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Southern Sámi
Southern Sámi
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Southern Sámi
åarjelsaemien gïele, saemien gïele
RegionNorway, Sweden
Native speakers
(600 cited 1992)[1]
Uralic
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Norway[2]
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-2sma
ISO 639-3sma
Glottologsout2674
ELPSouth Saami
Southern Sami language area (red) within Sápmi (grey)
South Saami is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Åarjel-saemiej skuvle (Southern Sámi school) and maanagierte (kindergarten) in Snåasen Municipality.

Southern Sámi or South Sámi (Southern Sami: åarjelsaemien gïele; Norwegian: sørsamisk; Swedish: sydsamiska) is the southwesternmost of the Sámi languages, and is spoken in Norway and Sweden. It is an endangered language. The designated main village of the language in Norway is Snåasen Municipality (Snåsa) where the country's sole museum about Southern Sámi (Saemien sijte)[4] and a long-running Southern Sámi primary school for Years 1 through 7 (Åarjel-saemiej skuvle).[5] Other places of Southern Sámi culture in Norway are Aarborten Municipality (Hattfjelldal) in Nordlaante County (Nordland) and also in Raarvihken Municipality (Røyrvik), and Rossen Municipality (Røros), all of which are in Trööndelage County (Trøndelag). Out of an ethnic population of approximately 2,000, only about 500 still speak the language fluently.[citation needed] Southern Sámi belongs to the Saamic group within the Uralic language family.

In Sweden, Saami is one of five recognized minority languages, but the term "Saami" comprises different varieties/languages, and they are not individually recognized. In Norway, Southern Sámi is recognized as a minority language in its own right.

It is possible to study Southern Sámi at Nord University in Levanger Municipality, Umeå University in Umeå Municipality, and Uppsala University in Uppsala Municipality. In 2018, two master's degrees were written in the language at Umeå University.[6] Language courses are also offered at different Sámi-language centres throughout the Southern Sámi area.

Writing system

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Southern Sámi is one of the eight Sámi languages that have an official written standard, but only a few books have been published for the language, one of which is an adequate-sized Southern Sámi–Norwegian dictionary. This language has had an official written form since 1978. The spelling is closely based on Swedish and Norwegian and uses the following Latin alphabet:

A a B b D d E e F f G g H h I i
Ï ï J j K k L l M m N n O o P p
R r S s T t U u V v Y y Æ æ Ö ö
Å å

In 1976, the Sámi Language Council recommended the use of ⟨æ⟩ and ⟨ö⟩, but in practice the latter is replaced by ⟨ø⟩ in Norway and the former by ⟨ä⟩ in Sweden.[7] This is in accordance with the usage in Norwegian and Swedish, based on computer or typewriter availability. The ⟨Ï ï⟩ represents a back version of ⟨I i⟩; however, many texts fail to distinguish between the two.

⟨C c⟩, ⟨Q q⟩, ⟨W w⟩, ⟨X x⟩, and ⟨Z z⟩ are only used in words of foreign origin.

Long sounds are represented with double letters for both vowels and consonants.

Phonology

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Southern Sámi has fifteen consonant and eleven vowel phonemes; there are six places of articulation for consonants and six manners of articulation.

There are also two dialects, northern and southern. The phonological differences are relatively small; the phonemic system of the northern dialect is explained below.

The typical word in Southern Sámi is disyllabic, containing a long stem vowel and ending in a vowel, as in the word /pa:ko/ 'word'. Function words are monosyllabic, as are the copula and the negative auxiliary. Stress is fixed and always word-initial. Words with more than three syllables are given secondary stress in the penultimate syllable.

Vowels

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The eleven vowel phonemes comprise four phonologically short and long vowels (i-i:, e-e:, a-a:, u-u:) and three vowel phonemes which do not distinguish length (ø, æ, o).

The vowel phonemes of the northern dialect are the following; orthographic counterparts are given in italics:

front central back
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded
close i ⟨i⟩ y ⟨y⟩ ɨ ⟨ï⟩, ⟨i⟩[a] ʉ ⟨u⟩ u ⟨o⟩
mid e ⟨e⟩, eː ⟨ee⟩ øː ⟨öö⟩ o ⟨å⟩, oː ⟨åå⟩
near-open æ ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ä⟩,[b] ⟨ee⟩[c]
open aː ⟨ae⟩ ɑ ⟨a⟩, ɑː ⟨aa⟩
  1. ^ The distinction between the vowels /i/ and /ɨ/ is normally not indicated in spelling: both of these sounds are written with the letter ⟨i⟩. However, dictionaries and other linguistically precise sources use the character ⟨ï⟩ for the latter vowel.
  2. ^ The spelling ⟨æ⟩ is used in Norway, and ⟨ä⟩ in Sweden.
  3. ^ Long /æː/ is written ⟨ee⟩.

The non-high vowels /e/, /æ/, /o/, and /ɑ/ contrast in length: they may occur as both short and long. High vowels only occur short.

The vowels may combine to form ten different diphthongs:

front front to back central to back central to front back to front back
close to mid /ie/ ⟨ie⟩ /yo/ ⟨yø⟩, ⟨yö⟩ /ʉe/ ⟨ue⟩; /ɨe/ ⟨ïe⟩, ⟨ie⟩ /uo/ ⟨oe⟩
close to open /ʉɑ/ ⟨ua⟩
mid /oe/ ⟨øø⟩, ⟨öö⟩
mid to open /eæ/ ⟨ea⟩ /oæ/ ⟨åe⟩ /oɑ/ ⟨åa⟩

Consonants

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In Southern Sámi, all consonants occur as geminates in word-medial position.

Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨nj⟩ ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Plosive unaspirated p ⟨b⟩, ⟨p⟩ t ⟨d⟩, ⟨t⟩ ts ⟨ts⟩ tʃ ⟨tj⟩ c ⟨gi⟩, ⟨ki⟩ k ⟨g⟩, ⟨k⟩
aspirated pʰ ⟨p⟩ tʰ ⟨t⟩ cʰ ⟨ki⟩ kʰ ⟨k⟩
Fricative voiceless f ⟨f⟩ s ⟨s⟩ ʃ ⟨sj⟩ h ⟨h⟩
voiced v~ʋ ⟨v⟩
Approximant j ⟨j⟩
Lateral l ⟨l⟩
Trill r ⟨r⟩

Grammar

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Sound alternations

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In Southern Sámi, the vowel in the second syllable of a word causes changes to the vowel in the first syllable, a feature called umlaut. The vowel in the second syllable can change depending on the inflectional ending being attached, and the vowel in the first vowel will likewise alternate accordingly. Often there are three different vowels that alternate with each other in the paradigm of a single word, for example as follows:

  • ⟨ae⟩ ~ ⟨aa⟩ ~ ⟨ee⟩: vaedtsedh 'to walk' : vaadtsam 'I walk' : veedtsim 'I walked'
  • ⟨ue⟩ ~ ⟨ua⟩ ~ ⟨öö⟩: vuelkedh 'to leave' : vualkam 'I leave' : vöölkim 'I left'

The following table gives a full overview of the alternations:

Proto-Samic
first vowel 		Followed by
*ā 		Followed by
*ē 		Followed by
*ō 		Followed by
*ë 		Followed by
*i
*ā aa ae aa aa ee
*ea ea ie ea aa ee
*ie ea ie ea ïe ie
*oa åa åe åa oe öö
*uo ua ue åa oe öö
*ë a e æ, å a, ï e
*i æ, ij i æ ïj i
*o å u å, a o, a, ov u
*u å, a u å o, ov u

On the other hand, Southern Sámi is the only Sami language that does not have consonant gradation. Hence, consonants in the middle of words never alternate in Southern Sámi, even though such alternations are frequent in its relatives. Compare, for instance, Southern Sámi nomme 'name' : nommesne 'in the name' to Northern Sámi namma : namas, with the consonant gradation mm : m.

Cases

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Southern Sámi has eight cases:

Case (kaasuse) Singular (aktentaale) Plural (gellientaale)
Nominative (nominatijve) — -h
Accusative (akkusatijve) -m -i·te; -i·die; -j·te
Genitive (genitijve) -n -i; -j
Illative (illatijve) -se; -sse; -n -i·te; -i·die; -j·te
Inessive (inessijve) -sne; -snie -i·ne; -i·nie; -j·ne
Elative (elatijve) -ste; -stie -i·ste; -i·stie; -j·ste
Comitative (komitatijve) -i·ne; -i·nie; -j·ne -i·gujmie; -j·gujmie
Essive (essijve) — -i·ne; -i·nie; -j·ne

Morphology

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Nouns

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Southern Sámi nouns inflect for singular and plural and have eight cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, illative, locative, elative, comitative, and essive, but number is not distinguished in the essive. Inflection is essentially agglutinative, but the case endings are not always the same in the plural and in the singular. The plural marker is -h in the nominative case, otherwise -i/j-, to which the case endings are added. There are five different inflection classes but no declension classes. All nouns take the same case markers.

The function of the nominative is to mark the subject, and the accusative marks the object. The nominative plural can also be used to mark plural (direct) objects, a feature called differential object marking, and here the noun gets an indefinite reading, while the accusative plural marks definite direct objects. The genitive is used in adnominal possession and marks the dependent of postpositions. The illative is a spatial case marking the recipient; while the locative and elative are also spatial cases, the locative is additionally used in existential constructions and the elative in partitive constructions. The comitative expresses participation and instrument, and the essive marks a state or a function.

Four stem classes can be distinguished: ie-stems, e-stems, a-stems, and oe-stems.

An overview of the modern inflection of guelie 'fish':

Nominative Genitive Accusative Illative Locative Ablative Comitative Essive
Singular guelie guelien gueliem gualan guelesne gueleste gueline gueline
Plural guelieh gueliej guelide guelide gueline guelijste gueliejgujmie -

Earlier, in the comitative singular and in the plural, besides the nominative i, umlaut of the root vowel to öö took place: Gen. Pl. göölij etc.

Pronouns

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Personal pronouns inflect for three numbers (singular, dual, and plural) and seven cases (all of the above with the exception of the essive). A demonstrative pronoun without specific deictic bias is employed as the third-person pronoun, treating dual and plural forms as indistinguishable. Additional pronouns encompass pronominal and adnominal demonstratives, along with interrogative and relative pronouns, reflexive, logophoric, reciprocal, and a variety of indefinite pronouns. The majority of these pronouns change based on whether they refer to a singular or plural entity, and some also adapt to different cases. Demonstratives distinguish between three degrees of distance relative to the speaker.

Southern Sámi personal pronouns:
Person Singular Dual Plural
1 manne monnah mijjieh
2 datne dotnah dijjieh
3 dihte dah dah

Verbs

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Southern Sámi verbs inflect for person (first, second, and third) and number (singular, dual, and plural, where dual is an optional category). There are also two finite inflectional categories, the present and the past tense. Subject suffixes are the same across the tenses, and there are three different inflectional classes based on the thematic vowels and their behaviour in inflection. Furthermore, there are 4 non-finite forms: the perfect participle, the progressive, the infinitive, and the connegative and imperative form. Meanwhile, verbs express the TAM categories present indicative, past indicative, perfect, pluperfect, progressive, and imperative. The copula also inflects for the conditional.

In the verbum, a distinction must be made between odd-syllable and even-syllable verbs; in the latter, there are six different stem classes.

An overview of the forms of the ie stems using the example of båetedh 'to come':

Present Past Imperative
1SG båatam böötim N/A
2SG båatah böötih båetieh
3SG båata bööti N/A
1DU båetien böötimen N/A
2DU båeteden böötiden båeteden
3DU båetiejægan böötigan N/A
1PL båetebe böötimh N/A
2PL båetede böötidh båetede
3PL båetieh böötin N/A
Participle båetije båateme N/A
Negative Form båetieh Gerund båetieminie
Infinitive båetedh Verbal noun båeteme

Adjectives

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The morphology of adjectives is restricted to comparative and superlative forms. Some have different forms in attributive and predicative position, but most are invariable.

Person

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Southern Sámi verbs conjugate for three grammatical persons:

  • first person
  • second person
  • third person

Mood

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Tense

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Grammatical number

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Southern Sámi verbs conjugate for three grammatical numbers:

Negative verb

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Southern Sámi, like Finnish and the other Sámi languages, has a negative verb. In Southern Sámi, the negative verb conjugates according to tense (past and non-past), mood (indicative and imperative), person (first, second, and third), and number (singular, dual, and plural). This differs from some other Sámi languages, e.g. Northern Sámi, which do not conjugate according to tense.

Southern Sámi negative verb, indicative forms
Non-past indicative Past indicative
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural
First im ean ibie idtjim idtjimen idtjimh
Second ih idien idie idtjih idtjiden idtjidh
Third ij eakan eah idtji idtjigan idtjin
Southern Sámi negative verb, imperative forms
Non-past imperative Past imperative
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural
1st aelliem aellien aellebe ollem ollen ollebe
2nd aellieh aelleden aellede ollh olleden ollede
3rd aellis aellis aellis olles olles olles

Syntax

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Like Skolt Sámi and unlike other Sámi languages, Southern Sámi has preserved the basic structure SOV (Subject-Object-Verb). Only the copula ('to be') and auxiliary verbs appear second. The case-alignment system is nominative-accusative. However, plural objects are also sometimes marked with the nominative. Objects in the nominative plural get an indefinite reading, while objects in the accusative plural are definite. This applies for nouns as well as pronouns. An example of a plural object in the nominative:

dellie

then

manne

1.SG.NOM

naarra-h

snare-NOM.PL

tjeegk-i-m

set.up-PST-1SG

dellie manne naarra-h tjeegk-i-m

then 1.SG.NOM snare-NOM.PL set.up-PST-1SG

"Then I set up snares."

Subject and agent are always marked identically, while the marking of the object depends on definiteness.

Different marking strategies
Subject Object Reading of object
NOM ACC.SG definite or indefinite
NOM ACC.PL definite
NOM NOM.PL indefinite

The verb agrees with the subject in person and number. The TAM categories mentioned above are based on non-finite verb forms and are expressed in periphrastic constructions with an auxiliary. The subject agrees with the auxiliary, but it is not obligatory. It is either marked on the pronoun or inferred from context. The imperative second singular uses the same non-finite irrealis form also used in negation constructions.

Verbal Agreement
Verb form Auxiliary Agreement
present finite – person/number
past finite – person/number
imperative non-finite – 2SG
perfect non-finite yes-PRS person/number with AUX
pluperfect non-finite yes-PST person/number with AUX
progressive non-finite yes-PRS person/number with AUX
past progressive non-finite yes-PST person/number with AUX

Southern Sámi has some features that separate the language from its closest relatives, like SOV instead of SVO as basic constituent order, no stem gradation, and a genitive possessive. Nevertheless, most features of Southern Sámi are commonly found in other Uralic languages.

References

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Southern Sámi

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from Grokipedia
Southern Sámi (åarjelsaemie) is a Western within the Uralic family, spoken by the Southern Sámi people primarily in the central border and . It is the southernmost of the living Sámi languages, characterized by its distinct phonological features such as and a complex consonant system, and serves as a key element of Southern Sámi cultural identity tied to traditional reindeer herding and seasonal migrations. With fewer than 2,000 ethnic Southern Sámi and only around 500 fluent speakers, the language faces severe endangerment due to historical assimilation policies and intergenerational transmission gaps, where proficiency drops markedly among younger generations. Classified as severely endangered by , Southern Sámi has seen revitalization efforts including dedicated schools like the one in Snåsa, , and digital resources to bolster usage in education and media. These initiatives aim to counter the dominance of Norwegian and Swedish, preserving a linguistic heritage that encodes unique environmental knowledge from the Nordic inland.

Classification and Geographic Distribution

Linguistic Affiliation

Southern Sámi (Āarjelsaemie) is a member of the Sámi language group, which constitutes a distinct branch of the Uralic language family. The Uralic family encompasses languages spoken across northern , with Sámi representing the northwesternmost group, alongside branches such as Samoyedic to the east and various to the south and southeast. Within the —traditionally numbered at nine or ten extant varieties—Southern Sámi is classified as part of the Western subgroup, specifically the southernmost representative, distinguishing it from central and northern Western Sámi languages like Lule and . This affiliation is supported by shared phonological, morphological, and lexical features with other , including agglutinative grammar, vowel harmony remnants, and cognates like the word for "water" (vejde in Southern Sámi, comparable to Finnish vesi). Genetic studies of vocabulary and reconstructed proto-forms further corroborate the Uralic placement, tracing divergences from Proto-Uralic around 2,000–2,500 BCE. While some historical classifications subsumed Sámi under a broader "Finno-Ugric" label excluding Samoyedic, contemporary treats Finno-Ugric as a paraphyletic grouping, with Sámi as a primary Uralic branch independent of like Finnish or Estonian. Southern Sámi exhibits innovations unique to its western position, such as distinct patterns and case systems with up to nine grammatical cases, reflecting millennia of insular development.

Geographic Range and Dialects

Southern Sámi is spoken in and adjacent regions of , marking it as the southwesternmost Sámi language. In , the primary areas include county, particularly Snåsa municipality, and county (encompassing former areas like Engerdal). In , usage centers in and counties. This range extends roughly from 61° N near the southern limits in Engerdal to about 64.5° N near Snåsa, covering traditional Southern Sámi settlements along the Scandinavian mountain range. The language comprises regional dialects corresponding to these geographic zones, with variations arising from local substrate influences and cross-border contacts. Norwegian varieties, such as those around Snåsa and , differ phonologically and lexically from Swedish varieties in Jämtland-Härjedalen, including distinctions in vowel systems and loanwords from Norwegian or Swedish. These dialects form a rather than discrete categories, maintaining overall. Standardization efforts, including separate orthographies for (using æ, ø) and (using ä, ö), accommodate these differences while promoting unity.

Historical Development

Origins and Pre-Modern Usage

Southern Sámi is a member of the Sámi group within the , descending from Proto-Sámi, the reconstructed common of the ten or so extant and recently extinct . Proto-Sámi likely emerged among semi-nomadic communities in northern following the divergence of early Sámi varieties from around 2,000–2,500 years ago, based on comparative linguistic reconstructions of shared vocabulary and . This proto-form retained Uralic features such as agglutinative morphology and , while incorporating substrate influences from pre-Uralic languages of the region, evidenced by unique Sámi for local , , and environmental phenomena absent in other Uralic branches. The specific origins of Southern Sámi trace to the southwestern divergence within the Sámi continuum, likely solidifying as a distinct variety through geographic isolation in forested inland areas of and by the early . Borrowings from early , including terms for and adopted during contacts with expanding Indo-European speakers, entered Southern Sámi and lexicon, indicating sustained interaction without wholesale replacement. Archaeological correlations, such as continuity in settlement patterns from sites in southern , support linguistic persistence among populations practicing seasonal mobility for , , and gathering. In pre-modern times, Southern Sámi existed solely as an oral language, undocumented in writing until the 19th century and used exclusively for spoken communication within kin-based siidas (extended family or community groups). It facilitated transmission of ecological knowledge, genealogies, and mythic narratives through intergenerational storytelling and improvised vocal forms like luohti, the Southern variant of the Sámi joik tradition, which encoded personal identities, animals, and landscapes without instrumental accompaniment. Ritual practices, including shamanic invocations by noaidi (spiritual leaders), relied on the language for incantations and prophecy, as preserved in ethnographic accounts of 17th–18th-century observers. Place-name strata in Southern Sámi territories, featuring Uralic-derived toponyms for rivers, hills, and sacred sites, attest to millennia of pre-literate usage predating Norse and Swedish expansions. This oral framework supported adaptive subsistence economies, with dialectal variation reflecting local siida territories rather than centralized codification.

Assimilation and Suppression (19th-20th Centuries)

In , the policy of fornorsking (), formally pursued from the until approximately 1959, aimed to integrate the Sámi into Norwegian by enforcing the exclusive use of Norwegian in , administration, and daily life, with Sámi treated as obstacles to national unity. Southern Sámi speakers, primarily located in counties such as and , faced direct enforcement through mandatory attendance at Norwegian-only schools where children received for speaking Sámi, leading to intergenerational language loss. By the early , this included the establishment of nomadic schools targeting mobile Sámi families and later boarding schools that isolated children from their linguistic environments, resulting in a sharp decline in Southern Sámi proficiency among younger generations. In Sweden, assimilation efforts intensified from the mid-19th century onward, driven by nationalist ideologies that viewed as incompatible with modernization and state cohesion, culminating in policies that banned Sámi in schools and restricted cultural practices. Southern Sámi communities in regions like and endured similar suppression, with the Lutheran Church playing a key role in enforcing Swedish through and prohibiting Sámi religious expressions, such as noaidi , under the guise of . Land expropriations for and agriculture further eroded traditional livelihoods, compounding linguistic marginalization as families shifted to Swedish for economic survival; by the 1930s, formal recognition of Sámi as a remained absent, perpetuating oral transmission breakdowns. These policies across both nations led to a documented of Southern Sámi vitality, with speaker numbers plummeting from thousands in the to fewer than 2,000 fluent speakers by the late , as evidenced by post-war linguistic surveys revealing widespread in dominant languages among those under 40. Resistance emerged sporadically, such as through underground language maintenance in remote households, but systemic enforcement prioritized cultural uniformity over indigenous pluralism, with lasting effects on .

Revitalization Efforts (Late 20th-21st Centuries)

Revitalization efforts for Southern Sámi gained momentum following the establishment of the Norwegian Sámi Parliament (Sámediggi) in 1989 and amendments to the Norwegian Constitution in 1988 recognizing Sámi as an indigenous people with to . These legal developments, alongside the of 1992, enabled targeted initiatives in education and community programs, contrasting with slower progress in where the Sámi Parliament was founded in 1993 but lacked equivalent national language legislation until broader minority language protections in 2000. In , approximately 100 pupils received Southern Sámi instruction annually across 35 schools in six counties by the early , with 15-20 attending Sámi boarding schools as first-language learners, often supplemented by 3-4 weekly lessons via distance education or small-group sessions. Key educational projects included the Elgå Revitalization Project (2001–2006), a five-year initiative at Elgå Educational Centre in , which immersed children in Southern Sámi through daily use in and as a school subject, resulting in participants achieving conversational proficiency by completion. Language camps emerged as a core method, with the first joint -Sweden camp held in Mittådalen in 2008, attracting 70 pupils aged 10–14 and emphasizing immersion to foster skills and cultural identity; two annual camps were planned through 2011, targeting grades 5–9 with parental follow-up. The Northern Development Project (2009–2012) coordinated instruction across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels in collaboration with , where Southern Sámi gained official status alongside Norwegian in 2008, making it the first such bilingual municipality in the Southern Sámi area. Media and cultural supports advanced in parallel, with the local newspaper Avisa Snåsningen introducing dedicated Southern Sámi pages from summer 2009 to promote bilingualism and qualify for subsidies, while a 2009 Southern Sámi Media Centre project by the Norwegian Sámi Parliament mapped expanded broadcasting options amid limited Sámi radio content for the variety. Cultural institutions like Saemien Sijte in Snåsa and Sijti Jarnge in Hattfjelldal provided supplementary language arenas through gatherings lasting 3 days to 6 weeks annually, addressing shortages in qualified teachers and materials that persisted despite high community motivation. In , efforts focused on community-based documentation and post-2000, but speaker numbers remained stagnant due to weaker policy enforcement compared to .

Sociolinguistic Profile

Speaker Demographics

The Southern Sámi language is spoken by an estimated 500 to 600 fluent speakers, primarily among the Southern Sámi ethnic population of approximately 2,000 individuals. Only a minority of ethnic Southern Sámi maintain fluency, with the language's use concentrated among older generations due to historical assimilation pressures. Speakers are distributed across , particularly in and counties, and adjacent regions in , such as and . In Norway, Southern Sámi represents the most endangered Sámi variety, with speakers numbering just over 500. Demographic data indicate limited intergenerational transmission, as younger ethnic Southern Sámi often prioritize dominant languages like Norwegian or Swedish in daily life. Efforts to document speaker profiles highlight a rural concentration tied to traditional livelihoods like , though has dispersed some families to urban centers in and . No comprehensive census exists specifically for Southern Sámi speakers, leading to reliance on ethnographic surveys and linguistic vitality assessments for these estimates.

Endangerment and Vitality

Southern Sámi is classified as endangered by , reflecting its limited intergenerational transmission and restricted domains of use primarily within family and cultural contexts. Estimates indicate approximately 500 fluent speakers, drawn from an ethnic Southern Sámi population of 600 to 2,000 individuals dispersed across and north-central . This low speaker count positions Southern Sámi as the most vulnerable among in , with vitality challenged by historical toward dominant Scandinavian languages following assimilation policies. Vitality assessments highlight intergenerational discontinuity, as many ethnic Southern Sámi parents report reluctance or inability to transmit the to children due to their own limited proficiency and societal pressures favoring Norwegian or Swedish. A 2013 study of Southern Sámi learners in found that adult revitalization participants often express strong motivation to preserve the , yet face barriers including geographic dispersion and insufficient institutional support for daily use. Broader Sámi policies in and , implemented since the , aim to bolster vitality through legal recognition and funding for minority language rights, though comparative analyses indicate 's more robust educational integration outperforms 's in sustaining speaker numbers. Revitalization initiatives include orthographic standardization approved in 1978, enabling printed materials and media production, alongside targeted programs in to foster native-like acquisition. These efforts have supported small-scale community-based language nests and digital resources, yet overall vitality remains precarious, with projections suggesting potential further decline without expanded domains such as and broader media access.

Policy, Education, and Usage Domains

In , the Sámi Language Act of 1992 mandates the use of Sámi languages, including , in and services within designated Sámi administrative districts, covering Southern Sámi areas such as Snåsa and municipalities. The 2009 Action Plan for Sámi Languages sets specific goals for expanding Southern Sámi usage in public contexts, including administration, with targets for active and extensive application by public bodies. In , the Sámi were recognized as an indigenous people with status in 2000 under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, granting rights to and media support, though for Southern Sámi remains limited compared to due to fewer speakers and resources. Norwegian policies provide more robust support, including Sámi-medium instruction up to grade 10, versus Sweden's limit to grade 7, contributing to relatively higher language competence among Norwegian Sámi speakers. Education in Southern Sámi occurs primarily through dedicated programs in both countries, though enrollment is low reflecting the language's endangerment. In , offers Southern Sámi as a for the first seven years starting at age 6, with pathways including full immersion or bilingual models in Sámi-designated schools like those in Snåsa. in Levanger launched a master's program in South Sámi primary teacher education for grades 1–7 in 2018, addressing shortages in qualified educators. In , Umeå University provides bachelor's, master's, and magister programs in Southern Sámi language studies, including beginner courses taught in Swedish and Southern Sámi, alongside via the Norway-based South Sámi serving Swedish pupils. Sámi schools in Sweden allow both Sámi and Swedish as instructional languages, but policy constraints, teacher availability, and allocated hours often favor Swedish dominance. Usage domains for Southern Sámi remain restricted, primarily to family and cultural settings, with institutional expansion driven by policy but hindered by speaker scarcity. In administration, Norwegian municipalities in Southern Sámi areas must offer services in the upon request, though practical implementation varies by local capacity. Media includes bilingual newspapers like Áaj'gejávri in and limited radio broadcasts, alongside digital initiatives for content creation, but no dedicated exists for Southern Sámi. Revitalization efforts emphasize integration into labor markets and official domains, yet surveys indicate low proficiency and usage outside homes, with policies in showing modest gains in vitality over due to stronger enforcement.

Writing System

Orthographic Standardization

The orthography of Southern Sámi, reflecting its phonological complexity with eleven vowels and diphthongs, was formalized through efforts to unify writing practices across dialects spoken in and . The current standard was approved by the Sámi Language Board in , establishing a Latin-based with 25 core letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, ï, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, y, æ, ö, å, where additional letters like c, q, w, x, z appear only in loanwords and proper names. This system represents short and long vowels through single letters or digraphs (e.g., aa for long /aː/), diphthongs like ie and oe, and consonant length via (e.g., pp), with preaspiration denoted by clusters such as bp for /pːʰ/. Cross-border usage has introduced practical variations despite the 1976 standard, as the orthography draws from both Norwegian and Swedish conventions: Norway typically employs ø instead of ö, while Sweden favors ä over æ. The Sámi Language Council recommended æ and ö uniformly in 1976 to promote consistency, but national alphabet influences have sustained these divergences, complicating full standardization. Special conventions address phonological processes, such as omitting short e before final -h after voiceless consonants (e.g., sahk for /sɑxh/) and reducing unstressed aa to a. These rules prioritize phonetic transparency, aiding revitalization by accommodating the language's fifteen consonants and extensive vowel inventory, though dialectal differences in Sweden and Norway continue to challenge uniform application.

Script and Romanization

Southern Sámi employs the as its , with an designed to represent its phonological distinctions, including , diphthongs, and specific consonants. The standardized was approved in 1976 by a Sámi committee during a meeting on Sámi , marking a key step toward formalizing written Southern Sámi despite limited prior literary tradition. This system draws from Norwegian and Swedish conventions, incorporating 25 core letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, ï, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, y, æ, ö, å. Letters such as c, q, w, x, z appear only in loanwords and proper names. Vowel length is orthographically indicated by (doubling), as in aa for long /aː/, ee for long /eː/, and similarly for öö and åå; short vowels use single letters. are represented directly, such as ea, ie, ïe, oe, ua, ue, yö, åe, åa. The letter ï uniquely denotes the /ɨ/, distinct from i /i/. clusters like ts, tj, sj, nj, ng correspond to specific phonemes, with length also marked by doubling. Regional variations reflect national alphabets: in , æ and ø are standard, while favors ä and ö, though the 1976 recommendation leaned toward æ and ö with practical substitutions persisting. This orthography supports phonemic representation but accommodates spoken dialectal diversity, as older heritage speakers' pronunciation may deviate from written norms. Romanization aligns directly with this Latin-based system, requiring no transliteration from a non-Roman script, and prioritizes etymological and phonological fidelity over strict phonetic uniformity across dialects.

Phonology

Vowel System

Southern Sámi features 11 underlying vowel phonemes, distinguished primarily by quantity (short versus long) and height, with a relatively large inventory that sets it apart from many other Sámi varieties. This system includes both monophthongs and realizations influenced by phonological context, resulting in surface forms that expand the qualitative variety, such as centralized or lowered vowels in specific environments. A defining characteristic is metaphony, a regressive vowel assimilation process where the quality of the stressed in the first (V1) adjusts according to the height and length of the in the subsequent unstressed (V2). For example, underlying /i/ may surface as before a low V2 like /a/, while /u/ can shift to [œ] or develop a diphthongal offglide before a high V2 such as /i/, as in forms like /kOtī/ realizing as [køːtʰiə] in contexts. This process, potentially shaped by areal contact with Scandinavian languages exhibiting similar mutations, operates without the progressive harmony seen in eastern , instead favoring targeted qualitative changes tied to structure and stress. Vowel length contrasts are phonemic across most qualities, with long vowels often involving greater duration and sometimes , though realizations can vary dialectally within the two main varieties (northern and southern). Umlaut, another vowel-altering mechanism, further contributes to alternations, particularly in derivational morphology, where fronting or rounding propagates under specific consonantal conditions. These processes underscore the dynamic nature of the vowel system, prioritizing contextual harmony over fixed inventories in spoken forms.

Consonant Inventory

Southern Sámi has 15 consonant phonemes, a relatively modest inventory typologically. These encompass stops, affricates, fricatives (including /s/ and /h/), nasals (/m/, /n/, /ɲ/, /ŋ/), lateral approximants (/l/, /ʎ/), rhotic (/r/), and glides (/j/, /v/), distributed across bilabial, alveolar, palatal, velar, and glottal places of articulation. Preaspiration distinguishes voiceless stops and affricates (e.g., /ʰp/, /ʰt/, /ʰk/, /ʦʰ/, /ʧʰ/), realized as breathy onset before obstruents in initial and medial positions following vowels, while sonorants may devoice in pre-obstruent contexts. A defining trait is the absence of , unique among ; consonants do not alternate between strong (geminate or unreleased stop) and weak (single or ) forms across inflectional paradigms, preserving stable realizations. All consonants geminate word-medially, contributing to ternary quantity contrasts (short, long, overlong) in consonant clusters, though length distinctions interact with prosodic structure rather than morphological alternation. Dialectal variation affects realizations, such as palatalization or , but core phonemic contrasts remain consistent across varieties spoken in and .

Phonological Processes

Southern Sámi lacks , a process common in other that alternates stem consonants before certain suffixes, such as weakening stops to fricatives or singletons to geminates. This absence distinguishes Southern Sámi morphophonology within the Sámi continuum, where gradation typically affects word forms during inflection. The primary phonological process is metaphony, also termed umlaut, which involves alternations in the first triggered by the vowel quality in a following , often reduced in trisyllabic feet or specific morphological contexts. This process applies obligatorily in nouns ending in - and optionally in those ending in -oe, as well as in possessive inflections, certain verbal conjugations (classes I, II, IV), and attributive nominal forms. Alternations follow a table of seven umlauted sets (e.g., i, e, u, , æ, ø, ue) interacting with six umlauting sets (e.g., -, -a, -øe, -e variants), as documented in Bergsland (1994). For instance, in nouns like klihtie, the stem umlauts under - suffixation, yielding forms such as the attributive kliehtie. Additional processes include closed syllable shortening (CSS), where long vowels shorten in consonant-final stems before certain suffixes, ensuring phonotactic constraints like the ban on geminates across foot boundaries. Suffix allomorphy correlates with stem type: bisyllabic suffixes like -asse attach to consonant-final stems (e.g., ga:meg 'village' → ga:me:gasse 'in the village'), while monosyllabic ones like -se attach to vowel-final stems (e.g., berko: 'book' → berkosne 'in the book'). adheres to moraic principles, with consonants gaining moras via weight-by-position in codas and an onset requirement for (except word-initially). These rules govern inflectional ation without productive prefixes, maintaining phonological similarity across stems.

Morphology and Grammar

Nominal Morphology

Southern Sámi nouns inflect for two grammatical numbers—singular and —and eight cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, illative, inessive, elative, comitative, and essive. The nominative marks the subject and predicate nominative, the accusative the direct object, the genitive possession or part-whole relations, the illative motion toward an interior or destination, the inessive static location inside or at a surface, the elative motion away from an interior or source, the accompaniment or instrumentality, and the essive a temporary state or role. Case marking is primarily suffixal and agglutinative, but interacts with stem-internal alternations including metaphony (vowel quality shifts, especially in the illative) and , leading to highly irregular paradigms across nouns. Nouns belong to multiple inflectional classes determined by stem phonology, such as those with final -ie (N_IE class, e.g., gåetie 'street'), -oe (N_OE class, e.g., bearkoe 'birch'), or other patterns (N_OTHER class), with even- or odd-syllable stems influencing suffix allomorphy and vowel harmony. Plural formation often involves stem changes followed by case-specific endings, as in the illative plural -assien or genitive plural -iim. For example, the noun gajpe 'hat' yields singular forms like nominative gajpe, accusative gajpem, and illative gajpesse, while plural counterparts exhibit further modifications such as gajpin (nominative plural). These classes exhibit extensive irregularity, with over a dozen subclasses due to historical vowel reductions and metaphonic triggers in non-initial syllables. Possession is typically expressed via the or predicative constructions rather than productive suffixes on nouns, which are marginal and non-productive in contemporary usage, unlike in . Certain genitive-like "relation forms" serve relational or predicative functions, attaching to nouns or terms to denote attributes (e.g., -be or -åbpoe yielding forms like nuerebe 'younger' from an adjective base, extendable to nouns), but these are morphologically distinct from standard case inflection and debated in their categorial status. Prolative forms derived from compounds (e.g., -raejkiem) add path or manner nuances to certain local cases, expanding semantic roles beyond core case functions.

Verbal Morphology

Southern Sámi verbs are agglutinative, with inflectional suffixes attached to the stem to mark categories such as , number (singular, dual, ), tense (present and ), and mood (indicative and imperative). Verbal stems are classified into types based on patterns and umlaut alternations in the vowel system, which affect stem formation across paradigms; for instance, even-syllable verbs align with specific umlaut rows, while uneven-syllable verbs like bissiestidh ('to eat') show distinct vocalic shifts. These classifications ensure predictable morphophonological behavior, with umlaut triggered by certain suffixes or derivations, such as the nominal agentive -æjja. Finite forms distinguish three persons and three numbers, with dual marking optional in some spoken varieties but standard in descriptive grammars. In the indicative present, suffixes include -em for 1sg (e.g., bæssam 'I eat' from bæssa- stem) and -te for 3sg (e.g., bisseste). forms add markers like -i- or -aji-, yielding 3sg bissi or fænkaji ('travelled' from fænkedh). The uses connegative stems with person-specific endings, such as 2sg -th (e.g., bissesth 'eat!'). involves a conjugated negative auxiliary (often alle 'not') paired with the main verb's connegative form, which ends in -h or similar and inflects for tense and person in the auxiliary. Non-finite forms include the in -dh (e.g., bissedh 'to eat'), action nominative participles in -amme or -eme (e.g., bissiestamme), and gerunds in -minie (e.g., bissesteminie 'in eating'). These forms participate in periphrastic constructions for aspects like perfect or progressive, though South Sámi relies primarily on synthetic finite rather than extensive analytic verb phrases. Derivational morphology produces new verbs via suffixes that may induce umlaut, such as diminutive -tj, expanding the from nominal or adjectival bases.
Example Paradigm: bissedh / bæssa 'to eat' (Even I type, indicative)1sg2sg3sg1du2du3du1pl2pl3pl
Presentbæssambæssanbissestebæssammebæssadebæssatbæssammebæssatibæssat
Pastbissimbissiebassibissimmebissidebassitbissimmebissitibassit
This paradigm illustrates weak grade in present 3sg (bisseste) versus strong in past 3sg (bassi), a hallmark of Uralic in South Sámi verbs.

Pronominal and Adjectival Systems

The pronominal system of Southern Sámi distinguishes three persons, three numbers (singular, dual, and plural), and the eight cases shared with nouns: nominative, accusative, genitive, illative, inessive, elative, comitative, and essive. Personal pronouns inflect agglutinatively to mark these categories, with forms varying by but generally following patterns inherited from Proto-Sámi, such as 1sg nominative mijjieh or similar variants, 2sg dijjieh, and 3sg sijjieh or dihte for neutral or proximate reference. Dual forms, like månnoeh for 1du, are attested and optional in some contexts, reflecting a pragmatic rather than obligatory category. A is the logophoric pronoun series, prefixed with s- (e.g., sijjieh variants), used to corefer with the speaker or perspective-holder in embedded clauses, such as reported speech, distinguishing it from non-logophoric 3rd person forms derived from . Demonstrative pronouns, often doubling as 3rd person anaphors, include proximal dïhte ("this/it") and distal satne ("that"), which inflect for case but lack number distinctions in some uses. Possessive pronouns derive from genitive forms of personal pronouns or independent stems, agreeing in case with the possessed noun but not necessarily in number. Interrogative pronouns like mii ("who") and indefinite forms follow similar inflectional patterns, integrating into the SOV syntactic structure where pronouns frequently serve as topics or subjects with covert realization in pro-drop contexts for 3sg. Adjectives in Southern Sámi exhibit limited inflection compared to nouns and pronouns, lacking agreement in case or number with the head noun, a trait unique among Sámi languages where attributive adjectives typically remain in a base or predicative form regardless of singular or plural contexts. This non-agreeing system simplifies attributive modification, with adjectives positioned post-nominally in phrases (e.g., noun + adjective), as in predicative uses like gajpe lea aelhkie ("the hat is simple"), where aelhkie appears uninflected. Adjectives do inflect for gradation, featuring positive, comparative (often marked by -âkta or similar suffixes), and superlative degrees, with comparative forms etymologically linked to relational noun morphology but applied independently. Predicative adjectives, used with copulas like leat ("to be"), remain invariant, while certain deverbal or qualitative adjectives may show stem alternations, contributing to the system's complexity without case/number harmony. This structure prioritizes semantic specification over morphological concord, aligning with the language's agglutinative yet selective inflectional profile.

Syntactic Features

Southern Sámi exhibits a basic constituent order of subject-object-verb (SOV), which serves as the pragmatically neutral structure in main clauses, distinguishing it from the SVO order predominant in varieties. This OV pattern aligns with broader typological features in the language, including finite verb-final positioning in declarative sentences. With auxiliaries, the order extends to subject-auxiliary-object-verb (SAuxOV), reflecting the language's head-final tendencies in verbal complexes. Negation employs a dedicated negative auxiliary that inflects for person and number in present and tenses, paired with a connegative form of the lexical , which lacks finite and typically follows the auxiliary in OV sequences. This system parallels negation strategies in other but integrates with Southern Sámi's SOV framework, where the negative auxiliary occupies a position akin to other finite elements. In questions, maintains this auxiliary-connegative pattern, often with fronting or particles disrupting the neutral order for emphasis. The copula plays a marginal role in present affirmative clauses, frequently omitted in equative or existential constructions, but becomes obligatory in and negated contexts, where it bears tense or polarity marking. Predicative possession typically involves a genitive followed by the copula, reinforcing its syntactic necessity under non-present-affirmative conditions. Case marking, particularly nominative for subjects and accusative or partitive for objects, supports flexible variations driven by information structure, though SOV remains canonical. Relative clauses are generally head-final, with the relativized preceding a that agrees in person and number with the external head.

References

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