Appendix:Finnish dialects
Finnish is a language with much regional variation, and there exists a traditional classification of Finnish dialects. Since the 1950s, increasing urbanization and mass media has caused an erosion of the dialects described by this classification. While Finnish still has regional variation, many features have spread and the traditional classification is no longer an accurate reflection of current Finnish dialects. Nevertheless, the traditional classification is widely used in Finnish sources and in discussions of historical Finnish (including in Suomen murteiden sanakirja), and the traditional larger groups are still mostly correct, so it is documented here.
The two major dialect groups in Finnish are the western dialects and the eastern dialects, in line with the usual west-east divide pervasive throughout Finland. The two branches are usually considered to belong to slightly different branches within the Finnic languages, with the eastern dialects being more closely related to the Karelian language than the western dialects, and not merely due to geographical proximity. The fact that Finnish is considered a single language today as opposed to two is due to extensive contacts between the western and eastern parts of Finland and cultural affiliation.
The classification includes some dialects not spoken in Finland, such as the varieties of Finnish spoken in parts of Karelia ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II, the Ingrian Finnish dialects, dialects spoken in northeastern Sweden and northern Norway, and the Värmland Savonian dialect of the Forest Finns. Also, some parts of Finland are not included, notably parts of the western and southern coast, including the southwestern archipelago, where no traditional Finnish dialects have survived after these areas became Swedish-speaking (see Finland Swedish). Modern varieties of Finnish spoken there are largely those of the surrounding areas, except for the Helsinki capital region in which the local Finnish variety cannot be classified as any of the traditional dialects.
A map of the traditional Finnish dialects can be found here, and a list can be found here. Both the map and the list are organized by kirkonkylä ("parish"; more specifically a village with a church, historically an important administrative unit), by region and by the dialect branch (Western or Eastern dialects). Värmland is a major exception, as it is taken as the representative of all of the Forest Finn settlements in the area, mostly in Sweden but also partly in Norway. The list also groups dialects by the conventional dialect groups, of which there are eight (or seven, if southwestern transitional dialects are counted as southwestern dialects).
The major traditional dialectal groups are:
- Western (länsimurteet)
- Southwestern (lounaismurteet)
- Southwestern transitional dialects (lounaiset välimurteet), as an intermediate group between Southwestern Finnish and Tavastian Finnish
- Tavastian (hämäläismurteet)
- South Ostrobothnian (eteläpohjalaismurteet)
- North and Central Ostrobothnian (keski- ja pohjoispohjalaismurteet)
- Lapland (Peräpohjola) (peräpohjalaismurteet)
- Southwestern (lounaismurteet)
- Eastern (itämurteet)
- Savonian (savolaismurteet)
- Southeastern (kaakkoismurteet)
What follows is a description of each of the above groups and common features within each. Unless otherwise specified, Standard Finnish is taken as the reference variety.
Dialect groups
- See here for a map of dialect groups.
The split between western and eastern Finnish dialects is well established in literature. The table below illustrates the common differences, but one should be reminded that they are not absolute, unconditional distinctions:
| Feature | Western Finnish | Eastern Finnish | (Standard Finnish) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native /d/ | /r/, /l/ | Usually lost may remain as e.g. /h/ in certain environments |
/d/ as spelling pronunciation |
| Native /ts/ | /tt/ (: /tt/ or /t/) | /ht/ (: /ht/ or /h/) | /ts/ (: /ts/) |
| Diphthongization of ⟨aa⟩, ⟨ää⟩ | No | Yes: ⟨oa⟩/⟨ua⟩, ⟨eä⟩/⟨iä⟩ | No |
| Further opening of opening diphthongs ⟨ie⟩, ⟨uo⟩, ⟨yö⟩ | Yes: ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨ua⟩, ⟨yä⟩ | No | No |
| Weak grade of /lk/ /rk/ | /lj/ /rj/ | /l/ /r/ | Depends |
| Word-initial consonant clusters | Yes | No | Only in recent borrowings (mainly 20th century or later) |
| /f/ | Yes | No | |
| -loi- plural marker | No | Yes | No |
| Palatalized consonants | No | Yes | No |
| Inessive case marker | -s | -ssa | -ssa |
- Some common definitions
- ⟨V⟩ represents any vowel unless otherwise specified.
- ⟨C⟩ represents any consonant.
- ⟨A⟩ is either ⟨a⟩ or ⟨ä⟩, ⟨O⟩ is either ⟨o⟩ or ⟨ö⟩, ⟨U⟩ is either ⟨u⟩ or ⟨y⟩, all depending on vowel harmony
- ˣ represents final gemination.
- Common gemination (yleisgeminaatio, sometimes primary gemination) is when a consonant gets geminated when preceded by a stressed short vowel and followed by an unstressed long vowel or diphthong. It usually occurs after the simplification of vowel hiatuses, e.g. of ⟨oa⟩ → ⟨oo⟩.
- tekee > tekkee tupaan > tuppaan rahaa > rahhaa putoaa > puttoo
Southwestern dialects
The southwestern dialects are spoken primarily in Southwest Finland or Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi).
Certain features are shared with Estonian, and some linguists have considered them to be evidence of Estonian influence on southwestern dialects.
The variety spoken in Rauma is particularly distinctive (among its characteristics is a pitch accent system) and is sometimes (humorously) called its own "language".
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is either /r/ or (now all but extinct)
- standard /ts/ is either : , : , : or : (the last two now all but extinct)
- strong difference in rhythm between stressed and unstressed syllables
- opening diphthongs are opened further: ⟨ie⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨uo⟩ → ⟨ua⟩, ⟨yö⟩ → ⟨yä⟩
- if the first syllable is short, the short vowel in the second syllable may become semi-long (but not quite long) if it is preceded by a single consonant
- /f/ (even in older borrowings)
- (regionally) word-initial plosives may become semivoiced if preceded by n, m, l and (sometimes) t, rarely other voiced sounds
- Phonotactics
- Morphology
- -ea adjective ending usually -ia, and then possibly affected by other phenomena, including southwestern gemination and vowel reductions
- korkki/korkia (korkea)
- inessive ending -s(a)
- tosa (tuossa)
- (regionally) -s(i) as the past tense marker for verbs
- nukkus (nukkui)
- the conditional mood marker for verbs may be -sisi- to compensate
- -ea adjective ending usually -ia, and then possibly affected by other phenomena, including southwestern gemination and vowel reductions
- Southwestern gemination
- Vowel reductions (after gemination)
- conditional reduction of diphthongs, e.g. ⟨oi⟩ → ⟨oe⟩, ⟨au⟩ → ⟨ao⟩, ⟨öy⟩ → ⟨öö⟩
- koer(a) (koira) tyytyväissi (tyytyväisiä)
- reduction of final vowels in bisyllabic words with an initial heavy syllable and all words with more syllables: short vowels are lost entirely (widespread apocope), long vowels become short
- reduction/syncope of vowels in unstressed syllables if the next syllable starts with l, m, n, r, v, and if the first syllable is open (and usually only if it is long)
- suamlane (suomalainen)
- long vowels in non-initial syllables become short, some diphthongs may also reduce (particularly medial unstressed ⟨Vi⟩)
- conditional reduction of diphthongs, e.g. ⟨oi⟩ → ⟨oe⟩, ⟨au⟩ → ⟨ao⟩, ⟨öy⟩ → ⟨öö⟩
- Other features
- geminated l, m, n, r lose their gemination after a long or unstressed syllable
- käänetti (käännettiin)
- in many varieties, a ⟨Vi⟩ diphthong (prior to reduction) often triggers the weak grade of the preceding consonant
- kellane (keltainen)
- (regional) a short vowel right before certain case endings tends to become long; often the case affected is a locational case, e.g. inessive, elative, adessive, ablative.
- geminated l, m, n, r lose their gemination after a long or unstressed syllable
- Pronouns: mnää (standard minä), snää (standard sinä)
Southwestern transitional dialects
The transitional dialects display a mix of southwestern features and Tavastian features. They often lack e.g. reductions of later long vowels and diphthongs. Transitional dialects are spoken in large parts of Satakunta and parts of Tavastia and Uusimaa.
Further reading
Tavastian dialects
The Tavastian dialects are spoken in the majority of Tavastia, including Pirkanmaa, as well as parts of Uusimaa and most of Kymenlaakso. They include the dialects that are perhaps the closest of all to modern Standard Finnish, although by no means still definitely identical. The group has a lot of internal variation and many common features are thus regional as well.
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is either /r/ or /l/ (depending on the region)
- standard /ts/ is usually :
- opening diphthongs are opened further: ⟨ie⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨uo⟩ → ⟨ua⟩, ⟨yö⟩ → ⟨yä⟩
- vowel sequences in later syllables often simplified: ⟨ea⟩/⟨eä⟩ → ⟨ee⟩, ⟨oa⟩/⟨öä⟩ → ⟨oo⟩/⟨öö⟩
- unstressed ⟨Vi⟩ diphthongs often lose the ⟨i⟩
- punanen (punainen)
- Morphology
- Reduced word forms
- the illative of the third infinitive is often replaced with an illative of the bare stem
- certain common verbs have shorter forms, e.g. ole → oo/oˣ, tule → tuu/tuˣ, pane → paa/paˣ, mene → mee/meˣ
- final -n and -t at the end of a polysyllabic word is often assimilated into a following consonant or less commonly turned into final gemination unless before a major break
- tehrääˣ (tehdään)
- Other features
- (regional) "common gemination"
- tekkee (tekee)
- (regional) Retaining *-h- in e.g. illative forms
- talohon (taloon)
- (regional) a short vowel right before certain case endings tends to become (semi-)long; often the case affected is a locational case, e.g. inessive, elative, adessive, ablative.
- kirkòl (kirkolla)
- (regional) "common gemination"
- Pronouns: toi (standard tuo), noi (standard nuo)
Further reading
South Ostrobothnian dialects
These dialects are spoken in a relatively well-defined area in South Ostrobothnia, and are perhaps the most internally consistent dialect group (to the point a lot of literature calls it the "South Ostrobothnian dialect" in the singular). It is believed to have some substrate influence from the southeastern (Karelian) dialects.
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is /r/
- standard /ts/ is :
- seittemän (seitsemän)
- opening diphthongs are (overtly) further opened: ⟨ie⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨uo⟩ → ⟨ua⟩, ⟨yö⟩ → ⟨yä⟩
- some vowel sequence changes: ⟨ea⟩/⟨eä⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨oa⟩/⟨öä⟩ → ⟨ua⟩/⟨yä⟩
- ylypiä (ylpeä)
- word-final ⟨-s⟩ may become ⟨-h⟩ when followed by a voiced consonant
- unstressed ⟨Vi⟩ diphthongs often reduce to ⟨VV⟩, including original *-Vi reduced in standard Finnish
- Morphology
- inessive ending -s or -hna
- soras (sorassa) poskehnansa (poskessansa)
- in nominals belonging to the hame declension class, the nominative and partitive singular forms may exhibit an 'extra consonant': ⟨-s⟩ (i.e. nominative singular ⟨-s⟩, partitive singular ⟨-stA⟩; mostly for earlier *-h), ⟨-t⟩ (i.e. nominative singular ⟨-t⟩, partitive singular ⟨-ttA⟩; mostly for earlier *-k)
- vales (valhe/vale < *valëh) huanes (huone < *hoonëh) aharet (ahde < *ahtëk)
- first-person/second-person plural verb endings -mma, -tta (standard -mme, -tte)
- third-person verb forms with ⟨-ee⟩ often labialized to ⟨-oo⟩/⟨-öö⟩
- inessive ending -s or -hna
- Other features
- "Savonian schwa" (see the Savonian dialects below), for clusters starting with ⟨l-⟩, ⟨h-⟩ as well as the cluster ⟨nh⟩
- Retaining *-h- in e.g. illative and passive forms
- nukkumahan (nukkumaan) hoirethin (hoidettiin)
Note: no "common gemination"
Further reading
Central and North Ostrobothnian dialects
The Central and North Ostrobothnian dialects are spoken, as the name suggests, in North Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia. They contain Savonian influence, intensifying the closer one gets to the Savonian dialect area.
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is 'generally lost', as in the Savonian dialects
- niije (niiden)
- standard /ts/ is highly regional:
- southern parts of Central Ostrobothnia: :
- much of rest of Central Ostrobothnia: :
- parts close to Savonia: :
- most of North Ostrobothnia: : or :
- some vowel sequence changes: ⟨oa⟩/⟨öä⟩ → ⟨ua⟩/⟨yä⟩
- maitua (maitoa)
- ⟨-t⟩ may assimilate to a following plosive
- annakko (annatko)
- (regional) opening diphthongs are opened further: ⟨ie⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩, ⟨uo⟩ → ⟨ua⟩, ⟨yö⟩ → ⟨yä⟩
- (regional) diphthongs often shift (even if stressed), e.g. ⟨oi⟩ → ⟨oe⟩, ⟨au⟩ → ⟨ao⟩, ⟨äy⟩ → ⟨äö⟩, like in Savonian
- standard /d/ is 'generally lost', as in the Savonian dialects
- Morphology
- inessive ending -sa or -ssa
- välisä (välissä)
- -ea adjective ending usually -ia
- kauhia (kauhea)
- the weak grade of /lk/ /rk/ is often ⟨lVj⟩, ⟨rVj⟩ (⟨V⟩ is an epenthetic vowel like in the "Savonian schwa")
- nälijän (nälän)
- first-person/second-person plural verb endings -(m)ma, -(t)ta (standard -mme, -tte)
- saimma (saimme)
- (regional) first-person/second-person plural possessive ending -nna
- inessive ending -sa or -ssa
- Other features
- "common gemination"
- etteempäin (eteenpäin)
- "Savonian schwa" (see the Savonian dialects below), for clusters starting with ⟨l-⟩, ⟨h-⟩ as well as the cluster ⟨nh⟩
- (regional) past tense forms with a strong (even geminated) grade
- tekkiin (tein)
- (regional) "Savonian type II gemination" (see the Savonian dialects below)
- "common gemination"
Further reading
Lapland dialects
The Lapland or Peräpohjola dialects are spoken in much of Lapland (including Peräpohja/Peräpohjola after which the dialect group is named in Finnish). They contain a mix of western and eastern features to the point they could reasonably be considered ti form their own northern branch, but nevertheless they are still traditionally counted in the western branch.
The varieties of the Lapland dialects spoken in Sweden and Norway have been recognized as their own official minority languages called Meänkieli and Kven, respectively. Their status as independent languages, which stems more from political than linguistic factors, is disputed.
Common features:
- Phonology
- Morphology
- archaic third-person plural ending ⟨-(V)t⟩ instead of standard ⟨-vAt⟩
- istuut (istuvat) ruukasit (ruukasivat)
- archaic third-person plural ending ⟨-(V)t⟩ instead of standard ⟨-vAt⟩
- Other features
- Retaining *-h- in e.g. illative and passive forms, but it often undergoes metathesis and moves backwards in the word to after or even before the preceding consonant (a sequence like -C(ː)VhV- often turns to -ChV(V)- or even -hCVV-)
- lamphaan/lamphan/lampahan (lampaan) saarnathiin (saarnattiin) karhittemhaan (karhitsemaan) vahtaahmaan (vahtaamaan)
- ⟨ll⟩, ⟨mm⟩, ⟨nn⟩, ⟨rr⟩ often ungeminate later in the word
- (regional) "common gemination"
- näkkee (näkee)
- Retaining *-h- in e.g. illative and passive forms, but it often undergoes metathesis and moves backwards in the word to after or even before the preceding consonant (a sequence like -C(ː)VhV- often turns to -ChV(V)- or even -hCVV-)
- Pronouns: met (standard me), tet (standard te), regionally mie (only in the nominative, standard minä), sie (only in the nominative, standard sinä)
Further reading
Savonian dialects
The area of the Savonian dialects is large, and it includes Savonia, Central Finland, Kainuu, the (north)eastern part of North Ostrobothnia (Koillismaa), North Karelia and even eastern parts of South Ostrobothnia. They are perhaps the most culturally recognizable dialect group.
The northernmost Savonian dialects in Kainuu and Koillismaa have been influenced by the North Ostrobothnian dialects and also the Karelian language in the east. The dialect once spoken by the Forest Finns in Sweden and Norway (the Värmland dialect) is also considered to belong in the Savonian group, but it lacks several features listed here, including the "Savonian schwa" and common gemination; some consider this evidence of the recency of these features in the Savonian dialects.
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is generally lost: it may remain as /h/ in -VVdV-, /j/ after /i/ and /ʋ/ after /u/ or /y/
- standard /ts/ is usually : , : , : or :
- the long vowels ⟨aa⟩ and ⟨ää⟩ diphthongize to ⟨oa⟩/⟨ua⟩ and ⟨eä⟩/⟨iä⟩ respectively when stressed, and may shift to ⟨oo⟩ and ⟨ee⟩ respectively when unstressed
- the diphthongs often shift (even if stressed), e.g. ⟨oi⟩ → ⟨oe⟩, ⟨au⟩ → ⟨ao⟩ (or even ⟨aa⟩), ⟨äy⟩ → ⟨äö⟩ (or even ⟨ää⟩)
- unstressed ⟨Vi⟩ diphthongs often reduce to just ⟨V⟩ or ⟨Ve⟩/⟨VV⟩
- viimeseltä (viimeiseltä) pohjaanen (pohjainen/pohjoinen)
- the consonants ⟨t⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨h⟩ may be palatalized if followed by a ⟨i⟩ or ⟨j⟩ (word-final ⟨i⟩ may thereafter be lost), or if preceded by a diphthong ending in ⟨i⟩, which may then be reduced to a simple vowel
- Morphology
- the -loi- plural marker used with words with stems ending in a rounded vowel or ⟨i⟩
- the initial consonant of the clitic -kin often assimilates to a preceding consonant or is lost entirely
- the weak grade of /lk/ /rk/ is often
- jären (jären)
- the past active participle ending -nut in the perfect/pluperfect and past connegative is often -nna (or -Cna, e.g. tehnä); sometimes a 'double' ending -nunna is seen
- third-person verb forms with ⟨-ee⟩ labialized to ⟨-oo⟩/⟨-öö⟩
- näkköö (näkee)
- the third-person singular ending -pi is retained in verb stems with an odd number of syllables
- suapi (saa)
- "Savonian schwa" (more properly an epenthetic vowel; loisvokaali, välivokaali)
- an additional vowel, often identical in quality to the preceding vowel or sometimes between the preceding and the following vowel, inserted between consonant clusters (not including geminated consonants)
- the epenthetic vowel is always short and may be extra-short
- the preceding syllable must be short, and the first consonant in the cluster must be ⟨l⟩ or (regionally) ⟨h⟩ (in the Ostrobothnian dialects more broad)
- Other features
- "common gemination"
- (regionally) "Savonian type II gemination"
- a short consonant is geminated if followed by a long vowel or diphthong, regardless of stress or the preceding syllable
- never occurs without common gemination
- initial e- in the negative imperative
- elä (älä)
- Pronouns: myö (standard me), työ (standard te), (regional) mie/miä (standard minä), sie/siä (standard sinä)
Further reading
Southeastern dialects
The southeastern dialects are spoken in South Karelia within Finland. Prior to the Second World War they were spoken in a much larger area, including Ladoga Karelia, the Karelian Isthmus, and Ingria (Ingrian Finnish dialects, not to be confused with the Ingrian or Izhorian language). They are sometimes just called the "Karelian dialects" (not to be confused with the Karelian language), even though the variety spoken in the Finnish region of North Karelia belongs to the Savonian dialect group. The Finnish population in the ceded regions was resettled in different parts of the country, diffusing the majority of the speakers.
Common features:
- Phonology
- standard /d/ is generally lost: it may remain as /h/ in -VVdV-, /j/ after /i/ and /ʋ/ after /u/
- standard /ts/ is regional:
- on the isthmus and in Ingria: :
- kutsumaa (kutsumaan)
- around Vyborg: :
- around Lake Ladoga: :
- dialects close to Kymenlaakso (Tavastian dialects): :
- on the isthmus and in Ingria: :
- some vowel sequences in later syllables often simplified: ⟨ea⟩/⟨eä⟩ → ⟨ia⟩/⟨iä⟩/⟨ii⟩/⟨ee⟩
- pimmii (pimeä)
- (regional) the consonants ⟨t⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨h⟩ may be palatalized if followed by a ⟨i⟩ or ⟨j⟩ (word-final ⟨i⟩ may thereafter be lost), or if preceded by a diphthong ending in ⟨i⟩, which may then be reduced to a simple vowel
- tulʹ (tuli) män' (meni) kutsut't'ii (kutsuttiin)
- (regional) the long vowels ⟨aa⟩ and ⟨ää⟩ diphthongize to ⟨oa⟩/⟨ua⟩ and ⟨eä⟩/⟨iä⟩ respectively when stressed, and shift to ⟨oo⟩ and ⟨ee⟩ respectively when unstressed
- moa (maa)
- (regional) the long vowels ⟨ee⟩, ⟨oo⟩, ⟨öö⟩ in standard Finnish (through elision of intermediate consonants) keep being diphthongized to ⟨ie⟩, ⟨uo⟩, ⟨yö⟩, as already happened to old *ee, *oo, *öö
- sannuo (sanoo)
- (regional) short vowels in the initial syllable may become (semi-)long in bisyllabic words
- Morphology
- the -loi- plural marker used with words with stems ending in a rounded vowel or ⟨i⟩
- third-person verb forms with ⟨-ee⟩ labialized to ⟨-oo⟩/⟨-uo⟩/⟨-öö⟩/⟨-yö⟩
- lienyö (lienee)
- the weak grade of /lk/ /rk/ is often
- kuren (kurjen)
- the third-person singular ending -pi is retained in verb stems with an odd number of syllables (mainly monosyllabic though), although the final ⟨-i⟩ may then be lost, resulting in just -p
- archaic third-person plural ending ⟨-Vt⟩ instead of standard ⟨-vAt⟩; in the past tense, invokes the strong grade of the preceding consonant, potentially with gemination
- ⟨st⟩ becomes ⟨ss⟩ at the end of verbs like juosta
- exessive case (-nt(a)), but unproductive in most varieties
- (regionally) the weak grade of /st/ and /sk/ (not gradable in standard Finnish) is /s/
- lasen (lasken)
- Syncope
- the nominative plural of -nen type nominals may be -st
- sellaist (sukulaiset) sukulaist (sukulaiset)
- the past active participle ending (in the nominative singular, e.g. in perfect/pluperfect or past connegative) is often -nt (-Ct)
- in both second-person singular and third-person plural, -it may be reduced to -t depending on the preceding sounds
- the nominative plural of -nen type nominals may be -st
- Other features
- "common gemination"
- mittää (mitään) pahhoi (pahoja) rahhaakaa (rahaakaan) monellakkaa (monellakaan)
- final gemination completely absent
- tule tänne /ˈtuleˣ ˈtænːeˣ/
- widespread apocope of word-final vowels, e.g. of ⟨-a⟩/⟨-ä⟩ in various case forms
- possessive endings with metathesis: -in (for standard -ni), -is (for standard -si)
- issäi(n) (isäni)
- word-final -n may often be lost
- nii (niin) paljo (paljon) onneto (onneton) paikastaha (paikastahan)
- the clitic -kin is usually -kii
- miekii (minäkin) kuitenkii (kuitenkin) hevoistöitäkii (hevostöitäkin)
- "common gemination"
- Pronouns: mie (standard minä), sie (standard sinä), hää (standard hän), myö (standard me), työ (standard te), hyö (standard he)