Experiences and issues with teaching Karelian to children in Karelian families in Finland

Abstract

Karelian is a critically endangered minority language in Finland, and most of its speakers are elderly. In order for a language to be vital, it has to be transmitted to new generations, and families play a vital part at this process. This thesis studies families living in Finland, in which Karelian is being spoken at home. Eight parents from five such families were interviewed for this thesis; the interviews were then transcribed, and the data analysed using an adapted version of the Grounded Theory. The aim was to build a model explaining the different forces and dynamics that affect the use of Karelian at homes. The results found out that these effects can be grouped in to 14 interconnected categories, that are furthermore divided in three groups representing different levels of the society: the families themselves, the Karelian community and the Finnish society. The results show that currently teaching Karelian to children at home is a very difficult process, that is affected not only by the families’ capacity to use the language, but also by the threshold to do so set by different societal factors. The findings both confirm and complement previous research done in the fields of language revitalization and the study of Karelian language. The thesis also shows that both the Karelian community and the Finnish society can make the home use of Karelian in Finland significantly easier with different actions and reforms.