Northern Sami language

I: unrounded, close front vowel.

Y: rounded, closed front vowel.

E: unrounded, semi-closed front vowel.

á: unrounded, open central vowel.

A: unrounded, open rear vowel.

U: rounded, closed rear vowel.

O: rounded, semi-enclosed rear vowel.

Consonants

The Nordsamische recognizes the following 26 consonants:

Grammar

Stage change

As the Finnish and Estonian, as well as the Nordsamische knows a stage change. In contrast to Finland, where mainly the plosives are involved, much more consonants or consonant clusters are involved in the step change in the north- Amish. Moreover, in contrast to Finnish, not two, but three consonants quantities are distinguished.

The stage change plays an important role especially in the inflectional morphology. So many words nominative singular and genitive / accusative singular are distinguished only by the level change. The following table exemplifies the step change when the labial plosives and consonant combinations with these:

The same applies to other plosives, or generally other consonants. The nominative singular áhčči ' father ' has a gene. Sing AHCI, the nominative singular eadni 'mother' a gene. Sg eatni, besides a nominative sávdnji ' seam ' is sávnnji a genitive, besides a nominative muohta ' snow' in the weak stage is a genitive muohttaga in the strong level. Even when this verb alternations are present: juhkat to infinitive ' drink ', there is a first person singular in the present tense jugan ' I drink ', doaivut to infinitive ' hope ' a 1 P. Sg Pres doaivvun ' I hope '.

In some cases, can even alternate three quantity levels. This occurs, for example in some verbs, for example: oađ'đi ' ( both of you ) sleep! ': Oađđit ' sleep ': oađán ' I sleep '. But ' iced, frozen ' between jiegŋái, jiekŋa ' ice ' and jieŋa ' ice ' is a triple opposition quantity available.

Case

The Nordsamische knows seven case: nominative, genitive, accusative, locative, illative, comitative and essive. The genitive and accusative are identical in shape, therefore, the number of the case is partly specified with six.

Noun

The noun inflected in two numbers, the singular and the plural. In contrast to the pronouns and verbs here no dual is therefore available. In addition, various Nominatypen distinguished: nouns with even number of syllables, nouns with an odd number of syllables and contracted nouns. The following summary table these are exemplified. The assignment is as follows: nouns with even number of syllables: guolli ' fish ', beaivvádat ' Sunshine '; Nouns with an odd number of syllables: Duottar ' mountain, tundra, Fjell ', Beana 'dog'; contracted nouns: boazu ' reindeer ', geavŋŋis ' big rapids, waterfall '.

In addition, a distinction is made between an absolute declination and a possessive declension, which are appended in the latter Personalsuffixe to the noun in each case. So guos'si only ' guest ' means during guos'sán ' be my guest ', guos'sát ' your host ', etc. means.

Pronouns

The personal pronouns come in three numbers: singular ( singular), dual (two numbers ) and plural (plural ).

Verb

The nordsamische verb is conjugated in three persons and three numbers (singular, dual, plural). It has two simple ( past and non- past) and two composite ( perfect, pluperfect ) tenses and four modes ( indicative, imperative, conditional and potential). Like the other Sami languages ​​, Finnish and Estonian uses the Nordsamische a Verneinungsverb.

Intransitive verbs

One can distinguish three classes of intransitive verbs:

1 In intransitive verbs that describe weather phenomena, no subject is used:

2 intransitive verbs that take a subject:

3 intransitive verbs that take a subject and a complement:

Transitive verbs

1 transitive verbs that take an object:

2 transitive verbs that take an object and a complement:

Literature on the Northern Amish

• Hans -Hermann Bartensleben: Textbook of Saami ( Lapp ) language, Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg 1989
• Pekka Sammallahti: The Saami Languages ​​. An Introduction, Davvi Girji, Karasjohka 1998
• Pekka Sammallahti: Saamic. In: Daniel Abondolo (ed.): The Uralic Languages, Routledge, London / New York 1998

Dictionaries

• Klaus Peter Nickel, Pekka Sammallahti: Sámi duiskka sátnegirji. Saami -German Dictionary, Davvi Girji, Karasjohka 2006
• Pekka Sammallahti: Sámi Suoma - sámi sátnegirji. Saamelais - suomalais saamelainen - italiano, Girjegiisá Oy, Ohcejohka 1993
• Klaus Peter Nickel, Pekka Sammallahti: Duiskka - sámi sátnegirji. German - Saamisches dictionary, Davvi Girji, Karasjohka 2008

Newspapers

There is also the published in Finland, Sweden and Norway newspaper Ávvir.

North Sámi literature

First on Northern Sami printed book is a translation of the Catechism of Martin Luther from the year 1728. The author of this translation was Morten Lund, a Danish priest, who worked as a missionary in Overland Halla. He put great emphasis on speaking their native language with the seeds, and she has learned intensively. His Sami translation of the Catechism of Martin Luther entitled Doctor Marten Lutter Utza Katekismusaz was already completed in 1724, but four years later published in a bilingual edition in Copenhagen.

First Grammar of the Northern Amish was published in 1748 by Knud Leem,

The first secular book in the North Sami applies also known bilingual 's 1910 in Copenhagen Book of Johan Turi Muitalus sámiid birra, which has also been published in German, two years later as a " narrative of the life of the cloth ."