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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>One of the minority languages that were recently officially
recognized in </span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Sweden</span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> is ”meänkieli”. This
was previously regarded as a variety of Finnish and referred to in Swedish as “tornedalsfinska”.
“Meänkieli” is transparently ‘our language’ in meänkieli.
Apparently, this is a relatively new coinage. There may of course be problems
if more Finnic varieties choose the same option!</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Claude</span></font><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Hagège</span></font><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> mentioned
Guaraní as a case of a language referred to as ‘our language’ by
its own speakers. Another language in the same family that I have some
first-hand knowledge of is Sirionó. Although it has been labelled “mbia
chëë” ‘the people’s language’ in some published texts,
my feeling is that the most common way of referring to it in speech is “nande
chëë” ‘our language (our speech)’. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>There is of course a descriptive problem here: to what
extent are such expressions conventionalized? Obviously, anyone could call
their mother tongue “our language”, and it is quite natural to do
so, in the same way as you would probably refer to your family as “our
family”, in particular when speaking to its members, rather than using a
last name or anything similar.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>- Östen Dahl</span></font></p>
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