Northern Sámi

Northern Sámi is a way to talk.

It is spoken in the north. It is used in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Many people use this way to talk. Some people live in Norway. Others live in Sweden or Finland.

It has its own special letters. People even use Braille to read it.

It is a very important language for many. It is a special way to share stories.

Northern Sámi is a way of speaking. It is the most common Sámi language.

People speak it in the north. It is used in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Most speakers live in Norway. Some live in Sweden. About 2,000 people speak it in Finland. Between 15,000 and 25,000 people speak this language in total.

This language has a long history. One of the first books used it. It was a book of prayers from the 1600s. In the 1980s, people made a Braille alphabet for it. Braille is a way for people to read using touch. They added seven special letters to the set.

Northern Sámi has many sounds. It has many different consonants. The way people say words can change. This can happen in different areas. These are called dialects.

In Norway, it is an official language in some places. This includes the counties of Troms and Finnmark. It is also used in eight local areas there.

Northern Sámi is a special way of speaking. It is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages.

People who speak it live in the northern parts of three countries. These countries are Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The language is part of a large area called Sápmi. Most of the people who speak it are found in Norway. Between 15,000 and 25,000 people use this language today. This is a small part of the total population in these countries.

Learning the language involves many different sounds. Northern Sámi has a very large group of consonants. These are sounds made by blocking or squeezing air. Some sounds are very short, while others are much longer. This is called consonant gradation. The way a consonant sounds can change depending on the word. There are also many different vowels used in the language. Some vowels are short and some are long. Even the way people move their mouths can change the sound.

This language has a very old history. One of the first printed Sámi texts was an ABC book. It was published in 1638 and 1640. This book included 30 pages of prayers. In 1748, a man named Knud Leem first described the language. Another man named Anders Porsanger was also very important. He was the first Sámi person to receive higher education. He studied many things but could not publish his work at that time.

There are many specific facts about how the language is used. In Norway, it is an official language in Troms and Finnmark. It is also official in eight other local areas. In the 1980s, people created a Braille alphabet for Northern Sámi. Braille is a way to read using your fingers. They had to add seven extra letters to the standard set. These special letters are á, č, đ, ŋ, š, ŧ, and ž.

Even though the language is used in many places, it changes by area. These different versions are called dialects. Some dialects in Western Finnmark do not use certain sounds. Other dialects in Eastern Finnmark use different versions of sounds. Sea Sámi is another version with its own unique way of speaking. Some people think the largest group of speakers lives in Oslo. However, most speakers live closer to the core Sápmi area. This shows how important it is to look at where people truly live.

Northern Sámi is the most widely spoken language within the Sámi language family. It serves as a vital cultural link for many people living in the northern regions of Europe. This language is primarily spoken across the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. While it is a significant part of the identity for many, it represents a small percentage of the total populations in these nations. In Norway, speakers make up approximately 0.32% of the people. In Sweden, the figure is about 0.05%, and in Finland, it is around 0.03%.

The number of people who speak Northern Sámi is estimated to be between 15,000 and 25,000. Most of these speakers live in Norway, with some estimates suggesting as many as 18,000 people there. In Sweden, there are between 5,000 and 6,000 speakers. Finland is home to about 2,000 speakers. Many of these communities are located in specific municipalities. For example, a survey in 2000 showed that Kautokeino and Karasjok in Norway had very high concentrations of speakers. In Kautokeino, 96% of the people spoke Sámi, while in Karasjok, it was 94%.

The history of written Northern Sámi reaches back several centuries. One of the earliest printed texts was a Swedish and Lappish ABC book. This book was published in two different editions in 1638 and 1640. It contained 30 pages of prayers and confessions of the Protestant faith. Scholars describe this as the first book to use a regular Sámi language form. Later, in 1748, Knud Leem provided the first formal description of the language. He also produced dictionaries in 1752 and 1768.

Other important figures helped shape the study of the language. Anders Porsanger was a Sámi man and the first Sámi person to receive higher education. He studied at the Trondheim Cathedral School and assisted Leem with his work. Unfortunately, Porsanger could not publish his own research due to the racist attitudes of his time. Much of his work has since disappeared. In 1832, Rasmus Rask published a highly influential work called "Reasoned Sámi Grammar." Many experts believe that the modern way of writing Northern Sámi, or its orthography, is based on his notation.

The sounds of Northern Sámi are quite complex. The language has a very large inventory of consonants. These sounds often involve contrasting voicing, which means some sounds are made with vocal cord vibrations and others are not. Some sounds are described as preaspirated or pre-stopped. These are combinations where one sound is followed immediately by another, like a breath or a small stop. The language also uses many different vowels. These vowels can be short, long, or even diphthongs, which are two vowel sounds joined together.

A key feature of the language is a process called consonant gradation. This means that consonants change their length or type depending on the grammatical form of a word. Scholars categorize these lengths into three quantities: Q1, Q2, and Q3. Quantity 1 involves a single consonant. Quantity 2 involves combinations of consonants or doubled consonants. Quantity 3 is often called "overlong" and involves even longer consonant sounds. These changes are essential for the correct structure of the language. Because of these rules, the way a word is pronounced can shift significantly during a conversation.

Regional differences, known as dialects, also exist within Northern Sámi. Not every dialect uses the same set of sounds. For example, the Western Finnmark dialects do not use certain sounds that other regions do. In Eastern Finnmark, the voiced pre-stopped nasals are replaced by voiceless versions. Sea Sámi is another distinct version that does not use pre-stopped nasals at all. Instead, Sea Sámi uses geminate nasals. These variations show how the language has adapted to different geographic areas over time.

In recent decades, there has been a shift in how the language is treated by governments. In Norway, Northern Sámi is now an official language in the counties of Troms and Finnmark. It is also official in eight specific municipalities. In the 1980s, a special Braille alphabet was created for the language. This allowed people to read Northern Sámi using touch. Because the language has unique sounds, developers had to add seven extra letters to the standard Scandinavian Braille set. These letters are á, č, đ, ŋ, š, ŧ, and ž. This helped ensure the language could be fully written and read by everyone.