Inside Sweden: How do you bring up bilingual children in Sweden?

Hej,

Twelve years into bringing up his children in Sweden, Richard Orange wondered in an article this week if they will ever feel or come across as wholly British. 

Most international parents have probably thought about this at one point or another, regardless of which country they themselves are from, and regardless of whether they decided that, yes, they're sad about it or no, it's not an issue.

It would be interesting to hear what you think, if it's something you've ever thought of. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments (scroll down to the end of the article), or email me at [email protected]. 

Purely coincidentally, we ended up talking a lot about language and multilingualism on The Local this week, in our internal chat discussions as well as on our Sweden in Focus podcast and in articles on the site.

One of our readers, Sarah Campbell, watched Melodifestivalen – Sweden's Eurovision try-outs – and found it to be not just a celebration of music, but a celebration of multilingualism in a country where it's currently all-too-often talked about as a threat to immigrants' ability to learn the Swedish language.

"No, that image of multilingualism was, happily, absent, and what we saw was the real, human side of life in many languages. The side that any multilingual person knows intimately and often unreflectingly, because it is just another aspect of day to day life," she wrote in an opinion piece for The Local.

"I’m talking about the mixing of languages, mid-sentence or mid-song without breaking a step or batting an eyelid. About singing in a language that isn’t your first, or even your second, because you want to, and because you can."

Earlier in the week, we spoke to Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok on the Sweden in Focus podcast (I don't know if we'll succeed, but we'll try to speak with all the party leaders before the EU election this summer).

He talked about how someone who grew up in a Stockholm suburb became the leader of a traditionally agrarian party, why he's opposed to new work permit rules, and what it's like being Sweden's first culturally Muslim party leader. Listen to the interview here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

In other news

For over three years, Malmö's canine population has been terrorised by an unknown perpetrator – or perpetrators – placing mysterious glass or metal-filled dough balls in parks across the city. Who would do such a thing?

Sweden's inflation fell faster than expected last month, which is promising. The cost of rising rents and mortgages contributed to the inflation rate, but were moderated by lower electricity and fuel prices.

A team of ferrets and dogs are set to help Malmö crack down on its rat population with less than two months to go until Eurovision.

In an episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, political science professor Jonas Hinnfors this week gave us his predictions for how Sweden's parties are likely to perform in the upcoming European elections.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has more than doubled in Sweden in the past decade. The tick season has already begun, so who should get vaccinated and how much does it cost?

Sweden's tax agency, Skatteverket, warns of an increase in scams when it's time for Swedish tax-payers to declare their taxes.

Ramadan is a holy month of fasting for Muslims worldwide. What are the rules for children attending Swedish schools?

If you're observing Ramadan in Sweden this month and would like to tell us about it, please get in touch with our editorial team at [email protected].

Thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Emma Löfgren

Editor, The Local Sweden

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It's published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.