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Speakers of different Sámi languages in each country*
Source publication
The indigenous Sámi languages of the Nordic countries and North-West Russia have gained official recognition after a long period of neglect and assimilation policies. In the context of positive changes in state or macro level indigenous policy and especially that regarding language policy, this paper investigates what subsequently happens at the gr...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the number of Sámi speakers is far smaller than the number of Sámis and speaker numbers differ greatly be tween the Sámi varieties. The total number of speakers can be estimated at 35,000 and the percentage of speakers of each variety is about 25% to 30% of the total population belonging to each Sámi linguistic group, except for Akkala Sámi which recently lost its last speaker (for speaker estimates for each Sámi language, see Table 1). The Sámi population in Norway is estimated at 100,000 and Sámi speakers at 25,000 (Ravna 2000a(Ravna , 2000bRasmussen 2002Rasmussen , 2005a). ...Citations
... The Sámi languages form a continuum, so that neighboring languages may be to some degree mutually comprehensible, but geographically distant ones (e.g., North Sámi and South Sámi) are not. Most speakers of North Sámi live in Norway and Sweden, with more speakers situated in Norway (~20,000) than in Sweden (~5,000-7,000), a small share in Finland (~2,000) and even fewer in Russia (e.g., Rasmussen & Nolan, 2011). The Sámi have experienced a long history of oppression preventing them from using and developing their language and culture (e.g., Albury, 2016;Minde, 2003;Trosterud, 2008). 1 As a result, many Sámi people today cannot speak a Sámi language at all, or speak it as a foreign language that they have (re)acquired post-puberty (Belančić & Lindgren, 2017;Outakoski, 2015). ...
This paper accounts for the development and initial validation of a yes/no vocabulary test of North Sámi called North Sámi Vocabulary Test (NSVT). North Sámi (NS) is an Indigenous language spoken in northern Scandinavia. Being an endangered language, NS is in need of revitalisation efforts. One contribution is the provision of proficiency assessment tools. We administered a 75-item NSVT version (50 real verbs and 25 pseudoverbs) to users of North Sámi in Sweden and Norway ( N = 289). Evidence of high item- and person-based reliability and separation indices were observed, as well as support for a number of validity facets. High correlations existed between NSVT scores and self-reported and rated spoken proficiency. The NSVT provides quick and reliable assessment of vocabulary knowledge and an indication of overall language proficiency in North Sámi.
... The Endangered Languages Project (ELP) considers North Sámi vulnerable, and the other Sámi languages endangered to varying degrees (Todal, 2013;Hettema and Outakoski, 2020;Vangsnes, 2022). Geographically, about two thirds of the North Sámi speakers live in northern Norway, and a smaller share lives in northern Sweden (~5,000-7,000; Rasmussen and Nolan, 2011) and Finland (~2,000; Rasmussen and Nolan, 2011). Besides North Sámi, the other Sámi languages spoken in Sweden and Norway include South Sámi, spoken by 500-1,000 people (Hettema and Outakoski, 2020), and Pite and Lule Sámi, which are spoken by only a small handful of individuals (Hettema and Outakoski, 2020). ...
... The Endangered Languages Project (ELP) considers North Sámi vulnerable, and the other Sámi languages endangered to varying degrees (Todal, 2013;Hettema and Outakoski, 2020;Vangsnes, 2022). Geographically, about two thirds of the North Sámi speakers live in northern Norway, and a smaller share lives in northern Sweden (~5,000-7,000; Rasmussen and Nolan, 2011) and Finland (~2,000; Rasmussen and Nolan, 2011). Besides North Sámi, the other Sámi languages spoken in Sweden and Norway include South Sámi, spoken by 500-1,000 people (Hettema and Outakoski, 2020), and Pite and Lule Sámi, which are spoken by only a small handful of individuals (Hettema and Outakoski, 2020). ...
... Further, there has been considerable migration to Alta from rural parts of the so-called 'core area' in Norway (Melhus et al., 2020). These areas have been less affected by the assimilation and modernization policies (e.g., Trosterud, 2008;Rasmussen and Nolan, 2011;Hermansen and Olsen, 2020). Hence, if the Norwegian parents or grandparents were from areas such as Tana, Karasjok or Kautokeino, they would have been more likely to use a Sámi language. ...
Introduction
Language policies are often aimed at changing language behaviours, yet it is notoriously difficult to assess their effects. This study investigates language use and competence in the Indigenous Sámi populations of Norway and Sweden in light of the national-level policies the two countries have adopted.
Methods
We provide a cross-country comparison of relevant educational, linguistic and budgetary policies in Sweden and Norway. Next, we present novel data from a survey with 5,416 Sámi and non-Sámi participants in 20 northern municipalities, examining Sámi language use and proficiencies across generations and contexts. Lexical proficiency in North Sámi was tested in a small subset of participants.
Results
Sámi language use has dropped considerably over the past three generations. Only a small proportion of Sámi are highly fluent and use a Sámi language with their children (around 4% in Sweden and 11% in Norway). One fifth of Sámi adults use a Sámi language at least ‘occasionally’, and use is most common in the home context. Sámi language knowledge remains negligible in the majority population.
Discussion
The higher levels of language use and proficiency in Norway seem at least in part to reflect the more favourable policies adopted there. In both countries, more work is needed to increase speaker numbers, also in the majority population.
... The 'core' Sámi area is in the inland region, where the language shift happened last (Rasmussen and Nolan 2011;Johansen 2013) and also where the revitalization movements had a stronger foothold than in the coastal Sámi areas. Along the coast, the language shift had progressed further and the lifestyle of the coastal Sámi population did not differ significantly from that of other groups. ...
Language revitalization is imbued with tensions, and while it often is emancipatory, reclaiming a language can be a painful, silencing experience. Processes of colonization have led to epistemological absences (Santos 2012), which may be conceptualized as manifestations of silence. Understanding how and why silences come about and linger today is important for overcoming challenges those engaging in language reclamation may face. Therefore, paying attention to silences and emotional aspects of revitalization processes is important. In order to explore the inherent tensions of revitalization processes, I investigate lived experiences of language reclamation, focusing on emotions and silences in revitalization processes of Sámi in Northern Norway. European nation states colonized not only in the global South, but also ‘at home’. Thus, the South, in the form of silenced and marginalized populations, also exists in the global North (Santos 2012). Drawing on perspectives from Southern Theory and Gordon’s (2017) sociology of haunting, I investigate silences, emotions and tensions in language reclamation to shed light on how our colonial past may re-emerge in processes of language reclamation.
... When people of Sámi background talk about why they did not speak their Indigenous language when growing up, such reflections illustrate that language choice can be internalised so subtly that one does not really see what is happening. Rasmussen and Nolan (2011) describe this outcome as an almost unconscious, collective language choice. Such unawareness of an ongoing language shift is not uncommon and has been described by Kulick (1992) and Gafaranga (2010). ...
... When people of Sámi background talk about why they did not speak their Indigenous language when growing up, such reflections illustrate that language choice can be internalised so subtly that one does not really see what is happening. Rasmussen and Nolan (2011) describe this outcome as an almost unconscious, collective language choice. Such unawareness of an ongoing language shift is not uncommon and has been described by Kulick (1992) and . ...
... On the basis of an agentive grassroots movement, we see that Sámi and Kven people are reclaiming their minoritized languages and cultures (e.g. Niiranen 2011; Rasmussen and Nolan 2011;Johansen 2013;Sollid 2020). On the other hand, linguistic diversity is increasing through transnational migration and global communication. ...
... According to recent estimates, the total number of Sami people ranges from 50,000 to 150,000, and only half of them are native speakers of the Sami language. The Northern Sami are by far the largest group, with 20,000 to 23,000 speakers in Norway and 5,000 to 7,000 in Sweden, while each of the other groups has fewer than 600 people [12]. According to various estimates, the number of Sami people in Finland ranges from 6,000 to 9,500. ...
The article is devoted to the study of problems of linguistic security as a factor of sustainable development of a region; special attention is paid to the preservation of languages of indigenous peoples and national minorities. The article describes the experience of the Scandinavian countries in the field of maintaining and revitalizing of the Sami languages and the main conventions on the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and languages, as well as languages of national minorities. Moreover, the author explores how Sami language learning is organized and implemented in Scandinavian schools and if it contributes to the preservation and development of the Sami language. The language policies of Finland, Sweden and Norway in relation to the Sami languages, the achievements and shortcomings of the policy are analyzed. The paper offers a critical review of the core elements of Sami language policies to implement the positive experience in the maintaining of the languages of the national minorities and indigenous languages of the Russian Federation as an essential part of linguistic security which in its turn leads to sustainable development of the country.
... All of the Sami languages are classified as endangered. In the absence of reliable statistics, it is estimated that North Sámi is spoken by around 25,000 people, with the other Sami languages having speaker populations ranging from less than a hundred to around 1,000 ( Rasmussen & Nolan, 2011 ;Ridanpää & Pasanen, 2009 ;Sammallahti, 1998 ;Scheller, 2013 ). ...
... The traditional settlement area is called Sápmi (land of the Saami) in the North Saami language. The population of Saami people is estimated at 50,000-70,000 in Norway [5], over 10,000 in Finland [6], 20,000-35,000 in Sweden [7••], and 2000 in Russia [8]. Approximately half of the Saami speak Saami as their native language. ...
... Assimilation measures have caused significant loss of Saami language; but language revitalization measures have improved the situation [8,41]. The smallest Saami languages alive have only few speakers and it is likely that language loss will continue in the near future. ...
Purpose of Review
(1) To develop a framework for understanding the holistic effects of climate change on the Saami people; (2) to summarize the scientific evidence about the primary, secondary, and tertiary effects of climate change on Saami culture and Sápmi region; and (3) to identify gaps in the knowledge of the effects of climate change on health and well-being of the Saami.
Recent Findings
The Saami health is on average similar, or slightly better compared to the health of other populations in the same area. Warming climate has already influenced Saami reindeer culture. Mental health and suicide risk partly linked to changing physical and social environments are major concerns.
Summary
The lifestyle, diet, and morbidity of the Saami are changing to resemble the majority populations posing threats for the health of the Saami and making them more vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Climate change is a threat for the cultural way of life of Saami. Possibilities for Saami to adapt to climate change are limited.
... 2.4 1919-1975: High nationalist assimilation During this period of high nationalism, the policy measures put in place in the previous period allowed each of the new nation states to pursue their own assimilationist agendas. In Norway, an 1888 policy defined citizenship along ethno-linguistic lines, effectively denying Saami citizenship and reinforcing the ongoing Norwegianization policy (Lane 2011;Rasmussen & Nolan 2011). Sweden continued its assimilationist policies with the 3rd Reindeer Act in 1928, which effectively dispossessed all sedentary Saami from their land; such policies were continued with the 1971 Reindeer Farming Act (Axelsson 2010). ...
... Improvements in Saami policy continued through the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. In 1987, the Norwegian Saami Act made Saami languages equal in law to Norwegian within six municipalities, and in 1988, the Saami were recognized as a "people" in Norway (Rasmussen & Nolan 2011). In 1990, Norway ratified ILO 169, thus recognizing the Saami as an Indigenous people of Norway. ...
... In 1990, Norway ratified ILO 169, thus recognizing the Saami as an Indigenous people of Norway. The national Saami parliaments were founded in the 1990s (Rasmussen & Nolan 2011;Selle & Strømsnes 2010). Two educational acts in Norway in 1995 and 1999 acknowledged Saami rights to mothertongue medium education (Rasmussen & Nolan 2011), following Norway's ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages in 1993. ...
The concept of " resilience " originated in both ecology and psychology, and refers to the propensity of a system or entity to " bounce back " from a disturbance. Recently , the concept has found increasing application within linguistics, particularly the study of endangered languages. In this context, resilience is used to describe one aspect of long-term, cyclical changes in language vitality. Proponents of " resilience linguistics " argue that understanding long-term patterns of language vitality can be of use in fostering resilience in, and therefore maintenance of, endangered languages. This article takes a critical look at these proposals, based on the examination of long-term trends in the Monguor and Saami languages.
