Kainuu dialect

Kainuu dialect is a dialect of Finnish spoken in Kainuu, Vaala, Koillismaa, Posio and Ranua. It belongs to the Savonian dialects, or more broadly, the eastern dialects of Finnish. Due to the region's close ties to North Ostrobothnia, the dialect has been influenced in vocabulary by Central and Northern Ostrobothnian dialects and vice versa.

The Kainuu dialect can be divided into Northern, Central, and Southern groups. The Northern Kainuu dialect is spoken in Koillismaa, Posio and Ranua. The Central dialect is spoken in most of Kainuu, as well as in Vaala. The Southern dialect is spoken in Sotkamo and Kuhmo, in Southern Kainuu.