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Finland is considered one of the happiest countries in the world, which may come as a surprise for many, including many native Finns. Finns are also known for a tendency to be reserved towards strangers, but once they warm up to someone they can be quite chatty. Now a lesser known fact is that Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish.
Swedish speaking Finns are a minority in Finland. They are most commonly found on the coast, from Vaasa down to Helsinki. While they speak Swedish, the Swedish they speak is quite different from the Swedish spoken in Sweden, especially in regards to pronunciation. Their Swedish is rich in words originating from old Swedish that are rarely used in Sweden anymore. They also have a multitude of local dialects which can be vastly different from each other, and that may seem incomprehensible even to Swedes.
There exists a rift between the Finnish and Swedish speaking people in Finland. According to some this rift stems from the obligatory language lessons in the languages in school. As the languages are so different from each other, grammatically speaking, they can be quite challenging to learn. Many young people express resentment towards the other native language. This resentment is often forgotten as the youngsters grow and mature into adults, although many Finns never master the other language.