Northern Sami language
Kalix is the easternmost river valley traditionally completely settled by Germanic-language speakers, while the nearby Tornio river valley was settled by Finnic language Meänkieli speakers, evidently arriving along the coastline from the southeast. A sharp language border is found between the villages Säivis and Sangis, where the latter traditionally uses the Kalix dialect. To the north, the Northern Sami language has been spoken. Thus, the Kalix dialect has traditionally been literally surrounded by Uralic languages, which however has had remarkably few influences.