Sámi
Language · official in 1 country
Sámi is a branch of Uralic languages, nine of them still living, spoken across Sápmi in the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The borders between the languages do not follow the borders between the states. Norway's constitution has protected Sámi since 1988, and the country gives it official status alongside Norwegian, above all in a Sámi administrative area of northern municipalities.
The language on record
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Sámi
- Official in
- 1 country
Where Sami is official
Norway is the record that makes Sámi official. Sweden and Finland grant it standing in named municipalities, and Russia gives it none; none of those three appears on this list.
Official beside Sami
About Sami
How many Sámi languages are there
Nine are alive, and the count of ten or more depends on where the lines are drawn. Eight have written standards: Northern, Lule, Ume, Pite, Southern, Inari, Skolt and Kildin Sámi. Northern Sámi, with an estimated 15,000 speakers in 2002, accounted for more than 75% of all Sámi speakers that year. Ume Sámi probably has fewer than 20 speakers left, ten speakers of Ter Sámi were known in 2004, and the last speaker of Akkala Sámi died in December 2003.
Neighbouring languages often understand each other to a fair degree, but some boundaries are sharp: speakers of Northern, Inari and Skolt Sámi cannot follow each other without learning or long practice. The names Lapp, Lappish and Lappic are sometimes taken as pejorative.
Where Proto-Sámi took shape
The Uralic family places Sámi beside the Finnic languages, although some researchers now attribute the likeness to Finnic influence on Sámi rather than to a shared parent. The comparative linguist Ante Aikio places Proto-Sámi in South Finland or Karelia some 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, from where it spread into northern Fennoscandia and reached central Scandinavia by about 500 AD. It absorbed words from unknown earlier languages of hunter-gatherers along the way. Sámi languages once spoken in central and southern Finland and Karelia died out as Finno-Karelian farming spread.
What Norwegian law guarantees Sámi
Article 108 of the constitution, adopted in April 1988, makes the state responsible for conditions that let the Sámi people preserve and develop their language. The Sami Language Act followed in the 1990s and makes Sámi official alongside Norwegian in an administrative area of northern municipalities that includes Kautokeino, Karasjok and Snåsa. Since 2005 Sámi has also been a regional or minority language under the European Charter.
Most Sámi languages are written in Latin letters with additions such as đ and ŋ. Norway writes æ and ø where Sweden writes ä and ö, which reflects the national alphabets rather than a difference in sound. Kildin Sámi uses Cyrillic.
Common questions
Questions about Sami
Are the Sámi languages related to Finnish?
Yes. Both belong to the Uralic family, and the traditional view makes Finnic the nearest relative of Sámi. Some researchers now argue the resemblance comes from Finnic influence rather than a common parent.
Which Sámi language has the most speakers?
Northern Sámi, spoken in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Its estimated 15,000 speakers in 2002 were more than 75% of all Sámi speakers.
Does Sweden make Sámi official?
Sweden recognised Sámi as one of five minority languages on 1 April 2000. It can be used with public authorities in named municipalities, a list first covering Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna and enlarged considerably in 2011. It is not national official status.