Learn Saami (Southern)
Southern Saami is a severely endangered language spoken in parts of Norway and Sweden, especially in Snåsa, Røyrvik, Røros and Hattfjelldal. Although it does have a writing system, it has a very limited literature, with just a few books ever having been published in the language. There are 10 different Saami languages which are not all mutually understandable - Southern Saami speakers will not understand Northern Saami speakers, for example. They are part of the Uralic language family, which means they are related to Finnish and Estonian, not Swedish or Norwegian.
Learn Saami (Southern) with uTalk
Where Is It Spoken?
Norway
Sweden
Number Of Speakers
600
Language Family
Uralic
Fun facts about Saami (Southern)
The word 'tundra' comes from Saami.
The Saami have 8 seasons, not 4, because of the lifespan of the reindeer. The Saami months are also named after the aspects of a reindeer's life.§
The Saami have a tradition called ‘yoiking’, the oldest musical tradition in Europe. Yoiks are melodic, rhythmic chants with few lyrics which evoke either a person, a place or an animal (you don’t yoik about someone, you yoik them).
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