Kveenin kieli ja kulttuuri kahdessa päiväkodissa Pohjois-Norjassa – kielen elvyttämistä ja vähemmistökulttuurin välitystä
The Kven language and culture in two kindergartens in northern Norway: Revitalization of the language and dissemination of the culture

Summary/Abstract: The Kven language in Northern Norway, earlier considered a dialect of Finnish, is since 2005 officially acknowledged as a minority language. It is endangered because it is no longer transmitted from parents to children in natural communication. In this article, the revitalization of the Kven language and culture is analyzed using the activity theory developed by Engeström (1987). The material consists of interviews conducted in two municipalities and two kindergartens where Kven language and culture were taught. Comparisons are made with “language nest” (immersion kindergarten) activities, especially with the successful revitalization of Inari Sámi in Finland. Language revitalization by means of language immersion was the goal in only one of the kindergartens, and those who participated in the revitalization process formed an activity system (including employees in kindergarten as well as parents, administrators from the municipality educational office and minority language speakers from the local village). Analyses demonstrated that those responsible for the revitalization of Kven were primary the employees in the kindergarten, and that there were few instruments available for revitalization, such as Kven speaking kindergarten workers or teaching materials in Kven. Children received a receptive knowledge of the Kven language in some routine situations in which the language was used. Language nest activity also changed the language attitudes of those who belonged to the activity system, while increasing language use in some of the families whose children learnt Kven in the kindergarten. This demonstrated an expansive learning among the participants in the activity system.

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