Suecophile Explained

A Suecophile (or Swedophile)^{[1] [2]} is someone, typically a non-Swede, with a great interest in the culture and language of Sweden.^{[3] [4]}

In the language debate in Finland in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Svecoman movement was formed by those who preferred the Swedish language to the Finnish language. The word Suecophile is, however, more commonly used in non-political contexts.^[5]

A well-known American Suecophile of the 19th century was William Widgery Thomas Jr., who was US minister 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.^[6]

Sweden Hills, located in the Hokkaido prefecture of Japan, is a village inspired by idyllic Swedish towns. It is home to around 400 permanent residents as well as several hundreds who vacation in the village, where the population have also embraced the Swedish language and traditions.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Orange. Richard. Swedophiles: The foreigners who move to Sweden based on statistics alone. The Local. 14 June 2022. 22 March 2024. subscription.
2. Jackson. Michael. Colquhon. Tim. Swedish model – Abstract. ResearchGate. Australian Quarterly. 77. 2. Australian Institute of Policy and Science. Sydney. June 2005. 22 March 2024.
3. Web site: Swedish-English Dictionary, school edition . 852 . Walter E. Harlock . Arvid Gabrielsson . John Holmberg . Margareta Ångström . Stockholm . P.A. Norstedt & söner . 2 . 1964 . 14 November 2015 . 8 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150908181012/http://runeberg.org/sven1964/0860.html . live .
4. https://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/134850371/List-of-Philes Scribd List of Philes
5. Web site: Environment. 13 November 2015. 17 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117020526/http://northstarreports.org/tag/environment/. live.
6. Book: Hildor Arnold Barton . A Folk Divided: Homeland Swedes and Swedish Americans, 1840–1940 . 117 . Southern Illinois University Press . 1994 . 0-8093-1943-8.
7. Web site: Sweden Hills – An Idyllic Piece of Sweden in Japan . Oddity Central . 22 October 2021 . 2 May 2023 . 2 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502022946/https://www.odditycentral.com/travel/sweden-hills-an-idyllic-piece-of-sweden-in-japan.html . live .