Ethnic Policies

This study provides a general introduction to the Nordic Peoples Survey dataset. In addition, it examines answers to the survey questions about discrimination experiences in detail. The results show that respondents from Sweden are more likely to report having experienced discrimination in the past two years. Moreover, in both countries, participants with an ethnic Sámi, immigrant, or national minority background experience discrimination more often than ethnic majority participants. The respondents reporting experiencing discrimination most frequently are those who regularly speak Sámi in public. [1]

This study contrasts Norway’s and Sweden’s policies addressing the Sámi languages. Based on a policy analysis, we conclude that the Norwegian policies are more favorable for promoting and protecting the Sámi languages. As a next step, we analyze survey responses on how well and how frequently participants speak a Sámi language and their scores in our North Sámi vocabulary task. In accordance with the more favorable policy environment, our results show that Sámi language use is comparatively more frequent and widespread in Norway. Yet, the share of highly fluent speakers is also small there. In addition, the non-Sámi population of both countries has hardly any Sámi-language knowledge. In both countries, more policy efforts are needed to promote Sámi languages. [2]

This study deals with Sweden’s and Norway’s state policies addressing Sámi matters, asking whether the countries’ general differences regarding their implementation of Sámi’s Indigenous rights are mirrored in people’s perceptions of their societal status. The results show a clear gap in Sweden between respondents who self-identify as Sámi and those who do not. The former report lower perceptions of their individual and collective standing in society. In Norway, by contrast, status perceptions are pretty equal. [3]

This study investigates respondents’ preferences toward policies in the areas of Sámi language and education, self-governance, and territorial rights. Despite considerable differences between Norway’s and Sweden’s actual policies in these areas, the analysis finds no differences in policy preferences between the two countries. Norwegian and Swedish respondents who do not identify as Sámi are equally skeptical toward policies facilitating Sámi self-determination. On the other hand, self-identifying Sámi respondents from both countries express more positive attitudes toward such policies. [4]

Henrik Gyllstad is an Associate Professor in English Language and Linguistics at the Centre for Language and Literature at Lund University, Sweden. His research interests include Second Language Acquisition, Language Testing and the bilingual lexicon. Find more information about Henrik Gyllstad here.

Øystein Vangsnes is Professor of Scandinavian Linguistics at the Department of Language and Culture at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Professor II at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. His research interests include bilingualism, multilectalism, literacy, Sámi language revitalization, and language planning. Find more information about Øystein Vangsnes here.

[1] Yasar, R., Bergmann, F., Lloyd-Smith, A., Schmid, S., Holzinger, K., & Kupisch, T. (2024). Experience of discrimination in egalitarian societies: The Sámi and majority populations in Sweden and Norway. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 47(6), 1203–1230. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2023.2243313

[2] Lloyd-Smith, A., Bergmann, F., Hund, L., & Kupisch, T. (2023). Can policies improve language vitality? The Sámi languages in Sweden and Norway. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1059696. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1059696

[3] Bergmann, F. (2024). An efficacious remedy for status inequality? Indigenous policies in Norway and Sweden. Politics, Groups, and Identities, online first. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2024.2331726

[4] Bergmann, F. (2024). Divided attitudes toward rectifying injustice: How preferences for Indigenous policies differ between the Indigenous and majority populations of Norway and Sweden. Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 9(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2023.38

Gyllstad, H., Kupisch, T., & Lloyd-Smith, A. (2024). Development and initial validation of a yes/no vocabulary test for North Sámi, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, forthcoming.

Lloyd-Smith, A., & Kupisch. T. (2023). Methodological challenges in working with Indigenous communities. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 13(1), 65–69. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.22071.llo

Bergmann, F. (2024). Indigenous inequalities in egalitarian societies: The case of the Sámi people in Norway and Sweden. ECMI Minorities Blog, https://doi.org/10.53779/SBPL3716

Kupisch, T., Lloyd-Smith, A., Bergmann, F., & Yasar, R. (2023) Language matters: Inequality amongst the Sámi minority in Norway & Sweden. In_equality magazine: Research Magazine of the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the University of Konstanz, 5, 12–17.

Lloyd-Smith, A., Bergmann, F., Sapir, Y., Yasar, R., & and Kupisch, T. (2023). Why language matters: Inequality perceptions among the Sámi in Sweden and Norway. Policy Papers / Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality”, 11.

Bergmann, F. (2021). No contact: How the coronavirus pandemic forces a Cluster project to keep social distance. In_equality magazine: Research Magazine of the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the University of Konstanz, 1, 42–45.