Introduction: The Nordic languages and typology

The theme of this special issue is the languages of the Nordic countries and linguistic typology. By ‘the Nordic countries’ we refer to the five countries of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. Genetically, the Nordic languages are divided between the Uralic and the Indo-European language...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Main Authors: Eriksen, Pål Kristian, Wide, Camilla
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2011
Subjects:
Linguistics and Language
Language and Linguistics
Kola Peninsula
Norway
Inari
Iceland
karelia*
karelian
Kildin
kola peninsula
meänkieli
Northern Norway
Northern Sweden
sami
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0332586511000187
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0332586511000187
Description
Summary:The theme of this special issue is the languages of the Nordic countries and linguistic typology. By ‘the Nordic countries’ we refer to the five countries of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. Genetically, the Nordic languages are divided between the Uralic and the Indo-European language families. The Indo-European languages are represented through the North Germanic branch, and conversely the ‘homeland’ of the North Germanic branch is more or less exclusively located within the borders of the Nordic countries. The Uralic languages are represented through most of the languages of the Sami branch (from Southwest to Northeast: South Sami, Ume Sami, Pite Sami, Lule Sami, North Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami; the remaining two Sami languages, Kildin and Ter Sami, are both spoken on the Kola peninsula in Russia), and the Finnic branch, with the four closely related varieties Finnish, Karelian (Eastern Finland), Kven (Northern Norway) and Meänkieli (Northern Sweden).

Similar Items