1. Language & Nationalism in Europe Chapter 5: Northern Europe: Languages as Prime Markers of Ethnic & National Identity

2. Q: What is “Northern Europe”?

3. Finland + Aland Islands (Swedish lang) Sweden Denmark + Faroe Islands (Faroese) Norway Iceland

4. Some general characteristics of Northern Europe Religion: Relatedness of languages: Correspondence between statehood & national identity: –Exception:

5. Some general characteristics of Northern Europe Religion: majority Lutheran Protestant Relatedness of languages: All except Finnish & Sámi are closely related Correspondence between statehood & national identity: Good –Exception: Sámi people have no state or territory of their own, and live in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, & Russia

6. More on the languages: Uralic (Finno-Ugric): –Finnish & Sámi, which are NOT mutually intelligible Indo-European (Germanic): –Swedish, Danish, & Norwegian, which are all mutually intelligible –Faroese & Icelandic, which are not mutually intelligible

7. Historical Background 9 th -11 th c: Norway, Denmark, Sweden emerge as kingdoms 1396: all three are united with Finland in Union of Kalmar 1450 & thereafter: wars between Sweden and dominant Denmark 1905: Norwegian independence 1917: Finnish independence

8. Historical Background, cont’d. 1918: Iceland gets home rule 1944: Iceland gains independence Through 1980s: Sámi suffered harsh linguistic & cultural oppression 1973: Sámi parliament in Finland 1989: Sámi parliament in Norway 1993: Sámi parliament in Sweden

9. Development of written languages in Sweden & Denmark Denmark & Sweden: indigenous runic writing coexisted with Latin & Latin letters 1527 – Lutheranism became state religion in Sweden –1541 Translation of Bible into Swedish (based on Stockholm speech) 1536 -- Lutheranism became state religion in Denmark –1550 Translation of Bible into Danish (based on Copenhagen speech)

10. Development of written languages in Sweden & Denmark, cont’d. Conscious attempts to emphasize differences between Swedish & Danish 18 th c Danish & Swedish become consolidated as national languages Swedish is dominant as the majority language in Scandinavia 19 th c Danish suffers from conflict with German, Prussian wars Anti-German reaction takes form of pan- Scandinavianism

11. Norway Old Norse used as written language until 14 th c 16 th c -1814 – Danish used as written language during Danish rule 1840s large-scale collection of popular culture in local dialects Aasen collected dialectal information and codified Landsmaal, today know as Nynorsk

12. Norway, cont’d. 1864 Nynorsk grammar 1873 Nynorsk dictionary 1929 Bokmaal codified as literary standard distinct from Danish Bokmaal & Nynorsk now co-exist as standards, though Bokmaal dominates in the press and in schools

13. Norway, cont’d. Nynorsk appeals to rural population as being genuinely Norwegian; Bokmaal has urban, elite & foreign (Danish) associations Nynorsk supports greater range of genres, asserts rural/regional associations Regionalism is strong in Norway, but there is no trace of separatism

14. Finland Was part of Sweden, but Swedish was spoken only by the elite on the coast; Swedes did not suppress Finnish (as they did Danish) because they did not see it as a threat

15. Finland, cont’d. 1809 Finland awarded to Russia Mid 19 th c Finnish language movement 1830s Codification of modern Finnish 1917 Finland becomes independent

16. Finland, cont’d. Finnish constitution grants equality to Finnish & Swedish Today 95% use Finnish, 5% use Swedish and use of Swedish in Finland is declining There are some Finnish minorities in N. Norway and Sweden

17. Sámi Sámi (aka “Lapps”) – Sámi is linguistically fragmented and under pressure to assimilate 30,000 – 35,000 speakers, most in Norway, 1/3 in Sweden and a few in Finland and Russia

18. Sámi, cont’d. North Sámi of Norway is dominant variety, with a written standard language Goal of unified Norwegian language had a negative impact on Sámi, and many Sámi are now monolingual Norwegian

19. Iceland Populated from Norway, Scotland, Ireland Linguistic and religious ties to Norway Medieval Iceland was independent, but later subjugated with Norway to Denmark

20. Iceland, cont’d. Icelandic unintelligible to Scandinavians by 16 th c 16 th c Icelandic Bible Danish was used as administrative language

21. Iceland, cont’d. 1830s Icelanders strove for political autonomy & linguistic purism, which persists today “Iceland is practically the only example in Europe (and possibly the world) of a linguistically homogeneous nation-state.” All Icelanders speak Icelandic as mother tongue

22. Iceland, cont’d. Little or no dialectal fragmentation Language is the primary symbol of identity/nationhood Ancient literary culture Geographical isolation Persistent focus on purism and avoidance of loanwords

23. Faroes Populated from Norway since 9 th c, part of Norway since 11 th c Faroese becomes distinct in Middle Ages

24. Faroes Subjugated to Denmark along with Norway, and remains a part of Denmark today Danish used as literary language 19 th c Codification of Faroese

25. Faroes Today Faroese & Danish are both official languages and all Faroese learn Danish in school Faroese is strongly influenced by Danish, attempts to resist Danish by importing Icelandic words Some desire for independence, but this is unrealistic given economic ties to Denmark

26. Conclusions Language is an important mark of nationhood throughout this region Swedish & Danish were established first and inspired others to follow Finns, Sámi, Faroese & Icelanders had languages clearly distinct enough to be recognized as such Norwegian had greatest difficulty in establishing a separate linguistic identity

27. 3 challenges to language and national identity in N. Europe: 1.Pan-Scandinavianism > Nordism promotes unity in the region, reducing distinctiveness & supporting teaching of other Scandinavian languages, giving the larger Germanic languages an advantage 2.Massive intrusion of English and other languages through the EU 3.New immigration from SE Europe & elsewhere – this is low, but Scandinavia is not longer homogeneous, and minorities “challenge the prevailing idea of the unity between nation, state, and culture”