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The Sámi People: Heritage & Language

Discover the history, genetic heritage, and linguistic significance of the Sámi people, their dialects, and education in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

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The Sámi People: Heritage & Language

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  1. The Sámi People: Heritage & Language

  2. Who are the Sámi and where do they live? • They now live in the north of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula, in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia; their lands are called Sápmi; also known as Lappland • Previously lived in a larger territory, covering much of Scandinavia and as far South as Lake Ladoga in Russia • Retreated under pressure from Germanic, Balto-Finnic and Slavonic peoples 15th-16th c

  3. Genetic heritage of the Sámi • Unique genetic profile in Europe • Many conflicting theories, none of which is conclusive • Early studies concentrated on measurements, and are considered rather primitive and racist • It seems likely that the Sámi have been in Northern Europe for several thousand years

  4. The Sámi languages

  5. Linguistic heritage of the Sámi • The Sámi language belongs to the Finno-Ugrian branch of the Uralic language family (which also contains Samoyed) • The closest linguistic relative is Finnish • The racial differences between the Sámi and the Finns have motivated various controversial theories about this relationship (e.g., did the Sámi once speak a more distantly related Uralic language, such as Samoyed?)

  6. Dialects and numbers of speakers • Note that not all Sámi speak the language • Speakers of contiguous dialects usually understand each other, but people from more distant dialects have a hard time communicating • There are three dialect groups: Northern, Southern, and Eastern • Estimates for dialects are rough (no official statistics, and cross state borders)

  7. Dialects and numbers of speakers, cont’d. • Northern Sámi dialect group (in Northern Norway, with some in Sweden & Finland) • Northern Sámi: 30,000 (75% of all Sámi speakers) • Pite Sámi: 20 • Lule Sámi: 2,000 • Southern Sámi dialect group (central Norway & Sweden) • Southern Sámi: 500 • Ume Sámi: 20

  8. Dialects and numbers of speakers, cont’d. • Eastern Sámi dialect group (Northern Norway, Finland, Russia) • Inari Sámi: 400 (Finland) • Skolt Sámi: 300 (Norway & Russia) • Kildin Sámi: 800 (only Sámi spoken in Russia with a written form) • Akkala Sámi: 8 (Russia) • Ter Sámi: 6 (Russia)

  9. Countries and numbers of speakers • Norway: as many as 40,000 ethnic Sámi, and perhaps 20,000 speakers • Sweden: about 17,000 ethnic Sámi, and 5,000 speakers • Finland: about 6,500 ethnic Sámi, and 3,000 speakers • Russia: about 2,000 ethnic Sámi, and less than 1,000 speakers

  10. Support for Sámi language • Best support is in Norway, with best financing • Education is the most important factor, and can stimulate improvements in language use among adults also • The greatest problem is the shortage of teachers

  11. History of Sámi language education • Protestant and Orthodox missionary activities, especially in 15th-19thc • During missionary period, Sámi boys were educated in their own language (in Lycksele Sweden and Trondheim Norway) so that they could conduct missionary work among their people • Sámi education was the responsibility of the church

  12. History of Sámi language education, cont’d. • In 18th c local schools established in Norway and Sweden, but these were in conflict with nomadic Sámi lifestyle • From mid-19th c there was intense Norwegianization and children were taken to boarding schools • Intense Norwegian assimilation policy in place until 1959, but practiced into the 1970s

  13. History of Sámi language education, cont’d. • In Sweden the language of education depended upon the majority language and there were special nomad schools • Finland never pursued an assimilation policy • Sámi joined the resistance against German occupation and were more appreciated after WWII

  14. History of Sámi language education, cont’d. • Norway: • 1959: Use of Sámi as a secondary teaching language is legalized • 1969: Use of Sámi with children of Sámi-speaking parents is legalized • 1975: Use of Sámi as both first and second language in education is legalized

  15. History of Sámi language education, cont’d. • Sweden: • 1950s Sámi language classes introduced as a subject in the nomad schools • 1964 Sámi lower secondary school established in Gällivare • Finland: • Early 1970s use of Sámi in schools, but it was never previously forbidden either

  16. Sámi language education today • Norway: • Situation is best, but there is a shortage of qualified Sámi teachers • In 1994/95 1,698 children received education in Sámi • Sweden: • In 1992 123 students received education in Sámi, and only in the nomad schools • Finland • In 1993, about 600 children received education in Sámi • Russia • In 1992, 217 students went to the only school with Sámi, but they came from several ethnicities and Russian was the lingua franca

  17. Education about and in Sámi • In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, there are special Sámi areas where schooling in and through Sámi is provided • Sámi education outside of those areas is restricted, and virtually all of it is about Sámi, not in Sámi • Approximately 50% of the Sámi people live outside the designated Sámi areas

  18. Sámi language in higher education • Sami programs at universities are mostly located outside Sámi homeland • Sweden, Umea U Sámi chair since 1974 • Sámi courses offered within Finno-Ugrian linguistics in Uppsala and Oslo, and at Helsinki • Norway, Tromsoe U Sámi chair since 1986 • Finland U of Lapland Sámi Lecturer since 1979; Sámi department in U of Oulu • All these locations have library holdings, and there is an international cooperative Nordic Sámi Bibliography project

  19. Sámi Peoples’ High Schools • These exist in Norway, Sweden, and Finland • They are boarding schools for adults and focus on Sámi language, history, culture,and traditional crafts

  20. Sámi media • Books: • The majority of books have been produced in Norway since 1976, but there is a shortage of textbooks • Newspapers: • Eight newspapers have been published in Norway since 1873 and all are now subsidized • A few monthly magazines are also published in Norway, Sweden, and Finland

  21. Sámi media, cont’d. • Radio and TV • Norway, Sweden, and Finland all have broadcasts in Sámi, and in the majority languages about Sámi issues • Broadcasts are nearly all in Northern Sámi, though NRK has some programming in Southern and Lule Sámi

  22. Sámi literature • 1906 Isak Saba Sámi soga lávlla, declared the Sámi national anthem in 1986 • 1910 Johan Turi Tale of the Sámi (a novel) • 1912 Anders Larsen Daybreak (a novel) • 1915 Pedar Jalvi Snowflakes (collection of stories and poems) • Still the output of Sámi literature in 20th c was very low until 1970s

  23. Sámi theater • Sámi protest against the Alta dam project in late 1970s led to establishment of Beaivváš Sámi Teáhter in 1981 and Sámi theater organization for Norway, Sweden, and Finland • Dramas based on Sámi mythology, history, and folk tales, plus international repertoire

  24. Signs in public places • Both Norway and Finland have Language Acts requiring bilingual signage, but this is often lacking even in core Sámi areas • In Norway, Sámi signposts are often destroyed and petitions against use of Sámi are presented regularly

  25. Sámi language standardization • Early attempts (17th c) to create a standard focused on Lule and Ume dialects of Sámi and were unsuccessful • Knut Leem (missionary) created a Northern Sámi grammar (1748), a small dictionary (1768), and a big dictionary in Sámi-Latin-Danish (1781)

  26. Sámi language standardization, cont’d. • Leem (and other pioneers) used letter combinations for Sámi sounds not present in Scandinavian languages • 1832 Danish linguist Rasmus Rask created five new letters for Sámi: (p. 67) • 1840 Nils Stockfleth added three letters to Sámi alphabet: ž, č, š • 1887 Jens Friis further updated Sámi alphabet

  27. Sámi language standardization, cont’d. • 1913 Konrad Nielsen created new phonetic spelling for Sámi, used in his 1926-29 handbook and 1932-62 big dictionary -- these were standard works for most of 20th c, only recently replaced • 1948 Norway & Sweden agreed to use a common alphabet based on Nielsen’s work, but Finland adapted Friis’ alphabet to Finnish orthography • 1978 Norway, Sweden & Finland agree on a common orthography

  28. Sámi language standardization, cont’d. • A literary standard has been developed for Lule Sámi since 1890, and a common Lule Sámi orthography has been used in Norway and Sweden since 1983 • There has been relatively little (or no) development of literary standards for the remaining Sámi dialects • In Russia, Latin alphabet was used in 1933-35, and since then Cyrillic

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