Sami Language Research Articles

Саамский вопрос в современной политике Финляндии

The Sami are the only recognised small indigenous people in Europe. In Finland, the Sami face systematic barriers to education, employment and access to cultural resources. Discrimination against the Sami also manifests itself in the form of negative stereotypes and prejudices, which creates social and economic inequalities. This article is devoted to the study of the problem of preserving the national identity of the Sami against the background of the global practice of integration policies. Aim – to characterise the violations of the fundamental rights of the Sami indigenous people and to identify opportunities for overcoming their discrimination in the Finnish community. Results: the paper presents the criteria for the definition of indigenous people, and also outlines the rights enshrined in the world’s recognised institutions: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as ILO Convention No. 169. The work studies the problems of ensuring equal provision of services in the Sami language, violation of the right to vote in the Sami Parliament, the right of ownership of land, and others. Conclusions: discrimination against the Sami in Finland is a serious problem that includes denial of access to land and resources, as well as insufficient protection and recognition of their rights.

Local Processes and Practices of Policy Implementation for Sami Languages

Local Processes and Practices of Policy Implementation for Sami Languages

Exploring the Etymological Sources of the Place Name Knyazhaya guba

The article attempts to identify the etymology of the place name Knyazhaya guba (name of a settlement in the Murmansk Region of Russia). The material for the study included the available written sources from different time periods, works of the Murmansk Region historians and local lore experts, field materials from the toponymic card indexes of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the Karelian Research Centre RAS and the Ural Federal University. Methods of historical and toponymic research were applied to analyze the corpus of versions, the central one being that this place name is linked to the Russian lexeme knyaz ‘prince.’ As a result of this multidimensional study accounting for historical and cultural context in which the local toponymic system was formed, socio-economic characteristics of the region, physiographical features of the site, the analysis of the available historical sources, and the linguistic and toponymic parameters of the name, the authors arrive at the conclusion that the Knyazh-place names in northernmost regions may have different etymological sources than in the rest of the Russian North. Where the most likely original motivation for a majority of places names with the Knyazh-stem is to mark princely land holdings (and the source here is the Russian knyaz’), the place names with the same stem in the north of Karelia and in the Murmansk Region may have non-Russian sources. The original motivation for the place name Knyazhaya guba is drawn from a natural attribute of the site — muddy bottom, wherefore the base of the name can be traced to the Sami language (Sami ńieș̌ș̌e ‘silt, mud; dirt’). The reinterpretation of the primary meaning presumably happened during integration of the place name into Russian through replacement of the original lexeme with a similarly sounding Russian one with a prosthetic consonant.

Рассуждения о судьбе малых языков в глобализированном мире

The monograph under review is a unique comprehensive study of the state of an endangered language of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family. Using anthropocentrism as the main research principle, the author of the monograph reveals a number of important features of the vocabulary of the Kildin Sami language, which are explained by the limitations of its semantic system, associated with the specifics of the economic activity of this ethnic group. The innovation of the study is ensured by a set of applied methods, relevantly combining the traditional procedures of component, oppositional, and combinatorial analysis with the methods of distribution and associative experiment. The review highly appreciates the innovative nature of this monograph, whose undoubted value lies, firstly, in the presentation of an important resource for automatic processing of texts in the Sami language and, secondly, in the obtained extensive linguistic material for future comparative studies.

Zaza Dilinde Tamlama

Ezafe, which is known as Genitive in European languages and used in Turki, Iranian and Sami languages spoken in the Middle East, is used to link two syntactic elements. Generally, one of the elements is the possessor and the other one is the modifier. There are grammatical elements that link these syntactic structures which at least consist of two units. The historical development of these elements, which varies according to languages, in Iranian languages did not follow the same process. While the languages classified in Northwest Iranian languages, such as Zazaki, varies with a nominal construction, , there are some similarities with Zazaki in the languages belonging to the Southwest Iranian languages group. The purpose of this article is to explore the structures of the nominal phrase in Zaza Language. Both noun and adjective phrases will be analyzed in detail, and other nominal phrases will also be scrutinized. It will also be examined whether these syntactic structures have semantic functions. The origin of Ezafe will be traced back to the Old Iranian languages, and its structure in the Modern Iranian languages will also be investigated. The similarities and differences will be discussed by comparing the functioning of the Zaza language with other Iranian languages. In addition, the nominal phrase constructions in many Zaza dialects will be examined, and it will be investigated whether there are differences between them.

Ochrona praw mniejszości etnicznych w Finlandii. Kazus Saamów

The cultural autonomy of the Indigenous Sami Region within Finland is an example of autonomous status, based on the criterion of ethnic, linguistic and cultural distinctiveness of the indigenous Sami people living in the Northern territories of the state. It aims to protect their fundamental rights and freedoms and their own cultural heritage, including the endangered Sami languages. The aim of this study is the legal analysis of the cultural autonomy status of the Indigenous Sami Region self-government. The subject of the study includes the exegesis of the provisions of the Finnish Basic Law of 1999 and the relevant statute, as well as the practice of the region functioning within the state.

Positioning the Voice and Agency of Young Children in the Distance Education of the Sami Languages

Positioning the Voice and Agency of Young Children in the Distance Education of the Sami Languages

Саамские веб-сообщества глазами модераторов (на примере социальной сети «ВКонтакте»)

The article discusses the problem of moderation of ethnic network communities on the example of the Sami virtual groups “VKontakte”. An expert survey was conducted with moderators of webcommunities, on the basis of which the goals of creating groups, their main functions and prospects for further development were determined. According to the interviewed moderators, the priority goal of creating these groups is to unite representatives of the Sami people on a single, albeit virtual platform, within which certain individual and collective interests can be realized (searching for like-minded people, gaining knowledge, a sense of common ethnicity, etc.). Among the main functions of the Sami webcommunities, the moderators single out those that are inherent in such virtual ethnic associations: communicative, integrative, information-cognitive, entertainment and a number of others. The moderators consider the most important topics for dissemination to such topics as the preservation of the Sami language and culture (including a significant part of the content related to material culture), environmental problems and traditional crafts. At the same time, it is noted that the greatest response from the audience of these groups is received by posts devoted to art, entertainment and everyday life topics. Moderators carefully monitor the thematic focus of the content and try to avoid various “sensitive” topics and discussions, especially those related to politics. The audience of the Sami online communities is assessed by the moderators as conflict-free, but at the same time not active enough. In general, the moderators highly appreciate the technological capabilities of social networks for disseminating relevant information, establishing contacts, self-presentation, socializing Sami youth, broadcasting their culture and expressing ethnic identity.

Sami identity in the face of climate change

Abstract Global warming is accelerating, thus irreversibly changing the human environment, and most of the measures taken to halt this phenomenon seem to be the result of wishful thinking. Policies meant to combat climate change fail to bring about the desired effect. Arctic indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and their cultural identity is under threat. However, owing to the actions taken by state authorities and European Union institutions, there is a chance that the Sami languages will be preserved.

Older South Sami women and men’s expectations regarding home healthcare in Sweden

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the views and expectations concerning home healthcare from the perspective of older South Sami women and men in comparison with each other. Study design and methods: In this study, 56 older South Sami women (n=31) and men (n=25) were interviewed by telephone, using semi-structured interviews. Data was subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results: Our results revealed both similarities and some slight differences between the male and female participants. Both male and female participants expected the same care providers over time, in addition to expecting competence. Additionally, our female participants stressed that care providers should use time in their encounters with them as care receivers. For some female participants, this was related to competence. The findings also revealed that the care providers’ cultural backgrounds were of importance to both female and male participants, even if female participants preferred care providers with a South Sami background to a greater extent. The male participants stressed that having care providers with a South Sami background could be of importance, but they were more concerned about the care providers’ competence in the encounters with them as future care receivers. The main findings show that older South Sami women and men mostly have similar expectations of future home healthcare. Conclusions: Our results highlight that having the same care providers over time, with the necessary competence, is of importance to our participants. Additionally, participants prefer their care providers to have a South Sami background – although not at the expense of competence – and this was especially highlighted by the South Sami men. Implications for research, policy, and practice: Our study indicates that, if possible, in encounters with South Sami women and men, home healthcare services should facilitate for the same care providers over time and that they should be competent, preferably of a South Sami background, and speak South Sami if the care receiver has mastered the Sami language. What is already known about the topic? Older South Sami people want the same care providers over time, with individual adjustments and competent care providers in home healthcare. There are contradictions in and between older South Sami people, about having care providers with South Sami background speaking South Sami in home healthcare. What this paper adds Older South Sami women and men mostly have similar expectations of future home healthcare. Home healthcare services should facilitate for the same care providers over time and that these should be competent and preferably of a South Sami background.

Older South Sami women and men’s expectations regarding home healthcare in Sweden

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the views and expectations concerning home healthcare from the perspective of older South Sami women and men in comparison with each other. Study design and methods: In this study, 56 older South Sami women (n=31) and men (n=25) were interviewed by telephone, using semi-structured interviews. Data was subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results: Our results revealed both similarities and some slight differences between the male and female participants. Both male and female participants expected the same care providers over time, in addition to expecting competence. Additionally, our female participants stressed that care providers should use time in their encounters with them as care receivers. For some female participants, this was related to competence. The findings also revealed that the care providers’ cultural backgrounds were of importance to both female and male participants, even if female participants preferred care providers with a South Sami background to a greater extent. The male participants stressed that having care providers with a South Sami background could be of importance, but they were more concerned about the care providers’ competence in the encounters with them as future care receivers. The main findings show that older South Sami women and men mostly have similar expectations of future home healthcare. Conclusions: Our results highlight that having the same care providers over time, with the necessary competence, is of importance to our participants. Additionally, participants prefer their care providers to have a South Sami background – although not at the expense of competence – and this was especially highlighted by the South Sami men. Implications for research, policy, and practice: Our study indicates that, if possible, in encounters with South Sami women and men, home healthcare services should facilitate for the same care providers over time and that they should be competent, preferably of a South Sami background, and speak South Sami if the care receiver has mastered the Sami language. What is already known about the topic? Older South Sami people want the same care providers over time, with individual adjustments and competent care providers in home healthcare. There are contradictions in and between older South Sami people, about having care providers with South Sami background speaking South Sami in home healthcare. What this paper adds Older South Sami women and men mostly have similar expectations of future home healthcare. Home healthcare services should facilitate for the same care providers over time and that these should be competent and preferably of a South Sami background.

THE LINGUISTIC CORPUS VEPKAR IS A LANGUAGE REFUGE FOR THE BALTICFINNISH LANGUAGES OF KARELIA

The purpose of creating conservation areas is to protect endangered plant and animal species. Large, tagged linguistic corpora with a great variety of genres are used for the preservation and research of safe and endangered languages. The article describes the history, structure and development of the Open Corpus of the Veps and Karelian languages. The Veps language corpus was created in 2009 under the leadership of Nina Zaitseva. Three Karelian subcorpora (Karelian proper, Livvi and Ludian) were included in the linguistic corpus in 2016. The united linguistic platform was named “The Open Corpus of the Veps and Karelian languages” (VepKar). This linguistic corpus includes texts and dictionaries stored in a database, and a computer program (corpus manager) for searching and processing the data. This corpus manager was written in the PHP programming language in the Laravel framework. The data are stored in a MySQL database. Corpus and dictionaries data are available online (dictorpus.krc.karelia.ru). YouTube and Wikipedia are used by VepKar authors to popularize the corpus. Dictionaries and corpus texts are strongly interrelated. Multifunctional dictionaries of the Veps and Karelian languages contain definition, translation, dialect labels, semantic relations (synonyms, antonyms, etc.), examples of word usage with reference to texts, as well as complete inflectional paradigms. All texts are automatically marked up and there are references from words in the text to the corresponding meanings in the dictionary entries. The developers continue adding useful new features to the corpus manager to make the work of editors easier. For example, over the past three years, nominal and verbal inflection rules have been formulated and programmed for all dialects of the Veps language and its newly-written version, as well as for the Livvi-Karelian, North Karelian and Tver newly-written versions of the Karelian language. Thanks to this, 2.1 million word forms were generated in the VepKar system in a semi-automatic mode. The semantic markup in the corpus is 2.1 million links between words from the text and the meanings of lemmas in the dictionary. The grammatical markup was added, namely, 1.1 million links between words from the text and the grammatical features of word forms from the dictionary were automatically established. The multilingual VepKar corpus is divided into subcorpora according to languages and dialects, and the texts are also classified into styles and genres. The corpus has a sophisticated search system (with filtering of texts by language, style and dialect, by informant, collector or author, by year of recording or year of publication). It is possible to search for lemmas by dialects, parts of speech, grammatical features, and even by lexical-semantic categories. These categories appeared due to the integration of the data of the outstanding “Comparative and Onomasiological Dictionary of the Dialects of the Karelian, Veps and Sami Languages” into the vocabulary part of VepKar. In 2021, the Sanahelmi electronic dictionary was created on the basis of VepKar for Android phones. The development of mobile applications based on corpus data is our bright future.

Introduction of the reindeer image into the culture of Old Sami people

The subject of this research is the process of introducing the reindeer image into the life and culture of Old Sami people. From the perspective of cultural continuity, the author sets a scientific task to find culturological evidence of the existence of Old Sami people (native speakers of the southern genetic component of the Sami language). The method of conducing this research is the records of décor element, their direct comparison applicable the culture and geographical location of the settlement of Old Sami people. The territory between the Upper Sukhona and the Upper Volga Rivers is selected as geographical location for introduction of the reindeer image into the culture of Old Sami people. The analysis of acquired data gives outlook on the culturological situation in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The reindeer image is introduced into decorative and applied art, as well as into the culture (lifestyle, household). For getting a broader perspective, the author carries the analysis of toponyms and climatic processes of this period. The novelty of this work consists in application of the synthesis of sciences to the question of comprehension of the cultural processes taking place within the environment of Old Sami people during their dwelling between the Upper Sukhona and the Upper Volga Rivers. The research result consists in acquisition of data that specify the time and place of introduction of the reindeer image into the culture of Old Sami people. The visual match of decorative geometric elements in the Sami decorative patterns and regional decorative ornaments gives grounds on the historically common main cultural heritage in the decorative and applied art of the indicated region. The conclusion lies in finding the culturological evidence of dwelling of the ancient Sami people in the territory between the Upper Sukhona and the Upper Volga Rivers, and the process of cultural development taking place during this period.

Multilingual encounters in Northern Norway

Norway has always been a multilingual society; Sami languages have been spoken in vast geographical areas since prehistoric times, the Kven and other historical minority groups settled in the count...

Базовая лексика карельского и вепсского языков в лингвогеографическом аспекте

Introduction: Karelian and Vepsian vocabulary has been collected and studied by linguists from Russia and Finland for two centuries. An invaluable source for research in the dialectology of the North-East group of the Baltic-Finnish languages is the «Comparative and Onomasiological Dictionary of the Karelian, Vepsian and Sami Languages» (2007). The dictionary was prepared by staff of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences using field research data from 1979–1981. The article reports the main results of applying the statistical method of cluster analysis to the dictionary entries. Objective: the analysis of the basic vocabulary of the dialects of the Karelian and Vepsian languages in the linguistic and geographical aspect using the statistical method of cluster analysis (dialectometry method). Research materials: pre-encoded for being uploaded to the clustering software database lexical data from the «Comparative and Onomasiological Dictionary of the Karelian, Vepsian and Sami Languages» (about 43 thousand units). Results and novelty of the research: the scientific novelty of the research is the application of the statistical method of cluster analysis to large volumes of pre-encoded lexical dialect material. The results of the calculation confirm the conclusions made by linguists earlier regarding the unity of the Vepsian and Karelian languages, as well as the presence of a clear border between them. The question of determination of the linguistic status of the Ludic dialects, which has been the subject of discussions among Russian and Finnish linguists for decades, is resolved in favor of the Karelian dialect on the basis of the material involved in the analysis. The boundaries between clusters outlined by the clustering program for the Vepsian language coincided with its dialect classification. On the Karelian part of the final map, the main bundle of isoglosses shifted north of the border between the dialects of the language, which indicates a more mobile character of its lexical level. The results presented in the article and the method of obtaining them will be later used to develop a linguistically grounded classification of Karelian language dialects.

Linguistic security as a factor of sustainable development of a region (on the example of Scandinavian Peninsula)

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.

Early Childhood Education In Finland

Erken çocukluk eğitimi tüm dünyada üzerinde önemle durulan eğitim basamaklarından biridir. Ülkelerin bu konuda birbirlerini etkilemeleri programların geliştirilmesi açısından vazgeçilmez bir unsurdur. Finlandiya’nın son yıllarda eğitimdeki başarısı eğitim programları için örnek teşkil etmektedir. Bu bağlamda bu araştırmanın amacı Finlandiya erken çocukluk eğitimini çeşitli değişkenler (amacı, dili, süresi, kapsamı vb.) açısından incelemektir. Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden doküman analizinin kullanıldığı bu çalışmada Finlandiya erken çocukluk eğitimi derinlemesine incelenmiştir. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulguların sonuçlarına göre; Finlandiya’da erken çocukluk eğitimi yerel yönetimlerin sorumluluğunda ebeveynlerin yükümlülüğüne bırakılmıştır. Erken çocukluk eğitimi anaokullarında verilen okul öncesi eğitim, gündüz bakım ve aile gündüz bakım evlerinde gerçekleştirilen etkinlikler ve açık havada ya da uygun mekânlarda yapılan aktivitelerle gerçekleşmektedir. Okul öncesi eğitim zorunlu eğitime başlanmadan bir önceki yıl Fince, İsveççe ve Sami dillerinde ücretsiz olarak yürütülmektedir. Programın temel hedefi aile ile iş birliği içinde, çocuğun büyüme, gelişme ve öğrenme koşullarını iyileştirmek, oyun ve olumlu öğrenme deneyimleri ile çocukların sosyal becerilerini geliştirerek olumlu benlik algısını güçlendirmektir. Bu amaçla müzikal, güzel sanatlar, el sanatları, sözlü ve fiziksel anlatım, matematik etkinlikleri, teknoloji ve çevre etkinlikleri, fiziksel aktivite, gıda, tüketim, sağlık ve güvenlik etkinlikleri planlanmaktadır.

Children’s Summer reading in Norway: Insights gained from the gamified library-initiated reading campaign Sommerles.no

Using gamification, the Norwegian library-initiated summer reading program Sommerles.no (lit: Summer reading.no) entices one-fifth of Norway’s primary school students to read for pleasure during their summer vacation. The current paper explores the characteristics of the 105,319 participants of the 2018 edition of Sommerles.no. This analysis demonstrates that the campaign is a success in terms of overall participation and, especially, in terms of the share of boys who participated (43%). However, the participation of children who speak Sámi and non-Western European languages at home is under-represented. Children who speak Russian or other Western-European languages than Norwegian at home have the highest registered number of pages read, whereas children from non-Western European language backgrounds read fewer pages. As reading for pleasure during the summer most probably represents the most effective strategy for the groups with weak reading capabilities, the reading campaign has the potential to increase participation by these weak groups further.

Isaac Olsen – The First Missionary among the Sami People in Finnmark?

This article deals with Isaac Olsen, a Norwegian who was an itinerant catechist and teacher among the Sami people in Finnmark, Northern Norway. The author claims that Isaac Olsen, as a forerunner to the Sami missionary Thomas von Westen, in fact was the first missionary among the Sami people in Finnmark. Isaac Olsen came to Finnmark just after 1700, learned the Sami language and started his work among the Sami population in Eastern Finnmark. He got to know the Sami people well, and they gave him information about Sami pre-Christian religious practice, among other names of places of sacrifice. These names, in addition to many other pieces of information, were written down by Isaac Olsen in a copybook that has been preserved. The article discusses in great detail the contents of this book, which contains valuable knowledge about Early Modern Sami culture and religion. Isaac Olsen, also as a pioneer, translated Danish religious texts into the Sami language, called to Copenhagen to perform translation work by the Missionary College.

TEACHER STATUS IN FINLAND

In Finland there is an equitable high quality education system based on the concept of teaching as a sophisticated profession in which all teachers hold a master's degree (2 years of study) that includes disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge and combines research and practice. Teaching has become the most attractive profession after medicine, and many teachers aspire having a PhD degree and persist the profession. Teaching is perceived in Finland as a long-term profession where people can grow into leadership positions and develop expertise in their field [13]. 
 The high achievements of Finnish students in international exams, the lack of educational gaps between the center and the periphery and transforming teaching to a prestigious and highly desirable profession in Finland - all have made the small Nordic country's education system a subject of admiration and envy of worldwide educators. Basically, even advanced education after basic education is free. The Finnish education system is built to provide everyone an opportunity to obtain vocational or high education. 
 In addition to the Finnish people speaking Finnish or Swedish, the non-Finnish people, speaking Sami language, who live in the norther part of the country, have also the right to develop and keep their language and culture. 
 The education institutes network cover the whole country. The basic education is close to home or in a distance of a free bus drive. Students are allowed to apply to studies in high school, university or vocational education anywhere in the country.