish-speaking areas, encounters, and Finland-Swedishness on a national level. The findings illustrate the heterogeneous identity of the Swedish-speaking Finns and the minority’s connection with bilingualism. Despite speaking Swedish, the participants felt strongly about their Finnish national identity. The study also shows how outsiders problematise the bilingual identity of Finland-Swedish students, which underlines the ‘one language-one ethnicity’ language ideology. However, the study reveals how the participants challenge the language ideology by telling people about their background to prove their Finnishness. The results show how the positioning in relation to other characters in ‘small stories’ bridges into the positioning in the social context. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the legacy of the Swedish period is still present in contemporary Finland. In conclusion, there is a need for more interpersonal communication to improve the perception of Swedish-speaking Finns and the Swedish language in Finland.
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According to the Finnish Constitution, the national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. In Finland, there is a Swedish-speaking minority living mainly on the coast of the Baltic Sea. People who speak Swedish as their mother tongue are called Swedish-speaking Finns or Finland-Swedes.\nThe present study is from the perspective of Finland-Swedish students who go outside the Swedishspeaking area to study in a predominately Finnish-speaking area of Finland. This aspect has hardly been researched to date. At the same time, this study is also a response to the call for more qualitative research on the Finland-Swedish minority. It is conducted through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion, and the data is analysed using Bamberg\u2019s three level model of narrative positioning. The research questions of the study are: How do Finland-Swedish students perceive their identity? How do FinlandSwedish students navigate their positioning in a predominantly Finnish-speaking environment?\nInterview data was collected from six participants, three of whom also participated in a focus group discussion. All participants self-identified as Swedish speaking Finns and the individual interviews were grouped into four categories: Finland-Swedish identity, Finland-Swedishness in Finnish-speaking areas, encounters, and Finland-Swedishness on a national level. \nThe findings illustrate the heterogeneous identity of the Swedish-speaking Finns and the minority\u2019s connection with bilingualism. Despite speaking Swedish, the participants felt strongly about their Finnish national identity. The study also shows how outsiders problematise the bilingual identity of Finland-Swedish students, which underlines the \u2018one language-one ethnicity\u2019 language ideology. 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spellingShingle Hildén, Linda "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students Finland-Swedish students narrative positioning language ideology finlandssvenska studenter identitet narrative positionering språkideologi Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication 3134 ruotsin kieli suomenruotsalaiset identiteetti suomalaiset suomenruotsalaisuus kaksikielisyys suomalaisuus kielelliset vähemmistöt Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns identity (mental objects) Finns Finland-Swedishness bilingualism Finnish identity linguistic minorities
title "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
title_full "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
title_fullStr "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
title_full_unstemmed "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
title_short "Are you Swedish?"
title_sort are you swedish the heterogeneous identity of finland swedish students
title_sub the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
title_txtP "Are you Swedish?" : the heterogeneous identity of Finland-Swedish students
topic Finland-Swedish students narrative positioning language ideology finlandssvenska studenter identitet narrative positionering språkideologi Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication 3134 ruotsin kieli suomenruotsalaiset identiteetti suomalaiset suomenruotsalaisuus kaksikielisyys suomalaisuus kielelliset vähemmistöt Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns identity (mental objects) Finns Finland-Swedishness bilingualism Finnish identity linguistic minorities
topic_facet 3134 Finland-Swedish students Finland-Swedishness Finnish identity Finns Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication Swedish language Swedish-speaking Finns bilingualism finlandssvenska studenter identiteetti identitet identity (mental objects) kaksikielisyys kielelliset vähemmistöt language ideology linguistic minorities narrative positionering narrative positioning ruotsin kieli språkideologi suomalaiset suomalaisuus suomenruotsalaiset suomenruotsalaisuus
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/95738 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202406114506
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