Ingrian Finnish dialects () are the Finnish dialects spoken by Ingrian Finns around Ingria in Russia. Today, the Ingrian dialects are still spoken in Russia, Finland and Sweden. In 2010 there were only 20 300 Ingrian Finns left in Russia. The Ingrian dialects are gradually dying out, as primarily elderly people speak them still, and unlike Standard Finnish, the dialects are not taught in schools.
History After Sweden annexed Ingria in 1617, many people moved to Ingria from Finland, at the time part of Sweden. After Russia annexed it again in 1721, many Russians moved in. However the Finnish language stayed because of the Lutheran church; the difference of religion made mixed marriages rare.
In 1900 the situation changed a lot. At first, minority languages were supported; however, around 1930 Finnish was banned and the Ingrian Finns were subjected to mass deportations and executions. Because of this, language communities broke and Russian influence became larger.
Phonology
The phonology of Ingrian Finnish is very much alike that of the neighbouring Ingrian and Votic languages.
One process present in the dialects is the deletion of final front vowels and their replacement by palatisation, much like in Ala-Laukaa Ingrian and Votic: äitj (, "mother") for Standard Finnish äiti () vesj (, "water") for Standard Finnish vesi () mäkj (, "hill") for Standard Finnish mäki () kylj (, "village") for Standard Finnish kylä () Another is the diphthongisation of historically long vowels in initial syllables, much like in the Karelian language: piä (, "head") for Standard Finnish pää () kualj (, "cabbage") for Standard Finnish kaali () Like in the Ingrian language, Standard Finnish morphological -d- is often replaced by -v-, -vv- and -ij-: sovan (, "war", gen) for Standard Finnish sodan ( pöyvvän (, "table", gen) for Standard Finnish pöydän () Finally, a shift of the diphthongs , and to ( in front-vocalic stems), and respectively is present: piänj (, "small") for the Standard Finnish pieni ().
Grammar The dialects' personal pronouns differ significantly from the standard language. Follows a comparison with the Karelian language and Standard Finnish: + Ingrian Finnish Singular Plural First Person mie myö Second Person sie työ Third Person hiä hyö + Karelian Singular Plural First Person mie myö Second Person sie työ Third Person hiän hyö + Standard Finnish Singular Plural First Person minä me Second Person sinä te Third Person hän he
Vocabulary Historically, multiple Swedish loanwords have appeared in Ingrian Finnish. Furthermore, the dialects have borrowed extensively from the neighbouring Finnic languages. In more recent years, it has also borrowed extensively from the Russian language: latjjat (, "dress") from Russian платье (plat'je) liäppä (, "hat") from Russian шляпа (šljapa)
Sample text Follows a sample text in Ingrian Finnish: Ingrian FinnishIPAUPAStandard FinnishTranslationOli yks mies elläi Mäni metsää hulkkumaa Ja öksy Ja siis jäi yöks makkaamaa Teki puun alla tulen Ja kävi makkaamaa. Oli (yksi) mies eli Meni metsään hölskymään Ja eksyi Ja siis jäi yöksi nukkumaanTeki puun alla tulenJa kävi nukkumaan.There lived a man He drifted into the forest And got lost And then he stayed to sleep for the nightHe made a fire under a treeAnd went to sleep.
See also Ingrian Finns
South Karelian dialects Savonian dialects
References