The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: FIT
ISO 639-2: fiu
| Population | 60,000 to 80,000 in Sweden, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the main region (1997), and including 20,000 who speak it in the home (1996). Population total both countries 90,000 to 110,000. |
| Region | Northeast Sweden, County of Norrbotten, municipalities of Gellivare, Kiruna, Pajala, Övertorneä, and Haparanda. Also spoken in Finland. |
| Alternate names | TORNEDALEN (MEÄNKIELI, TORNE VALLEY FINNISH, TORNEDALSFINSKA, NORTH FINNISH) |
| Dialects | TORNE VALLEY FINNISH, VITTANGI FINNISH, GELLIVARE FINNISH. |
| Classification | Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Finno-Permic, Finno-Cheremisic, Finno-Mordvinic, Finno-Lappic, Balto-Finnic, Finnic. |
| Comments | Standard Finnish is not entirely intelligible to speakers of Tornedalen, especially abstract and complex discourse. Swedish is used as second language, and some speak Standard Finnish. The dominant mother tongue speakers are 30 years and older. Quarterly magazine in Finnish, Tornedalen Finnish, and Swedish. 30 children's books. There is a Swedish Tornedalian Association with 5,000 members. Many Saami speak it as second language. Torne Valley dialect has the highest prestige because of its size and closeness to Finland. Gellivare dialect has the lowest prestige because of its high percentage of Swedish and Saami loan words and deviant morphophonology. Somewhat negative attitudes toward Standard Finnish, and weak motivation to learn it, although it is partially intelligible to Tornedalen speakers. Some speakers refer to it as 'Finnish'. It has influences from Swedish. Finnish speakers settled here in the 12th century. Dictionary. Grammar. SVO, postpositions, genitives after noun heads, articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads, question word initial. Literacy rate in first language: 20% to 30%. Christian: Lutheran, Laestadian. Bible portions 1993-1995. |
| Finland |
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