6 % - Diskursanalytisk granskning av den postkoloniala finlandssvenskheten

Finland is a bilingual state with a Finnish speaking majority and a Swedish speaking minority. In this essay I focus on the minority, the Finn-Swedes. By using instruments from discourse analysis I attempt to examine the Finn-Swede identity. In order to deepen the study I add an historic aspect to the analysis and in so doing apply postcolonial theory as a further analytical dimension. The mere fact that Finland is not a typical textbook example of postcolonialism makes the theory interesting. The analysis is conducted by examining news articles and comments following them; the main focus lying on newspapers within Finland. By using discourse theorists as Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe with their thoughts on “identity blockage” and Jacques Derrida with his on “inside/outside-relations” I came to some interesting conclusions. Finn-Swede identity is centred on its own uniqueness; a distinct identity separated from all others. A key attribute of Finn-Swede identity seems to be power, nicely coinciding with postcolonialism. Power structure remnants from the time under Swedish rule are still highly present in the Finn-Swede discourse