Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2004.

This study deals with the impact by modernisation and nationalism on the ethnicity and national identity among the Finnish speaking minority in the Torne Valley in the north of Sweden. The starting point is 1809 when Sweden lost the Finnish part of the kingdom to Russia. It resulted in the division of the Torne Valley into two na­tion-states and modernisation projects. The aim of the study is to investigate what happened to the ethnic content in the national identity in the two parts of the valley over time. The focus is placed on the parish of Övertorneå on the Swedish side between 1850 and 1939. According to the modernist and constructivist approach in theories of nationa­lism, national consciousness and national sentiments are confined to the era of industrialisation and modernisation. In the dissertation nationalism on the contrary is regarded as a myth-symbol complex which is transferred by one or many ethnic groups from the pre-modern state to the modern nation-state. A perspective from both above and below is used in the study. The investigation in the state assimilation policy shows, by contrast with previous studies, that the main aim up to the middle of the 1880s was to maintain religious hegemony in relation to the Laestadian revi­valist movement. It also shows that the assimilation policy was influenced by the continuity of the Finnish speaking minority in the nation-state and the previous link of Sweden together with Finland in the former unitary state. Moreover it shows that it was influenced by internal changes in the paradigm of education and party policy, the new international status of national minorities after First World War and language revitalisation in the Torne Valley. The process of language shift is used as an important marker of ethnicity and national identity. When following the shift of language use among the Torne Valley people from 1890 to 1930 the study shows that the language policy in school played an essential role for the shift, but the difference between women and men also reve­als the impact from the society outside school. It also reveals a dynamic change from both Finnish to Swedish and reverse before 1890. In contrast to previous studies the writing abilities in Finnish was at a considerable level and sustain in time compared to the writing abilities in Swedish. The stable pattern of inter-marriage between the Swedish Torne Valley and Finland 1860-1919 reveals a cultural continuity which stands in contrast to the dramatical political events of the time. / digitalisering@umu

Research has been done on refugees in general and on Finns during the Second World War specifically. However, there is a lack of research concerning the evacuation of Finns to the Torne River Valley in Sweden in 1944, especially when it comes to experiences of the reception. Previous research on Finns mainly concerns the war children and therefore research lacks the perspective of children who were evacuated along with their families to the Torne River Valley in Sweden. This study therefore aims to map and analyze the experiences among Finns of the reception in the Torne River Valley. The theoretical framework is based on Kohli’s findings regarding the search for safety, the growth of belonging and the will to succeed for children who search for protection in a new country. By conducting eight interviews and analyzing these interviews with the theoretical framework of Kohli, the two research questions were answered. This study shows that the reception was experienced as positive among the Finns that were evacuated. Hence, with the theoretical framework with factors of safety, belonging and success by Kohli, the reception was not understood as fully successful. This study contributes to the literature with new findings and a more clarified understanding of the reception in the Torne River Valley.

This project takes place in a place far north, in a valley that has three rivers. The place is called Torne River Valley or Meänmaa, meaning “Our land” in Meänkieli. The thesis will address the identity displacement in Torne River Valley and the destructiveness of the colonisation of Sápmi. It will explore the balance between nature and architecture by creating connections between history, place, people and culture. Our relationship to the landscape and how we (can) perceive it, as well as the landscape’s potential to innovate will be examined. Methods including literature studies, exploration of reference projects, communication with project friends, mapping and model making will be implemented. The concept of identity, narrative, heritage and agency of landscape related to architecture and place will be reflected. The historical and cultural context of the research site will also be studied to get to know and understand the place. The research is used to portrayal the cultural and natural heritage and identity of Torne River Valley in a region-wide design proposal. A series of five architectural and cultural landmarks are designed along the valley - from the the Gulf of Bothnia in the south to the Barent Sea in the north. The landmarks will be placed within the shifting landscape and carry different stories to tell. Inspired by the landscape, its forces and movement, the vernacular and the history of the place, the design was developed strategically. The idea of the architecture is not to make huge interventions or stereotypical visitor centres as we know them with gift shops, cafes etc. Instead, the architecture aims to poetically illustrate the characteristics, atmosphere and story of the place as it is. The architectural language is meant to be understood as an intersection between nature, art and architecture- intended to innovate and enrich, and to make us be aware and present on some different premises than we are used to. Finally, the vision of the project is to rebuild the regional family bond and unify the identity of the valley as a whole. To think beyond borders and be limitless - gränslös. The project also aims to build regional hope, confidence and pride. However, architecture can not save the world, but it can contribute to how we perceive, value and appreciate our environment. This thesis will be my way to bring out the narrative and tell the story of Torne River Valley, using architecture and space as my tool.

Denna studie handlar om variation i skriven meänkieli med fokus på variation i ett specifikt drag, h i efterstavelsen (t.ex. saunhaan > sauhnaan 'till bastun'). Tidigare forskning har visat att detta språkdrag påträffas med omfattande variation efter ett särskilt mönster i talspråket (t.ex. Mantila 1992, 2010; Vaattovaara 2009). Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om, och i vilken omfattning, det mönster som beskrivits för det talade språket också påträffas i skriven text på meänkieli. Studien föranleds av det faktum att meänkieli för närvarande befinner sig i en standardiseringsprocess. h i efterstavelsen i talat språk utgör ett komplext system, som kan uppfattas av vanliga språkanvändare som ”svårt att beskriva”. Hur som helst har tidigare forskning indikerat att användningen av h i talat språk är ganska systematiserat och ett mönster för variationen har utvecklats i en bestämd riktning över tid. Med tanke på denna studie är det av intresse att undersöka om mönstret är liknande i skriftlig form, det vill säga om de enskilda författarna i den undersökta korpusen använder sig av ett liknande system för h i sina litterära verk. Studien har inte som syfte att diskutera språkplanering eller principer för standardisering, utan syftet är att skapa en helhetsbild av språklig variation i användningen av h i skriftspråket. Korpusen består av 43 böcker av 18 olika författare från tre olika decennier (1980–2000). Från varje publikation är de första 5250 orden excerperade om verket innehåller fler ord (barnböckerna, som är kortare och till antalet 18, har excerperats i sin helhet.) Studiens primära fokus besvaras med hjälp av frågorna huruvida det förekommer variation mellan de olika författarna, och vilken typ av variation som förekommer inom de texter varje enskild författare skrivit, även över tid betraktat. Syftet med studien är att avslöja om variationsmönster eventuellt sprider sig, eller om mönstret indikerar lika användningssätt mellan de enskilda författarna. Enligt sociolingvistiska teorier om språklig förändring borde en s.k. undersökning i verklig tid över flera decennier visa huruvida en pågående förändring är på gång. Hypotesen för denna studie (huvudsakligen på basis av Mantila 2010) är, att ett liknande system som påträffas i talspråket också påträffas i skriven form. h i efterstavelsen har en historisk utveckling med många förändringar och är ur ett morfologiskt och fonologiskt perspektiv ett mångfacetterat språkdrag. Studien fokuserar enbart på de sex olika lingvistiska positioner där den metatetiska varianten av h i efterstavelsen kan förekomma, vilket alltid sker i samband med en tonande konsonant exempelvis på följande sätt: 1. Stockholmhiin > Stockholhmiin 'till Stockholm', 2. koulhuun > kouhluun 'till skolan', 3. korjaamhaan > korjaahmaan 'för att städa', 4. Pajalhaan > Pajahlaan 'till Pajala', 5. istumhaan >  istuhmaan 'för att sitta', 6. ymmärtänheet > ymmärtähneet 'har förstått'). Tidigare forskning har ansett denna specifika variant av h med metates vara ”ett varumärke för Tornedalen” och språkdraget har visat ett tydligt mönster för variation i Tornedalen. I denna studie speglas variationen av h‑metatesen i litteraturen på meänkieli mot tidigare forskningsresultat rörande talspråk, där språkdraget undersökts både i svenska och finska Tornedalen. Bengt Pohjanen (med det största antalet utgivningar), tillsammans med tre andra författare har undersökts närmare. Ett intressant resultat är att det förekommer relativt omfattande variation mellan dessa författare, samtliga bördiga från en och samma kommun, nämligen Pajala. I motsats till vad som hävdas i traditionell sociolingvistik stämmer inte här antagandet att författarnas härkomst skulle vara en styrande faktor i författarnas språkliga val. Det allra viktigaste resultatet i studien är att enskilda böcker har under de tre undersökta decennierna visat ett överraskande resultat i fråga om variation under 1980- och 1990-talet, men under 2000-talet har det mönster som påträffats i talat språk systematiserats och tagits i bruk på ett enhetligt sätt i litteraturen på meänkieli mer eller mindre hos samtliga författare. I positionerna 1–4 sker metates systematiskt i mellan 85 – 98 % av fallen, medan den i positionerna 5–6 endast påträffas i 0,8 – 1,4 % av fallen. / This study deals with variation in written Meänkieli, focusing on the variation of one specific feature, h in non-initial syllables (e.g. saunhaan, sauhnaan 'into sauna') which has been found to be rich in variation in spoken language according to earlier research (e.g. Mantila 1992, 2010; Vaattovaara 2009). The aim of this study is to investigate if, and to what extent, the variation patterns found in the spoken variety correspond to literature written in Meänkieli. The study is motivated by the fact that Meänkieli is currently undergoing standardization process. The variation of h in non-initial syllables forms a complex system in spoken language which, as a folk belief, is “difficult to describe”. However, earlier research has indicated that in the spoken language the use of the h is linguistically quite systematically structured and the variation patterns have developed in certain direction across time. In the interest of the present study is to investigate if the pattern is similar in the written form in the chosen corpus, that is, if the individual authors are implementing a similar system in their literary work. The principal aim of this study is not to deal with language planning and principles of language standardization but to form an overall picture of linguistic variation in the use of h in written language. The data consist of 43 books from 18 authors, and from three decades (1980–2000). From each publication, the first 5250 words are extracted into analysis, if the word count exceeds this number (children’s books, 18 included in the corpus, typically do not). The main interest of the current work lies in the question whether or not there is remarkable variation found between the different authors, and what kind of variation may appear within the texts authored by each individual author or across time. The aim of the study is to reveal if the variation patterns possibly scatter, or if the patterns indicate agreement between the individual authors. According to sociolinguistic theories of linguistic change, the so called real time investigation across the decades should indicate if there is an ongoing change. The hypothesis of the research (mainly on the basis of Mantila 2010) is that the variation pattern similar to spoken language is being adopted also in written forms. Since the h in non-initial syllables is both from the point of view of historical development as well as morphological and phonological conditions a very rich feature, this study focuses only on the six linguistic environments concerning the metathetic h variant (e.g. 1. Stockholmhiin > Stockholhmiin 'to Stockholm', 2. koulhuun > kouhluun 'to school', 3. korjaamhaan  > korjaahmaan 'to clean', 4. Pajalhaan > Pajahlaan 'to Pajala', 5. istumhaan >  istuhmaan ' to sit', 6. ymmärtänheet > ymmärtähneet 'have understood'), which always involves a voiced consonant. Earlier research has regarded this particular variant as “the trademark of Torne Valley” which has, on the present Finnish and Swedish side of the area, shown a clear pattern of variation. In this study, the variation of the metathetic h in Meänkieli literature is mirrored against earlier findings from the Torne Valley spoken data. Bengt Pohjanen (with the largest number of publications) together with three other authors have been investigated in more detail. An interesting finding is that there is relatively much variation among authors from one municipality, Pajala. Against the traditional sociolinguistic expectations, the origins of the authors is not a governing factor in linguistic choices. The main outcome of the whole analysis is that during the three decades investigated, individual books have indicated unexpected variation in the 1980s and 1990s, but by the 2000’s the same variation pattern found in spoken language has been more systematically and strongly adopted also into written Meänkieli by more or less all of the authors: in the phonotactic positions 1–4 the metathesis is systematic (85–98 %) while in the positions 5–6 only 0,8 to 1,4 %.