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The Swedish-speaking population of Finland (whose members are often called Swedish-speaking Finns, Finland-Swedes, Finland Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Swedes of Finland see below; (スウェーデン語:finlandssvenskar); (フィンランド語:suomenruotsalaiset); the term Swedo-Finnish (スウェーデン語:finlandssvensk); (フィンランド語:suomenruotsalainen) can be used as an attributive phrase) is a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are seen either as a separate ethnic group, while still being Finns, or as a distinct nationality. They speak Finland Swedish, which encompasses both a standard language and distinct dialects that are mutually intelligible with the dialects spoken in Sweden and, to a lesser extent, other Scandinavian languages. According to Statistics Finland, Swedish is the mother tongue of about 265,000 people in mainland Finland and of about 25,000 people in Åland, a self-governing archipelago of islands off the west coast of Finland, where Swedish speakers constitute a majority. Swedish-speakers comprise 5.4% of the total Finnish population 〔(Statistics Finland - Population )〕 or about 4.9% without Åland. The proportion has been steadily diminishing since the early 19th century, when Swedish was the mother tongue of approximately 15% of the population and considered a prestige language. According to a statistical analysis made by Fjalar Finnäs, the population of the minority group is today stable〔(YLE Internytt: Tvåspråkigheten på frammarsch )〕〔(Svenska Finlands folkting: Finlandssvenskarna 2005 - en statistik rapport )〕 and may even be increasing slightly in total numbers since more parents from bilingual families tend to register their children as Swedish speakers.〔http://www.abounderrattelser.fi/news/2010/10/fler-finlandssvenskar.html Fler finlandssvenskar〕 It is estimated that 70% of bilingual families—that is, ones with one parent Finnish-speaking and the other Swedish-speaking—register their children as Swedish-speaking.〔(kuinka suuri osa suomenruotsalaisista on kaksikielisiä, siis niin että molemmat... ) meaning “What portion of Finland Swedes are bilingual, that is, both…”〕 == Terminology == The Swedish term ''finlandssvensk'' (literally ''Finland-Swede''), which is used by the group itself, does not have an established English translation. The Society of Swedish Authors in Finland and the main political institutions for the Swedish-speaking minority such as the Swedish People's Party and Swedish Assembly of Finland use the expression ''Swedish-speaking population of Finland'', but Swedish-speaking NGOs often use the term Finland-Swedes.〔See, Finland-Swedish Think Tank Magma and Finland-Swedish Association〕 The Research Institute for the Languages of Finland proposes ''Swedish-speaking Finns'', ''Swedish Finns'', or ''Finland-Swedes'', the first of which is the sole form used on the institute's website. Some debators insist for the use of the more traditional English-language form, ''Finland-Swedes'', as they view the labelling of them as ''Swedish-speaking Finns'' as a way of depriving them their ethnic affiliation, reducing it to merely a matter of language and de-emphasising the "Swedish part" of Finland-Swedish identity, i.e. their relations to Sweden. Among Finnish Americans the term ''Swede-Finn'' became dominant before the independence of Finland in 1917, and the term has remained common to the present, despite later immigrants tending to use different terms such as ''Finland-Swede''. The expressions ''Swedish-speaking Finns'', ''Swedes of Finland'', ''Finland Swedes'', ''Finnish Swedes'', and ''Swedish Finns'' are all used in academic literature. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Swedish-speaking population of Finland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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