Kven language
Language
name=Kven | states=Norway | region=Northern Europe | speakers=2000-8000 (2005 census) | familycolor=Uralic | fam2=Finno-Ugric | fam3=Finno-Permic | fam4=Finno-Volgaic | fam5=Finno-Lappic | fam6=Baltic-Finnic | fam7=Finnish | nation=Norway (recognized minority language) | iso2=fin|iso3=fkv}}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.
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.
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 others languages without too much difficulty, but the Finno-Ugric Sami languages differs 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). Against a common belief, dialects spoken by Kvens and Kainuu people are not closely related. 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 Kven language are called Western Finnish dialects while Kainuu dialect belongs to the group of Eastern Finnish dialects, predominantly of Karelian origin. [Map of dialects spoken in Finland.]
In a 2005 goverment 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 officies, 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 recently gained interest and popularity. For example, in 2005, the number of students choosing to study the Kven language at the Northern Norwegian University of Tromsa was three times that of those who chose Finnish.
The Kven language has come to incorporate many Norwegian loan words, e.g. tyskäläinen (meaning "German" in English). The Kven language also uses some old Finnish words that no longer are used in Finland.* 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]
*Ethnologue entry
*ISO 639-3 entry
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