Saamisthing, Saami Language (sámɪjsdɪ́ŋ)
Natively known as: sámɪjsdɪ́n /ˈsámɪjsdɪ́ŋ/
...and he stood holding his hat and turned his wet face to the wind...jein nyys hapak haalak nääp peehtie jein sanak nääp hölor joil häi eior
Pronunciation: /jei̯n nyːs ˈhɑpak ˈhɑːlak næːp ˈpeːhtie̯ jei̯n ˈsɑnak næːp ˈhølor joi̯l hæi̯ ˈei̯or/
Saamisthing word order: and he stood holding hat his and turned his face wet to the wind
Spelling & Phonology
Consonant inventory: d h j k kː l lː m mː n nː p pː r rː s sː t tː ŋ ʋ| ↓Manner/Place→ | Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m mː | n nː | ŋ | |||
| Stop | p pː | t tː d | k kː | |||
| Fricative | s sː | h | ||||
| Approximant | ʋ | j | ||||
| Trill | r rː | |||||
| Lateral approximant | l lː |
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː y yː | u uː |
| High-mid | e eː ø | o oː |
| Near-low | æ æː | |
| Low | ɑ ɑː |
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ? Spelling rules:
| Pronunciation | Spelling |
|---|---|
| ʋ | v |
| tː | tt |
| lː | ll |
| sː | ss |
| kː | kk |
| ŋ | n |
| æː | ää |
| æ | ä |
| yː | yy |
| ɑː | aa |
| ɑ | a |
| ø | ö |
| oː | oo |
| uː | uu |
| iː | ii |
| eː | ee |
| ̯ |
Grammar
Main word order: Subject Verb Object (Prepositional phrase). “Mary opened the door with a key” turns into Mary opened the door with a key.Adjective order: Adjectives are positioned after the noun.
Adposition: prepositions ?
Nouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | No affix leior /ˈlei̯or/ man | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æi̯- Else: Prefix ɑi̯- aileior /ˈɑi̯lei̯or/ men |
| Feminine | No affix aif /ˈɑif/ woman | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æi̯- Else: Prefix u- uaif /ˈuɑif/ women |
| Neuter | No affix ryyor /ˈryːor/ dog | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix eː- Else: Prefix eː- eeryyor /ˈeːryːor/ dogs |
Articles
| Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | kä /kæ/ the | hee /heː/ a |
| Plural | jyy /jyː/ the | lii /liː/ some |
- Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
- Used for languages: ‘The English’
- Not used for non-specific countable nouns: non-specific means ‘I am looking for a (any) girl in a red dress’, whereas specific means ‘I am looking for a (particular) girl in a red dress’
- Not used for non-specific mass (uncountable) nouns: non-specific means ‘Would you like some (any) tea?’ whereas specific means ‘Some tea (a specific amount) fell off the truck’
Pronouns
| 1st singular | jeen /jeːn/ I, me, mine |
| 2nd singular | ka /kɑ/ you, yours |
| 3rd singular masc | nyys /nyːs/ he, him, his |
| 3rd singular fem | päy /pæy̯/ she, her, hers |
| 3rd singular neuter | raa /rɑː/ it, its |
| 1st plural | maa /mɑː/ we, us, ours |
| 2nd plural | u /u/ you all, yours (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc | löi /løi̯/ they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | kääs /kæːs/ they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter | hääp /hæːp/ they (neut), them (neut), theirs (neut) |
Possessive determiners
| 1st singular | jäl /jæl/ my |
| 2nd singular | aa /ɑː/ your |
| 3rd singular masc | nääp /næːp/ his |
| 3rd singular fem | jees /jeːs/ her |
| 3rd singular neuter | mais /mɑi̯s/ its |
| 1st plural | nää /næː/ our |
| 2nd plural | ne /ne/ your (pl) |
| 3rd plural masc | äp /æp/ their (masc) |
| 3rd plural fem | hai /hɑi̯/ their (fem) |
| 3rd plural neuter | ri /ri/ their (neut) |
Verbs
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | No affix häak /ˈhæak/ (I/you/he/she/it) learn | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æy̯- Else: Prefix ɑu̯- äyhäak /ˈæy̯hæak/ (we/they) learn |
| Past | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix jæː- Else: Prefix jɑː- jäähäak /ˈjæːhæak/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æ- Else: Prefix u- ähäak /ˈæhæak/ (we/they) learned |
| Remote past | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix kæy̯- Else: Prefix kei̯- käyhäak /ˈkæy̯hæak/ (I/you/he/she/it) learned (long ago) | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix jæ- Else: Prefix jeː- jähäak /ˈjæhæak/ (we/they) learned (long ago) |
| Future | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æ- Else: Prefix i- ähäak /ˈæhæak/ (I/you/he/she/it) will learn | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æ- Else: Prefix o- ähäak /ˈæhæak/ (we/they) will learn |
Progressive aspect
The ‘progressive’ aspect refers to actions that are happening at the time of speaking, such as I am learning.Saamisthing uses an affix for progressive:
| Progressive | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix hyː- Else: Prefix hɑi̯- hyyhäak /ˈhyːhæak/ is learning |
Habitual aspect
The ‘habitual’ aspect refers to actions that happen habitually, such as I learn (something new every day), as opposed to actions that happen once (I learned something).Saamisthing uses a standalone particle word for habitual:
| Habitual | Particle before the verb: kie̯n - kien häak /kie̯n ˈhæak/ learns |
Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect in English is exemplified in ‘I have read this book’, which expresses an event that took place before the time spoken but which has an effect on or is in some way still relevant to the present.Saamisthing uses an affix for the perfect aspect:
| Perfect | If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix æi̯- Else: Prefix ɑi̯- äihäak /ˈæi̯hæak/ have learned |
Numbers
Saamisthing has a base-10 number system: 1 - poi2 - ain
3 - han
4 - jel
5 - piil
6 - hä
7 - jaa
8 - jap
9 - laa
10 - hii
100 - sidä
1000 - aiksa
Derivational morphology
Adjective → adverb = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -ænElse: Suffix -on
Adjective → noun (the quality of being [adj]) = Suffix -thing
Adjective → verb (to make something [adj]) = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -æp
Else: Suffix -ɑu̯p
Noun → adjective (having the quality of [noun]) = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Prefix sæi̯-
Else: Prefix sɑu̯-
Noun → adjective relating to noun (e.g. economy → economic) = Suffix -thing
Noun to verb = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -el
Else: Suffix -oːl
Verb → adjective (result of doing [verb]) = Suffix -thing
Tending to = Suffix -athing
Verb → noun (the act of [verb]) = Suffix -athing
Verb → noun that verb produces (e.g. know → knowledge) = Suffix -thing
One who [verb]s (e.g. paint → painter) = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -et
Else: Suffix -ɑːt
Place of (e.g. wine → winery) = Suffix -thing
Diminutive = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -e
Else: Suffix -ɑ
Augmentative = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -æi̯l
Else: Suffix -ɑi̯l
Opposite = If contains {æ,æː,æi̯,æy̯,ie̯,ø,øi̯,øy̯,y,yː,yi̯,yø̯}: Suffix -eː
Else: Suffix -ɑ
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