“Multilingualism has significant economic benefits despite its costs. Linguistic accessibility would make it easier for international talent and students to stay in Finland, for example. ”
Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen (NCP) last summer presented the opportunity to declare the capital an English-speaking city Interview with Helsingin Sanomat. He told me the newspaper last month said he was excited about the new proposal, recalling that the city still needs international talent and needs to work for them as well.
– I strongly support the fact that Helsinki is a city that also speaks English, he said.
However, a similar proposal was made in 2018 Mari Holopainen, Commissioner of the Green Alliance. Holopainen is one of 17 delegates who also expressed support for the newer proposal.
“Times and moods can change in politics. When we collected the signatures, we noticed that the proposal had support, Alametsä told Helsingin Sanomat.
In 2018, most of the criticism was due to the costs associated with the proposal. Designating English as the language of service would not only lead to a sharp rise in translation costs, but would also lead to new costs for administration, town-state cooperation and staff training, the city pointed out in a reply four years ago.
The chairs of the Council’s major political groups remain uncertain about the proposal.
Daniel Sazonov Coalition members agreed that services should be more readily available in English. “But I don’t think it’s worth translating everything into English at this size,” he added.
Also Reetta Vanhanen The representative of the Greens drew attention to the cost of the proposal, as relevance is important. “The promise of fluent English service should be fulfilled everywhere;” he told Helsingin Sanomat.
The City of Helsinki has recently decided to increase enrollment in basic English to support the establishment of foreign language talent in the city. Vartiainen considered it especially important that it is now possible to apply for basic education in English throughout the school year.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page