FAQ

The Kven language (kväänin kieli, kainun kieli, rarely Pyssyjoven kieli), spoken by the Kven people in northern Norway, is a Finnic language closely related to the Peräpohjola dialects of Finnish. Some consider it a dialect of Finnish; however, due to political and historical reasons, Kven received recognition as a minority language in Norway in 2005, in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The Kvens are a Finnic ethnic minority residing in Norway. Their ancestry can be traced back to Finnish peasants and fishermen who migrated from northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Kvens have brought their own language, culture, and history to Norway. But from the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century, the Kvens faced discrimination and assimilation pressures from the Norwegian majority. In 1996, the Kvens were granted minority status in Norway, and in 2005 the Kven language was recognized as a minority language. There are currently around 2,000 to 8,000 native speakers of Kven, most of whom are over the age of 60.

The question of 'Why?' is intriguing when it comes to language learning. Of course the answer to that question varies from person to person, but regarding minority languages, it becomes even more personal. Most of today's Kven speakers are over the age of 60, thus one of the reasons for youngsters to learn/revitalize the language is to reconnect with their heritage. The case with Kven language is fascinating, as with other languages. It is spoken at the crossroads of Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and the Sami languages. The language; therefore, blends many loanwords from these languages while keeping some old Finnish words that are obsolete in Finland. Protecting and revitalizing the language entail passing down this unique mode of speech that is unparalleled elsewhere. Here are some reasons to revitalize the Kven language:

• The Kven language represents an inseparable part of the Kven identity, heritage, culture and literature.

• The Kven language carries social and cultural values.

• Revitalization of the Kven language is a process to incorporate the language back to the society in various societal levels.

• The Kvens have the rights to receive education in the Kven language, and revitalization helps bringing back the language to the educational system.

Learning Finnish first, and slowly adapt to Kven as you progress is the easiest way, as there are more resources for learning Finnish. 

Bear in mind that Kven and standard Finnish have some words that differ from each other, but knowing a Kven word and its equivalent in Finnish would be helpful, as some Kven dialects are lexically closer to Finnish.

Currently, resources for learning Kven are scarce and hard to find and most of them are only available in either Kven or Norwegian. Alongside our website, we have compiled a list of valuable books and websites:

Meiđän Jouko (by UiT, available in Norwegian)

Kainun kielen grammatikki (Kven)

Kvensk grammatikk (Norwegian)

Minun kieli, minun aaret (Kven, by Agnes Eriksen)

NRK kvensk (for reading news articles)

Fraasikirja (Norwegian, by Kvenungdommen)

Kven dictionary (Norwegian - Kven)

The question of the usefulness of learning a new language is always relevant, whether it's an indigenous or a minority language. It's not unethical to consider the practicality of a language before embarking on the journey of learning it, even in the case of endangered languages. Some argue that learning an endangered language solely for potential personal gain. However, it's essential to acknowledge that revitalizing languages is a time-consuming and challenging endeavor. Therefore, it's natural for individuals to desire more than just a casual interest in the process.

Regrettably, if your primary goal is to broaden your career opportunities, knowing Kven may not provide immediate benefits. Job opportunities directly related to the Kven language are currently limited and competitive. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the job market in Norway will become more inclusive of the Kven language as part of the ongoing efforts to revitalize it on a societal level. Currently, proficiency in both Kven and Norwegian, alongside a wide range of additional hard and soft skills, is necessary to make the language an asset in your career.

Our perspective is that individuals can find personal fulfillment in contributing to the revitalization and preservation of a minority culture and language, even when there are limited career prospects.

The Kven language is a distinct language that has its own ISO 639-3 code, 'fkv', which stands for Finnish Kven, in a way that is similar to Brazilian Portuguese (pt-br) or Taiwanese Mandarin (zh-tw). It was officially recognized as a national minority language by the Norwegian government in 2005, and since then, the number of online articles and books published in Kven has increased.

The line between a dialect and a langauge; however, is vague. This makes this question rather difficult to answer as the Kven language is very often referred to as a dialect, even by scholars. Although it is very much a personal choice to call it a 'langauge' or a 'dialect', it is advisable to use the term accepted by the Kven community.

Kven and Finnish have some degree of mutual intelligibility.

In the book Kainun kielen grammatikki, author Eira Söderholm used the term 'likikielet' (close languages) to describe the relationship between Kven, Meänkieli, and Finnish. Söderholm argues that Kven and standard written Finnish have only 0.53 similarity, with 1 being identical in all traits and 0 being different. This may indicate that a Kven word, even if intelligible to Finnish speakers, can be considered different from Finnish due to spelling differences, such as "lähelä" vs. "lähellä". Hence it is safe to say that the given figure does not represent the degree of mutual intelligibility.

According to some of my Finnish acquaintances, Kven is very intelligible to them, but some Kven speakers may have difficulty understanding standard (kirjakieli) or colloquial Finnish (puhuttu kieli). The standardization of the Kven language has also influenced its daily vocabulary, making it closer to Norwegian than Finnish.

Kven is a language that belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. It is closely related to Meänkieli in Sweden, Karelian in Russia and Finland, and standard Finnish; and distantly related to Ingrian in Russia, Estonian and Võro. Here is a comparision between Meänkieli and Kven.

Meänkieli

Meänkieli oon viimiset kymmenen vuotta kehittynny arvaamattoman hopusti. Meäankielelä oon kirjotettu juttuja, kertomuksia, näytelmiä ja rumaania. Sanakirja oon julkastu ja Raamattuaki käänetty (Pohjanen, 1996).

Kven

Meänkieli oon viimi kymmenen vuoen aijan kehitynny arvaamattoman noppeesti. Meänkielelä oon kirjoitettu juttui, muisteluksii, näyttämäpellii ja rommaaniita. Sanakirja oon annettu ulos ja piplia oon kans käänetty (Pohjanen, 1996).

English

Meänkieli has developed unexpectedly fast in the last 10 years and has offered written tales, stories, plays, and novels. A dictionary of the language as well as the Bible have also been published (Pohjanen, 1996).

Kven has been mainly an oral language for elder native speakers for a long time, and because of that, there are many ways to write the Kven language, most of which resemble the standard Finnish orthography. Kven does not have an officially regulated orthography yet, but the most commonly used one follows the grammar book 'Kainun kielen grammatikki' written by Eira Söderholm.

Fun fact: Some Kvens on Facebook prefer using Norwegian orthography over the traditional Finnish one. Instead of 'ä' and 'ö', they opt for 'æ' and 'ø'. This choice reflects their familiarity with Norwegian orthography, which makes sense considering the historical connections between Kven and Norwegian culture. Here is a sample text:

Rakas Jeesus, kiitæn ette paha ei tule olemhaan tæælæ ijænkaikkisesti.

Kiitæn ette sie kerran tulet takasin luomhaan uutta taivasta ja uutta mailmaa.

Tule heti, Jeesus. Iloitten siihen asti ko sie tulet.

There are 9 Kven dialects (Söderholm, 2014). These dialects are mutually intelligible, with only minor differences in vocabulary and orthography. Some dialects share larger similarities with Finnish, while other dialects have retained some older features of Finnish that are lost elsewhere. Kven dialects can generally be divided into two groups: western and eastern dialects.

Oahpa is THE go-to resource when it comes to searching for Kven words. However, sometimes there are words that can't be found in the dictionary. When that happens, here are some ways to look for a specific Kven word online:

1. Use Quotation Marks: When using the Google search engine, enclosing your desired keywords in quotation marks will filter out everything else. For example, if you want to know how to say "vennligst" in Kven, simply search:

kvensk "vennligst" "oon"

By searching for the word "kvensk," you narrow down the results to only Kven-related content. Quoting only the keywords you want ensures that the results include those words. Since "oon" is not only the most commonly used Kven word but also unique to Kven, it's your safest bet, and there won't be any Finnish results popping up.

Usually, you will see many irrelevant sites, but you will most likely come across various bilingual articles by Ruijan Kaiku. Simply click on these pages and use Ctrl + F to search for the Norwegian word. If done correctly, you will be able to find your desired word by checking the translation in the corresponding Kven text.

2. Join the Kveenin Sanat Facebook Group: In this active community, both learners and native speakers come together to ask questions and discuss Kven words. By posting your questions and participating in discussions, you can benefit from the collective knowledge of the group. The group is managed by the incredible Tore Andreas Høybakken.

You can ask in Kven, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, or even Meänkieli. Here are some phrases that my come in handy:

• Kunka sanothaan "..." kvääniksi? (How do you say "..." in Kven?)

• Mitä "..." oon kvääniksi? (What is "..." in Kven?)

• Mitä meinaa / tarkottaa "..."? (What does "..." mean?)

• Saatatko setningissä sitä sannaa käyttäät? (Can you use it in a sentence?)

• Se oli iso apu, kiitos. (You're a big help, thank you.)

3. Take a Guess: While it's not the most reliable method, sometimes making educated guesses can be helpful. However, it's essential to respect the evolution of language and the contributions of native speakers and Kielitinka. 

Some modern concepts may lack direct translations in Kven, leading to the adoption of Norwegian loanwords. I remember that before Oahpa's update, there was no word for "mønster," or "pattern," in Kven on the site. While writing casually, I took a guess and used the word "mönsteri." Recently, during a recent search on Oahpa, I discovered that the word "mönsteri" has been indexed, exactly as I had guessed years ago.

Engaging with the Kveenin Sanat group and observing discussions can provide insights into how new words are introduced and accepted in the Kven language. For instance, within the Kveenin Sanat group, you'll observe that Kven speakers often embrace Norwegian words. Terms like "sjyyskraaperi" (skyscraper) or "anpefaalata" (to recommend) may not be indexed on Oahpa, but they are suggested by native speakers in the group.