REVITALIZING SAAMI THROUGH EDUCATION IN FINLAND

Abstract

The article deals with the institutional aspects of how indigenous minority languages are taught in Finland, with particular attention to sustainability and revitalization issues among the Saami minority. The source material for the research project was obtained during field work organized by the International Research Group on Bilingual Education of the Faculty of Central European Studies at Constantine the Philosopher University (Nitra, Slovakia), conducted in Finland in 2019. The aim of the expedition was to study strategies for revitalizing the Saami language in Finland in the context of code switching. The authors of the article want to highlight how legal regulation can take into account educational problems that arise in different situations. In Finland, on a legislative basis, two languages (Finnish and Swedish) are taught, so all citizens, regardless of nationality, learn both of them. The law guarantees access to Saami education, i.e. it is optional for everyone. The education system offers opportunities for learning the Saami language in preschool educational institutions, in general education schools, as well as for individual groups, adult citizens. At the same time, the authors emphasize the fact that although state regulation centralizes education in the European Union, and in particular in Finland, the revitalization program of minority languages is still being successfully implemented, mostly due to the fact that program coordinators take into account the diversity and variety of cases and, as a result, adopt certain normative acts to solve different situations. Only society, political decision-makers, self-operating and self-conscious civil activity can help developing a successful national education system where bilingualism is reachable for minorities with significantly different backgrounds.