The Finnish language is a unique member of the Uralic language family, primarily spoken in Finland. It is known for its distinct grammar and vocabulary, which differ significantly from the more widely spoken Indo-European languages. Finnish has a rich system of vowel harmony and uses agglutination, meaning that words can be formed by stringing together various prefixes and suffixes. With approximately 5 million speakers, Finnish is the official language of Finland and is also recognized in some regions of Sweden and Norway. The language has a phonetic writing system, where words are pronounced as they are written, making it relatively straightforward for learners to read.