Endangered Languages Project

Disputed whether a separate language or a dialect of Finnish.

ALSO KNOWN AS		North Fennic, North Finnish, Kven
CLASSIFICATION		Uralic, Finnic
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		fkv
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS		"There have been some controversies and official debates about the Kven minority, its status and their language in Norway since the 1980s. The main questions have concerned the status of the Kven language as an independent language and the language used in schools and higher education (Anttonen 1999)... When the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages came into force in Norway in 1998, the language of the Kvens was defined as Kven/Finnish, but in 2005 the denomination was changed to 'the Kven language'." (Räisänen & Kunnas 2012)

Compare Sources (4)

Information from: “The Kven Language: An Overview of a Language in Context” . Anna-Kaisa Räisänen and Niina Kunnas (2012)

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,500-10,000 (estimated)
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
10,000-50,000 (estimated)
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"The majority of Kven speakers (mostly 60 years old and older) use the Kven language as their everyday language, and no signs of attrition are visible among them (Lane 2010.) Middle-aged Kvens, on the other hand, have often only a passive knowledge of the language, though some are able to use the language to a limited extent with, for example, Finnish tourists and use Kven as a code language. Young people (under 30 years old) rarely speak Kven, but nowadays children in Børselv can learn Kven in their primary school. "

DOMAINS OF USE

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

"The number of people who are able to speak Kven fluently, as native speakers, decreases as older people continue to pass away. Nevertheless, Kven is still used daily by the elderly."

SPEAKER ATTITUDE

Increasingly positive

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Protected by the European Charter for Minority And Regional Languages

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

School programs (under the name "Finnish"), several institutes, organizations, festivals

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Norwegian
Sámi

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

Kven Language Council, Norwegian Kven Organisation, Kven Institute in Børselv, Halti Kvenkultursenter in Nordreisa, holidays Baaskifestivalen and Kipparinfestivaale

More on Orthography

"Attempts to standardise the Kven language started in 2007, when the Kven Language Council
(språkråd), the language expert body, was established."

PLACES: Northern Norway

6,500
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
6,500 (1998 The Federation of Norwegian Kven People).

DATE OF INFO: 1998

PLACES: Norway;

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
6,500
Native speakers worldwide

		World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			6,500		1000-9999								Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
	2012	The Kven Language: An Overview of a Language in Context			Working Papers in European Language Diversity	15		https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/detail_object/o:105485	Anna-Kaisa Räisänen and Niina Kunnas			10,000-50,000 (estimated)	1,500-10,000 (estimated)		1000-9999	"The majority of Kven speakers (mostly 60 years old and older) use the Kven language as their everyday language, and no signs of attrition are visible among them (Lane 2010.) Middle-aged Kvens, on the other hand, have often only a passive knowledge of the language, though some are able to use the language to a limited extent with, for example, Finnish tourists and use Kven as a code language. Young people (under 30 years old) rarely speak Kven, but nowadays children in Børselv can learn Kven in their primary school. "	Norwegian, Sámi	Protected by the European Charter for Minority And Regional Languages	Increasingly positive	Kven Language Council, Norwegian Kven Organisation, Kven Institute in Børselv, Halti Kvenkultursenter in Nordreisa, holidays Baaskifestivalen and Kipparinfestivaale	School programs (under the name "Finnish"), several institutes, organizations, festivals	All	Severely Endangered (100 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	14	"The number of people who are able to speak Kven fluently, as native speakers, decreases as older people continue to pass away. Nevertheless, Kven is still used daily by the elderly."	12	14	Northern Norway
		Glottolog						http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/		"Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.																			69.38, 29.54
16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)	M. Paul Lewis	SIL International			Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		6,500	1998		6,500 (1998 The Federation of Norwegian Kven People).												Norway;

Kven Finnish

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,500-10,000 (estimated)

6,500

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,500

Discussion

Kven Finnish

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

100 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,500-10,000 (estimated)

6,500

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

6,500

Discussion

Suggest information or improvement

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Sources of information

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