Page "History of Finland" Paragraph 33

According to the recently most widespread presumption, Finno-Ugric ( or Uralic ) languages were first spoken in Finland and the adjacent areas during the ( typical ) Comb Ceramic period, around 4000 BCE at the latest.

During the 2nd millennium BCE these evolved – possibly under an Indo-European ( most likely Baltic ) influence – into proto-Sami ( inland ) and proto (- Baltic )- Finnic ( coast ).

However, this theory has been increasingly contested among comparative linguists.

It has been suggested instead that the Finno-Ugric languages arrived in Finland later, perhaps only during the Iron Age.

The Finnish language is thought to have started to differentiate during the Iron Age starting from the 1st centuries AD onwards.