Sámi Languages
/ˈsɑː.mi ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪdʒɪz/noun
A group of closely related Uralic languages traditionally spoken by the Sámi across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
Did you know?There is no single ‘Sámi language’: the group contains several distinct languages, some of which are so different that speakers cannot automatically understand one another.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Uralic
Proto-Uralic
*śama
“A reconstructed ancestral form sometimes proposed in connection with the Sámi name, though its ultimate origin remains debated.”
Proto-Samic
Proto-Samic
*sāmē
“Reconstructed ancestral name associated with the Sámi people and their languages.”
Medieval Period
Old Norse
finnr
“A Norse term for northern peoples, later associated with both Sámi people and Finns; it is the source of historical terms such as Finnmark.”
16th Century
Swedish
lapp
“A historical Swedish designation for the Sámi; now generally avoided because it is an exonym with derogatory associations.”
Modern English
English
Sámi languages
“The collective name for the Indigenous Uralic languages of the Sámi people.”