When I say to people that I’m going to Finland for my exchange programme, they say: “Oh Scandinavian countries are so beautiful!” But I remember to read a thing about Finnland is not part of Scandinavia. It was time for me to make some researches.
First of all, I decided to find the definition of Scandinavia in a dictionary. The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus says:
A region of northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Definition of Scandinavia from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press.
BUT the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary says:
A cultural region in NW Europe consisting of Norway, Sweden and Denmark and sometimes also Iceland, Finland and the Faroe Islands.
Definition of Scandinavia noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
I was lost. Are Iceland, Finland and the Faroe Islands a kind of Schrödinger’s cat?
Photograph of my cat Phèdre by me.
I decided to not despair and to deepen the subject.
In fact, geographically, the peninsula of Scandinavia only covers Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Moreover, those three countries share a common history and have a very close language. They are called Scandinavian countries. If you want to talk about all the countries situated in the north of Europe, you should say “Nordic Countries”. And fun fact, this world might come from french “les pays Nordiques” (situated in the north). So Scandinavian countries are included in Nordic countries. Do you catch it? You can summary all of that in a very helpful map:
From “Scandinavian states with flags” by Maciek17, 2008 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scandinavian_states_with_flags.png). In the public domain.
After this article, I hope the difference between Nordic and Scandinavian is clear for you!
See you soon!
Clément
Sources:
- Definition of Scandinavia from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/scandinavia
- Definition of Scandinavia noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Retrieved from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/scandinavia
- MAPES, T. (2019, September 15). The Difference Between Scandinavian and Nordic. Retrieved from tripsavvy: https://www.tripsavvy.com/difference-between-scandinavian-and-nordic-1626695/
Erasmus to Seinäjoki 
