Also Known As: Saame,Anar,Inari "Lappish",Lapp,Saam,Finnish Lapp,Samic,Sámi
Description:
Inari Sámi (anarâškielâ) is a Finno-Ugric, Sami language spoken in Finland by some 300-400 people, the majority of whom are middle-aged or older and live in the municipality of Inari. It is the only Sami language that is spoken exclusively in Finland. The language is classified as being seriously endangered as few children learn the language.
The first book in Inari Sámi was Anar sämi kiela aapis kirje ja doctor Martti Lutherus Ucca katkismus, which was written and translated by Edvard Wilhelm Borg in 1859. The written history of modern Inari Sámi, however, is said to begin with Lauri Arvid Itkonen's translation of the history of the Bible in 1906, although he had already translated some other books into Inari Sámi before that (Martin Luther and John Charles Ryles). After that, Inari Sami was mainly published in books written by linguists, Frans Äimä and Erkki Itkonen, in particular. For many years, very little literature was written in Inari Sami, although Sämitigge has funded and published a lot of books, etc., in recent years.
Since 1992, Finland's Sami have had the right to interact with officials in their own language in areas where they have traditionally lived: in Enontekiö,..... full article at Wikipedia |