Finnish language

Member of the Finno-Ugric language family, the national language of Finland and closely related to neighbouring Estonian, Livonian, Karelian, and Ingrian languages. At the beginning of the 19th century Finnish had no official status, since Swedish was the language of education, government, and literature in Finland. The publication of the Kalevala, a national epic poem, in 1835, contributed greatly to the arousal of Finnish national and linguistic feeling.