Finns in Sweden: “badly educated brawlers”
Something like this story has been mentioned before. A few weeks ago when I was in CeBIT, I was talking with an older Swedish man and talked about the Finnish immigrants in his town up north. He used the words, “The Finns worked hard and drank hard“…
Erkki Pulliainen, a Finnish Green League MP, said Tuesday that the Finnish government should ask Sweden to improve the status of the Finnish language in its schools.
Citing a study by Antti Ylikiiskilä, a Finnish lecturer in Swedish at Högskolan Dalarna, a Swedish university, Mr Pulliainen added that Swedish textbooks described Sweden’s Finnish minority as a lot of “badly educated brawlers”. [...]According to Mr Pulliainen, Swedish textbooks give rather superficial, even false, information about Finland.
A representative from the Swedish embassy replied, “We’ll edit those textbooks when Finns stop saying we’re all gay!” ;-0
So, it’s NOT gonna happen then.
Comment by FinnFreak — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 3:15 pm
And that’s now typical Swedish “We’re the centre of the North” arrogance (re: my comment on the EU in a different thread here). There would never be a Finnish schoolbook here stating Swedes are gay.
Moreover, Sweden is now re-enforcing some good old imperialism here, probably disappointed with the fact that in a couple of years we’ll celebrate the 200th anniversary of our separation and the fact that we’re doing quite well without that big brother (just like the Norwegians). Sweden now has a plan to second an official in the Finnish National Board of Education to oversee the quality of Swedish language teaching in Finnish schools.
If they put even 1% of that effort to teaching Finnish in Sweden, I’d buy the next Swede I met a cold Karjala ;-).
MM
Comment by Moral minority? — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 6:38 pm
What is this ridiculous nonsense? Are we still a colony of Sweden?? THEY are sending someone here to oversee that sweden gets taught properly in OUR schools? Simply put: WTF??
This wouldn’t be an issue if the initiative had come from the finnish officials themselves, inviting a swede here for the job, but that the swedes have the arrogance to demand this kind of thing on their own? Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. Meanwhile finnish wasn’t even recognized as an official minority language in Sweden until 1999.
Even more unbelievable is the fact that finns are, again, bending over (no pun intended) for the swedes in this issue. No guts whatsoever.
Comment by Ã…boy — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 7:44 pm
Sorry, got carried away..
*Wipes the foam from the mouth*
Meant of course “..to oversee that swedish gets taught..”.
Comment by Ã…boy — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 7:51 pm
A representative from the Swedish embassy replied, “We’ll edit those textbooks when Finns stop saying we’re all gay!â€Â
That’s a good point. If we don’t want be characterized as “badly educated brawlers” we should not behave like ones.
Comment by kjr — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 9:33 pm
I read the news they already have even one German there in the board of education looking after the german language teaching and according to the director, their experiences are so good, they are really looking forward to have the swedish official there. The french are probably the next. Sure pissed me off too. They could at least pretend being in a sovereign country.
I have a bloody laudatur in swedish from the student exam, but the only time in my life I have needed the language was “Var sÃ¥ good - tack” to an old lady buying a single ticket in line 4 tram. Oh yes, and some heck of a fun finlandssvensk homecoming party I somehow ended up about a decade ago without knowing anybody there.
Damn Jörn Donner should invite me to a talk show at svenska teatern to get some return for the language education money invested in me.
Comment by Antti (the redneck one) — Wed, Apr 26th, 2006 @ 10:00 pm
ROFL at the Swedish embassys reply!
Comment by Plasma — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 11:12 am
Now thinking about it, I want also that russian official back to control the quality of our presidential candidates and government parties. They have been rather a drag lately…
Comment by antti (the redneck one) — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 11:33 am
I don’t see what the problem is with Sweden sending a representative to Finland to oversee the teaching of Swedish. First of all, they’re not “demanding” anything, they’re offering to send such a person here. Secondly, the Swedish government would be paying his salary, so what’s the problem? Admittedly Swedish doesn’t seem that important nowadays, but if the Swedes want to spend money to improve the level of teaching in Finland, I say go ahead!
Comment by hobbes — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 3:29 pm
What is this ridiculous nonsense? Are we still a colony of Sweden?? THEY are sending someone here to oversee that sweden gets taught properly in OUR schools? Simply put: WTF??
Is your loyality to the crown in question, peasant?!
Comment by Captain Haddock — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
Well, at least they don´t send those skull measurers any more.
But really, those school books are disgusting. It doesn´t say in Finnish school books that “Swedes are gay”.
Comment by press — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 5:38 pm
Hobbes, the official Swedish attitude towards Finnish is awful. Why it’s wrong they would second someone in our National Board of Education is that they’re implying double standards, demanding a way different status for their master language in Finland with no intention to do anything for survival of Finnish in Sweden, not only among immigrants but among the autochtonous Finns in Swedish Lapland.
It’s like the Russians complaing about Russians in the Baltic states, while at the same time discriminating their own minorities, massacring Chechens and hush-hushing the problems of ethnic Russians in their former colonies in Central Asia.
What next? Saudi Arabia seconding an official to the Ministry of Education to oversee religious freedom and tolerance in Finland?
MM
Comment by Moral minority? — Thu, Apr 27th, 2006 @ 6:11 pm
I am yet to see this massacre of Finns in Sweden. Being part Finnish myself, i think i would be one of the first ones to know.
As for the status of languages in Sweden. Finnish and several other languages are official while Swedish is not an official language.
Regarding the Swedish representative, i think it’s an offer you can refuse if he is this great threat to the Finnish indipendence he apears to be. Apparently the Swedish goverment considers this money well spent. But then again, spending money well has never been the Swedish goverments badge of honour.
Comment by Christian — Fri, Apr 28th, 2006 @ 12:03 am
As an American I demand that Finland change their english language textbooks. I happened to read in one that if an American asks “Whats new?”, they want to know what new possessions you have.
Comment by Unit — Fri, Apr 28th, 2006 @ 9:11 am
Unit - As an American you have no right whatsoever to demand anyone correct their use of the English language, until you (as an American) correct yours! The bastardiSation of languages is definately NOT for Americans to judge. JP
Comment by JP — Thu, Oct 11th, 2007 @ 2:28 am