User:PeytonSardanis/sandbox

1st paragraph: There are only about 1,500 to 10,000 known native speakers of this dying language. Majority of the native and current speakers are over the age of 60. This population uses it as their main way of communicating and speaks no other language. This is a growing concern because as this population ages and soon passes away, there is fear that the Kven language will die out as well. 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. Peoples under the age of 30 years old, are seen to barely speak or know the language. However, children in the community of Borslev can learn Kven in their primary schools. There is no complete grammar for the language and scarce material, making it hard for this language to be learned. The Kven Assembly was formed in 2007 and plans to standardize a Kven written language.

2nd: Historical Background: The term "Kven" first appeared in Othere's tales from the 800's along with the term "Finn" and "Norwegian". The area that the Kvens lived in was called Kvenland. They originally settled in Kvenland, which also expanded into the flat areas of the Bay of Bothnia. As the Kven community continued to grow and develop a long standing culture, the Norwegian state deemed the Kvens taxpayers and the term "Kven" soon became an ethical term. In 1992, The European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages was set into place. This charter was set in place to protect regional and minority languages, the agreement included Kven as a minority language. The Kven language, however protected under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, is only considered a Level I. This means that the culture and language are barely protected under this charter and with the language dying out it is important that the language be moved up to a level III.

Organizations:

The Norwegian Kven Organization was established in 1987. The organization currently has about 700 members and about 8 different local branches. The duties of this organization include many different tasks. The members report to the government about the history and rights of the Kven people. The members also try and highlight Kven news by advancing Kvens media coverage. The organization has also been pushing the Norwegian government to establish a state secretary for Kven issues. Moving the language of Kven into kindergarten classrooms, as well as all other education levels is also a forefront issue that the organization is aiming to tackle. All advances made by the Norwegian Kven Organization is to promote the growth and conservation of the Kven language and culture. Kven Finnish expand on: The number of native speaker, who those speakers exactly are, the geographic knowledge of the language. Also, give more details about the european charter for minority and regional language treaty. Talk about the different dialects. discuss the Kven organization

Bibliography Alliance for Linguistic Diversity. (n.d.). Kven Finnish. Retrieved from The Endangered Species Project : http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/4147

European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages. (n.d.).

Kven Language and Culture. (2014 ). Retrieved from Norske Kveners Forbund.

Niemi, E. The Finns in Northern Scandinavia and Minority Policy. In T. Sven, Ethnicity and Nation Building in the Nordic World. Carbondale: Southern Illinios University Press.

Pietikainen, S., Huss, L., Laihiala-Kankainen, S., Aikio-Puoskari, U., & Lane, P. (2010 ). Regulating Multilinguilism in the North Calotte: The Case of Kven, Meankieli, and Sami Languages. A Nordic Journal of Circumpolar Societies, 27 (1).

Simons, F. G., & Fennig , C. D. (2017). Finnish, Kven. Retrieved from Ethnologue Languages of the World.