Ingrian language


Ingrian is a nearly extinct Finnic language spoken by the Izhorians of Ingria. It has approximately 142 native speakers left, most of whom are aged. It should not be confused with the Southeastern dialects of the Finnish language that became the majority language of Ingria in the 17th century with the influx of Lutheran Finnish immigrants. The immigration of Lutheran Finns was promoted by Swedish authorities, as the local population was Orthodox. In total the language has 360 - 500 speakers.

History

In 1932–1937, a Latin-based orthography for the Ingrian language existed, taught in schools of the Soikino Peninsula and the area around the mouth of the Luga River. Several textbooks were published, including, in 1936, a grammar of the language. However, in 1937 the Izhorian written language was abolished and mass repressions of the peasantry began.

Alphabet (1932)

Alphabet (1936)

The order of the 1936 alphabet is similar to the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.

Alphabet (2005–present)

The order of the current alphabet matches the Finnish alphabet.

Dialects

Four dialects groups of Ingrian have been attested, two of which are probably extinct by now:
A fifth dialect may have once been spoken on the Karelian Isthmus in northernmost Ingria, and may have been a substrate of local dialects of southwestern Finnish.

Grammar

Like other Uralic languages, Ingrian is a highly agglutinative language.

Nouns

Adjectives

Verbs

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants