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Concept
Kven language
Summary
The Kven language (kvääni or kväänin kieli; kainu or kainun kieli; kveeni or kveenin kieli; kvensk) is a Finnic language or a group of Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost parts of Norway by the Kven people. For political and historical reasons, it received the status of a minority language in 2005 within the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, it is seen by some as a mutually intelligible dialect of the Finnish language, and grouped together with the Peräpohjola dialects such as Meänkieli, spoken in Torne Valley in Sweden. While it is often considered a dialect in Finland, it is officially recognized as a minority language in Norway and some Kven people consider it a separate language.
There are about 1,500 to 10,000 known native speakers of this language, most of whom are over the age of 60. Middle aged speakers tend to have a passing knowledge of the language. They use it occasionally, but not frequently enough to keep it off the endangered list. People under the age of 30 rarely speak or know the language. However, children in the community of Børselv can learn Kven in their primary schools.
Because of fears of Finnish expansion into Norway, there were attempts of assimilating of the Kven people into Norwegian society and to make the Kvens give up the Kven language. Norway saw the Kvens as a kind of a threat to Norwegian society and the attempt to assimilate the Kvens was much stronger than with the Sámi people.
The Kven Assembly was formed in 2007 and plans to standardize a Kven written language. The term Kven first appeared in Ohthere's tales from the 800s, along with the terms Finn and Norwegian. The area that the Kvens lived in was called Kvenland. They originally settled in Kvenland, which also expanded into the flat areas of the Bay of Bothnia. As the Kven community continued to grow and develop a long standing culture, the Norwegian state deemed the Kvens taxpayers and the term Kven soon became an ethnic term.
Official source
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