In 1999, the Minority Language Committee of Sweden formally declared five official minority languages: Finnish, Sámi languages, Romani, Yiddish, and Meänkieli (Tornedal Finnish).
The Swedish language dominates commercial and cultural life in Sweden but did not officially become the country's main language until 2009, when a new language law entered into effect.[1] The need for this legal status had been the subject of protracted debate and proposed legislation was narrowly defeated in 2005.[2]
The minority languages have been legally recognized to protect the cultural and historical heritage of their respective speech communities.[3] These communities are given certain rights on that basis, such as school education in their language, and its use in dealing with governmental agencies.