The Savonian dialects (also called Savo Finnish)( fi, Savolaismurteet) are forms of the
Finnish language
Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedis ...
spoken in Savonia and other parts of Eastern Finland. Finnish dialects are grouped broadly into
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and Western varieties; Savonian dialects are of the Eastern variety.
Savonian dialects are the most widely distributed Finnish dialect group (setting aside the higher-level east/west split mentioned above). They are spoken in the Savonia region (in both
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
South Savo
South Savo (or Southern Savonia; fi, Etelä-Savo; sv, Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total ar ...
), but also in North Karelia, parts of
Päijät-Häme
Päijät-Häme () is a region in Southern Finland south of the lake Päijänne. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Pirkanmaa, Central Finland, South Savo and Kymenlaakso. The biggest city in the region is Laht ...
,
Central Finland
Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city o ...
Pudasjärvi
Pudasjärvi () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of ...
and the Southern part of
Ranua
Ranua is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Lapland, Finland, Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population dens ...
in Lapland. Also the language spoken by forest settlers in
Värmland
Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
belonged to the old Savonian dialects. The geographical area the Savonian dialects cover makes up one-third the area of Finland.
To speak Savonian is sometimes referred to as speaking with a "crooked chin" (, or in standard Finnish).
History
The Savonian dialects are of different origin than Western Finnish dialects. Savonian dialects form a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
with other Eastern dialects of Finnish and the
Karelian language
Karelian (North Karelian and Livvi Karelian: ; Ludic: ; Tver 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 ...
, with whom they have common ancestry in the Proto-Karelian language spoken in the coast of Lake Ladoga in the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
.
Features
Although the Savonian dialects are spread over a large geographical area with significant variations, they are rather different from the standard language and are recognized as local dialects. There are large variations between different Savonian dialects, but a few of the most stereotypical features are the following.
Phonology
Vowels
#Where standard Finnish has a diphthong, Savo may have a narrower diphthong or long vowel. Conversely, where standard Finnish has a long vowel, Savo may have a diphthong.
#* as the second element of a diphthong lowers to , e.g. ''laeta'' for ''laita'' "side", ''söe'' for ''söi'' "ate".
#* lower similarly to , or they may assimilate completely to produce a long vowel, e.g. or for standard Finnish "store", or for "full".
#*When standard occur in an initial syllable (and thus have primary stress), they become opening diphthongs. In some varieties these are pronounced as , but in most varieties these diphthongs are wider: . Thus many Savo speakers have ''mua'' for Standard Finnish ''maa'' "land, country, ground", and have ''piä'' for ''pää'' "head".
#Word-final of standard Finnish correspond to Savonian respectively. Thus Savonians say , , and for standard , , and .
#When both would be unstressed, the otherwise bisyllabic combinations of ''o/ö/e'' followed by ''a/ä'' are produced as monosyllabic long vowels when no consonant intervenes. For instance, Savonian dialects have for "brown", and have for "plowing (partitive)". (This change is not specific to Savonian dialects and is found in most forms of spoken Finnish today.)
#An epenthetic vowel is inserted after a medial syllable coda of , or, in certain cases, , e.g. (standard "old").
#*The epenthetic vowel is often identical in
quality
Quality may refer to:
Concepts
*Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something
*Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property
*Quality (physics), in response theory
* Energy quality, used in various science discipl ...
to the preceding vowel. However, if the first of the non-epenthetic vowels is high and the second is low, the epenthetic vowel may be mid (but preserves the roundness specification of the preceding vowel). Thus and are different Savonian forms for standard Finnish "eye", and and are Savonian version of "cold".
Consonants
#Savonian dialects have re-developed palatalized consonants (which were lost in
Proto-Finnic
Proto-Finnic or Proto-Baltic-Finnic is the common ancestor of the Finnic languages, which include the national languages Finnish and Estonian. Proto-Finnic is not attested in any texts, but has been reconstructed by linguists. Proto-Finnic is it ...
). The consonants that can be palatalized are those that are coronal: ''l, n, t, r, s''. Palatalization of these consonants occurs word-finally, in contexts where a consonant is followed by in standard Finnish. Orthographically, palatalization is often denoted by , where C is the palatalized consonant. Examples include and (standard Finnish , ).
#Singleton consonants are geminated when they occur after a (primarily or secondarily) stressed short syllable and before a long vowel. Thus replace standard . This gemination is fed by the process described point 3 of the preceding section: Native Savonians do not say that they speak ; they say that they speak ( ).
#*In the eastern Savonian dialects, this gemination is more general; it applies to non-singleton consonants (, cf. standard ), to consonants that don't ordinarily participate in the consonant gradation process, and after unstressed short vowels (, cf. standard }).
#The word-final of standard Finnish corresponds to a variety of consonants in Savo, depending on the environment in which it occurs.
#*When the next word begins with a vowel, /n/ is replaced with a glottal stop . For example, the genitive case, marked by in the standard language, is marked with a glottal stop in the Savonian phrase (standard "father's voice").
#*Word-final assimilates to consonants that follow it, yielding a geminate consonant; contrasts with standard . Unlike standard Finnish, Savonian Finnish permits gemination of and , which gives examples like (standard ) in addition.
#All syllable-initial consonants except the last one (which contacts the nucleic vowel) are systematically and completely removed in loanwords, e.g. (standard ).
#The weak grade of , in contrast to standard Finnish, is never . In Savo the weak grade of this consonant may be , , , , or may simply be null.
#* occurs between a long back vowel/diphthong and a short back vowel: for standard .
#* occurs between a long ''front'' vowel/diphthong and a short front vowel: for standard .
#* weakens to or is null following another instance of : or for standard .
#*If none of the above apply, the weak form may remain as : for standard .
#The consonant sequences found in standard Finnish (whose weak grade is likewise in the standard language) are not found in Savonian dialects. Depending on the specific Savonian dialect they use, a Savo speaker may have:
#* (weak grade ), thus instead of standard "forest, forest's".
#* (weak grade ), thus .
#* (weak grade ), thus .
Morphology and syntax
*The use of the ''-loi'' plural suffix is more general than in other dialects, including standard Finnish. For instance ''risti'' "cross" has the plural partitive form ''ristilöitä'' (standard Finnish: ''ristejä'').
*Although standard and known elsewhere, the usage of verb compounds is particularly prevalent in Savo Finnish and a prolific source of creative expressions. The first verb is in the infinitive and indicates the action, and the second verb is inflected and indicates the manner. For example, ''seistä toljotat'' "you stand there gawking" consists of words meaning "to-stand you-gawk".
List of dialects
Northern Savonian dialects
Northern Savonian dialects are spoken in the municipalities of Hankasalmi (Eastern part), Haukivuori,
Heinävesi
Heinävesi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, Varka ...
Joroinen
Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of ...
,
Jäppilä
Jäppilä () is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2004, it was merged to Pieksämäen maalaiskunta and Virtasalmi to form the new municipality of Pieksänmaa, which merged with the town of Pieksämäki in 2007. The village of Jäpp ...
,
Kaavi
Kaavi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. Kaavi is also a part of historical Karelia. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . It is fr ...
Keitele
Keitele is a municipality of Finland.
It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbour municipalities are Pielavesi, Pihtipudas, ...
,
Kiuruvesi
Kiuruvesi is a town and municipality of Finland located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of
which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Iisalmi, Pielavesi, ...
,
Konnevesi
Konnevesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of which is water. Neighbouring municipalit ...
Leppävirta
Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population densi ...
,
Maaninka
Maaninka ( sv, Maaninka, also ) is a former municipality in the region of Northern Savonia, in Finland. It was merged with the city of Kuopio on 1 January 2015.
The municipality had a population of 3,747 (30 November 2014) and it covered an area ...
,
Muuruvesi
Muuruvesi is a village and a former municipality of Finland at the time of its existence in the Kuopio Province, now in Northern Savonia. Together with Säyneinen, it was consolidated with Juankoski in 1971, since 2017 part of Kuopio.
Geogra ...
(part of Juankoski since 1971),
Nilsiä
Nilsiä is a former small town and a municipality of Finland. It joined the city of Kuopio at the beginning of year 2013.
It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The town has a population of (31 December 2012) and covers an area of of whic ...
Pielavesi
Pielavesi is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Geography
...
Rantasalmi
Rantasalmi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, northwest of Savonlinna and northeast of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density i ...
,
Rautalampi
Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Neigh ...
,
Riistavesi
Riistavesi is a medium-sized lake in the Vuoksi main catchment area. It is located in the Northern Savonia region in Finland, close to the town of Kuopio
Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savon ...
(part of Kuopio since 1973),
Siilinjärvi
Siilinjärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia, north of the city of Kuopio, which largely surrounds Siilinjärvi. Another neighbour municipality with Kuopio is Lapinlahti. The name, in Finnish, apparently transla ...
Suonenjoki
Suonenjoki (; literally means "vein's river") is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, southwest of the Kuopio city.
The town has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The pop ...
Tervo
Tervo is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of (), making it Northern Savonia's least populous municipality. It covers an area ...
Varpaisjärvi
Varpaisjärvi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the municipality of Lapinlahti on January 1, 2011.
The municipality was located in the Northern Savonia region in the province of Eastern Finland. It had a population of ...
Vehmersalmi
Vehmersalmi is a former municipality of Finland. It has been a part of the city of Kuopio since January 1, 2005.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 2, ...
,
Vesanto
Vesanto is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbour municipalities are Keitele, Konnevesi, ...
,
Vieremä
Vieremä is a municipality of Finland in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Ponsse, one of the world ...
Southern Savonian dialects are spoken in the municipalities of Anttola,
Hirvensalmi
Hirvensalmi is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of
()
and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
Neighbour municipalities: Joutsa, Kangasniem ...
,
Juva
Juva ( sv, Juva, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region some North-East of Helsinki. It was founded on 19 January 1442, and is the oldest parish/municipality in Finland whose exact date of birth is known ...
,
Kangasniemi
Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia region, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Kangasniemi is located on the Finnish national road 13, north ...
Pertunmaa
Pertunmaa () is a municipality of Finland located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density is .
Neighbour municipalities are Hartola, Heinola, Hirv ...
Ristiina
Ristiina (; in Swedish also known as ''Kristina'') was a municipality of Finland. It was founded in 1649 and it was named after Kristina Stenbock, the wife of Governor General and Count Per Brahe. From the beginning of the year 2013 is a part of ...
,
Sulkava
Sulkava is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities are Juva, Puumala, R ...
Savonlinna
Savonlinna (, , ; sv, Nyslott, lit=New Castle) is a town and a municipality of inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region, which is why the city is also nicknamed the "Capital of Saimaa". Together with Mikke ...
area are spoken in the Eastern Savonia, the municipalities surrounding the city of Savonlinna between Southern Savonia and North Karelia:
Enonkoski
Enonkoski () is a municipality of Finland. It is encircled by the city of Savonlinna in the Southern Savonia region. It is the smallest municipality in Southern Savonia in terms of population.
History
Enonkoski was founded in 1882. Before that it ...
,
Kerimäki
Kerimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality was unilingually Finni ...
,
Punkaharju
Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013.
It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region.
The municipality had a population of ...
,
Savonranta
Savonranta is a former municipality of Finland. It became part of Savonlinna in early 2009.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,263 (2003) and cov ...
and
Sääminki
Sääminki (; sv, Säminge) is countryside and List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. Most of Sääminki municipality was incorporated in 1973 with the Savonlinna town and the rest with Punkaharju municipality.
...
(part of Punkaharju and Savonlinna since 1973).
The dialect spoken in Enonkoski has many similarities with the dialects of Northern Savo, while the dialect spoken in the Southern parts of Punkaharju resembles South-Eastern dialects in many ways. The difference between dialects in Savonlinna district has its roots in the colonization history. The area of greater Kerimäki (which consisted Enonkoski, Punkaharju and Savonranta) was settled by Karelian people till the 16th century, but from the 14th century the Savonian has started to settle to the Eastern side of Lake Pihlajavesi and the coasts of
Puruvesi
Puruvesi is a lake in Eastern Finland. The lake is located in Kerimäki, Kesälahti and Punkaharju municipalities. Part of the Saimaa lake system, it borders on the sub-lake system of Pihlajavesi to the south. As is the case of other lakes of Sai ...
.
The differences between natural and governmental borders goes together in many ways. In Enonkoski the dialect is more Savonian in the Northern side of Hanhivirta. The other reason to this is that the Northern villages of Enonkoski belonged to Heinävesi in the 19th century, while the Southern villages were part of Kerimäki. The Northern border of Puruvesi goes through Lake Puruvesi. So the old Karelian-based dialect features have kept in Punkaharju much better than in Kerimäki, which is located in the Northern side of Puruvesi.
Eastern Savonian dialects or the dialects of North Karelia
Eastern Savonian dialects or the dialects of North Karelia are spoken in
North Karelia
North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Fin ...
Ilomantsi
Ilomantsi ( krl, Il'manči or Ilomančči, sv, Ilomants) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densi ...
Juuka
Juuka (; sv, Juga) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density is .
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...
Kitee
Kitee ( sv, Kides) is a town and a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...
,
Kontiolahti
Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...
Nurmes
Nurmes is a town and municipality of Finland, located in the county of North Karelia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The
Pielisjärvi
Pielisjärvi is a former municipality in the region of North Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants in 1970. Pielisjärvi was a Finnish-speaking municipality.
Pielisjärvi municipality was joined with the city of Lieksa in 197 ...
(part of Lieksa since 1973), Polvijärvi, Pyhäselkä, Pälkjärvi (now part of Russia, little part of Tohmajärvi since 1946),
Rautavaara
Rautavaara is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Tiili ...
Tohmajärvi
Tohmajärvi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of
()
and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. ...
Kajaani
Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...
,
Kuhmo
Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...
Paltamo
Paltamo ( sv, Paltamo, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. There are two built-up areas in the municip ...
Pudasjärvi
Pudasjärvi () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of ...
,
Puolanka
Puolanka ( sv, Puolanka, also ) is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
...
,
Ranua
Ranua is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Lapland, Finland, Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population dens ...
Sotkamo
Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region about east of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu. Vuokatti, in west of Sotkamo, is the most populous village in the municipality and also a popular skiing resort. Both Hiidenportti Nat ...
,
Suomussalmi
Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...
Dialects of Middle Finland are spoken in Hankasalmi (Western part),
Karstula
Karstula is a municipality of Finland founded in 1867. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities are ...
,
Kinnula
Kinnula is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities are Kivijärvi, L ...
,
Kivijärvi
Kivijärvi (; literally "stone lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring munici ...
Konnevesi
Konnevesi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the former province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of ()
and covers an area of of which is water. Neighbouring municipalit ...
(Western part),
Kyyjärvi
Kyyjärvi (; lit. " adder lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...
Multia
Multia is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The ...
Saarijärvi
Saarijärvi () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
Neighbouring municipalities are ...
,
Sumiainen
Sumiainen is a former municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality had a population of 1,293 (2003) and covered an area of 307.93 km2 of which 77.34&n ...
Viitasaari
Viitasaari is a town and municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Central Finland region. The town has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. Biggest lakes are Lake Keit ...
and
Äänekoski
Äänekoski () is a town in Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about north of Jyväskylä. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density is .
Neighbouring municipalities ...
.
Dialects of Päijät-Häme
Päijät-Häme Savonian dialects are spoken in Joutsa,
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
,
Jämsä
Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the second largest town of the Central Finland after Jyväsk ...
Jämsänkoski
Jämsänkoski is a former town and municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It is located near Lake Päijänne and the Jämsänjoki river. The town had a population of 7,351 in 2008. It covered an area of 448.67 km² of which ...
since 1969),
Kuhmoinen
Kuhmoinen ( sv, Kuhmois) is a municipality of Finland, in Pirkanmaa region, but until 2021, it was part of the Central Finland region. The municipality is home to inhabitants.
Neighbour municipalities are Jämsä, Kangasala, Luhanka, Orivesi, ...
Pertunmaa
Pertunmaa () is a municipality of Finland located in the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which
is water. The population density is .
Neighbour municipalities are Hartola, Heinola, Hirv ...
(Western part),
Petäjävesi
Petäjävesi (; lit. "pine water") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland, next to the city of Jyväskylä, and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an ar ...
,
Sysmä
Sysmä () is a municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. Neighbouring municipalities are Asikkala, Hart ...
Alajärvi
Alajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The town is unilingually Finnish; there are fe ...
Keuruu
Keuruu (; sv, Keuru) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...
,
Lappajärvi
Lappajärvi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland in Southern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. It is from Lappajärvi to Seinäjoki, to Kokkola and to Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...
,
Lehtimäki
Lehtimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Alajärvi on 1 January 2009.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 1,850 (200 ...
Vimpeli
Vimpeli (; sv, Vindala) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, northeast of Seinäjoki and northwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The p ...
and
Ähtäri
Ähtäri ( sv, Etseri) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Ähtäri is located southeast of ...
. This sub-dialect area is wedge shaped in the middle of Ostrobothnia, which has its own dialects and also Swedish-speaking population. This is the influence of Savonian
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
Southern Ostrobothnia
South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...
in the 17th century.
Värmland Savonian dialects
The expansion of Savonian
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
agriculture, which started in the beginning of Modern era, expanded to Central Scandinavia. Mostly in the beginning of the 17th century Savonian settlers, mainly from the parish of
Rautalampi
Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Neigh ...
, settled in
Värmland
Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...
, Sweden. In the beginning of the 19th century tens of thousands of people spoke the Savonian language as their mother tongue. These "
Forest Finns
Forest Finns ( fi, Metsäsuomalaiset, Norwegian bokmål: ''Skogfinner'', Norwegian nynorsk: ''Skogfinnar'', sv, Skogsfinnar) were Finnish migrants from Savonia and Northern Tavastia in Finland who settled in forest areas of Sweden proper and N ...
" were an interesting group from a linguistic point of view because their language was isolated from other influences. The practice of slash and burn agriculture was prohibited in Sweden in the middle of the 17th century and no new Finnish settlers moved to the area. The language of Forest Finns lacked the Schwa vowel and
gemination
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (), or consonant lengthening (from Latin 'doubling', itself from ''gemini'' 'twins'), is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from s ...
, which are used now in the dialect spoken in Rautalampi. Nowadays the Savonian dialect of Värmland is extinct. The last Savonian speakers were Johannes Johansson-Oinonen (died in 1965) and Karl Persson (died 1969).
Music
The band
Verjnuarmu
Verjnuarmu was a heavy metal band from Finland singing in the Savo dialect of the Finnish language.
Performing in a dialect is rare in the Finnish heavy metal scene. Sometimes their style is dubbed as "Savo metal". According to Viitakemies, form ...
performed
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
in the Savo dialect, while Värttinä performs folk music. The folk song " Ievan polkka" is in the dialect, as well.