Dictionary of Karelian

Our six-part Dictionary of Karelian (Karjalan kielen sanakirja) is a lexicon of Karelian dialects spoken in Finland (particularly in Border Karelia before the Second World War), in the Republic of Karelia (from Viena to Olonets), and in inland Russia (chiefly in Tver Karelia).

The dictionary is based on a collection of over 550,000 card files compiled from the late 19th century up to the 1970s. Work on the dictionary began in 1955. The first volume (A–J) was published in 1968 and the last (T–Ö) in 2005.

The first three volumes were edited by Pertti Virtaranta, the last three by Raija Koponen. The dictionary was published by the Finno-Ugrian Society as a co-publication with the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland.

Project coordinator: Marja Torikka

Partner: Finno-Ugrian Society

Date: Launched 1955, completed February 2005.