Protection and Rejection of Minority Majority Languages in the Swedish System

Abstract

Sweden has long had a progressive national educational policy for immigrant languages. In practice, mother tongue instruction collapsed during the early 1990s. The reasons for this are discussed: the transfer of implementation and economic responsibilities of educational politics to the municipalities; the unwillingness in Swedish society to support the bilingualism/biculturalism of minority pupils; the poor municipal information and minimalist interpretations of open-ended formulations of language rights; the constant instability in mother tongue instruction; the consequent unwillingness of minority parents to choose mother tongue instruction; and lastly, economic considerations are given priority over content in local politics, even in violation of the Education Act. The fate of instruction in mother tongues has largely been shared by that of Swedish as a second language programmes. In contrast, English is a widely supported, unofficial second language. The treatment of mother tongues and Swedish as a second language depends both on the role of English in Sweden, and on the fact that the former languages concern minority pupils. Finnish is studied as a representative of minority mother tongues in Sweden. Its declining position within the education system is described in relation to municipal and national language politics.

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