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→BilabialLabiodentalAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottal
Nasalm mːn nːŋ
Stopp pːt tː dk kː
Fricatives sːh
Approximantʋj
Trillr rː
Lateral approximantl lː
  Vowel inventory: e ei̯ eu̯ eː i ie̯ iː o oi̯ ou̯ oː u ui̯ uo̯ uː y yi̯ yø̯ yː æ æi̯ æy̯ æː ø øi̯ øy̯ ɑ ɑi̯ ɑu̯ ɑː   Diphthongs: ei̯ eu̯ ie̯ oi̯ ou̯ ui̯ uo̯ yi̯ yø̯ æi̯ æy̯ øi̯ øy̯ ɑi̯ ɑu̯ ?  
FrontBack
Highi iː y yːu uː
High-mide eː øo oː
Near-lowæ æː
Lowɑ ɑː
  Syllable structure: Custom defined ?
Stress pattern: Initial — stress is on the first syllable ?   Spelling rules:  
PronunciationSpelling
ʋv
tt
ll
ss
kk
ŋn
æːää
æä
yy
ɑːaa
ɑa
øö
oo
uu
ii
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

 
SingularPlural
MasculineNo 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
FeminineNo 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
NeuterNo 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

 
DefiniteIndefinite
Singular /kæ/ the hee /heː/ a
Pluraljyy /jyː/ the lii /liː/ some
  Uses of definite article that differ from English:
  • Used for personal names in third person: ‘The Maria has left for school’
  • Used for languages: ‘The English’
  Uses of indefinite article that differ from 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 singularjeen /jeːn/ I, me, mine
2nd singularka /kɑ/ you, yours
3rd singular mascnyys /nyːs/ he, him, his
3rd singular fempäy /pæy̯/ she, her, hers
3rd singular neuterraa /rɑː/ it, its
1st pluralmaa /mɑː/ we, us, ours
2nd pluralu /u/ you all, yours (pl)
3rd plural masclöi /løi̯/ they (masc), them (masc), theirs (masc)
3rd plural femkääs /kæːs/ they (fem), them (fem), theirs (fem)
3rd plural neuterhääp /hæːp/ they (neut), them (neut), theirs (neut)
 

Possessive determiners

 
1st singularjäl /jæl/ my
2nd singularaa /ɑː/ your
3rd singular mascnääp /næːp/ his
3rd singular femjees /jeːs/ her
3rd singular neutermais /mɑi̯s/ its
1st pluralnää /næː/ our
2nd pluralne /ne/ your (pl)
3rd plural mascäp /æp/ their (masc)
3rd plural femhai /hɑi̯/ their (fem)
3rd plural neuterri /ri/ their (neut)
 

Verbs

 
SingularPlural
PresentNo 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
PastIf 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 pastIf 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)
FutureIf 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:  
ProgressiveIf 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:
HabitualParticle 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:  
PerfectIf 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 - poi
2 - ain
3 - han
4 - jel
5 - piil
6 -
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 -æn
Else: 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

Dictionary

3102 Words.


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