English in post-nationalist and neo-nationalist times: language policies in Finnish higher education in transition

This presentation takes an overview look of language policies in Finnish higher education from the 1990s until now. The lense through which the topic is discussed is the dynamics created by English in these language policies. The presentation is a meta-analysis of the author’s work during the last 10 years on language policies in Finnish higher education. In Finland, the historical language debates that dealt with nationalist ideologies have revolved around the delicate balance between the national languages, Finnish and Swedish. Now, attention has turned towards English, first as a lingua franca of the post-nationalist internationalizing higher education, and then as a catalyst that makes visible the dynamics between different languages, domestic and international, as their positions are negotiated and contested. The overall positive attitude towards English in Finland made Swedish in practice the third rather than second national language in higher education since the 1990s. Recent developments in the 2010s have, in turned, linked Finland, somewhat belatedly, to the neo-nationalist developments that have emerged in Western countries, as the positive attitude towards English has turned into more doubtful and negative views of English as predatory language. This recent backlash against English appears largely motivated by the ideological protection of Finnish rather than of the constitutional bilingualism as such, making the position of Swedish even more vulnerable. The developments of post-nationalist and neo-nationalist language policies in higher education are relevant to the larger understanding of the (language) ideological debate of the changing role of the nation state in globalization of higher education in particular and societies in general.