Does Finland Belong To Scandinavia?

Everyone who’s ever moved abroad and come in contact with a culture different to their own will have found themselves, at some point, in a discussion about cultural idiosyncrasies and identity in the respective country of residence. Observing and pondering these phenomena makes up a good deal of conversation between internationals.
Having lived in Denmark for more than half a year now, I’ve noted several things. First, most Danish people identify at least to some extent with being Scandinavian. Second, there is a large cluster of political, cultural, and linguistic terms related to this construct. Third, for us outsiders that can be just as confusing as the terminological trainwreck that is the United Kingdom-England-Great Britain. Because I enjoy both looking at maps and nit-picking with words, I’ve compiled a handy guide to explain the most common expressions and what distinguishes them.

I think it is appropriate to begin with the term Scandinavia, arguably the most well-known, and its etymological origins. Scholars generally consider it derived from the formerly Danish region Scania (Skåne in Danish), which is now the southern tip of mainland Sweden. It may stem from the word ‘Skaðan’ which is Western Germanic for ‘danger’ or ‘damage’, and became ‘Schaden’ in modern German. The second part of the word Scandinavia could possibly be traced back to a Proto-Germanic suffix meaning ‘island’. Scandinavia would therefore mean ‘dangerous island’. Its use as a broader term extending beyond national borders is fairly recent, and gained a strong political connotation in the 19th century when it was used to promote Scandinavism, the idea that the Scandinavian countries share strong historical bonds and therefore a common cultural identity.

But which countries are considered Scandinavian? Geographically, the term describes the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe, including Sweden, continental Norway, parts of north-western Finland and a small patch of Russian territory. When mainland Finland is included, one might speak of Fennoscandinavia. This is not to be confused with the geological concept of the Fennoscandic (or Baltic) Shield, which encompasses the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland, and the Russian regions of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula.

The everyday use of the term varies. Generally, it refers to the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as a cultural region, and their languages are classified as Scandinavian languages. In the Anglosphere however it often includes the countries Finland and Iceland and various autonomous regions such as Greenland and the Faroe Islands (Denmark) and the Åland Islands (Finland). This is where it becomes tricky, because Icelandic and Faroese are considered Scandinavian languages, albeit often with the disclaimer ‘insular’, whereas Finnish is completely unrelated to anything else, and Greenlandic is an Inuit language. Also non-Scandinavian languages are the indigenous dialects of the Lapland region, spoken by the Sami people in the northern parts of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The common English usage of the word Scandinavia(n) is therefore, technically speaking, inaccurate. More appropriate would be to speak of Nordic countries, if referring to the entire socio-cultural area including autonomous territories. In Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian the term Norden has established itself, meaning simply the North. Its peoples, sometimes called Nordboer (North-dwellers), generally maintain an amicable relationship and solidarity but frequently engage in neighbourly rivalry and gentle mockery of each other’s customs.

So, as a rule of thumb, the context in which each word is used influences its meaning. It may make a crucial difference whether one is talking about geography, politics, or Saturday night’s Eurovision Song Contest. In international competitions Scandinavia is used in the broadest way possible, so that the member countries somehow manage to claim each other’s achievements as representation for the whole region. That illustrates the spirit of togetherness pretty well. In this year’s ESC all the Nordics were voted out during the semi-finals (rightly so, if you ask me) with the exception of Sweden, this year’s host country. Hence the overall attitude among Danish TV presenters was, to paraphrase, ‘’Well damn it, then we have to support Sweden.”