This thesis examines the Swedish speaking minority in the area of Finland. Because Finland had been a part of the Kingdom of Sweden for some centuries, the Swedish language had a dominant position in Finland for quite some time. The Swedish language kept its high prestige even during the period of the Russian rule that began in 1809. In the 2nd part of the 19th century the status of the Swedish language weakened to a large extent and today it is considered to be a minority language of Finland. The purpose of this thesis is in the first instance to define the term of identity and the specifics of minority identity. Subsequently I will focus on the the Swedish speaking minority in Finland, its self- concept, history and literature. In the last part of my thesis I will investigate the work of the Finland- Swedish writer Kjell Westö, in particular his depiction of his own Finland- Swedish identity. KEY WORDS: identity, minority groups, the Swedish speaking minority in Finland, Swedish literature in Finland, Kjell Westö

This master’s thesis considers the differences between the minority literature from Friesland, a province in the northwest of the Netherlands, and that of the Swedish-speaking part of Finland. The author of this paper tries to draw attention to the literatures of those minorities, which often are not well-known outside their own regions. The main issue discussed in this paper is: How is minority culture problematized in the novels de fûke (1966) by the Frisian author Rink van der Velde and Där vi en gång gått (2006) by the Finland-Swedish author Kjell Westö? The Frisian population in the Netherlands is considered by many as a very old people, because famous writers of the Roman Empire, such as Pliny the Elder, wrote specifically about their region and its people. Despite this, the Frisian language has been in a peripheral situation for many centuries. The Swedish minority in Finland, on the contrary, is much younger. Finland gained autonomy in 1809 and before that time the region currently known as Finland, was the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden. This meant that Swedish was the predominant language until that year. Later on Finnish became the main language in Finland. However, both the Frisian and the Finland-Swedish literature were not established before the nineteenth century. This changed partially as a result of ideas of the Romanticism, but also because of historical reasons. By analyzing the previously mentioned novels, Oetze Deelstra shows how the minorities in both countries fare in opposite situations. The Swedish-speaking population has often been, and continues to be, examined as upper-class. On the other hand, in Frisia should a very old countryside culture has been preserved. Those ideas have been important in forming the images of both minorities. A noticeable distinction is that the Frisian literature is defined by language, while the Finland-Swedish literature is characterized by political and ideological arguments. / Dizze masterskripsje rjochtet him op de ferskillen tusken de literatuer fan Fryslân en dy fan de Sweedsktalige minderheid yn Finlân. De skriuwer fan dit wurk besiket op dy wize mear omtinken te freegjen foar de literatuer fan dizze minderheden, dy’t faak net sa bekend is bûten de eigen regio. De fraach dy’t sintraal stiet is: Op hokker wize wurdt stal jûn oan minderhedeproblematyk yn de romans de fûke (1966) fan de Fryske skriuwer Rink van der Velde en Där vi en gång gått (2006) fan de Finlânsweedske skriuwer Kjell Westö? Faak wurde de Friezen beskôge as in âld folk. Mooglik komt dat trochdat se al neamd wurde soene troch ferneamde skriuwers fan it Romeinske Ryk, lyk as Plinius de Aldere. Dochs hat it Frysk iuwenlang in net al te wichtige rol spile yn Fryslân en dêrbûten. De Sweedske minderheid yn Finlân is lykwols folle jonger. Finlân is pas sûnt 1809 autonoom en foar dy tiid wie dat wat wy hjoed-de-dei Finlân neame, it eastlike diel fan it Sweedske Ryk. Dat betsjut ek dat it Sweedsk oant doe ta de oerhearskjende taal wie. Letter waard it Finsk de wichtichste taal yn Finlân. Sawol de Fryske as de Finlânsweedske literatuer wiene lykwols net fêstige foar de njoggentjinde iuw. Dat feroaret pas yn de Romantyk, foar in diel fanwege de idealen út dy tiid, mar ek om politike redenen. Troch de earderneamde romans te analysearjen, lit Oetze Deelstra sjen hoe’t de minderheden fan beide lannen eins yn tsjinstelde situaasjes operearje. De Sweedsktalige befolking fan Finlân is faak, en wurdt no noch hieltyd, besjoen as de boppeklasse. Yn Fryslân soe oan ’e oare kant in iuwenâlde lanboutradysje bewarre bleaun wêze. Dizze opfettings hawwe wichtich west foar de byldfoarming fan beide minderheden. In opfallend ferskil is dat de Fryske literatuer fan de eigen taal út definiearre wurdt, wylst de Finlânsweedske literatuer karakterisearre wurdt troch politike en ideologyske útgongspunten.

Denna uppsats syfte är att analysera hur status förknippad med svenskan och finskan gestaltas i följande två romaner: Susanna Alakoskis Svinalängorna och Kjell Westös Vådan av att vara Skrake. Analysen görs utifrån språkväxling i de olika romanerna och genom en analys av de diskurser som konstrueras kring det finska respektive det svenska. Den valda metoden är en kritisk diskursanalys och i enlighet med denna metod tecknas också en övergripande bild av den historiska relationen mellan Sverige och Finland – den kontext utifrån vilken diskurserna formas. Utöver detta hämtas andra teoretiska begrepp, som attityder, ur sociolingvistiken. Uppsatsen tar avstamp i den tidigare forskning som finns om relationen mellan skönlitteratur och flerspråkighetsförhållanden, men särskiljer sig delvis från denna sett till metodval.Uppsatsens resultat visar att vissa värden tillskrivs, och att vissa diskurser formas kring, det finska och det svenska i romanerna, i och genom språkväxling, karaktärer, handlingar och beskrivningar. På olika sätt gestaltas, generellt sett, en högre status hos det som associeras med det svenska än det finska. Men diskurserna som konstrueras kan inte förstås som separata från övriga diskurser och aspekter – i Svinalängorna sammanblandas de med klass- och genusperspektiv och i Vådan av att vara Skrake kompliceras bilden av ett speciellt sorts berättande.