Study title

This study charted the identity of Swedish-speaking Finns and their opinions on various aspects of everyday life, such as politics and society, the use of mass media, leisure time activities, values, and the sense of belonging. The study was funded by the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland (Svenska kulturfonden). The first questions revolved around language. The respondents' and their families' Finnish and Swedish language skills were surveyed. It was examined whether the respondents had used Swedish, Finnish or both in different types of contexts, e.g. at home, at school, with friends, at bureaus and banks, and at work. The respondents were also asked whether they preferred not to use Swedish with authorities because they were afraid of receiving hostile service, and if they felt that their errands had not been taken proper care of in the past due to an official's lack of Swedish language skills. The respondents were presented with a set of statements about bilingualism and using the Swedish language in Finland, and they were asked if attitudes toward the Swedish language in different contexts -- such as at work, in politics, and in media -- had changed within the previous year. It was queried whether Swedish-language service offered by the state and municipality had improved or worsened within the previous year, as well as Swedish-language service in the private sector. The next questions covered media, the press, radio, and television. The respondents were asked if they listened to radio or watched television in the morning, and their choice of radio station or television channel in the morning was queried along with the topics of particular interest to them on morning television. In addition, it was examined which newspapers the respondents read, either printed or online, and if they had downloaded radio or television programmes, films, books, video games, magazines or newspapers from the internet within the previous 12 months. It was also queried whether...