Scandinavia
Languages

Two language groups have coexisted on the Scandinavian Peninsula since prehistory—the North Germanic languages (Scandinavian languages) and the Uralic languages, Sámi and Finnish.

Most people in Scandinavia today speak Scandinavian languages that evolved from Old Norse, originally spoken by ancient Germanic tribes in southern Scandinavia. The Continental Scandinavian languages— Danish, Norwegian and Swedish —form a dialect continuum and are considered mutually intelligible. The Insular Scandinavian languages— Faroese and Icelandic —on the other are only partially intelligible to speakers of the continental Scandinavian languages.

The Uralic languages are linguistically unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Finnish is the majority language in Finland, and a recognized minority language in Sweden. Meänkieli and Kven, sometimes considered as dialects of Finnish, are recognized minority languages in Sweden and Norway, respectively. The Sámi languages are indigenous minority languages in Scandinavia, spoken by the Sámi people in northern Scandinavia.
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