In Norway one considers Kven people that try to preserve their native language to be radicals

In Norway one treats activists, who support the preservation of the Kven language to counterbalance move to Norwegian, as the extreme nationalists. Bjørnar Seppola, a specialist of the Norway Kven Union, said it during his appeal to participants of VI World Finno-Ugric People Congress. He noted that the Kven culture and language were in danger in spite of making every effort in order to preserve them. “8000 people spoke the language, when we had started the work concerning preserving the language 30 years ago, but even then the youth had a good command of Norwegian. Now there are only 500 people who speak the language, though they are generally elderly people”, - noted the speaker.

B. Seppola considers that for Norwegian officials and functionaries of the Europe Soviet the Kven language disappearance is not a problem because they just develop the definition of “the small-numbered peoples” and approach the question formally. “Earlier they said Kven to be people who speak the language. Nowadays Kven are numbered among those whose ancestors spoke Kven. A new culture is created, that is based on the Norwegian language. At present time young people sing Kven songs byt they don’t understand what they sing about. The majority of means for maintain the culture are spent on supporting different events in the Norwegian language. The Change of language is happened. One gained the impression that it is quite normal. Even Kven’s descendants think that it’s not necessary to study Kven, as they can speak Norwegian and English. Nowadays there are courses, where one learn short phrases. It is a new form of the Kven language, it is similar to functioning of Latin and Esperanto; when a language is known nobody speak it”, - noted the member of the Kven people. 

“If we do not protect the language, after some decades they will disappear, and after two or three generations the culture will disappear. It is possible to create the Kven culture on the base of the Norwegian one, but it will be another culture”, - finished B. Seppola his speech. In his opinion for the correction of the situation it is necessary that leaders of the Kven associations lern the language and speak it, and be an example for the youth.

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