Languages of Åland
Encyclopedia
Åland
, an autonomous region of Finland
, has the largest Swedish-speaking
majority in Finland, with about 90% of the province, or about 25,000 people, speaking Swedish
as their first language (specifically the Åland Swedish
dialect). Swedish is also the sole official language of the province. Finnish
, of course, also has a presence, although it is small; only 5% of Ålanders are Finnish-speaking.
The eight most spoken languages in 2009 (with a total population of 27,734):
While the number of Swedish-speakers grew from 24,169 in 2000 to 25,028 in 2009, their percentage has dropped from 93.7% in 2000 to 90.2% in 2009. For Finnish, the percentage and number of speakers increased slightly (from 1,238 to 1,388; from 4.8% to 5.0%). The percentage of speakers of other languages grew from 1.5% in 2000 to 4.8% in 2009.
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
, an autonomous region of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, has the largest Swedish-speaking
Finland-Swedes
Swedish-speaking Finns constitute a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are alternatively seen either as a distinct subgroup of the Finnish people or as a separate ethnic group or even as a distinct nationality...
majority in Finland, with about 90% of the province, or about 25,000 people, speaking Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
as their first language (specifically the Åland Swedish
Åland Swedish
Åland Swedish is a dialect of Swedish spoken in the Åland Islands, an autonomous province of Finland. Åland Swedish has similarities to both Finland Swedish and the historical dialects of Uppland, but it is generally considered to be a variant of Eastern Swedish .Swedish is the sole official...
dialect). Swedish is also the sole official language of the province. Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, of course, also has a presence, although it is small; only 5% of Ålanders are Finnish-speaking.
The eight most spoken languages in 2009 (with a total population of 27,734):
- Swedish: 25,028 (90%)
- Finnish: 1,388 (5%)
- LatvianLatvian languageLatvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
: 159 (0.57%) - RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: 127 (0.46%) - EstonianEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
: 126 (0.45%) - RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: 101 (0.36%) - EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: 99 (0.36%) - ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
: 95 (0.34%)
While the number of Swedish-speakers grew from 24,169 in 2000 to 25,028 in 2009, their percentage has dropped from 93.7% in 2000 to 90.2% in 2009. For Finnish, the percentage and number of speakers increased slightly (from 1,238 to 1,388; from 4.8% to 5.0%). The percentage of speakers of other languages grew from 1.5% in 2000 to 4.8% in 2009.