Language Centre Resources - Finnish

A Finno-Ugric language and a chief member of the Finnic group, spoken by c. 5.5 million people in Finland, where it is an official language (together with Swedish), as well as in nearby parts of Sweden, Estonia, Norway and Russia and also by a considerable number of emigré bilingual communities especially in Canada and the USA.

The first written literary documents - Rukouskirja Bibliasta of Michael Agricola, and his translation of the New Testament - date from the 16th century. Modern Finnish has traditionally been divided into two main dialect areas - Western and Eastern, the differences between the two being mainly phonological. Currently, seven dialect regions can be distinguished.

The language is spelt in the Roman alphabet.

CLASSIFICATION = Finno-Ugric family     SCRIPT = Roman