Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the Conference on ”Bi- and Multilingual Universities – Challenges and Future Prospects” at the University of Helsinki on 1 September 2005

(check against delivery)

I am happy that you have come together here in Helsinki to exchange ideas on a very important subject. Language is the home of the mind but also a bridge to other people.

Individuals' and communities' multilingualism is common around the world. Most of the UN's member countries have more than one official language.

Globalization presents new challenges and opportunities for all of us. People are moving from one place to another for different reasons more than before. Both those who move and all other people thus come in contact with new languages. More and more people have to learn new languages and also pay attention to maintaining their own language.

A small child does not decide what language to speak. Families must be given correct information on multilingualism, and society should respect people's right to their own culture.

Languages should not be confronted with each other: defending one's native language does not mean underestimating skills in other languages. Extensive written and oral skill in one's own language is a precondition for any kind of deep learning, and this includes understanding other languages and cultures. Skill does not mean technical skills alone, but deepness and clarity of thought. In one's own language one can also be rough, unfinished and inquisitive on a completely different level than in another language. Therefore, researchers should be able to use also their own language, as you well know.

Knowing one language supports learning another language. Languages do not eat one another, as long as there is moderation. People who speak several languages have good possibilities to learn to see things from different perspectives, to compare languages and cultures and to be at home in them.

* * *

Language has a decisive influence on individuals' activities in society. It is therefore important for citizens to have equal opportunities to use their own language. However, it should be recognized that speakers of majority languages - for demographic, historical and political reasons - always have broader rights than others, even if legislation and social practices would be of high standard.

As I mentioned, people and families move for all sorts of reasons from one country to another. Along the way people and family relations can also change. Although choices are up to the individual, family and group, the general climate and social measures play a decisive role. If family clinics or schools encourage people to use their own language, for example, it is easier for an individual and family to make choices that support their own language than if this language is looked down on.

The dominant language always intrudes in people's lives, and society largely determines the extent of possibilities. Even if language conditions and education or instruction in one's own language are arranged well, research on immigrants' language development indicates that members of the second and third generations often switch to the majority language. It is always a matter of interaction between the individual and society.

Language choices are made in everyday life: at school, at work, in hobbies and among friends. They affect all of us.

* * *

I am sure that during this conference you will hear numerous examples of how the language issue has been handled here in Finland, in different European countries and even further in global context.

In Finland the language issue has always attracted a lot of interest. In addition to two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, our Constitution protects Sami, Roma and sign languages. More than 100 languages are presently spoken in Finland. A multilingual community increases genuine interest in different languages. If first languages are treated well, Finland will be enriched culturally and materially. On the other hand Finnish and Swedish are lesser used languages by European standards, and for this reason the European Union's interest in a multicultural Europe is welcome.

I wish your congress success. We all need your expertise.