SCANDINAVIAN AND BALTIC LANGUAGES
Scandinavia’s remoteness from the center of European political
strife has not saved the region from the inconveniences arising
from linguistic clashes. Especially is this true where political
and linguistic boundaries do not coincide. The Danish-German
frontier has been marked by antagonism between Danes and Germans.
Denmark’s hold on Schleswig-Holstein prior to 1866 had engendered
bitter feeling among Germans, who considered the subjection of
their kinsmen settled on the right bank of the Elbe estuary as
unnatural. After Prussia had annexed the contested region, it was
the Danes’ turn to feel dissatisfied and to claim the districts
occupied by their countrymen.
The problem of Schleswig-Holstein is a direct consequence of
Germany’s geography. By its position in Europe the Teutonic empire
is essentially a land power. Its maritime development began in the
midst of adverse natural conditions in the northern confines of the
country. The southern Baltic and the North Sea are both shallow.
Sandbanks and winter ice hamper navigation in the easternmost
stretch of these waters. An outlet exists only in the round-about
and rock-studded Danish straits. The Oder, Elbe and Ems are
constantly discharging material collected from the mountainous
heart of Europe. The harbors of the northwestern shore are
artificial and require ceaseless watching, for all of which German
navigation pays a heavy annual tax.
The Danish tongue of land which divides Germany’s northern sea
boundary into two separate regions contains in its eastern and
northern coasts the very advantages which Germany cannot find
on its northern frontier. Eastern Jutland boasts a few natural
harbors located at the head of the indentations which impart a
fiord-like aspect to this coast and which in course of time have
grown into centers of commercial activity. German shipping circles
would consider the annexation of the Danish peninsula to Germany
as a measure leading to high economic advantages, even though the
construction of the Kiel canal has materially changed conditions
which affected the Danish-German situation when the duchies of
Schleswig and Holstein were annexed in 1866.
The present Danish-speaking population of Schleswig-Holstein is
variously estimated at between 140,000 and 150,000. These subjects
of the Kaiser occupy the territory south of the Danish boundary
to a line formed by the western section of the Lecker Au, the
southern border of the swampy region extending south of Rens and
the northern extension of the Angeln hills. Between this line and
the area in which German is spoken a zone of the old Frisian tongue
of Holland survives along the western coast of the peninsula from
the Lecker Au to the Treene river.[72] Frisian is also spoken in
the coastal islands.
The degree to which linguistic variations adapt themselves to
physical configuration is admirably illustrated in this case, by
the southerly extension of Danish along the eastern section of the
peninsula where persistence of the Baltic ridge appears in the
hilly nature of the land. The Low German of the long Baltic plain
also continued to spread unimpeded within the low-lying western
portion of the narrow peninsula, until its northward extension was
arrested by uninhabited heath land. The presence of Frisian along
the western coast is undoubtedly connected with the adaptability of
Frisians to settle in land areas reclaimed from the sea.
The province of Schleswig began to acquire historical prominence
as an independent duchy in the twelfth century. Barring few
interruptions its union with the Danish crown has been continuous
to the time of the Prussian conquest. In 1848 both Schleswig and
Holstein were disturbed by a wave of political agitation which
expressed itself in demands for the joint incorporation of both
states in the German Confederation. To what extent the mass of
Danish inhabitants of the duchies took part in this movement is
a matter of controversy. Holstein was an ancient fief of the old
Germano-Roman Empire. Its population has always been largely
German. But the duchy of Schleswig is peopled mainly by Danes. By
the terms of the treaty of Prague of August 23, 1866, both Austria
and Prussia had agreed to submit final decision on the question
of nationality to popular vote.[73] The provisions of the clause
dealing with the referendum, however, were not carried out, and on
Jan. 12, 1867, Schleswig was definitely annexed by Prussia.[74]
Incorporation of the Danish provinces was followed by systematic
attempts to Germanize the population[75] through the agency
of churches and schools. In addition a number of colonization
societies such as the “Ansiedelungs Verein für westliche
Nordschleswig,” founded at Rödding in 1891,[76] and the “Deutsche
Verein für das nordliche Schleswig” were formed to introduce German
ownership of land in the Danish districts. The final years of the
nineteenth century in particular constituted a period of strained
feeling between Danes and Germans owing to unsettled conditions
brought about by duality of language and tradition.
[Illustration:
FIG. 34--Sketch map of Schleswig-Holstein showing languages
spoken. According to the German viewpoint. Scale, 1:1,200,000.
(Based on maps on pp. 59, 60, Andree’s Handatlas, 6th ed.)]
At present the problem of Schleswig is considered settled by the
German government. A treaty signed on January 11, 1907, between
the cabinets of Berlin and Copenhagen defined the status of the
inhabitants of the annexed duchy. The problem of the “Heimatlose”
or citizens without a country[77] was solved by the recognition
of the right of choice of nationality on their part. The German
government considered this measure as satisfying the aspirations
of its subjects of Danish birth. Nevertheless, although the Danish
government appeared to share these views, the acquiescence of
Danes living in Germany to any solution other than the restoration
to Denmark of the Danish-speaking sections of Schleswig remains
doubtful. That suspicion of the loyalty of the Schleswig Danes is
still entertained in Germany is shown by statements like that made
by Henry Goddard Leach, Secretary of the American-Scandinavian
Foundation, when he asserted[78] that Roald Amundsen, discoverer of
the South Pole, was prevented from lecturing in Norwegian, in the
town of Flensborg, because the language resembled Danish.
[Illustration:
FIG. 35--Sketch map of Schleswig-Holstein showing languages
spoken. According to the Danish viewpoint. Scale, 1:1,200,000.
(After Rosendal based on Clausens and Heyers.)]
In Norway the linguistic problem goes under the name of Maalstraev.
The question of language in that country was debated with marked
fervor[79] during the years prior to the separation from Sweden.
“Freedom with self-government, home, land and our own language”
was the plea of Mr. Jörgen Lövland, subsequently Premier of Norway,
in an address to the Norwegian youth in 1904. “Political freedom,”
then said Mr. Lövland, “is not the deepest and greatest. Greater
is it for a nation to preserve her intellectual inheritance in her
native tongue.”
Norwegian history is not continuous, complaisant historians to the
contrary. A long break occurs from the Union of Kalmar in 1397,
when the country ceased to exist as a political entity, to 1814.
During this period of extinction, Norway was a mere geographical
shuttlecock tossed between Sweden and Denmark. The latter country
as a rule obtained the upper hand in its dealings with Norway. This
relation accounts for the analogies in the languages of the two
nations. But although Norway had seceded from Denmark in 1814, the
Danish language, representing the speech of the more energetic and
better educated Danes, remained official. Four and a half centuries
of union between the two countries had made Danish the medium of
intellectual development throughout Norway. But this linguistic
invasion was accompanied by a notable modification of Danish.
Norwegian intonations and sound articulations became adapted to it
and the Norwego-Danish language, which is spoken today, gradually
came into use.
This hybrid language, however, does not prevail exclusively. About
95 per cent of the Norwegians speak, according to districts,
different dialects derived from the Old Norse. The Norwego-Danish,
or Riksmaal, is the language of polite society and the one which
a foreigner naturally learns when in Norway. The language of the
land, or Norsk as it is called by the Norwegians, has the merit of
being more homogeneous than either Danish or Swedish.
Nationality and language have grown apace in Norway. Prior to
the nineteenth century the use of words taken from the Norwegian
dialects was considered bad form. The granting of a constitution to
the Norwegians, in 1814, created a strong feeling of nationality
throughout the land. This spirit was reflected in active research
for every form of Old Norse culture. Hitherto despised patois
words were forced into prose or poetry by the foremost Norwegian
writers, a movement to Norsefy the Riksmaal thus being originated.
As a result of these endeavors a new language, the “Landsmaal,”
or fatherland speech, came into being about the middle of the
nineteenth century. The name of Ivar Aasen will always be linked
with it. This highly gifted peasant devoted his life to the idea
of a renaissance of the Old Norse language through the unification
of the current peasant dialects. Scientific societies, urged by
patriotism no less than by genuine scholarly interest, granted him
subsidies which enabled him to carry on his studies. Two of his
works--“The Grammar of the Norwegian Popular Language,” published
in 1848, and a “Dictionary of the Norwegian Popular Language,” in
1850--virtually established a new medium of speech in Norway.
Landsmaal was happily introduced just about the time when a sense
of national consciousness began to dawn on Norwegian minds. By a
number of enactments of the Storting the study of the new national
tongue was made compulsory. This body first acted in May 1885 by
requesting the Government “to adopt the necessary measures so that
the people’s language, as school and official language, be placed
side by side with our ordinary written speech.”[80] Then, in 1892,
the following law for elementary schools was framed: “The school
board (in each district) shall decide whether the school readers
and text-books shall be composed in Landsmaal or the ordinary
book-‘maal’ and in which of these languages the pupil’s written
exercises shall in general be composed. But the pupil must learn to
read both languages.” Finally, in 1896, the study of Landsmaal was
made obligatory in the high schools.
After Norway secured complete national independence, in 1905, the
Landsmaal advanced rapidly. Its use was permitted in university
examinations. By 1909 one hundred and twenty-five out of six
hundred and fifty school districts had adopted “New Norse” as
the medium of instruction.[81] In the bishopric of Bergen the
new language came to stay in 56 out of 101 country parishes. The
issue between Landsmaal and Riksmaal being closely linked with
nationalism in Norway, many Norwegians have now come to look upon
the Danish tongue as a sign of former vassalage. New Norse, on the
other hand, embodies the newly acquired national independence.
In the eyes of patriots it is the language which is most closely
allied to the saga tongue of their Viking ancestors. And yet it is
stated that less than a thousand persons in Norway actually use New
Norse in their conversation.[82] The supplanting of Norwego-Danish
by the made-to-order Landsmaal bids fair to take time. But the
process of welding Norwegian dialects into a single national
language is going on. In this must be sought the significance of
Norway’s language agitation. A Norwegian tongue which will be
spoken within Norwegian boundaries is being formed. In recent years
it has been customary to publish all acts of Parliament both in
Norwego-Danish and in Landsmaal.
The Swedish language differs from Norwegian by a typical
accentuation. The growth of the language to its present form may
be traced back to the Runic period of the thirteenth century. At
that time Swedish was free from foreign admixture. The influence
of Latin and of Middle and Low German was felt later. The language
passed successively through the period of Old Swedish (1200-1500)
and Early Modern Swedish (1500-1730). Its present form belongs to
the Later Modern School, although it is spoken now without much
change from the language of the middle eighteenth century.
The eastern half of the European Continent contains a zone of
excessive linguistic intermingling along the line where Teutonic
and Slavic peoples meet. From the shores of the White Sea to the
Baltic and thence to the coast of the Black Sea an elongated
belt of lowland was ill fitted to become the seat of a single
state because nature has not provided it with strongly marked
geographical boundaries which might have favored the development of
nationality. Hence it is that before the eighteenth century we do
not find a single nation in possession of this region. On the other
hand, it is the site on which three religions met in bloody fray
in modern times. At the beginning of the modern era its northern
sections became the theater of wars between Protestants and
Catholics, while to the south, Christians arrayed against eastern
infidels were obliged to war for centuries before the danger of the
invasion of central Europe by Mohammedan hordes was totally removed.
The Finns, occupying the northernmost section of this elongated
belt, are linguistically allied to the Turki. Physically they
constitute the proto-Teutonic substratum of the northern Russians
with whom they have been merged. Their land was transferred
from Sweden to Russia in 1808. Autonomy conceded by the Czar’s
government provided the inhabitants with a tolerable political
status, until it was rescinded by the imperial decree of February
15, 1899. The opening years of the present century marked the
beginning of a policy of Slavicization prosecuted with extreme
vigor on the part of the provincial administrators.
The Finnish peoples of Russia must be regarded as autochthons
who have been subjected to the inroads of both Slavic and
Tatar invasions. In the ninth century A.D. they formed compact
populations on the European mainland directly south of Finland,
where their descendants now group themselves in scattered colonies.
Except in Finland they are being Slavicized at a rapid rate and the
Slav population is now imposing itself on the Tatar which had once
swamped the indigenous element.
Early mention of these Finns shows them divided into several
tribes. The Livs and Chuds, who dwelt mainly around the gulfs
of Livonia and of Finland, were the forefathers of the present
inhabitants of northern Livonia as well as of Esthonia.[83] The
Ingrians and the Vods inhabited the basin of the Neva. The Suomi
tribes, of which the Kvens, Karels, Yams and Tavasts were the most
important, occupied the Finnish territory held at present by their
descendants. Every river valley of northwestern Russia was in fact
a tribal homeland. The term Finnish as applied to these tribes
refers to their culture, which was Asiatic throughout. Racially,
however, they consist of Nordics with a strong addition of Tatar
blood.
The area of Finnish speech forms a compact mass extending south
of the 69th parallel to the Baltic shores. Its complete access
to the sea is barred in part by two coastal strips in the gulfs
of Bothnia and Finland in both of which Swedish predominates in
varying percentages.[84] The group of the Aland Islands, although
included in the Czar’s dominions, is also peopled by Swedes all
the way to the southwestern point of Finland.[85] This broken
fringe of Swedish is conceded to be a relic of the early occupation
of Finland by Swedes.[86] One of its strips, the Bothnian, is
remarkably pure in composition. The band extending on the northern
shore of the Gulf of Finland, however, contains enclaves of the
Finnish element. This is ascribed to an artificial process of
“fennification” resulting from the introduction of cheap labor
in the industrial regions of southern Finland. Slower economic
development of the provinces of the western coast, on the other
hand, tends to maintain undisturbed segregation of the population.
The ties uniting Finland with Sweden are moral and cultural.
Swedish missionaries of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were
the agents through whom Christianity was introduced into Finland.
Together with religion many Swedish customs and laws superseded
the primitive social organization of the Finns. The relation
established was virtually that of an intellectual minority gaining
the upper hand over an ignorant majority. A change in the situation
came about in the middle of the fourteenth century when Finland
became an integral part of the Swedish kingdom and all civil and
political distinctions between the two elements of its populations
were abolished.
[Illustration:
FIG. 36--View of the Lake country near Kuopi, showing the
Kallavesi Sea with low islands and level shores. This is a
characteristic Finnish landscape.]
[Illustration:
FIG. 37--Above the Koivukoski Falls at Kajana. Finnish waterways
are the usual lanes of traffic between the inland seas of that
country.]
Finland’s union with the west failed, however, to bring about
Swedish predominance in the land. The Finns preserved their
language and tended in fact to assimilate their conquerors.
The physical isolation of their country from Sweden contributed
largely to foster this incipient stage of Finnish nationality.
The Gulf of Bothnia and the frozen solitudes of Lapland proved
an effective barrier to the complete fusion of Swedes and Finns.
Eastward, however, no natural obstacles intervened between Finland
and Russia. The prolonged struggle between the latter country and
Sweden hence inevitably led to the Russian conquest of Finland.
The peace of Nystad in 1721 enabled Russia to occupy Finnish
territory for the first time. All of the southeastern portion of
the duchy then became part of the Muscovite empire. A further
cession in 1743 at the treaty of Åbo brought Swedish frontiers as
far west as the Kymmens line. The final conquest was ratified by
the treaty of peace signed by Swedish and Russian plenipotentiaries
on September 17, 1809. Sweden formally renounced its rights over
Finland and the duchy became part of Russia.
Today Finland is a country with three languages. Russian is the
channel of official activity. Finnish, through a literary revival,
has won its right to be the language of the land and this is a
symbol of the Finns’ desire for independent national existence.
Swedish remains as the age-old medium through which Christianity
and western culture were conveyed. It is also to a large extent the
business language of the province, especially for communication
with western Europe. Competition between the three languages is
carried on with unabating energy. The struggle is an outward
manifestation of the fight for independence waged by the natives of
Finland in the presence of Swedish and Russian efforts to dominate
the country. The common danger from Russia has lately drawn the
Swedish and Finnish groups together, although the Finns were
previously strongly anti-Swedish. The old antagonism still lingers
in society life. The Swedish-speaking element rarely mixes with the
Finnish-speaking. This is particularly noticeable at Helsingfors,
where each language represents a distinct stratum of social life.
In Russia’s Baltic provinces two of the world’s oldest yet
absolutely distinct languages are spoken. South of the Gulf of
Finland the Esthonians or Chuds still retain a primitive form of
Mongolian. In the neighboring Letto-Lithuanian group, on the other
hand, a speech which is closely akin to the old Aryan is employed.
Almost any Lithuanian peasant can understand simple phrases in
Sanskrit. The survival of archaic languages in this section of
Europe is the result of isolation provided by a forested and marshy
country in which folk-characteristics maintained their ancient
forms. From the racial standpoint Esthonians, Letts and Lithuanians
are fair, generally tall, narrow-faced and long-headed. In the
Fellin district, in southern Estland, a very pure Nordic type is
found among peoples of Esthonian speech.
Early Russian chronicles describe the Letts and Lithuanians as
divided into several tribes.[87] The Yatvags were scattered along
the banks of the Narev. The Lithuanians proper together with
the Shmuds peopled the Niemen valley. Very little dialectical
differences exist between the two. The Shmuds cluster now in
northwestern Kovno without, however, attaining the Baltic shore.
The left bank of the Drina was occupied by the Semigals, while
on the right dwelt the Letgols who were the ancestors in direct
line of the Letts of southern Livonia. The Kors, who lived on the
western shores of the Gulf of Riga, were later to impose their name
on the province of Kurland.[88]
Two of these tribes, the Shmuds and the Lithuanians, escaped the
Teutonic conquest through the inaccessibility of their forested and
marshy retreat. Around them the Kors and the Letts, as well as the
primitive Slav occupants of Prussia, had been subjugated by the
Knights of the Teutonic Order. The only salvation for these tribes
from Teutonic oppression consisted in their seeking the natural
shelter occupied by the two more fortunate groups of their kinsmen.
Behind this natural barrier Lithuanian nationality was born in the
middle of the thirteenth century under the leadership of Mindvog,
an energetic chieftain who insured his own supremacy by causing
the leaders of rival clans to be put to death. With the help of the
Poles the Lithuanians eventually checked the easterly expansion of
the Teutons.
The region occupied by Lithuanians in former times can be traced
today by the distribution of the type of dwelling peculiar to
this people. The ancient area exceeds the borders of the present
linguistic zone. The earliest examples of Lithuanian houses consist
of a single room. The indoor life of a single family was spent
within this one apartment. This primitive habitation grew into the
modern style by the successive addition of rooms. In course of time
a kitchen or a stable was added to the main building. Sometimes
the old type of house stands to this day adjoining more modern
buildings. In such cases it is used as a barn.
The old Aryan of the Lithuanians is in vogue principally along
the Duna and Niemen rivers as well as around Vilna, where this
people are settled in compact masses. In spite of the antiquity
of their language, no texts prior to the sixteenth century are
known. Emigration in the past decade to large Russian cities, and
to America, has decreased their ranks appreciably. Their number is
now estimated at 3,500,000.[89] In his native land, the Lithuanian
is not on the best of terms with neighboring peoples. He looks upon
the Russian as his political oppressor and upon the Pole as his
hereditary foe. The Lett is regarded with somewhat less animosity
as a rival. The Letts spread inland from the shores of the Gulf
of Riga and number about 1,300,000. Owing to Polish influences,
many Lithuanians are Catholics, but, in the main, both Letts and
Lithuanians are stanch Lutherans.[90] Their land is the home of
religious free thought within orthodox Russia. German influence
prevails among them on this account, although it is doubtful
whether it extends to the point of their preferring German to
Russian rule. Evil memories of the attempts of the Teutonic Knights
to conquer the immemorial seat of the Lettish and Lithuanian
populations survive throughout their forests and marshes. Neither
people has forgotten that its ancestors were refugees who sought
the shelter of their boglands as a last recourse from Teutonic
aggression.
Prior to 1876, the Baltic provinces were ruled by a semi-autonomous
administration headed by a governor-general whose rôle was more
properly that of a viceroy. German was as much an official language
as Russian and no restrictions prevented its use in courts.
German schools and a German university were widely attended.
Since that date, however, the Letto-Lithuanian populations have
been deprived of the liberal régime they formerly enjoyed and an
official “Russification” has been directed against them. Most of
the Lutheran schools were closed by order of the government and
the teaching of German in schools restricted or prohibited. But to
this day the three Baltic provinces of Kurland, Livland and Estland
are considered by German writers as a domain of German culture and
Protestant faith controlled by Russian political and ecclesiastical
power.
In the province of Kurland the Germans boast 51,000 resident
kinsmen. As a rule this section of the population is confined to
the cities. Riga, Reval, Libau, Dorpat and Mitau contain notable
percentages of Germans among their citizens. The first-named city
counts 65,332 of these westerners in its population, or over 25 per
cent of the total.[91]
The Letts have settled mainly in the Kurland peninsula and southern
Livonia. They are also found in the governments of Kovno, Petrograd
and Mohilev. Lithuanians occupy the governments of Kovno, Vilna,
Suvalki and Grodno. No definite boundaries between the two peoples
can be determined because their intercourse is constant. The only
difference between the two languages is found in the greater
departure of Lettic from the old Vedic forms.
North of the Letto-Lithuanian group the Esthonians, who are Finns
and speak a Finnish language, occupy a lake-covered area similar
to Finland. In both a granite tableland is the scene of human
activity. In spite of the drawbacks of their natural environment
the Esthonians depend chiefly on agriculture for sustenance. This
industry has attained a high stage of perfection in their hands and
few peoples know how to make their soil yield a higher return than
do these virile northerners.
The number of Esthonians is estimated at about one million,[92]
distributed as follows: Esthonia, 365,959; Livonia, 518,594;
Government of St. Petersburg, 64,116; Government of Pskov, 25,458;
other parts of Russia, 12,855. Large colonies of Russians, Germans
and Swedes are settled in the Esthonian province. The census of
1897 showed Russians, 18,000; Germans, 16,000; Swedes, 5,800.
The number of Jews settled in the province is not high. The German
and Russian elements compose the nobility. The former owned and
farmed 52 per cent of the land in 1878. Since that time, however,
facilities have been accorded to the peasants of the province,
mostly Esthonians, to purchase farms and the proportion of native
land holdings is gradually increasing.
Confusion of racial minglings complicates the problem of assigning
fixed ethnic place to the Esthonians. That they belong to the
Finnish family is unquestionable. Linguistically they belong to the
Turkish-speaking peoples. Long-headedness prevails among them.[93]
These are also the characteristics of the Livs or Livonians, a
Finnish tribe formerly living in Esthonia and north Livonia, now
nearly extinct, but still holding a narrow strip of forest land
along the Baltic at the northern extremity of Kurland. These Livs
are now classed with the Baltic Finns and probably number less than
2,000 individuals. Their language has been almost entirely replaced
by a Lettish dialect.
The beginning of their history finds the Esthonians pirates of the
Baltic. Danish kings found it hard to subdue them and after two
centuries of struggle sold the Danish crown’s rights to the Knights
of the Sword in 1346. From this time on German influence was to
become paramount in the province. The condition of Esthonians in
relation to their Teutonic masters was that of serfs. By the terms
of the treaty of Nystad in 1721 Esthonia was ceded to Peter the
Great by the Swedes, who then exercised control of the land. Since
then it has remained a Russian province. Lutheranism, the religion
of its people, however, has been the foundation of much sympathy
for German institutions throughout the province. To combat this
feeling, as well as to eradicate national aspirations, Russian
authorities have resorted to those harsh and repressive measures
which both church and government have often enforced throughout the
Czar’s country.
The Esthonians are noted for their practical turn of mind. A
favorite pastime among them consists of conversing in verse.
They cling tenaciously to their language, the study of which is
actively maintained throughout the land. Two main dialects are in
use. A northern form, known as the Reval Esthonian, is recognized
as the literary language. Writers have succeeded in maintaining
its perfection and beauty. Through their efforts literature that
instills vigor into the national consciousness has sprung into
being around the legends and folk-tales of the region.
With the exception of the Finns all the peoples of northwestern
Russia are being gradually absorbed by the Slavic mass. The Slav’s
ability to fuse with alien peoples is a conspicuous historical
fact. In the Baltic provinces he seldom holds aloof as does his
German rival. A growing spirit of liberalism in Russia, and the
gradual loss of influence of the German nobility, ever ready to
stir the opposition of Baltic peoples against Russian institutions,
are two factors which have promoted the consolidation of Russian
power in its northwesternmost territory. The Slav’s achievement
in Baltic regions, during the past three centuries, has consisted
in steadily replacing the Teutonic stratum by a layer of his own
kinsmen. Swedes and Germans have either fallen back or become
lost in the midst of Slavic populations. The movement can hardly
be called a migration, but it is a westerly expansion of most
persistent and irresistible character although never aggressively
manifested. As a consequence Russia’s northwestern boundary with a
reconstituted Poland may be foreseen.
TABLE I
POPULATION BY GOVERNMENTS IN FINLAND ACCORDING TO LANGUAGE, 1910[94]
Per Per Per
Finnish cent Swedish cent Others cent
Nylands 212,315 85.1 149,173 11.1 1,391 3.8
Åbo o. Björneborgs 413,360 66.4 63,503 33.1 240 0.5
Tavastehus 330,190 86.6 4,356 13.0 119 0.4
Viborgs 479,120 69.7 7,872 15.9 7,116 14.4
St. Michels 191,137 96.0 670 3.5 93 0.5
Kuopio 324,553 97.4 664 2.0 191 0.6
Vasa 327,828 46.4 111,094 53.0 262 0.6
Uleaborgs 292,642 88.8 1,629 5.5 1,679 5.7
TABLE II
FINLAND: POPULATION ACCORDING TO LANGUAGE, 1865-1910
Per Per Per
1865 cent 1880 cent 1890 cent
Finnish 1,580,000 57.2 1,756,381 52.9 2,048,545 60.7
Swedish 256,000 38.9 294,876 43.2 322,604 35.6
Russian 4,000 2.2 4,195 2.0 5,795 2.4
German 1,200 0.6 1,720 0.8 1,674 0.7
Others 2,045 1.1 2,263 1.1 1,522 0.6
Per Per
1900 cent 1910 cent
Finnish 2,352,990 67.5 2,571,145 80.2
Swedish 349,733 28.9 338,961 16.0
Russian 5,939 2.2 7,339 2.5
German 1,925 0.7 1,794 0.6
Others 1,975 0.7 1,958 0.7
TABLE III
FINLAND: DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY LANGUAGE AND BY RELIGION,
DECEMBER 31, 1910[95]
Linguistic Greek Roman
group Lutheran Methodist Baptist Catholic Catholic Total
Finnish 2,531,014 198 1,086 38,749 98 2,571,145
Swedish 335,496 362 2,780 251 72 338,961
Russian 67 2 -- 7,156 114 7,339
German 1,758 1 -- 10 25 1,794
Lapps 1,660 -- -- -- -- 1,660
Others 184 1 -- -- 113 298
--------- --- ----- ------ --- ---------
Total 2,870,179 564 3,866 46,166 422 2,921,197
TABLE IV
FINLAND: RELATIVE DISTRIBUTION BY LANGUAGES OF THE URBAN AND RURAL
POPULATION OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF NYLAND, ÅBO AND BJÖRNEBORG, AND OF
VASA, IN PERCENTAGES[96]
-----------------------------------+-------------------------
URBAN | RURAL
-----------------------------------+-------------------------
Finnish Swedish Others | Finnish Swedish Others
_Nylands_ |
1880 315.7 608.2 76.1 | 532.8 466.6 0.6
1890 436.2 536.2 27.1 | 545.1 454.0 0.9
1900 489.7 488.2 22.1 | 570.9 428.7 0.4
1910 579.7 411.8 8.5 | 589.1 410.6 0.3
_Åbo and Björneborg_ |
1880 670.4 303.0 26.6 | 847.6 152.3 0.1
1890 700.0 292.8 7.2 | 855.7 144.2 0.1
1900 757.8 239.5 2.7 | 864.4 135.5 0.1
1910 792.8 204.4 2.8 | 880.2 119.7 0.1
_Vasa_ |
1880 195.7 800.5 3.8 | 695.3 304.7 [0.02]
1890 269.6 725.4 5.0 | 720.3 279.6 0.1
1900 359.6 637.9 2.5 | 738.8 261.1 0.1
1910 482.4 512.5 5.1 | 770.9 228.9 0.2
FOOTNOTES:
[72] A substantial account of the tribes speaking these three
languages was given as early as 731 by the Venerable Bede in his
_Historia Ecclesiastica_.
[73] [Translation.] “Art. V. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria
transfers to His Majesty the King of Prussia all the rights which
he acquired by the Vienna Treaty of Peace of 30th October, 1864,
over the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig, with the condition
that the populations of the Northern Districts of Schleswig shall
be ceded to Denmark if, by a free vote, they express a wish to
be united to Denmark.” E. Herstlet: The Map of Europe by Treaty,
London, 1875, Vol. 3, p. 1722.
[74] A later treaty signed by Austria and Prussia at Vienna on Oct.
11, 1878, suppressed the referendum clause, which had never been
viewed with favor by the German government.
[75] M. R. Waultrin: Le rapprochement dano-allemand et la question
du Schleswig, _Ann. Sci. Polit._, May 15, and July 15, 1903.
[76] L. Gasselin: La question du Schleswig-Holstein, Paris, 1909.
[77] L. Gasselin: op. cit., p. 206.
[78] Scandinavia and the Scandinavians, New York, 1915, p. 30.
[79] Op. cit., p. 143.
[80] Op. cit., p. 147.
[81] Op. cit., p. 148.
[82] Op. cit., p. 150.
[83] A. Rambaud: Histoire de la Russie, Paris, 1914, p. 21.
[84] Atlas de Finlande, Carte 46, Helsingfors, 1911.
[85] K. B. Wiklund: Språken i Finland, 1880-1900, _Ymer_, 1905, No.
2, pp. 132-149.
[86] R. Saxen: Répartition des langues, _Fennia_, Vol. 30, No. 2,
1910-1911, Helsingfors, 1911.
[87] A. Rambaud: Histoire de la Russie depuis les origines jusqu’à
nos jours, Paris, 1914, p. 21.
[88] Rambaud: op. cit.
[89] The Russian census of 1897 showed 3,094,469.
[90] About 50,000 Letts belong to the Greek Church.
[91] H. Rosen: Die ethnographische Verhältnisse in den baltischen
Provinzen und in Litauen, _Pet. Mitt._, Sept. 1915, pp. 329-333.
[92] Russian census of 1897.
[93] W. Z. Ripley: The Races of Europe, New York, 1899.
[94] Statisko Årsbok för Finland 1914, Helsingfors, 1915, pp. 45-46.
[95] Bidrag till Finlands Officiella Statistik, VI,
Befolkningsstatistik, 45, Finlands Folkmängd den 31 December, 1910
(enligt Församlingarnas Kyrkoböcker), Helsingfors, 1915, p. 127.
[96] Bidrag till Finlands Officiella Statistik, VI,
Befolkningsstatistik, 45, Finlands Folkmängd den 31 December,
1910 (enligt Församlingarnas Krykoböcker), Helsingfors, 1915, pp.
124-125.