Åarjelsaemien gïele
Southern Sámi
Uralic (Saami, Western)
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
20 core words in Southern Sámi
Water
tjaetsie
/tʃaeʰtsie/
Fire
dolle
/dolːe/
Sun
biejjie
/pie̯jːie/
Moon
aske
/askə/
Mother
tjidtjie
/tʃitːʃie/
Father
aehtjie
/aeʰtʃie/
Eat
byöpmedidh
/pyœpmedih/
Drink
jovkedh
/jovkəh/
Love
gieriesvoete
/ɡieriesvuəte/
Heart
vaajmoe
/vaːjmoe/
Tree
moere
/moːrə/
House
gåetie
/ɡoətie/
Dog
bïenje
/piːnje/
Cat
gaahtoe
/ɡaːhtoe/
Hand
gïete
/kiːte/
Eye
tjelmie
/tʃelmie/
Hello
buerie biejjie
/puerie pie̯jːie/
Thank you
gæjhtoe
/kæjhtoe/
One
akte
/aktə/
Good
hijven
/hijven/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uralic (Saami, Western) languages
| Meaning | Southern Sámi | Lule Sámi | Inari Sámi | Northern Sami | Skolt Sámi | Kildin Sámi | Livonian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tjaetsie /tʃaeʰtsie/ | tjáhtje /tʃaːhtje/ | čääci /tʃæːtsi/ | čáhci /tʃaːhtsi/ | čääʹcc /tʃæːtsʲː/ | чадзь /tʃadzʲ/ | vež /vɛʒ/ |
| Fire | dolle /dolːe/ | dålla /tolːa/ | tollâ /tolːa/ | dolla /dolːa/ | toll /tolː/ | тоалл /toallʲ/ | tūl /tuːl/ |
| Sun | biejjie /pie̯jːie/ | biejvve /pie̯jvːe/ | peivi /peivi/ | beaivi /peɑjvi/ | peeiʹvv /peːjvʲː/ | пе̄ййв /peːjjv/ | pǟva /pæːva/ |
| Moon | aske /askə/ | máno /maːno/ | maanu /maːnu/ | mánnu /maːnːu/ | mään /mæːn/ | ма̄нн /maːnn/ | kūʼ /kuː/ |
| Mother | tjidtjie /tʃitːʃie/ | iedne /iedne/ | enni /enːi/ | eadni /eɑdni/ | jeäʹnn /jæːnʲː/ | е̄ннҍ /jeːnnʲ/ | jemā /jɛmaː/ |
| Father | aehtjie /aeʰtʃie/ | áhttje /aːhtːje/ | eeči /eːtʃi/ | áhčči /aːhtʃːi/ | eeʹǩǩ /eːkʲː/ | а̄джь /aːdʒʲ/ | izā /izaː/ |
| Eat | byöpmedidh /pyœpmedih/ | bårråt /porːot/ | porrâđ /porːað/ | borrat /porːat/ | poorrâd /porːad/ | пӯрраҥе /puːrraŋe/ | sīedõ /siːədə/ |
| Drink | jovkedh /jovkəh/ | juhkat /juhkat/ | jukkâđ /jukːað/ | juhkat /juhkat/ | juukkâd /juːkːad/ | югкаҥе /jukkaŋe/ | jūodõ /juːədə/ |
| Love | gieriesvoete /ɡieriesvuəte/ | ráhkesvuohta /raːhkesvuɔhta/ | rähistus /ræhistus/ | ráhkisvuohta /raːhkisvuɔhta/ | rääʹǩǩesvuõtt /ræːkʲːesvuɘtː/ | па̄ллай /paːllaj/ | ārmaztõ /aːrmastə/ |
| Heart | vaajmoe /vaːjmoe/ | vájmmo /vajmːo/ | vájmu /vaːjmu/ | váibmu /vajpmu/ | vueʹmm /vuemʲː/ | чӯлм /tʃuːlm/ | sidām /sidaːm/ |
| Tree | moere /moːrə/ | muorra /muɔrːa/ | muorâ /muɔra/ | muorra /muɔrːa/ | muõrr /muɔrː/ | муэрр /muerr/ | pū /puː/ |
| House | gåetie /ɡoətie/ | viesso /viesːo/ | stuobbâ /stuɔbːa/ | viessu /viesːu/ | kåʹdd /kɔdʲː/ | пэ̄ҏҏт /peːrrt/ | kuodā /kuədaː/ |
| Dog | bïenje /piːnje/ | bena /pena/ | peenâg /peːnaɡ/ | beana /peɑna/ | piânnaj /pianːaj/ | пенне /penne/ | piņ /piɲ/ |
| Cat | gaahtoe /ɡaːhtoe/ | kássa /kaːsːa/ | kissá /kisːaː/ | bussá /pusːa/ | kõõšš /kɵːʃː/ | ке̄ршш /keːrʃː/ | kaš /kaʃ/ |
| Hand | gïete /kiːte/ | gietta /kietːa/ | kietâ /kieta/ | giehta /kiehta/ | ǩeätt /kʲætː/ | кэдт /kʲedt/ | kež /kɛʒ/ |
| Eye | tjelmie /tʃelmie/ | tjalmme /tʃalmːe/ | čalme /tʃalme/ | čalbmi /tʃalpmi/ | čââlm /tʃæːlm/ | чальм /tʃalʲm/ | sīlma /siːlma/ |
| Hello | buerie biejjie /puerie pie̯jːie/ | buoris /puɔris/ | tiervâ /tierva/ | bures /pures/ | tiõrv /tiɵrv/ | тиерв /tʲierv/ | tervīst /tɛrviːst/ |
| Thank you | gæjhtoe /kæjhtoe/ | gijttuo /kijtːuɔ/ | tiittu /tiːtːu/ | giitu /kiːtu/ | späʹsseb /spæsʲːeb/ | пасьпе /pasʲpe/ | tienū /tiɛnuː/ |
| One | akte /aktə/ | aktan /aktan/ | ohtâ /ohta/ | okta /okta/ | õhtt /ɵhtː/ | ыкт /ɨkt/ | ikš /ikʃ/ |
| Good | hijven /hijven/ | buorre /puɔrːe/ | pyere /pyere/ | buorre /puɔrːe/ | šiõǥǥ /ʃiɵɣː/ | шӣгг /ʃiːɡː/ | jõvā /jəvaː/ |
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