Kven language
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Kven language
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 language, 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 language 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 that of the Kainuu dialect, as the two are largely of the same origin.
In a 2005 census, the number of people speeking 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 the extreme Northeastern parts of Norway, in such communities as Bugoynes and Neiden (a municipality of Sør-Varanger, where the last centuries' main migration of Kven people took place from 1830 to 1860), Vestre Jakobselv and Vadso (Vadsø Municipality) and Børselv (Municipality of Porsanger). A few older speakers may still be found also in the municipalities of Nordreisa and Storfjord. Bugøynes - by Varanger Fjord - 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 in the west from Alta to the area of Lyngen Fjord, 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 integrate 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.
References
- Council of Europe: European Charter for Regional or Minority Language, Third periodical report, Norway. April 2005. [link]
- Kenneth Hyltenstam & Tommaso Maria Milani: Kvenskans status: Rapport för Kommunal- og regionaldepartement och Kultur- og kirkedepartement. 2003. [link]
- 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. [link]
External links
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