Titel: SV: Swedish Finns
Skrivet av: Hans Högman skrivet 2017-12-31, 13:02
Bruce, I don’t know the village in Finland you are referring to but Korsholm is located near Vasa town in Österbotten which was a typical “Swedish” area in Finland. Most people living in this area do speak Swedish. Mind you, I’m not from Finland so any Finns reading this might correct me if I’m wrong. Both Vikby and Korsholm are Swedish names though, so are the surnames Vikman/Wickman. [/size]Finland was a fully integrated part of Sweden between 1323 and 1809. During this period Finland was under the same political and juridical administration as the rest of Sweden. Swedish was the primary language used in administration, jurisdiction and higher education. Finland was one of four Swedish regions or "lands" (landsdelar); Svealand, Götaland, Norrland and Finland. [/size]In 1809 Finland became the Grand Duchy Finland under Russian rule. [/size]Also after 1809 the Swedish language remained the only official language. In 1863, both Finnish and Swedish become official national languages of Finland with equal status. Finland has since then been a bilingual country with a Swedish-speaking minority living mostly in the coastal areas of southern, south-western, and western Finland. The Swedish Finns are called “Finlands svenskar” in Swedish which literally means “Finland Swedes”. /Hans