Kven language

The Kven language is a Finnic language spoken in northern Norway by the Kven people.

Kven
Ruija dialects
kvääni, kainu
Native toNorway
EthnicityKven people
Native speakers
2,000–8,000 (2005?)[1]
Uralic
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byKven language board
Language codes
ISO 639-3fkv
Glottologkven1236
ELPKven Finnish

In 2005, the language was officially given minority status in Norway.[2] This was for political and historical reasons. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has rules for the signs of a minority language. Linguistically, however, it is seen as a mutually intelligible dialect of the Finnish language. Because of this it is grouped together with the Peräpohjola dialects, such as Meänkieli, spoken in Torne Valley in Sweden.

References

  1. "Kainun Institutti". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  2. "Kvensk". Store norse lexicon. Retrieved 21 September 2017.