In the seaside village of Bugøynes in Eastern Finnmark a small segment of the 200 inhabitants speak an ancient Finnish dialect passed down through generations.
A small group of Finnish people migrated to Bugøynes in the middle of the 19th century when Finland faced failed crops and mass starvation. They spoke what is now considered a unique Finnish dialect. Preserved in this village for 150 years, even modern Finns don’t understand Meiðänkieli (“our language”). The language has not been taught to the younger generations, which means those who use it now will likely be the last to speak Meiðänkieli.
Chantaie Allick and Margaret Cappa spoke with Øyvind Seipæjærvi, one of the few remaining people in the town who speak the dialect.
