Locale Sv Fi
Use when working with the Swedish (Finland) locale (`sv-FI`) — its endonym Svenska (Finland), Latin script, left-to-right (LTR) direction, or spoken-population data. Reference data and translation guidance (register, grammar, idiom, typography) for this specific locale; see [[locale]] for general i18n/l10n concepts (BCP 47, plural rules, RTL) that apply across all locales.
Reference data for the Swedish (Finland) locale — endonym Svenska (Finland), written in the Latin script, left-to-right (LTR).
Identifiers
- BCP 47 tag:
sv-FI - ISO 639-1:
sv - ISO 639-3:
swe - Script: Latn (Latin)
- Region: FI (Finland)
- Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)
Speakers (approximate)
- L1 (native): 290,000
- L2 (additional): 200,000
- L1+L2 (total): 490,000
Base locale
This is a regional variant of Locale Sv 001 (Swedish), the base/macro locale for this language.
Pluralization
CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).
- one —
i = 1 and v = 0(e.g. 1) - other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)
See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.
Translating into this locale
Apply Locale Sv 001 with the conventions of Finland. Finland-Swedish (finlandssvenska) is one of the two national languages of Finland, spoken by a minority. Its norms are guided by the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) and the Swedish-language Svenska språkbyrån.
- Vocabulary: Finland-Swedish has many distinct words and calques from Finnish administration. Use the Finland-Swedish term in Finnish contexts (for example the official terms of Finnish authorities) rather than the Sweden-Swedish one. When unsure, check the Svenska språkbyrån and the official Swedish version of the Finnish legislation.
- Formats: euro, "12,50 €"; dates "17.10.2026" or "17 oktober 2026"; 24-hour clock written "kl. 17.30" (period); decimal comma; space for thousands.
- Institutions: official names are bilingual (Finnish and Swedish); keep both when the project shows both.
- Tone: informal "du"; politeness is plain and reserved.
Common pitfalls
- Using Sweden-Swedish terms for Finnish institutions.
- Translating Finnish place names inconsistently; use the official Swedish names (for example Helsingfors, Åbo, Vasa).
- The general pitfalls in Locale Sv 001 also apply.
Learn more
- Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
- Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
- Svenska språkbyrån (https://www.sprakbyran.fi) and Kotus
- Språkrådet (https://www.sprakradet.se)