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Kven language

Finnic language of northeast Norway

  • 5 min read
  • 7 chapters

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There are about 1,500 to 10,000 known native speakers, 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.

History

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, which possibly referred to the flat areas of the Bay of Bothnia.

In Northern Norway, a small number of Kvens appear in the tax registers in the late 16th century. The Kven population increased in Norway between the 17th and 19th centuries due to migrations from northern parts of Sweden and Finland. By 1875, Kvens made up a quarter of the population in Finnmark and 8% in Troms. In the town of Vadsø (Vesisaari), Kvens accounted for nearly 60% of the population in 1870.

Until the mid-19th century, the Norwegian authorities generally held positive attitudes toward linguistic minorities, such as Kvens and the Sámi. However, from the 1850s onward, a policy of Norwegianization was implemented. Schools discouraged or banned the use of Kven (Finnish) and Sámi, and Norwegian was enforced as the sole language of instruction and administration. Because of fears of Finnish expansion into Norway, the Kvens were seen as a threat to Norwegian society and the attempt to assimilate them was much stronger than with the Sámi people.

Revitalization efforts started in the 1970s. As the Kven community continued to grow and develop a long standing culture, the name Kvens was readopted. In 1992, the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages was enacted to protect regional and minority languages. It included Kven as a minority language; however, it was only protected under Part II. The Norwegian Kven Association deemed it important that the language be moved to Part III to obtain a stronger protection. In 2005, Kven received the status of a minority language in Norway.

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