Does Finland have two official languages?

The Language law of Finland stipulates that Mainland Finland has two national languages, Finnish and Swedish. In the Åland Islands, the official language is Swedish only. In four Sami populated municipalities of Northern Finland, Sami is recognized as official language.

Why is Swedish an official language in Finland?

The official language in Finland had remained Swedish after Sweden lost Finland to Russia because according to the peace treaty, the Emperor agreed that Finland shall remain an autonomous Grand Duchy, in personal union with the Russian Empire throught the Grand Duke who was the Emperor, and that the Grand Duchy shall …

Why are there multiple sign languages?

Like spoken language, sign languages developed naturally through different groups of people interacting with each other, so there are many varieties. Interestingly, most countries that share the same spoken language do not necessarily have the same sign language as each other.

What are the two official languages of Finland?

Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages of Finland. Finnish is the most popular language in Finland. There are more than 150 different languages spoken in Finland.

How common is sign language in Finland?

Finnish sign language is the first language for 4,000–5,000 non-hearing Finns. Another 6,000–9,000 hearing Finns use it as their first or second language. Today, there are only 90 users of Finland-Swedish sign language, which is listed as critically endangered.

How many Finnish deaf people are there in Finland?

There are 3,000 (2012 estimate) Finnish deaf who have Finnish Sign Language as a first language. As the Finnish system records users by their written language, not their spoken alone, nearly all deaf people who sign are assigned this way and may be subsumed into the overall Finnish language figures.

How much do people in Finland know about English?

Knowledge of the English language in Finland, 2005. According to the Eurobarometer, 63\% of the respondents indicated that they know English well enough to have a conversation. Of these 23\% (percent, not percentage points) reported a very good knowledge of the language whereas 34\% had a good knowledge and 43\% basic English skills.