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
31 core words in Southern Sámi
Water
tjaetsie
/tʃaeʰtsie/
Fire
dolle
/dolːe/
Sun
biejjie
/pie̯jːie/
Moon
aske
/askə/
Star
naaste
/ˈnaːste/
Mother
tjidtjie
/tʃitːʃie/
Father
aehtjie
/aeʰtʃie/
I
manne
/ˈmanːe/
You
datne
/ˈtatne/
Name
nomme
/ˈnomːe/
Eye
tjelmie
/tʃelmie/
Hand
gïete
/kiːte/
Heart
vaajmoe
/vaːjmoe/
Love
gieriesvoete
/ɡieriesvuəte/
Tree
moere
/moːrə/
House
gåetie
/ɡoətie/
Dog
bïenje
/piːnje/
Cat
gaahtoe
/ɡaːhtoe/
Eat
byöpmedidh
/pyœpmedih/
Drink
jovkedh
/jovkəh/
One
akte
/aktə/
Two
göökte
/ˈkøːkte/
Hello
buerie biejjie
/puerie pie̯jːie/
Thank you
gæjhtoe
/kæjhtoe/
Good
hijven
/hijven/
Cuckoo
gïeke
/ˈɡie̯ke/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Uralic (Saami, Western) languages
| Meaning | Southern Sámi | Lule Sámi | Inari Sámi | Northern Sami | Skolt Sámi | Kildin Sámi | Finnish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tjaetsie /tʃaeʰtsie/ | tjáhtje /tʃaːhtje/ | čääci /tʃæːtsi/ | čáhci /tʃaːhtsi/ | čääʹcc /tʃæːtsʲː/ | чадзь /tʃadzʲ/ | vesi /ʋesi/ |
| Fire | dolle /dolːe/ | dålla /tolːa/ | tollâ /tolːa/ | dolla /dolːa/ | toll /tolː/ | тоалл /toallʲ/ | tuli /tuli/ |
| Sun | biejjie /pie̯jːie/ | biejvve /pie̯jvːe/ | peivi /peivi/ | beaivi /peɑjvi/ | peeiʹvv /peːjvʲː/ | пе̄ййв /peːjjv/ | aurinko /ɑuriŋko/ |
| Moon | aske /askə/ | mánno /maːnːo/ | máánu /maːnu/ | mánnu /maːnːu/ | mään /mæːn/ | ма̄нн /maːnn/ | kuu /kuː/ |
| Star | naaste /ˈnaːste/ | náste /ˈnaːste/ | násti /ˈnaːsti/ | násti /ˈnaːsti/ | nâ´stt /naːstː/ | нӣзесь /nʲiːzesʲ/ | tähti /ˈtæhti/ |
| Mother | tjidtjie /tʃitːʃie/ | iedne /iedne/ | enni /enːi/ | eadni /eɑdni/ | jeäʹnn /jæːnʲː/ | е̄ннҍ /jeːnnʲ/ | äiti /æiti/ |
| Father | aehtjie /aeʰtʃie/ | áhttje /aːhtːje/ | eeči /eːtʃi/ | áhčči /aːhtʃːi/ | eeʹǩǩ /eːkʲː/ | а̄джь /aːdʒʲ/ | isä /isæ/ |
| I | manne /ˈmanːe/ | mån /mɔn/ | mun /mun/ | mun /mun/ | mon /mon/ | мунн /munː/ | minä /ˈminæ/ |
| You | datne /ˈtatne/ | dån /tɔn/ | tun /tun/ | don /ton/ | ton /ton/ | тонн /tonː/ | sinä /ˈsinæ/ |
| Name | nomme /ˈnomːe/ | namma /ˈnamːa/ | nommâ /ˈnommɑ/ | namma /ˈnamma/ | nõmm /nõmː/ | нэмм /nemː/ | nimi /ˈnimi/ |
| Eye | tjelmie /tʃelmie/ | tjalmme /tʃalmːe/ | čalme /tʃalme/ | čalbmi /tʃalpmi/ | čââlm /tʃæːlm/ | чальм /tʃalʲm/ | silmä /silmæ/ |
| Hand | gïete /kiːte/ | gietta /kietːa/ | kietâ /kieta/ | giehta /kiehta/ | ǩeätt /kʲætː/ | кэдт /kʲedt/ | käsi /kæsi/ |
| Heart | vaajmoe /vaːjmoe/ | vájmmo /vajmːo/ | váimu /vaːjmu/ | váibmu /vajpmu/ | väimm /væimː/ | кӯттҍк /kuːtʲːk/ | sydän /sydæn/ |
| Love | gieriesvoete /ɡieriesvuəte/ | ráhkesvuohta /raːhkesvuɔhta/ | rähisvuotâ /ræhisvuotɐ/ | ráhkisvuohta /raːhkisvuɔhta/ | rääʹǩǩesvuõtt /ræːkʲːesvuɘtː/ | шоабпшэ /ʃoabpʃe/ | rakkaus /rɑkkɑus/ |
| Tree | moere /moːrə/ | muorra /muɔrːa/ | muorâ /muɔra/ | muorra /muɔrːa/ | muõrr /muɔrː/ | муэрр /muerr/ | puu /puː/ |
| House | gåetie /ɡoətie/ | viesso /viesːo/ | stuobbâ /stuɔbːa/ | viessu /viesːu/ | kåʹdd /kɔdʲː/ | пэ̄ҏҏт /peːrrt/ | talo /tɑlo/ |
| Dog | bïenje /piːnje/ | bena /pena/ | peenâg /peːnaɡ/ | beana /peɑna/ | piânnaj /pianːaj/ | пенне /penne/ | koira /koirɑ/ |
| Cat | gaahtoe /ɡaːhtoe/ | kássa /kaːsːa/ | kissá /kisːaː/ | bussá /pusːa/ | kõõšš /kɵːʃː/ | ке̄ршш /keːrʃː/ | kissa /kissɑ/ |
| Eat | byöpmedidh /pyœpmedih/ | bårråt /porːot/ | porrâđ /porːað/ | borrat /porːat/ | poorrâd /porːad/ | пӯрраҥе /puːrraŋe/ | syödä /syødæ/ |
| Drink | jovkedh /jovkəh/ | juhkat /juhkat/ | jukkâđ /jukːað/ | juhkat /juhkat/ | juukkâd /juːkːad/ | югкаҥе /jukkaŋe/ | juoda /juodɑ/ |
| One | akte /aktə/ | aktan /aktan/ | ohtâ /ohta/ | okta /okta/ | õhtt /ɵhtː/ | ыкт /ɨkt/ | yksi /yksi/ |
| Two | göökte /ˈkøːkte/ | guokta /ˈkuoktɑ/ | kyehti /ˈkyehti/ | guokte /ˈkuokte/ | kuõˊhtt /kuõhtː/ | кӯхьть /kuːxʲtʲ/ | kaksi /ˈkɑksi/ |
| Hello | buerie biejjie /puerie pie̯jːie/ | buoris /puɔris/ | tiervâ /tierva/ | bures /pures/ | tiõrv /tiɵrv/ | тиерв /tʲierv/ | hei /hei/ |
| Thank you | gæjhtoe /kæjhtoe/ | gijttuo /kijtːuɔ/ | tiittu /tiːtːu/ | giitu /kiːtu/ | späʹsseb /spæsʲːeb/ | пасьпе /pasʲpe/ | kiitos /kiːtos/ |
| Good | hijven /hijven/ | buorre /puɔrːe/ | pyere /pyere/ | buorre /puɔrːe/ | šiõǥǥ /ʃiɵɣː/ | шӣгг /ʃiːɡː/ | hyvä /hyʋæ/ |
| Cuckoo | gïeke /ˈɡie̯ke/ | giehka /ˈkie̯hka/ | kiehâ /ˈkie̯hɐ/ | giehka /ˈkie̯hka/ | ǩiõkk /ˈkʲiɔkː/ | кӣгк /kiːɡk/ | käki /ˈkæki/ |
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