Kontakty językowe w Finlandii
Language contacts in Finland

Summary/Abstract: The article outlines linguistic contacts in Finland in different periods of time, from prehistory to the present day. It emphasizes the historically validated multilingualism and multiculturalism of the country. A thesis has been formulated concerning the strong influences of various languages on Finnish at various stages of its development (i.e. on prehistoric spoken Proto-Finnish, the medieval folk language of the Finns, Finnish of the modern era, as well as on the contemporary stratified language characterized by diglossia and triglossia). The author describes the latest sociolinguistic phenomena such as the interference of migrant languages with the stratified Finnish language and with its urban jargons. The analysis includes the national languages of Finland and languages of ethnic minorities, including sign languages (and their sociolinguistic aspect). The article refers to the latest developments in genetic linguistics.

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