Åarjelsaemien gïele

Southern Sámi

Uralic (Saami, Western)

FamilyUralic (Saami, Western) Speakers~500 (critically endangered) ScriptLatin (Southern Sámi orthography 1978) CountriesNorway (Trøndelag-Nordland), Sweden (Jämtland-Härjedalen) Official inNorway, Sweden (recognized minority) Vitalitycritically endangered ISO 639-3sma

Also known as: Southern Sami, Aarjelsaemiengiele

Southern Sámi (Åarjelsaemien gïele) is the most divergent surviving Sámi language, spoken in central Norway (Trøndelag and Nordland counties) and Sweden (Jämtland and Härjedalen) by ~500-600 speakers. It is critically endangered and not mutually intelligible with Northern Sámi (the largest Sámi language); has a richer vowel system and unique morphological features. Recognized as a minority language in both Norway and Sweden. Standard orthography was developed in 1978 with extensive use of diacritics. Continues active reindeer-herding culture but is severely threatened.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Southern Sámi

Water

tjaetsie

tʃaeʰtsie

Fire

dolle

dolːe

Sun

biejjie

pie̯jːie

Moon

aske

askə

Star

naaste

ˈnaːste

Night

jïjje

jɨjːɛ

Rain

ebrie

ebrie

Snow

lopme

ˈlopme

Wind

bïegke

ˈbie̯ɡke

Earth

eatneme

eatnəme

Stone

gierkie

ˈɡierkie

Mountain

vaerie

vaerie

Sea

mearoe

mearoe

Mother

tjidtjie

tʃitːʃie

Father

aehtjie

aeʰtʃie

Daughter

nïejte

ˈnɨejte

I

manne

ˈmanːe

You

datne

ˈtatne

We

mijjieh

ˈmijːiɛh

Name

nomme

ˈnomːe

Person

almetje

almetʃe

Head

åejjie

oæjːiɛ

Eye

tjelmie

tʃelmie

Ear

bieljie

ˈpieʎie

Nose

njuenie

ɲuɛnie

Mouth

njaelmie

ɲaelmie

Tooth

baenie

pæːnie

Tongue

njoektjeme

ɲuektʃeme

Hand

gïete

kiːte

Foot

juelkie

jʉɛlkiɛ

Heart

vaajmoe

vaːjmoe

Bone

måaroe

mɔɑrɵ

Blood

vïrre

vɨrːe

Love

gieriesvoete

ɡieriesvuəte

Tree

moere

moːrə

Dog

bïenje

piːnje

Cat

gaahtoe

ɡaːhtoe

Fish

guelie

ˈkʉɛliɛ

Bird

ledtie

ˈleːtie

Butterfly

biejjielåbloe

ˈpiejːieˌlɔblʊə

Egg

munnie

ˈmʉnːiɛ

Bear

bïerne

ˈpiːrne

Horse

hierkie

hierkie

House

gåetie

ɡoətie

Milk

mielhkie

ˈmielʰkie

Honey

hååneske

hoːnɛskɛ

Salt

saelhtie

saelʰtie

Wine

vijne

vijne

Iron

ruevtie

ˈruevtie

Wheel

jårrehtse

ˈjorːehtse

Silk

silhke

silʰke

Book

gærja

ɡærja

Eat

byöpmedidh

pyœpmedih

Drink

jovkedh

jovkəh

Sleep

åeredh

oɛrəh

One

akte

aktə

Two

göökte

ˈkøːkte

Three

golme

ˈkolme

Four

nieljie

ˈɲieljie

Five

vïjhte

vʲihte

Hundred

tjuetie

ˈtʃuetie

Hello

buerie biejjie

puerie pie̯jːie

Thank you

gæjhtoe

kæjhtoe

Good

hijven

hijven

New

orre

orːe

Red

rööpses

ˈrøːpses

White

veelkes

ˈʋeːlkes

Black

tjeehpes

ˈtʃeːhpes

Green

kroenes

kruenes

Blue

plaave

ˈpʰlaːve

Cuckoo

gïeke

ˈɡie̯ke

Coffee

kaaffe

ˈkaːfːe

Sugar

dïjnehke

dɨjneʰke

Orange

appelsijne

ˈapːelsijne

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Uralic (Saami, Western)

Meaning Southern SámiLule SámiNorthern SamiInari SámiSkolt SámiFinnishKildin Sámi
Water tjaetsie /tʃaeʰtsie/ tjáhtje /tʃaːhtje/ čáhci /tʃaːhtsi/ čääci /tʃæːtsi/ čääʹcc /tʃæːtsʲː/ vesi /ʋesi/ ча̄дзь /tʃaːdz/
Fire dolle /dolːe/ dålla /tolːa/ dolla /tolːa/ tullâ /tulːɐ/ toll /tolː/ tuli /tuli/ то̄лл /toːlː/
Sun biejjie /pie̯jːie/ biejvve /pie̯jvːe/ beaivi /peɑjvi/ peivi /peivi/ peeiʹvv /peːjvʲː/ aurinko /ɑuriŋko/ пе̄ййв /peːjjv/
Moon aske /askə/ mánno /maːnːo/ mánnu /maːnːu/ máánu /maːnu/ mään /mæːn/ kuu /kuː/ ма̄нн /maːnn/
Star naaste /ˈnaːste/ náste /ˈnaːste/ násti /ˈnaːsti/ täsni /ˈtæsni/ täʹsnn /tasʲnːʲɘ/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ та̄ссьт /taːɕːt/
Night jïjje /jɨjːɛ/ idja /idjɑ/ idja /ˈitja/ ijjâ /ijːɐ/ inn /inːɐ/ yö /yø/ ыйй /ɨjː/
Rain ebrie /ebrie/ arvve /arvːe/ arvi /ˈɑrvi/ arve /ɑrve/ âʹbrr /ɐbʲrːʲɘ/ sade /ˈsɑde/ аббьр /abːr/
Snow lopme /ˈlopme/ muohtta /muɔhtta/ muohta /muohta/ muotâ /muotɐ/ muõtt /muɔtt/ lumi /lumi/ вэ̄дз /veːdz/
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