Karelian

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A language of Russian Federation

Karelia republic; Leningrad province; Murmansk province; Tver province: mainly Tolmachi area, Maksatikha and Ves’yegonsk.

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Finland

Language NameKarelian

User Population

5,000 in Finland (2018 Institute for the Languages of Finland).

Location

Northern Ostrobothnia region: Kuusano municipality, Russian border area; mostly scattered throughout the country.

Alternate Names

Karelian Proper, Karely

Dialects

Northern Karelian, Southern Karelian, Norgorod, Tver (Kalinin).

Language Status

8a (Moribund).

Language Use

Northern Karelian is traditionally spoken in Oulu, though decreasingly. Southern Karelian speakers were resettled from areas ceded to Russia between 1940 and 1944. Older adults only. All shifted to Finnish [fin].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: 75%–100%. Literacy rate in L2: 75%–100%.

Other Comments

Non-indigenous.

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Karelian

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A language of Russian Federation

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