Lule Sami
Encyclopedia
Lule Sami is a Uralic
, Sami
language
spoken in Lule Lappmark, i.e., around Luleå
, Sweden
and in the northern parts of Nordland
county in Norway
, especially Tysfjord
municipality, where Lule Sami is an official language. It is written in the Latin alphabet
, having an official orthography
.
, the nominative singular is unmarked and indicates the subject
of a predicate
.
The nominative plural is also unmarked and is always formally the same as the genitive singular.
case and it is marked with -v in the singular. In the plural, its marker is -t, which is preceded by the plural marker -j.
marker is -s in the singular and the plural, when it is then preceded by the plural marker -j. This case is used to indicate:
. The following table contains personal pronouns in the nominative and genitive/accusative cases.
The next table demonstrates the declension of a personal pronoun he/she (no gender distinction) in various cases:
s conjugate for three grammatical person
s:
s:
s conjugate for three grammatical number
s:
s has two simple tenses
:
and 2 compound tenses:
. In Lule Sami, the negative verb conjugates according to tense
(past and non-past), mood
(indicative and imperative), person
(1st, 2nd and 3rd) and number
(singular, dual and plural).
. There are few special characters: á (a-acute), ń (n-acute), and å (a-ring). Traditionally, the character n-acute (Ń/ń) has been used to represent the [ŋ] sound found for example in the English word "song". In place of n-acute (found in Unicode
, but not in ASCII
), many have used ñ or even ng. In modern orthography, such as in the official publications of the Swedish government and the recently published translation of the New Testament, it is usually replaced with ŋ, in accordance with the orthography of many other Sami languages.
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
, Sami
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
spoken in Lule Lappmark, i.e., around Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and in the northern parts of Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
county in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, especially Tysfjord
Tysfjord
Tysfjord or Divtasvuodna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kjøpsvik...
municipality, where Lule Sami is an official language. It is written in the Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
, having an official orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
.
Status
With 1,500 to 2,000 speakers it is the second largest of all Sami languages. It is reported that the number of native speakers is in sharp decline among the younger generations. The language has, however, been standardised in 1983 and elaborately cultivated ever since.Nominative
Like the other Uralic languagesUralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
, the nominative singular is unmarked and indicates the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
of a predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
.
The nominative plural is also unmarked and is always formally the same as the genitive singular.
Genitive
The genitive singular is unmarked and looks the same as the nominative plural. The genitive plural is marked by an -j. The genitive is used:- to indicate possession
- with prepositions
- with postpositions.
Accusative
The accusative is the direct objectObject (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
case and it is marked with -v in the singular. In the plural, its marker is -t, which is preceded by the plural marker -j.
Inessive
The inessive marker is -n in the singular and the plural, when it is then preceded by the plural marker -j. This case is used to indicate:- where something is
- who has possession of something
Illative
The illative marker is -j in the singular and -da in the plural, which is preceded by the plural marker -i, making it look the same as the plural accusative. This case is used to indicate:- where something is going
- who is receiving something
- the indirect objectObject (grammar)An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
Elative
The elativeElative
Elative has two slightly differing meanings in the grammar of two language groups:*Elative case, a grammatical case in, e.g., the Finno-Ugric languages*Elative , a category of comparison similar to the superlative in, e.g., the Semitic languages...
marker is -s in the singular and the plural, when it is then preceded by the plural marker -j. This case is used to indicate:
- where something is coming from
Comitative
The comitative marker in the singular is -jn and -j in the plural, which means that it looks like the genitive plural. The comitative is used to state with whom or what something was done.Pronouns
The personal pronouns have three numbers - singular, plural and dualDual (grammatical number)
Dual is a grammatical number that some languages use in addition to singular and plural. When a noun or pronoun appears in dual form, it is interpreted as referring to precisely two of the entities identified by the noun or pronoun...
. The following table contains personal pronouns in the nominative and genitive/accusative cases.
| English | nominative | English | genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person (singular) | I | mån | my | muv |
| Second person (singular) | you (thou) | dån | your, yours | duv |
| Third person (singular) | he, she | sån | his, her | suv |
| First person (dual) | we (two) | måj | our | munnu |
| Second person (dual) | you (two) | dåj | your | dunnu |
| Third person (dual) | they (two) | såj | theirs | sunnu |
| First person (plural) | we | mij | our | mijá |
| Second person (plural) | you | dij | your | dijá |
| Third person (plural) | they | sij | their | sijá |
The next table demonstrates the declension of a personal pronoun he/she (no gender distinction) in various cases:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | sån | såj | sij |
| Genitive | suv | sunnu | sijá |
| Accusative | suv | sunnuv | sijáv |
| Inessive | sujna | sunnun | siján |
| Illative | sunji | sunnuj | sidjij |
| Elative | sujsta | sunnus | sijás |
| Comitative | sujna | sunnujn | sijájn |
Person
Lule Sami verbVerb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
s conjugate for three grammatical person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
s:
- first person
- second person
- third person
Mood
Lule Sami has 4 grammatical moodGrammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
s:
- indicative
- imperativeImperative moodThe imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
- conditionalConditional moodIn linguistics, the conditional mood is the inflectional form of the verb used in the independent clause of a conditional sentence to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs, or an uncertain event, that is contingent on another set of circumstances...
- potential
Grammatical number
Lule Sami verbVerb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
s conjugate for three grammatical number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
s:
- singularGrammatical numberIn linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
- dual
- pluralPluralIn linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
Tense
Lule Sami verbVerb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
s has two simple tenses
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
:
- pastPreteriteThe preterite is the grammatical tense expressing actions that took place or were completed in the past...
- non-pastGrammatical tenseA tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
and 2 compound tenses:
- Present perfect
- Pluperfect
Negative verb
Lule Sami, like Finnish, the other Sámi languages and Estonian, has a negative verbNegative verb
A negative verb is a type of auxiliary that is used to form the negative of a main verb. The main verb itself has no personal endings, while the negative verb takes the inflection...
. In Lule Sami, the negative verb conjugates according to tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
(past and non-past), mood
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
(indicative and imperative), person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
(1st, 2nd and 3rd) and number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
(singular, dual and plural).
Writing system
The orthography used for Lule Sámi is written using an extended form of the Latin alphabetLatin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
. There are few special characters: á (a-acute), ń (n-acute), and å (a-ring). Traditionally, the character n-acute (Ń/ń) has been used to represent the [ŋ] sound found for example in the English word "song". In place of n-acute (found in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, but not in ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
), many have used ñ or even ng. In modern orthography, such as in the official publications of the Swedish government and the recently published translation of the New Testament, it is usually replaced with ŋ, in accordance with the orthography of many other Sami languages.
External links
- Sámásta Lule Sami lessons and resources (in Swedish)
- Morphological analyzer for Lule Sámi
- Language generator for Lule Sámi
- Lule Sámi grammar in Norwegian(Currently only covers pronouns).
- Ådå Testamennta The New Testament in Lule Sámi (PDF)