Lule Sami
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Lule Sami (julevsáme) is a Finno-Ugric, Sami language spoken in Lule Lappmark, i.e., around Luleå Sweden and in the province of Nordland in Norway. It is written using an official Roman orthography.
Status
With 1,500 to 2,000 speakers it is the second largest of all Sami languages. It is reported that the number of native speakers is in sharp decline among the younger generations. The language has, however, been standardised in 1983 and elaborately cultivated ever since.Grammar
Cases
Lule Sámi has 8 cases:
Nominative
Like the other Uralic languages, the nominative singular is unmarked and indicates the subject or a predicate. The nominative plural is also unmarked and always looks the same as the genitive singular.
Genitive
The genitive singular is unmarked and looks the same as the nominative plural. The genitive plural is marked by an -j. The genitive is used:
- to indicate possession
- with prepositions
- with postpositions.
Accusative
The accusative is the direct object case and it is marked with -v in the singular. In the plural, its marker is -t, which is preceded by the plural marker -j.
Inessive
The inessive marker is -n in the singular and the plural, when it is then preceded by the plural marker -j. This case is used to indicate:
- where something is
- who has possession of something
Illative
The illative marker is -j in the singular and -da in the plural, which is preceded by the plural marker -i, making it look the same as the plural accusative. This case is used to indicate:
- where something is going
- who is receiving something
- the indirect object
Elative
The elative marker is -s in the singular and the plural, when it is then preceded by the plural marker -j. This case is used to indicate:
- where something is coming from
Comitative
The comitative marker in the singular is -jn and -j in the plural, which means that it looks like the genitive plural. The comitative is used to state with whom or what something was done.
Pronouns
The personal pronouns have three numbers - singular, plural and dual. The following table contains personal pronouns in the nominative and genitive/accusative cases.
| English | nominative | English | genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person (singular) | I | mån | my | muv |
| Second person (singular) | you (thou) | dån | your, yours | duv |
| Third person (singular) | he, she | sån | his, her | suv |
| First person (dual) | we (two) | måj | our | munnu |
| Second person (dual) | you (two) | dåj | your | dunnu |
| Third person (dual) | they (two) | såj | theirs | sunnu |
| First person (plural) | we | mij | our | mijá |
| Second person (plural) | you | dij | your | tijá |
| Third person (plural) | they | sij | their | sijá |
The next table demonstrates the declension of a personal pronoun he/she (no gender distinction) in various cases:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | sån | såj | sij |
| Genitive | suv | sunnu | sijá |
| Accusative | suv | sunnuv | sijáv |
| Inessive | sujna | sunnun | sijan |
| Illative | sunji | sunnuj | sidjij |
| Elative | sujsta | sunnus | sijas |
| Comitative | sujna | sunnujn | sijájn |
Verbs
Mood
Tense
Verbal nouns
Phonology
Stress
Writing system
The orthography used for Lule Sámi is written using an extended form of the Latin alphabet. Some of the letters are used on the Norwegian side and some on the Swedish side of the border.
References
- Spiik, Nils-Erik: Lulesamisk grammatik
- Grundström, Harald: Lulesamisches Wörterbuch
- Kintel, Anders 1991: Syntaks og ordavledninger i lulesamisk. Kautokeino : Samisk utdanningsråd.
- Wiklund, K.B. 1890: Lule-lappisches Wörterbuch. Helsinki: Suomalais-ugrilaisen seuran toimituksia ; 1
External links
- [Sámásta Lule Sami lessons and resources] (in Swedish)
- [Morphological analyzer for Lule Sámi]
- [Language generator for Lule Sámi]
- [Lule Sámi grammar in Norwegian](Currently only covers pronouns).
- [Ådå Testamennta] The New Testament in Lule Sámi (PDF)
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