The Contribution of Swedish Media in Finland to Linguistic Vitality.

Abstract

The Swedish-language media landscape in Finland is exceptionally rich. It forms one of the institutions that underpin the cultural position of the Swedish-speaking Finns and the use of Swedish in Finland. This example has yet, however, been given only little attention in sociolinguistic research. Based on secondary data of mass-media audience research, this article analyzes the situation of Swedish media in Finland with regard to production and reception in relation to ethnolinguistic vitality and offers conceptual tools for linking the analysis of media consumption to sociolinguistic concepts. The nine daily newspapers, two radio stations, and Swedish-language television channel put at the service of this relatively small population provides an ideal test case for how extensive media supply interacts with linguistic vitality. The role of minority media has been rapidly and significantly changing over the past decades due to the fragmentation of media spaces and diversification of media reception. With the complexity of hybrid identities, factors such as age, gender, class, and regional and language identities are taking on increasing importance. In this new media environment, the viability and relevance of Swedish-language media will be determined by the degree to which the presence of Swedish language is a criterial attribute of the identity of the Swedish-speaking Finns.