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Anyone interested in Sámi?

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davidwelsh
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 Message 1 of 20
13 December 2009 at 11:36pm | IP Logged 
I'm interested in Sámi, and was wondering if anyone else here has studied it or speaks it natively.

I've watched a few films that are wholly or partly in Sámi (Ofelas, Bazo, The Cuckoo) and I think it's a really beautiful and fascinating language. I think there are quite a few Sámi in Oslo where I live, so I'm sure I'd be able to find people to speak to. Also, the fact that it has (in theory) equal status with Norwegian means that there will probably be quite a lot of resources available - at least in proportion to the number of speakers.

I've also discovered that the main private adult education provider in Norway (Folkeuniversitetet) runs distance learning courses in Northern Sámi - where they give you your money back if you complete the course! (I imagine this is sponsored by the government...)

Samiskkurs - in Norwegian

Edited by davidwelsh on 13 December 2009 at 11:37pm

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Hencke
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 Message 2 of 20
14 December 2009 at 12:00pm | IP Logged 
I find it vaguely interesting in a general sort of way, but not enough so I'm afraid, to take up studying it, even if I am likely to have a huge discount in effort based on the similarity with Finnish.

I saw a Sami language course on a Swedish website a year or so ago. As far as I could see quite a few similarities with Finnish were apparent in the vocabulary and grammar structures, though it was still very different, perhaps like comparing English and Icelandic. IIRC the course had quite a nice layout with graphics and everything. I'm not sure whether I still have the link, but I'll post it here if I can find it.

Edited by Hencke on 14 December 2009 at 12:08pm

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hcholm
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 Message 3 of 20
14 December 2009 at 12:34pm | IP Logged 
I once took the first part and half of the second part of the "Davvin" course. I didn't
like the course very much, it was too old-fashioned for me, but it's the only one I've
heard of. I feel I need some other way to learn the language. I'll see if I can learn
some just by using a grammar and a couple of novels and following Sami programs on the
Norwegian Broadcasting corp. I already have the books, but I'm too busy learning other
languages at the moment.

I can recommend the yearly comic magazines from
http://www.calliidlagadus.org/web/index.php?buotgirjjit=41&g iella1=nor. They even come in
South Sami, Lule Sami and Kven. I have them all, including the Vulle Vuojaš book, which
was made out of the remaining copies of Sami Donald Duck magazines from the 80's.
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mick33
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 Message 4 of 20
14 December 2009 at 10:46pm | IP Logged 
I was curiuos about Northern Saami over the summer, but not enough to really study it, though I did find the following links interesting:

Sámi Siida of North America This is a page of links. Most, if not all, of the links actually work.

University of Helsinki Encyclopædia of Saami Culture This has some good information in English and Finnish and some sound files of people actually speaking various Saami languages.


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cordelia0507
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 Message 5 of 20
14 December 2009 at 11:48pm | IP Logged 
It doesn't interest me to learn Sami, but I support the existance of the Sami language completely.

They all speak another Scandi language just as well as they speak Sami, usually better. Plus there are several dialects which are not really mutually intelligible..

When I saw "The Cuckoo" I thought that the Sami language spoken by the Lapp woman sounded suspiciously Finnish influenced. I had not known they were so similar. Sami languages as they sound in Sweden do not sound quite like that. But I know it only from occassionally encountering it on radio and TV though.

At school I knew one guy who was a Lapp but his language skills in Sami were not that great. The school was legally required to provide him with lessons in Sami but there were no teachers in the area where the school was, and he wasn't very interested.

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Chung
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 Message 6 of 20
15 December 2009 at 12:14am | IP Logged 
Hencke wrote:
I find it vaguely interesting in a general sort of way, but not enough so I'm afraid, to take up studying it, even if I am likely to have a huge discount in effort based on the similarity with Finnish.

I saw a Sami language course on a Swedish website a year or so ago. As far as I could see quite a few similarities with Finnish were apparent in the vocabulary and grammar structures, though it was still very different, perhaps like comparing English and Icelandic. IIRC the course had quite a nice layout with graphics and everything. I'm not sure whether I still have the link, but I'll post it here if I can find it.


Is this the course, Hencke?

http://www4.ur.se/gulahalan/
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Gamauyun
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 Message 7 of 20
15 December 2009 at 10:58am | IP Logged 
To what degree do Sami communities actually use the language? Are there still communities which use a Sami language as their primary means of communication, or is it more just a part of Sami heritage, that isn't really used for day to day communication by most people (like maybe Yiddish or Irish Gaelic)?

From the little bit I've heard of NRK's Sami programs, it is really beautiful. It might be something I'd be interested in someday, if I ever get to a decent level in Finnish.
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 8 of 20
15 December 2009 at 4:20pm | IP Logged 
I believe that (some varieties of) Sami is indeed in use. We have news in Sami several days a week on national television here in Sweden, and now and then there are broadcasts from the Sami Parliament.


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