Finnish people
This article is about the modern ethnic group. For the citizens or residents of Finland (also called Finns), see Demographics of Finland. The possible mediators and the timelines for the development of the Uralic majority language of the Finns, are equally uncertain. Through comparative linguistics, it has been postulated that the separation of the
Baltic-Finnic and the
Sami languages took place during the 2nd millennium BC, the proto-Uralic roots of the entire language group dating perhaps from ca. 6-8th millennium BC. As the Finnish language itself reached a written form only in the 16th century, not much primary data remains of early Finnish life and so the origins of such cultural icons as e.g. the
sauna (a bath), the
kantele (a musical instrument) and the
Kalevala (national epic) have remained rather obscure.
Swedish speakers descend mainly from peasants and fishermen who settled coastal Finland ca. 1000-1250AD [
1], from the subsequent immigration during Swedish sovereignty over Finland [
2] and from Finns and immigrants who started speaking Swedish [
3].
For the paternal and maternal genetic lineages of Finnish people and other peoples, see also: [
4] and [https://www5.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html]
The 19th and 20th century (see
history of Finland) saw the crystallising of the Finnish national sentiments with
Finland's declaration of independence in
1917 from
Russia, whose autonomous
Grand Duchy it had been since
1809. The severe divisions between social classes, ethnic and linguistic groups, which characterised Finland in the late 19th to early 20th century and were manifested in
Finland's language strife (
1860s–
1930s) between the
Fennomans and
Svecomans, and later the
Finnish Civil War between the "
Reds" and "
Whites," were by and large resolved through the external threat from the
Soviet Union in the
Winter War (
1939–
1940).
During Finland's early history, many Finns exchanged their native language to Swedish, and after
1808 the movement has been in the other direction. In 200 years, the proportion of Swedish speakers has diminished from close to 20% to below 6%. While this change of mother tongue naturally has had some effects in terms of affiliation with
literature, it has had very limited effects on other cultural aspects. The language strife and the decline of the Finland-Swedish minority have been considered effects of this, rather than its cause.
In Finland, after centuries of coexistence and intermarriages, the differences between Finnish and Swedish speakers are typically not seen in terms of
ethnicity but in differences of
culture,
language, and geographical region (
habitat). Most Finnish people agree that the cultural differences are rather minute [
5]. The Swedish-speakers are found in majority in a few communities in the south-western coast and the rural areas of
Ostrobothnia; Finnish speakers form a majority in most of the rest of Finland.
The Finnish relations with the nation of
Swedes have chiefly been determined by some 450-650 years — in any case from
1363 up to 1808 — of shared history and by what often is considered as disappointing support by the Swedes in the
18th–
20th centuries.
About half a million Finns emigrated from Finland to Sweden between the late
1960s and
1990s within the frame work of the
Nordic Economic Treaties. Most of these
Sweden-Finns have returned to Finland.[
6] The remaining people and their children in Sweden are primarily thought as ethnic Finns, regardless of their citizenship. There are also historical Finnish speaking minorities in Sweden, e.g. the '
Tornedalingar' (
Torne Valley Finns) and the Finns of
Dalecarlia. The state of Sweden does not distinguish between Finnish and Swedish speaking immigrants from Finland nor between these newcomers and the historical Finnish speaking minorities in Sweden.
#
Folktinget. http://www.folktinget.fi/pdf/finlandssvenskarna2002.pdf#Åbo Akademi. http://www.abo.fi/instut/fisve-svefi/svenska/hoppe.html
*
Finland-Swedes*
Finnish American*
Finnish immigration to North America*
List of Finns*
Finnic*
Finn (disambiguation)
*
Finnish (disambiguation)
