Haparanda residents defend their right to speak Finnish

Ban on Finnish during football match prompts stiff resistance in letters columns

print this

The residents of the Swedish town of Haparanda (Haaparanta in Finnish Haaparanta) are defending their right to use Finnish also on the Swedish side of the border.
      A debate on this right started last week when some female players of the football team Haparanda FF were forbidden to speak Finnish to each other on the pitch.
      In an incident that can only be considered bizarre, a referee cautioned two players on the team for speaking Finnish in a Third Division league match played at Boden in Northern Sweden last week.
     
The residents of the City of Haparanda, which lies on the border between Finland and Sweden, as well as the inhabitants of neighbouring municipalities, are taking the players’ side in the dispute.
      The attitudes of the Haparanda residents can be seen in the local newspapers. Both Haparandabladet and Norrländska Socialdemokraten have published several critical letters sent by readers.
      The Swedish writers of those letters are wondering why the Finnish language provokes some people so much, while expressing distate and horror at what they see as "a return to the 1950s mentality".
      In the 1950s and 1960s, pupils at the schools on the Swedish side of the border could be punished for speaking Finnish.
      Reportedly it is exceptional that Haparanda residents have begun to defend the Finnish language so stoutly, as the principle has so far been that in Sweden all speak Swedish. On this occasion, however, the card-waving referee has been distinctly short of supporters.
     
When questioned, citizens in the centre of Haparanda said that people are entitled to speak Finnish. One of the reasons for the change is that the majority of Haparanda residents are bilingual, having Finnish blood in their veins.
      ”On the other hand, there are some people who still regard the Finnish language as some sort of threat”, said Minna Salminen, who is Swedish, despite her Finnish name.
      ”In a border district like this one should master several languages. The referee’s behaviour sounds pretty childish to me”, commented Maria Andelin-Pirilä.
      ”As far as I am concerned, people can speak whatever language they like - even Chinese”, she added.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish Tornio and Swedish Haparanda to start building work on common city centre (
  Finnish and Swedish border towns plan common city centre (18.11.2002)

Links:
  Haparanda-Tornio Tourist Information
  Haparanda website
  One of the curiosities of the region is a golf course where you can putt from one country to another

Helsingin Sanomat