Reader’s opinion|In Finland, the conversation most often turns to English if the other party to the conversation does not know Finnish very well. From the point of view of language learning, this is harmful.
Finland in the opinion of the language board (HS 9.10.) attention was paid to the hardening of Finnish language attitudes, which, according to the statement, has particularly targeted workers in the service industry. At the same time, Finns suffer from the weakening of service provision in the national language and consider it important to be able to do business in their own language. This is evident, for example, in a study commissioned by Oma kieli ry (National language barometer 2023). These things cannot but affect each other.
In taking a stand it was concluded that encouragement and support from the language community promote language learning. It is easy to agree with this. Instead, the “multilingual practices” recommended in the statement raise doubts. By multilingual practices in the article, it was meant that several languages are used in the same situation. From the point of view of language learning, however, it would be of the utmost importance to speak the language in which the language learner needs the practice brought by interaction.
In Finland, the conversation most often turns to English if the other party to the conversation does not know Finnish very well. Finns may even open the conversation in English if they are unsure of the conversation partner’s language skills. This is certainly done with good intentions, but it is harmful for language learning.
Multilingualism in our society means that our national languages are spoken by people from many different linguistic backgrounds – and with very different accents and skill levels. However, the most important thing is that everyone is given the opportunity to interact in the national language. Polite but persistent use of the Finnish language, for example in customer service situations, is an advantage for both Finns and immigrants. This is the best way to realize the right of Finns to live in their own country in their own language, as well as the opportunity for immigrants to integrate into our society through rapid language learning.
Tiina Turunen
board member
Jeongdo Kim
research coordinator
Oma kieli ry – Eget språk rf
The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which have been selected and edited by the HS editorial board. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
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