The Status of Swedish in Higher Education in Sweden
Welcome to a discussion about the future of the Swedish language in higher education!
KTH's Language Committee and the non-profit organization Språkförsvaret invite you to a seminar titled The Status of Swedish in Higher Education in Sweden on March 19, 2025, from 18:00 to 19:30, followed by a networking session in room D3 (Lindstedtsvägen 5) at KTH.
The seminar is free of charge, but due to limited seating, those interested need to register (name and email) by sending an email to sprakforsvaret@yahoo.se no later than two weeks before the event.
The seminar will be conducted in Swedish and will feature presentations and a panel discussion with the following speakers:
- Olle Bälter, KTH
- Viggo Kann, KTH's Language Committee
- Magnus Henrekson, Institutet för näringslivsforskning
- Catrin Lundström, Linköping University
- John Airey, Stockholm University
- Lena Lind Palicki, Språkrådet, Institutet för språk och folkminnen
- Per-Åke Lindblom, Språkförsvaret
- Björn Olofsson, Sveriges facköversättare och auktoriserade tolkar
Moderator: Olle Josephson, former director of Språkrådet.
More speakers may be added.
Background
Recently, the debate about the expansion of English at the expense of Swedish in higher education has reignited. Examples include:
- The opinion piece ”Varning: Forskare väljer bort svenska” (Warning: Researchers Are Abandoning Swedish) by Eva Forslund and Magnus Henrekson in Svenska Dagbladet (January 13, 2023).
- The article ”Nu blir engelskan ett hot mot demokratin” (English Is Now a Threat to Democracy) by Catrin Lundström in Aftonbladet (August 2, 2023).
- The debate book ”På engelska förstår jag ungefär” (In English, I Understand About That Much) by Ola Håkansson and Peter Svensson.
- A 2023 research study by Olle Bälter, Viggo Kann, Chantal Mutimukwe, and Hans Malmström, which demonstrated that Swedish students perform significantly worse when taught in English compared to Swedish.
A similar discussion is taking place in other Western European countries.
- In Germany, the Association of University Professors and Lecturers issued a statement in January 2024 emphasizing the importance of the national language in higher education.
- Dutch universities are taking steps to limit the number of English-taught courses.
- The Flemish regional government in Belgium has decided to block the introduction of additional master’s programs exclusively in English.
- Norway has introduced language requirements for foreign researchers.
The closely related Germanic languages are particularly affected by the expansion and influence of English. Even in English-language publications, concerns are being raised about the dominant status of English in international research and education.