Same Source, Different Outcomes: A Study of Swedish Influence on the Acquisition of English in Finland

Abstract

With a Finnish-speaking majority and a Swedish-speaking minority, Finland offers a striking contrast in the kinds of cross-linguistic influence that can occur in the acquisition of English in a multilingual setting. While much previous research has looked at the differences between Finnish and Swedish influences, our study compares Swedish influence on the use of English by native speakers of Swedish and by native speakers of Finnish, both positive and negative transfer being evident in the performances. The findings indicate that although both groups show influence from Swedish, the patterns of transfer are by no means identical.