Kven language

The kvenische language ( kvenisch: kainun kieli, Norwegian: kvensk språk ) is a Baltic Finnish language, which is spoken by the Kven, the descendants of Finnish immigrants in Northern Norway. Since April 2005 Kvenisch is recognized after intensive discussions in Norway as a separate language.

More than 10,000 people in Troms or Finnmark claims to speak Kvenisch and / or Finnish. However, the number of those who can read or write the Kvenisch, significantly lower.

Kvenisch is closely related to Meänkieli in Sweden and northern Finland dialects. There are Finnish but large differences in vocabulary and partly also in the grammar, since the kvenischen dialects developed independently of the language development in Finland over a longer period. So not all of the 15 cases of Finland also be applied in the kvenischen language. At the same time there are in Kvenischen in contrast to the more old Finnish loanwords from Swedish and new from Norwegian, especially those that were not present in kvenischen vocabulary, as the Kven settled on the coast.

There are no standard works for grammar, dictionaries and teaching aids for this language. 2007 was therefore established with the " Kvenischen Institute " in Porsanger in Finnmark a kvenischer Sprachrat. As an advisory body he developed in a first step guidelines for a new literary language and collects evidence of the various kvenischen dialects.