Talk:Sweden-Finland

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Is this article really necessary? The term Sweden-Finland is just confusing because that country has never existed. Sweden-Finland is (was) exactly the same thing as Sweden.aaker 30 december 2005 kl.21.19 (CET)

Because the term Sweden-Finland is sometimes still used, I feel it is important to have this article to point out what it actually means and what it does not mean. The article makes no claim that Sweden-Finland was the name of the country. I'm Finnish, and and I think that when using the term "Sweden", most Finns think only the area that is currently known as Sweden, even though we all know that Finland was also a part of the country a couple hundred years ago. For example, if someone would say "the reformation spread to Sweden in the year xxxx" Finns might understand that the reformation came to the area currently known as Sweden in the year xxxx and it spread to Finland at a later time, but when saying "the reformation spread to Sweden-Finland in the year xxxx" it is easier for a Finn to understand that the reformation came to Finland at the same year.

I'm not saying that the term is good and it should be used. I'm just saying that the article should remain because it explains the meaning that could otherwise be a mystery to someone who doesn't know the local history. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.221.151.236 (talk • contribs).

And I would like to add that most English speaking people are not familiar with the history of Sweden and Finland. The term "Sweden" most often is understood to refer to the geographic area of modern Sweden, including old Danish or Norwegian provinces such as Scania but not the provinces in the east like Österland. During te 19th century Sweden shifted it's location from the Baltics to the Scandinavian peninsula. Modern "Bernadotte" Sweden is not the same as Sweden of the Wasa-kings.

For this reason it is more informative to rename the Sweden of the Wasa kings as Sweden-Finland.

One other aspect is that even in modern usage of Swedish the word "svensk" differs in Österand and modern Sweden as it most often refers to the modern nation state whereas in Finland it refers to the language, not the nation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Spespatriae (talk • contribs).