Kven language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kven | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Norway | |
| Region: | Northern Europe | |
| Total speakers: | 2000-8000 (2005 census) | |
| Language family: | Uralic Finno-Ugric Finno-Permic Finno-Volgaic Finno-Lappic Baltic-Finnic Finnish Kven |
|
| Official status | ||
| Official language of: | Norway (recognized minority language) | |
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | fi | |
| ISO 639-2: | fin | |
| ISO/FDIS 639-3: | fkv | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
The Kven language is a Finno-Ugric language, spoken mostly by the Kven population in Northern Norway. Once considered a dialect of the Finnish language, it received a legal minority language status in 2005, within the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The Kven language is closely related to the three other official modern-day Finnic languages spoken in Northern Scandinavia: The Meänkieli language (spoken in today's Northern Sweden), the Karelian language (spoken in today's Northwestern Russia) and the Finnish language.
The Kven language is also more distantly related to the Finno-Ugric Sami languages, which also is spoken in the entire Northern Scandinavia and in Northwestern Russia as well.
The speakers of Kven, Meänkieli, Karelian and Finnish can understand each other's languages without too much difficulty, but the Finno-Ugric Sami languages differ considerably from the four others.
Among the dialects of the Finnish language within the boundaries of the modern day Finland, Kven language is most closely related to northern Finnish dialects spoken also in Sweden (Meänkieli language). Contrary to popular belief, the dialects spoken by the Kvens and Kainuu peoples are not closely related. The Kainuu dialect is one of the Savonian dialects that was formed from the 16th century onwards, when immigrants from Savonia started to settle in the northern wastelands. Dialects closest to the Kven language are called Western Finnish dialects while the Kainuu dialect belongs to the group of Eastern Finnish dialects, predominantly of Karelian origin. [1]
The Kven language has come to incorporate many Norwegian loan words, e.g. tyskäläinen (meaning "German" in English) instead of standard Finnish saksalainen. The Kven language also uses some old Finnish words that no longer are used in Finland.
In a 2005 government report, the number of people speaking the Kven language in Norway is estimated to be between 2000 and 8000, depending on the criteria used.
Today, most speakers of the Kven language are found mostly in Northeastern Norwegian communities such as Bugøynes, Neiden, Vestre Jakobselv, Vadso, and Børselv. Also a few older speakers may still be found in the municipalities of Nordreisa and Storfjord. Bugøynes perhaps remains the most vital of all the remaining Kven communities in Norway.
In Northeastern Norway, mainly around Varanger Fjord, the spoken language is quite similar to the standard Finnish, whereas west of Alta the few remaining Kven speakers speak Finnish with more particularities, due to a deeper isolation from Finland.
From the 1860s onwards the Norwegian government attempted to assimilate the Kvens. For example, the use of the Kven language became forbidden in schools and government offices, and Kven town names were replaced by Norwegian names. From 1970s onwards, the Kvens and the Samis in Norway have openly been allowed to use their original mother tongues, the Kven and the Sami languages, and to teach them to their children in schools. Lately, the Kven culture and language have gained in interest and popularity.
[edit] References
- Council of Europe: European Charter for Regional or Minority Language, Third periodical report, Norway. April 2005. [1]
- Kenneth Hyltenstam & Tommaso Maria Milani: Kvenskans status: Rapport för Kommunal- og regionaldepartement och Kultur- og kirkedepartement. 2003. [2]
- Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development: Second periodic report on the implementation of the Council of Europe's framework convention for the protection of national minorities. October 2005. [3]
