Knowledge of Russian and Estonian – an aisle of Finnish–Russian–Estonian relations

Abstract

This article seeks to identify the educational tendencies in the case of Russian and Estonian second language instruction in Finland observing the shift from language erosion to maintenance. We examine the reasons why the promotion of Russian and Estonian in Finland is opportune and how acquainted immigrant children’s parents are with their rights to Russian or Estonian language instruction. The aim of this study is to examine the level of ethnic and linguistic intolerance sensed by the Russian and Estonian immigrants and the degree of integration into the Finnish culture and society. The study addresses the following research questions: How does Finland try to attenuate the social exclusion of the Russian and Estonian immigrants? Do immigrant students receive enough support to achieve bilingual proficiency? In what cases does the child not agree to speak Russian or Estonian at all? Is knowledge of the two analyzed languages a prerequisite for economic and cultural perspectives in Finland? The topic will be focused from sociolinguistic, linguistic, cognitive, cultural perspectives and the article will adopt a comparative approach.