| Northern Karelian | |
|---|---|
| North Karelian White Sea Karelian Viena Karelian | |
| Vienankarjala | |
| Native to | Russia and Finland |
| Region | White Sea Karelia |
Uralic
| |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | krl |
| Glottolog | nort2673 |
 Karelian Proper consists of 1a | |
Northern Karelian (also called:White Sea Karelian,Viena Karelian andNorth Karelian) (North Karelian:Vienankarjala) is one of the two dialects ofKarelian Proper. Northern Karelian is spoken mainly inWhite Karelia, and is also the traditional language of the villages ofHietajärvi,Kuivajärvi andRimpi in theKainuu region of Finland.[3] Northern Karelian is the most mutually intelligible Karelian dialect to speakers of theFinnish language.[4]
Northern Karelian differs from South Karelian due to its inclusion of the voiceless consonants p, t, k, s and š.[5] It also differs due to its more common usage of the š [sh/see] letter more than in other Karelian dialects.
Northern Karelian is spoken in the northernmost parts of theRepublic of Karelia, which is called White Karelia and in the villages ofHietajärvi,Kuivajärvi andRimpi in Kainuu.[3] Specifically it is spoken in the parishes ofJyskyjärvi [ru],Kieretti [ru],Kiestinki,Kontokki,Oulanka [fi],Paanajärvi,Pistojärvi [fi],Suomussalmi,Uhtua,Usmana [ru],Vitsataipale [fi] andVuokkiniemi.[5]
The following example is from Petroskoi in 1995:[6]
| North Karelian | Finnish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ennein vanhah karjalaiset varattih riähkyä. | Ennen vanhaan karjalaiset varoivat tekemästä syntiä. | In the old days, Karelians were careful not to sin. |
Southern, Northern and Livvi dialects compared:[7]
| Livvi | Southern | Northern | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| pakkaskuu | pakkaiskuu | pakkaiskuu | January |
| tuhukuu | tuuččakuu | tuiskukuu | February |
| kevätkuu | kevätkuu | kevätkuu | March |
| sulakuu | sulakuu | šulakuu | April |
