OK, here is my last word on this subject. According to dictionary.com the definition of "Scandinavia" is:

1. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and sometimes Finland, Iceland, and the Faeroe Islands.
2. Also called Scandinavian Peninsula. the peninsula consisting of Norway and Sweden.

while the American Heritage Dictionary says it is:

A region of northern Europe consisting of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Finland, Iceland, and the Faeroe Islands are often included in the region.

and Worldnet says:

1. the peninsula in northern Europe occupied by Norway and Sweden
2. a group of culturally related countries in northern Europe; Finland and Iceland are sometimes considered Scandinavian

and the American Heritage new Dictionary of Cultural Literacy says:

The region in northern Europe containing Norway, Sweden, and Denmark and the peninsulas they occupy. Through cultural, historical, and political associations, Finland and Iceland are often considered part of Scandinavia.

Here is the link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scandinavia

Maybe border controls should be re-enforced . The latest viking attempts to get control over Cologne were pretty much in the past so were the Swedish and Danish (attempts of) occupations - but you never know . And finally Eric the Red will reach his aim: Viking rules the world! Q.E.D.

And in the end we pretty much agree: The peninsula in northern Europe occupied by Norway and Sweden is Scandinavia. A region of northern Europe consisting of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark is Scandinavian. And there are some people (may it be because they do not know any better or may it be for political associations) sometimes considering Finland and Iceland Scandinavian. So we agree there is (a) Scandinavia, (b) the Scandinavian region in a correct sense (c) the Scandinavian region in an incorrect sense and I can go back to my familiy's summer house in Finland and tell my neighbours that they are considered to be Scandinavian.

PS: Sometimes it is helpful to go back to root sources, the website of the Danish gouvernement: http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pagei..._schema=PORTAL
From here we take as follows:

On the website itself the Danes are reluctant to describe themselves as Scandinavian but put an empasis on Danish:

Appropriate?! Sorry, but not only is it incredibly rude, it's also plain illegal as well as dangerous. And btw, German traffic cops are planning to get much more serious about sanctioning aggressive tailgaters after a couple of well-publicized fatal accidents in the last few years. At least that's what they say, and one would hope they are serious about it. That said, obviously you are supposed to be in the right lane when it is free.

Although that's been the general state of affairs, I remember seeing a few random pull overs in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and 2005 and 2006 checks between Denmark and Sweden and some between Sweden and Finland.

I've yet to meet a Finn under 65 who doesn't speak some Swedish.

And most any Dane who claims not to be Scandinavian has really missed the boat. That's about as ridiculous as a Norwegian saying he/she's not Scandinavian. I suggest a reading of where the majority of Denmark's lands were for many years -- southern parts of present-day Sweden and large parts of Norway.

And I've yet got to meet a Finn (Swede/Norwegian/Dane/German/Austrian) under 65 who doesn't speak at least some English... but that doesn't make these countries part of the English-speaking world. :-)

According to Finnish people I know, Swedish is very much on the decline as a native language in Finland. A lot of families that were Swedish-speaking a generation ago are now Finnish-speaking as a result of mixed marriages (or so I am told). The fact that lots of Finns speak Swedish (along with English) as a foreign language is a different matter entirely.

And exactly which parts of Norway weren't Denmark's lands before 1814?

The majority of Finns I know have had Swedish even in school from a young age. Then again it's sort of hard to run into a Finn who doesn't speak Swedish where I am today.

I know quite the number of Swedes/Norwegians/Danes above 40 years of age whose grasp of English is rather questionable ... and more likely to be behind their German. I guess we are going to start dating people here -- not that kind of dating .

Well, I don't think offshore claims (i.e., oil) were fought over back as much then as the right to move/not move through the waters. And it depends on how far back you want to go.

Since when did off-shore oil claims become "lands"?

My claim exactly. See I knew that Norwegian oil revenue from offshore operations should really be sent my way. I'm surprised the Danes or Swedes haven't reclaimed their old "lands".

I tend to go with the Scottish National Party on this: why should the money from the oil in the Scottish sector be sent from ABZ to LON, and why should we sed the money from SVG, BGO and KSU to OSL? Capitals tend to be parasites in any case!

ROFLMAO Sounds like en plan to me!

And where might that be, if I may ask; Sweden, �land Islands...? Btw. a belated congratulations to you, GUWanders, for your 40000 posts! And now it is already over 200 more ^

I tend to agree on this view too!

Oh, my. That sounds akin to the non-clueless Yanks who think that everyone from the UK is English!

cheers,

Henry