A Suecophile is someone with a great interest in the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
culture and the
Swedish language
Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countr ...
. The term is most often used when this interest is held by a non-Swede. An individual like this is also sometimes referred to as a ″Sweaboo″.
In the language debate in
Finland in the 19th and 20th centuries, the
Svecoman movement was the name for those who preferred the Swedish language to the
Finnish language
Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish ...
. The word Suecophile is however more used in non-political circumstances.
A well-known American Suecophile of the 19th century was
William Widgery Thomas, Jr., who was US
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
to Sweden and wrote the book ''Sweden and the Swedes'' in 1892, de facto promoting a better understanding and acting towards
Swedish immigrants to the US around the end of the 19th century.
See also
References
External links
{{Cultural appreciation
Admiration of foreign cultures
Swedish culture