Everything about The Kven Language totally explained
The
Kven language, also known as
Kvennish, (
suomi,
kveenin kieli or recently proposed
kainun kieli) is a
Finno-Ugric language, spoken mostly by the
Kven population in
Northern Norway. From a linguistic point of view the Kven language is a
mutually intelligible dialect of
Finnish, but for political and historical reasons it received in
2005 status of a legal
minority language in
Norway, within the framework of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Geographic distribution
Today, most speakers of the Kven language are found mostly in Northeastern Norwegian communities such as
Bugøynes,
Neiden,
Vestre Jakobselv,
Vadsø, 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.
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. However, today there are very few young people that speak the language, making it an
endangered language.
Language or Finnish dialect?
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, also known in English as Torne Valley Finnish), the
Karelian language (spoken in today's Northwestern Russia) and the
Finnish language. The speakers of
Kven,
Meänkieli,
Karelian and
Finnish can understand each other's languages without too much difficulty.
The Kven language is also more distantly related to the
Finno-Ugric Sami languages, which are spoken across Northern Scandinavia and in Northwestern
Russia as well. However, the speakers of a
Sami language and the Kven language are not able to understand each other's languages.
Among the dialects of the Finnish language within the boundaries of the modern day Finland, the 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.
The Kven language has come to incorporate many Norwegian loan words, for example
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.
Official status
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. In
2005 the language was recognized as a legal
minority language in
Norway, within the framework of the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, there's still a major discussion between Kven people concerning what written standard they should use, a new Kven standard or the official Finnish standard.
From
2006 it's possible to study Kven language at the
University of Tromsø
In
2007 the
Kven Language Council was formed at the Kven institue, a national centre for Kven language and culture in
Børselv,
Norway. The council will work out a written Kven language, but use Finnish orthography to maintain inter-Finnish language understanding.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kven Language'.
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