Finland's Minister of Science and Culture Petri Honkonen (Cen) has said he is concerned about the status and future of the Finnish language.
Honkonen based his comments on the fact that nearly eighty percent of master's theses at Aalto University and the University of Helsinki are currently written in English.
As part of their master's programmes, students write a 30-credit thesis.
"At worst, Finnish could become an obsolete language in the fields of science, research and thinking. In my opinion, this trend must definitely be stopped," Honkonen told Yle.
He added that the Ministry of Education and Culture is commissioning a major study on whether the rapid spread of foreign languages threatens domestic science and research.
Linguist Janne Saarikivi has been appointed as an independent investigator by the ministry.
"We are waiting for proposals on how to safeguard the status of the Finnish language," Honkonen said.
Honkonen: Bachelor's thesis always in mother tongue
Honkonen further noted that internationality is undoubtedly an advantage for Finland, with a recent study finding that Finland will need 20,000 foreign workers to fill roles across many sectors by the end of this decade.
"However, there is a downside to this development," he said, adding that when research in certain fields starts to be published in languages other than Finnish or Swedish, the national languages will no longer develop in those fields.
Honkonen stated that he believes the decline of Finnish in the scientific community must be stopped quickly. He proposed that in the future, bachelor's theses must always be written in the student's native language, even if master's theses and dissertations are written in English.
Aalto Vice Rector: English vital for scientific community
Petri Suomala, Vice Rector of Aalto University said that universities have an important role to play in preserving both Finnish culture and the Finnish language.
In Suomala's view, it is a question of balancing several aspects.
He stressed that different disciplines of study vary greatly from one another and that English is an important language for the scientific and business communities.
Suomala added that for students, a thesis in English is often a natural choice because it is a widely understandable CV builder for the working world.
"Around eighty percent of our master's theses are written in English," he said, but added that about seventy percent of bachelor's theses are still written in Finnish.
"An English-language thesis demonstrates the ability to do analytical work in a foreign language," Suomala said.
International recruitment is commonplace at Aalto University, Suomela further noted, both for teachers and researchers. More than a quarter of the university's professors and students are international.
"This is also important in the future, so that research and teaching in Finland can continue to grow," he emphasised.
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