The Karelian language is a Baltic Finnic language spoken mostly in the Republic of Karelia (Russia) and Finland. The earliest book of the Bible to be translated in Karelian dates to the 19th century, however the Lord's Prayer is known to have been translated already in the 16th century into Karelian. There have been recently new efforts to create translations into the Karelian language, and there exists two full New Testament translations in Karelian: "Uuzi Sana" in Livvi-Karelian and "Uuši Šana" in Northern Karelian. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Lord's Prayer was already translated into Karelian already in the 16th century, however the earliest translation of a whole book of the Bible into Karelian comes from 1820, when the Gospel of Matthew was translated into Karelian in the Cyrillic script. This translation was made with the assistance of the Archbishop of Ter and Kashin, and the priest Grigory Vvedensky who had learned the Karelian language. [2] [3] This translation represents Tver Karelian, [5] which descents from South Karelian. [6]
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, efforts have been made to translate the entirety of the Bible into Karelian. These efforts began in the 1990s, which resulted in the creation of the Children's Bible (1995), the New Testament (Uuzi sana) in Livvi Karelian (2003) and the Psalms in Livvi-Karelian (2007). These translations were made through the efforts of the Helsinki Institute for Bible Translation , alongside experts in the Karelian language such as Zinaida Dubinina, Nina Zaitseva and Raisa Remshueva. [1] [7] In 2008, the Livvi-Karelian translation was also made into an audiobook, since many Karelians were not able to read the Latin Alphabet used in the written Karelian language. [4] Later in 2011, a translation of the New Testament (Uuši Šana) was also made in the White Karelian dialect. [8] [9] This translation was the first Biblical translation into North Karelian, and it was translated by a group of Finnish Karelian experts. [10]
The Republic of Karelia, Karjala or Karelia is a republic of Russia situated in the northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of 172,400 square kilometres, with a population of 533,121 residents. Its capital is Petrozavodsk.
Karelian is a Finnic language spoken mainly in the Russian Republic of Karelia. Linguistically, Karelian is closely related to the Finnish dialects spoken in eastern Finland, and some Finnish linguists have even classified Karelian as a dialect of Finnish, though in the modern day it is widely considered a separate language. Karelian is not to be confused with the Southeastern dialects of Finnish, sometimes referred to as karjalaismurteet in Finland. In the Russian 2020–2021 census, around 9,000 people spoke Karelian natively, but around 14,000 said to be able to speak the language. There are around 11,000 speakers of Karelian in Finland. And around 30,000 have atleast some knowledge of Karelian in Finland.
Karelians are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russia. Karelians living in Russian Karelia are considered a distinct ethnic group closely related to Finnish Karelians, who are considered a subset of Finns. This distinction historically arose from Karelia having been fought over and eventually split between Sweden and Novgorod, resulting in Karelians being under different cultural spheres.
Karelia is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia, Finland, and Sweden. It is currently divided between northwestern Russia and Finland.
Livvi-Karelian is a supradialect of the Karelian language, which is a Finnic language of the Uralic family, spoken by Olonets Karelians, traditionally inhabiting the area between Ladoga and Onega lakes, northward of Svir River.
Greater Finland is an irredentist and nationalist idea which aims for the territorial expansion of Finland. It is associated with Pan-Finnicism. The most common concept saw the country as defined by natural borders encompassing the territories inhabited by Finns and Karelians, ranging from the White Sea to Lake Onega and along the Svir River and Neva River—or, more modestly, the Sestra River—to the Gulf of Finland. Some extremist proponents also included the Kola Peninsula, Finnmark, Swedish Meänmaa, Ingria, and Estonia.
The Karelian hot pot (British) or Karelian stew (US) is a traditional meat stew originating from the region of Karelia. It is commonly prepared using a combination of pork and beef, but elk or lamb can also be used. Along with the Karelian pasties, it is the most widely recognized Karelian food in Finland. In 2007, it was selected as the national dish of Finland by the readers of the Finnish tabloid Iltalehti. In a similar poll organized by the ELO Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture in cooperation with the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) and the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in autumn 2016, Karelian hot pot took second place, losing to rye bread.
Suoyarvi is a town and the administrative center of Suoyarvsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located 140 kilometers (87 mi) northwest of Petrozavodsk. Population: 9,766 (2010 Census); 11,600 (2002 Census); 11,772 (1989 Soviet census).
The official translation used by the state church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, is approved by its Synod. There have been three official translations: Biblia, se on Coco Pyhä Ramattu Suomexi (1642), Pyhä Raamattu (1933/1938), and the current one Uusi kirkkoraamattu (1992/2007). The term kirkkoraamattu means that the edition has to be suited for service of worship and other needs of the church.
The Karelian language is spoken in Russia, mostly in the Karelian Republic and in a small region just north of Tver, though most residents there were expelled in 1939. Karelian has seen numerous proposed and adopted alphabets over the centuries, both Latin and Cyrillic. In 2007, the current standardized Karelian alphabet was introduced and is used to write all varieties of Karelian, including Tver Karelian which adopted it in 2017.
Tver Karelians are a people who inhabit regions of Tver, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow. Their dialect is remarkable in that it does not borrow from other Balto-Finnic languages due to centuries of geographical isolation. Although the number of Tver Karelian people was about 14,633 in 2002, very few named the dialect as their primary language. The number of Tver Karelians was 7,394 in 2010 and 2,764 in 2020.
Čičiliusku is a puppet theatre company from the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The company performs in the Karelian language. The company was founded in 2005 at the initiative of Pekka Zaikov, who at the time was the head of the Department of the Karelian and Veps languages. Amongst those who founded the company were teachers, students and alumni of the Faculty of Baltic Finnic languages of the Petrozavodsk State University. The Karelian folk theater was created in order to preserve the Karelian national intangible culture, popularize the Karelian language among children and youth language, introducing the younger generation to ethnocultural activities. A year later the company performed their first play, Kuin hukka vasikalla muamona oli.
Lyudmila Fyodorovna Markianova is a Karelian linguist and a professor emerita. She has been called "karjalan kielen muamo", i.e. 'mother of the Karelian language'.
Karjalan kunnailla, lit. 'On the Hills of Karelia', is a Finnish folk song. Lyrics were created by Valter Juva in 1902. Karelian Iivo Härkönen also published an early Karelianist adaptation of Juva's original Finnish lyrics in the Livvi-Karelian language of East Karelia. The music of the Anthem of the Republic of Karelia was derived from this song.
The Olonets Government, later called the Provisional Government of Olonets, was a short-lived unrecognized state originally created on May 15, 1918, as the Olonets Government of Southern Karelia, following Finland's declaration of war on Soviet Russia. Following the capture of Olonets on April 23, 1919, the country was renamed to the Provisional Caretaker Government of Olonets during the Olonets Expedition. The Olonets Government was cemented in May 1920, and found recognition and support from Finland, who was a keen supplier of money, in the form of loans and volunteers. On 27 June 1919 the Government went into exile in Finland, following the Soviet Russian capture of Vitele. In October 1920 the Olonets government merged with the Republic of Uhtua to form the Karelian United Government.
Karelian Proper is a supradialect of the Karelian language, which is a Finnic language. Karelian Proper is one of two/three Karelian dialects, along with Livvi-Karelian and Ludic. Karelian Proper is a direct descendent of the Old Karelian language, compared to Livvi-Karelian and Ludian supradialects which were formed through interactions between the Old Karelian and the Old Veps languages. Karelian Proper is situated in all of White Karelia and Central Karelia.
South Karelian is the most spoken of the two dialects of Karelian Proper, and it is spoken in the Republic of Karelia and in the Tver Oblast. South Karelian was also previously spoken in Border Karelia when it was apart of Finland. Many speakers of the South Karelian dialect were evacuated from Finnish Karelia into other areas of Finland during the 20th century, where a number of speakers are still retained. South Karelian displays a higher degree of regional variation than any other Karelian dialect.
Northern Karelian is one of the two dialects of Karelian Proper. Northern Karelian is spoken in White Karelia, and is spoken by some in Hietajärvi, Kuivajärvi and Kuhmo in Finland. Northern Karelian is the most mutually intelligible Karelian dialect to Finnish Language speakers.
The Biblia was the first complete translation of the Bible into the Finnish language, published in the year 1642 for use by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Today, the term "Biblia" in Finland primarily refers to the latest edition of the translation from 1776, which is also called the "vanha kirkkoraamattu". It was officially replaced by a newer translation into Finnish in 1933 and 1938.
The Tver Karelian dialect is a dialect of the Karelian language spoken in the Tver Oblast. It is descended from 17th century South Karelian speakers who migrated to the Tver region.