Besides his mother tongue, Swedish, he studied and spoke Finnish, Russian, French, German and English.
During his Russian years the internal affairs of Finland remained distant to Mannerheim. He kept aside from the fervent language battle in Finland, and despite his Swedish background, never accepted the idea of two nations living in Finland. He represented the moderate view in the language question. He wanted to be a Finn (finne) and not a Finlander (finländare). The dominance of the Finnish language was a reality to him, which he showed as Regent by signing the official documents using the Christian name Kustaa, a Finnish form of Gustaf.
Mannerheim learned the Finnish language in early childhood, although the many years spent abroad had their effect on the pronunciation. His language errors gave occasion for benevolent pleasantry among the Finnish-speaking population in particular. Similarly, his mother tongue, Swedish, tended to remain slightly out-moded, as the years spent in Russia prevented him from keeping up with the language development. However, he possessed an excellent sense of written language in Finnish as well as in Swedish, and has been given much credit for his speeches and Orders of the Day. Even if he often let his assistants do the basic work, his corrections gave the final form and rhythm to his texts.
Name | Flag Day | Friends | Funeral | Ideology | Language | Symbol | Emblems |
COURSE OF LIFE | FAMILY | TIME OF GROWTH | MILITARY CAREER | WAR OF INDEPENDENCE | REGENT 1918-1919 | CIVILIAN | DEFENCE COUNCIL | COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 1939-1946 | PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 1944-1946 | RETIREMENT | SPECIAL TOPICS | SEARCH