kväänin kieli

Kven Finnish

Uralic (Finnic)

FamilyUralic (Finnic) Speakers~2–8K (severely endangered) ScriptLatin (with đ) CountriesNorway Official inNo (Norwegian and the Sámi languages are the official languages of Norway; Kven was recognised in 2005 as a language in its own right rather than a Finnish dialect, and is protected under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages) Vitalityseverely endangered ISO 639-3fkv

Kven is the Finnic language of the Kven people, descendants of Finnish-speaking farmers and fishers who moved to the Arctic coast of Norway from the Torne and Kemi valleys mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Structurally it continues the Peräpohjola dialects and is very close to Meänkieli, but two centuries of separation have left it with dense Norwegian borrowing (daattamasiini 'computer', faari 'father') and its own written norm, codified from 2007 onward by the Kven Institute at Børselv. Its most visible orthographic feature is đ [ð] where standard Finnish writes d (syđän 'heart', syöđä 'to eat'), alongside the epenthetic h of forms like rakkhaus 'love' and juoputella 'to drink heavily'. Norway's harsh Norwegianisation policy broke transmission to children around the middle of the 20th century, so almost all fluent speakers are now elderly, though there is teaching material, a newspaper (Ruijan Kaiku) and a morphological analyser and dictionary from UiT's Giellatekno group.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Kven Finnish

Water

vesi

ˈʋesi

Fire

tuli

ˈtuli

Sun

aurinko

ˈɑuriŋko

Moon

kuu

kuː

Star

tähti

ˈtæhti

Night

yö

yø

Rain

sađet

ˈsɑðet

Snow

lumi

ˈlumi

Wind

tuuli

tuːli

Earth

maa

mɑː

Stone

kivi

ˈkiʋi

Mountain

vuori

ˈʋuori

Sea

meri

ˈmeri

Mother

äiti

ˈæiti

Father

isä

ˈisæ

Daughter

tytär

ˈtytær

I

mie

mie

You

sie

sie

We

met

met

Name

nimi

ˈnimi

Person

ihminen

ˈihminen

Head

pää

pæː

Eye

silmä

ˈsilmæ

Ear

korva

ˈkorʋɑ

Nose

nenä

ˈnenæ

Mouth

suu

suː

Tooth

hammas

ˈhɑmːɑs

Tongue

kieli

ˈkieli

Hand

käsi

ˈkæsi

Foot

jalka

ˈjɑlkɑ

Heart

syđän

ˈsyðæn

Bone

luu

luː

Blood

veri

ˈʋeri

Poop

kaakka

ˈkɑːkːɑ

Love

rakkhaus

ˈrɑkːhɑus

Tree

puu

puː

Dog

koira

ˈkoirɑ

Cat

kissa

ˈkisːɑ

Fish

kala

ˈkɑlɑ

Bird

lintu

lintu

Butterfly

päivälintu

ˈpæiʋæˌlintu

Egg

muna

muna

Bear

karhu

ˈkɑrhu

Horse

hevonen

ˈheʋonen

House

talo

ˈtɑlo

Milk

maito

ˈmaito

Honey

hunaja

ˈhunɑjɑ

Salt

suola

ˈsuolɑ

Wine

viini

ˈʋiːni

Rice

riisi

ˈriːsi

Chocolate

sukulaati

ˈsukulɑːti

Iron

rauta

ˈrauta

Wheel

pyörä

ˈpyøræ

Silk

silkki

ˈsilkːi

Book

kirja

ˈkirjɑ

Eat

syöđä

ˈsyøðæ

Drink

juođa

ˈjuoðɑ

Sleep

nukkuut

ˈnukːuːt

One

yksi

ˈyksi

Two

kaksi

ˈkɑksi

Three

kolme

ˈkolme

Four

neljä

ˈneljæ

Five

viisi

ʋiːsi

Hundred

sata

ˈsata

Hello

hei

hei

Thank you

kiitos

ˈkiːtos

Good

hyvä

ˈhyʋæ

New

uusi

ˈuːsi

Red

punainen

ˈpunɑinen

White

valkkee

ˈvɑlkːeː

Black

musta

ˈmustɑ

Green

vihree

ˈʋihreː

Blue

sininen

ˈsininen

Cuckoo

käki

ˈkæki

Computer

daattamasiini

ˈdɑːtːɑmɑˌsiːni

Tea

tee

teː

Coffee

kaffi

ˈkɑfːi

Sugar

sokkeri

ˈsokːeri

Orange

appelsiini

ˈɑpːelsiːni

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Uralic (Finnic)

Meaning Kven FinnishMeänkieliFinnishKarelianVoticLivvi-KarelianEstonian
Water vesi /ˈʋesi/ vesi /ˈʋesi/ vesi /ʋesi/ vesi /ˈvesʲi/ vesi /ˈvesi/ vezi /ˈvezi/ vesi /vesi/
Fire tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /tuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ tuli /tuli/
Sun aurinko /ˈɑuriŋko/ aurinko /ˈɑuriŋko/ aurinko /ɑuriŋko/ päivä /ˈpæivæ/ päivä /ˈpæivæ/ päivy /ˈpæivy/ päike /pæike/
Moon kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuudam /ˈkuːdɑm/ kuu /kuː/
Star tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtʲæhtʲi/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tiähti /ˈtiæxti/ täht /tæht/
Night yö /yø/ yö /yø/ yö /yø/ yö /yø/ öö /øː/ yö /yø/ öö /øː/
Rain sađet /ˈsɑðet/ sae /sae/ sade /ˈsɑde/ vihma /ˈvihmɑ/ vihma /ˈvihma/ vihmu /ˈvihmu/ vihm /ʋihm/
Snow lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /lumi/
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