Sámi dieđalaš áigečála lea sámegiel máŋggafágalaš dieđalaš áigečála mii almmuha vuosttazettiin dieđalaš artihkkaliid, muhto sáhttá maiddá almmuhit girjeárvvoštallamiid ja kommentára čállosiid. Áigečállaga almmuhit Sámi allaskuvla ja UiT Norgga árktalaš universitehta Sámi dutkamiid guovddáš ovttasbarggus. Vuosttaš nummar ilmmai 1994:s.
Davvisámegielas leat guovttelágan refleksiiva oamastanráhkadusat, ja letne jearran makkár semantihkalaš iešvuođat leat sániin mat eanemusat geavahuvvojit oamastangehčosiin dán áigge teavsttain. Dasa letne geavahan aviisateavsttaid dutkanmateriálan. Čájehetne ahte substantiiva oktan oamastangehčosiin geavahuvvo muitalit earutkeahtes oamasteami (dan maid olmmoš ii sáhte addit earáide), ja ieš-pronomena genitiivahápmi fas geavahuvvo muitalit sihke earutkeahtes ja earuhahtti oamasteami. Oamastangeažus geavahuvvo erenoamážit fuolke- ja rumašsániiguin, muhto stuorra joavkun leat olbmo konkrehta ja abstrákta buktagat. Dehálaš joavkku dahket maiddái sánit mat leat čadnon identitehttii ja eallinláibái. Vaikko ieš-pronomena genitiivahápmi ollu lea váldán oamastangehčosiid saji, de dan geavahus oktan substantiivvain lea ain produktiiva.
Copyright (c) 2020 Lene Antonsen, Laura Janda
When Johan Turi became a writer, there were few models for how he should handle the challenge of writing words on paper. Turi himself had never been taught to read or write in school. His main language was Sami as spoken in Guovdageaidnu and he also knew Finnish quite well, but spoke neither Swedish nor Norwegian. Although we do not know exactly what kind of books Turi may have read in Sami, it seems evident that he did not start from scratch. His use of letters and spelling points to the fact that he had some basic knowledge of the translations of N. V. Stockfleth and J. A. Friis. The words flow quite freely from his pen without much thought of sentence structure or spelling rules. This analysis of his spelling shows that his use of letters and his writing of initial consonants is obviously influenced by both Sami orthography and Finnish spelling rules. In other parts of the words, the spelling is mostly based on his own phonetic analysis and only in the endings do the Sami spelling rules from his time seem to play a certain role. Turi’s writing is far from phonological and consistent. It was never read by Sami speaking readers as it was written, but it could have been provided that the reader has some basic familiarity with (western) North Sami.
Fuomášumit sámegiela adposišuvnnaid funkšuvnnain: ovdamearkan alde– ja ala-postposišuvnnaid ii-lokála geavaheapmi
The article presents a survey of the syntax and semantics of the postpositions alde ’on’ and ala ’onto’ in North Saami. In previous descriptions of Saami adpositions, the main focus has always been on the concrete spatial meanings of the adpositional phrases. However, a significant part of the actual usage of the adpositions has various other syntactic and semantic functions that have been taken into account only occasionally. The diversity of the functions of adpositional phrases in North Saami is demonstrated by examining the usage of the prototypically spatial postpositions alde and ala. Based on extensive data from the literary language, it is shown that as many as one-third of the occurrences of alde and ala are more or less non-prototypical, i.e. they do not have a purely spatial meaning. In addition to certain fully opaque phrases, the postpositions may be used in various non-spatial expressions such as lihtera ala [liter.GEN «onto»] ’per liter’ or buot ilgadisvuođaid ala [all hardship.PL.GEN «onto»] ’in addition to all the hardships’. Not infrequently, adpositional phrases function as obligatory complements of certain verbs and adjectives; ala, for example, is used especially with verbs expressing negative emotions, e.g. váidalit mu joavkku ala [complain.INF I.GEN team.GEN «onto»] ’to complain about my team’, whereas alde may be used especially with cognitive verbs with a reciprocal meaning (and often with a negative connotation), e.g. riidalit luopmániid alde [quarrel.INF cloudberry.PL.GEN «on»] ’to quarrel over cloudberries’. Furthermore, the complement of an adposition may be not only a noun but also a finite or non-finite clause; such constructions are commonly used as propositional complements, e.g. Son bargá dan ala ahte buorida/buoridit eallimis [s/he work.3SG it.GEN «onto» that make.better.3SG/make.better.INF life.ACC.3SG] ’s/he works on making his/her life better’.
Relatiivainfinitiiva davvisámegielas ja suomagielas
North Saami and Finnish are related to each other as can be seen in the semantic and syntactic structure of the languages. They also share a common historical background. Here I have compared the infinitival relatives in Saami and Finnish. An infinitival relative consists of a relative word and an infinitive verb. The relative word can be a relative pronoun, i.e. mii, gii in Saami and joka, kuka, mikä (’which, who, what’) in Finnish or a pronominal adverb, i.e. goas, go, gosa, gos in Saami, and jolloin, jonne, joten, milloin (’when, where’) in Finnish. The relative word is never in its basic form in my research material, because a basic form would require verb congruence: piika, jonka kanssa jutella/ biigá geainna háleštit ’maid with whom to talk’ vs. piika, joka juttelee/ biigá, gii hálešta ’maid who talks’. The infinitival relative is grammatically either a modifier of the antecedent e.g. Mus lea sadji (antecedent) gosa mannat/ Minulla on paikka (antecedent) jonne mennä ’I have a place where to go’ or an independent sentence constituent e.g. Mus lea gosa mannat/ Minulla on minne mennä ’I have (a place) where to go’. In my research material the infinitival relative can act as a modifier of a subject, an object or a predicate, and the independent sentence constituent can act as a subject or an object. When the infinitival relative is a modifier of the antecedent, it seems to be pragmatically obligatory: — čuoččuimet ráiddus vuordimin beavdegeaži, mas boradit (RPL 1994: 23) ’we stood in line waiting for the end of the table, where to eat’. The word order is constant: relative word before infinitive. An infinitival relative never begins the sentence; it always follows the predicate. The frequency of infinitival relatives is higher in Saami (n = 26) than in Finnish (n = 14). In Finnish the context of occurrence is mostly negative (10/14), whereas in Saami the frequency is equal (13/13). Finally, the infinitival relative is very similar in both languages. Mainly it carries the proposition of the sentence but sometimes also an affective meaning.
Davvisámegiela –nláhkai ~ –nládje -suffiksála ii-finihtta vearbaráhkadusat
The article is a description of a previously underdescribed non-finite verb form in North Saami. From a diachronic point of view, the formation in –nláhkai ~ -nládje consists of a shortened variant of the verbal noun followed by the adverb or postposition láhkai ~ ládje ’in the manner of’. However, with reference to the morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of -nláhkai ~ -nládje it is asserted that a new, independent non-finite has branched away from an otherwise noun-like use of the verbal noun. Based on extensive data from the contemporary literary North Saami, it is maintained that the non-finite in -nláhkai ~ -nládje is used in three distinct functions: Most commonly, it is used in the function labeled «predicative» in the article, i.e. in clauses like Filbma lea oastinláhkai DVD-skearrun [film be.3SG buy.nláhkai DVD-disc.ESS] ’the film can be bought («is buyable») in DVD’ or Son bajidii niibbi čuggenládje [s/he raise.PAST.3SG knife.ACC stab. nládje] ’s/he raised the knife ready to stab’ where the non-finite appears to describe the action denoted by the verb as having a modal meaning of possibility, although other dynamic modal interpretations are also possible. Secondly, the non-finite may be used as an adverbial modifier of manner, e.g. Govvadáidda oahpahuvvo stoahkanláhkai [visual.arts teach.PASS.3SG play.nláhkai] ’the visual arts are taught through playing’. Thirdly, one can occasionally come across sentences where the non-finite in -nláhkai ~ -nládje is used as a participle-like modifier of a noun, e.g. jahkásaččat juohkinláhkai bálkkášupmi [yearly give.away.nláhkai prize] ’a prize that is awarded every year’.
In the academic world, the recent focus within indigenous issues has been related to indigenous methodologies, indigenous epistemologies and intellectual self-determination. In this article, I aim to demonstrate the consequences of the Norwegian state’s colonial rule, as it appears in the sea Sami political protest song Sámit. This song reveals a strong critique of the Norwegian authorities’ assimilation policies towards the Sami people at the beginning of the 20th Century, a process sometimes known as Norwegianisation. I aim to read the text using an indigenous perspective, within the framework of a postcolonial discourse. The dichotomy sámi álbmot – vašálaš (Sami people – enemy) plays an important role in the lyrics. The enemy in this context refers to two distinct groups – the Norwegian authorities and the Sami who are “asleep” and do not take care of their own culture and language or fight for their rights. The title of the article refers to a Sami proverb and the meaning is that you have to adjust to the ways of your new country and be sensitive to the values that prevail there (Gaski 2006: 53). The song explicitly tells people to wake up and be conscious of what is actually happening to their cultural heritage. In this context, I focus on the lyrics and its importance as a weapon against the harsh effects of colonialism. The song Sámit was first published in the newspaper Lappernes Ven 1/1-1921. It was written by Erke Jovsset, a local man from Porsanger in Northern Norway. It is the only text he ever published and one must wonder why a man with such writing skills never wrote anything else. I have interviewed locals about this song and even his closest family never heard him talk about it. One possible reason is that the song is quite radical in its content and political activists at that time were considered to be unusual by local people.
Muhtin dieđafilosofalaš váttisvuođat vuođđudit earenoamáš álgoálbmotmetodologiija
A central idea of Cartesian philosophy is its theory of knowledge and the belief that epistemology is a foundational enterprise. It is epistemology that would ultimately make clear just what made knowledge claims valid and the degree of validity they could lay claim to. Validity is something we can generate for ourselves by ordering our thoughts correctly according to methods founded on epistemology. Similar ideas are formulated by defenders of a peculiar indigenous methodology in social sciences, in order to justify investigations from a culturally internal perspective. In the mean time epistemology has lost its reputation since the heyday of logical empiricism and the whole epistemological enterprise is refuted by criticism from different directions. The main arguments of philosophical hermeneutics have been integrated into social sciences after the ‘interpretative turn’, and the problem of the justification of the scientific validity of social sciences is even more precarious, and the social sciences stands in danger of collapsing into political moralizing and hollow rhetoric. As an alternative to claims on a priori epistemic superiority the validation of social sciences has to rely on practical argumentation.
Sámi báikenamat 1700-logu eanamihtideamis – árbevieruid ja riekteipmárdusa dutkanfáddán
The starting point for this article is the oldest land-surveying document (1776–1845) in the northernmost county of Norway, Finnmark. The research area is a traditional Sea Sami region in the eastern part of the fjord Álateaivuonna (Altafjorden in Norwegian) and the island Sievju (Seiland in Norwegian). The research area is called Várggonuorri, which is the name of the strait between the island and the mainland. The strait Várggonuorri is a connector, not a separator in the sense of resource use. Land was surveyed in this area between 1781 and 1783. Sami place names, especially settlement names and names of meadows, are examined in the land surveying document from the Várggonuorri area. The use of Sami place names is connected to the use of the landscape, traditional livelihoods and the division of resource areas in Sami villages. These themes also have a clear connection with Sami conceptions of justice. Hence the purpose of the article is to research Sami place names and document and verify Sami conceptions of justice. The Sami names of the meadows show clearly that Sami families in Várggonuorri area used many areas in the fjords and also on the island of Sievju as their meadow lands. Place name usage also demonstrates that it is typical in Várggonuorri to have shared meadow areas for many families that were called with one Sami name, such as Selge Riid (current spelling Sealgeriidi). Sealgeriidi was a meadow area for at least twelve families in the 1770’s. The functionality of using just one place name for many meadows can be understood as a conception of justice. The division of one meadow area was clearly regulated by traditional use connected with the knowledge of which part of the meadow areas belonged to which families. That is why there was no further need to differentiate between the names of the meadows in shared areas.
Copyright (c) 2007 Kaisa Rautio Helander
Manne eai leat mearrasámiin makkárge vuoigatvuođat mearrabivdui?
The testimony of an eyewitness at the end of the 9th century, tells about Sami fishermen and hunters on the coast of what is now the northernmost part of Norway and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Since then, fishing and the exploitation of marine resources, has been the primary material basis of human existence and Sami culture in that area. This article presents an historical overview of the fisheries in Finnmark county in Norway, the former legal measures that prioritised the fishing activities of both Sami and others in the county and the current challenges that are facing the traditional small scale Sami fishing communities. Increasingly larger vessels combined with extremely effective fishing gear and new ways of quota allotment and their privatisation and negotiability, has for some time deprived many coastal Sami of their ancient right to fish in traditional local waters. This directly endangers coastal Sami culture. Even though Norway is at the forefront of promoting human, minority and indigenous rights, and many clarifications and reports have stated that the coastal Sami have an indigenous right to make their living from marine resources, little has been done to improve the situation. In July 2004, the Norwegian Minister for Fisheries went to so far as to deny that any such rights existed, be it on basis of customary use or on the ground of indigenousness. This major political paradox is commented on at the end of the article.
Álgogeahčastat sámegielat máná ovda- ja árramorfologiijai
In this paper, the terms premorphology and protomorphology are first defined, and then, some pre- and protomorphological word forms by a bilingual Sami- and Finnish-speaking girl aged 1;1–3;6 are discussed. Premorphology is the stage of language acquisition where the child learns word forms by imitating them and it doesn’t inflect them itself. At the protomorphological stage the child identifies morphological elements of the language and starts producing inflected word forms itself. The first nouns adopted from adult language as unanalysed chunks, appeared to be nom.sg. but in some cases gen.-akk.sg. served as the first form. In the case of verbs, the unmarked forms imp.2.p.sg. and ind.pres.3.p.sg. were the first forms used by the child. These forms have been documented as initial premorphological forms in e.g. Finnish, too. Among the main protomorphological phenomena identified in the data so far, is that the child overgeneralizes some inflectional patterns by choosing a word stem which differes from the stem in adult language (e.g. jámai ‘jámii’, cf. manai; šattii ‘šattai’, cf. bođii). In some inflectional forms, the stems without any suffixes are used as morphological wholes (e.g. oainná (= oainná-n) ‘I see’, boađá (= boađá-t) ‘you (sg.) come’). Another central phenomenon is the defective mastery of the morphophonological process called grade alternation (e.g. juhka ‘juga’, jápmii ‘jámii’, boađá ‘boahtá’).
Subjeavtta sadji ja finihtta cealkagiid struktuvra davvisámegielas
This paper deals with (some of) the functional categories within the IP complex. I assume – as is commonly assumed – that the subject is basgenerated in Spec-VP. The subject moves to Spec-FP to check agreement features in F0. The agreement features in North Sami are person and number, but not gender. The main verb moves from V to T to check tense and ends up in F0 to check agreement, if not an auxiliary (or modal) blocks the main verb from reaching the checking positions. There is a full agreement in North Sami between the (formal) subject of the finite clause and the finite verb. Negation in (North) Sami is expressed by a negative auxiliary. The negative auxiliary shows agreement with the subject but is not inflected for tense or mood, which indicates that NegP is generated between FP and TP – as in many other Finno-Ugric languages. The auxiliary (leat) is generated below TP and takes a TP as its complement. The data from North Sami suggests that the feature specifications of the first TP are associated with tense and mood and the second TP with aspect. A modal – on the other and – takes a TP headed for [-Tense] as its complement, irrespective of the position in the clause.
For centuries, Sami have been owners of areas called «taxlands», which were territories for hunting, fishing and reindeer husbandry. The knowledge of the borderlines between tax lands was handed down from generation to generation. Bear hunting rights on the tax lands were strictly controlled and those who broke the landowners rights were tried by the district court. The importance of the bear was due to the fact that the bear was a holy animal and was the guardian of future game. In their bear ceremonies the Sami honoured the dead bear, which was usually killed in the spring when it rose from its winter lair and the spring thaw had set in, from which the Finnish words suvi and suoja originate. These words turned into Sami noa words, meaning the bear itself, the hunter or his wife etc. Detecting the background of these words makes it possible to interpret such Sami terms as suije, sueje and söiwe used in connection with ceremonies referred to in old documents. Therefore sueie, or ’a spirit of prophecy’ in a text from the 17th Century seems to have its origin in the belief in the guardian spirit of the bear. We know that the guardian spirits of animals are often transformed into the personal spirits of shamans.
Distributive clauses contain one or more distributive phrases, i.e. phrases quantified with distributive pronouns such as goabbat ‘each (of two)’, goabbáge id., guhtet ‘each (of more than two)’ and guhtege id. The quantified phrases may bind possessive suffixes as in the sentence Sii válde guhtet vuoján-is ‘Each of them took his/her driving reindeer’ the phrase sii…guhtet ‘each of them’ binds the possessive suffix -is ‘his/her’. The studied idiolects fall into at least three categories with respect to their use of distributive possessive suffixes: (A) The oldest generation uses for all persons distributive suffixes which are formally identical with the third person suffixes: Dii válddiidet guhtet vuoján-is ‘Each of you took her/his (-is PxSg3) driving reindeer’, Moai válddiime goabbat vuoján-is ‘Each of us two took his/her driving reindeer’, Sii válde guhtet vuoján-is ‘Each of them took her/his driving reindeer’; (B) The majority of idiolects in all age classes uses distributive suffixes for the third person only: Moai válddiime goabbat vuoján-eame ‘Each of us two took his/her (-is PxDu2) driving reindeer’, Sii válde guhtet vuoján-is ‘Each of them took her/his (-is PxSg3) driving reindeer’; (C) A few idiolects use no distributive suffixes: Sii válde guhtet vuoján-easet ‘Each of them took his/her (-easet PxPl3) driving reindeer’. The nature and description of binding and agreement relations is discussed together with the concepts of subject and object in the light of North Sami data. It is suggested that the nominative argument of passive verbs is syntactically rather an object than a subject; furthermore in some active sentence types the subject may be marked with the accusative ending, making it look like an object. There is no subject-object contrast in sentences of either type and hence their subjects can be marked morphologically and their objects left unmarked without loss of clarity.
Sámenissonat, «árbevierru» ja veahkaválddi hámit
In indigenous communities worldwide, patriarchal ways of thinking and laws have changed traditional gender roles in many ways. Patriarchal thinking has often first made inroads to indigenous communities by means of Christianity. This article considers some of these changes in relation to Sami women in the context of individual and collective autonomy. More specifically, the article critically examines the notion of tradition, especially the ways in which it is employed to the roles and expectations of indigenous women to sometimes consciously limit women’s societal and political participation. As an example, the article discusses Sami women’s political participation in some contemporary Sami bodies such as the Norwegian Sami Parliament and argues that “tradition” can become an effective form of symbolic violence while patriarchal political discourses and practices can represent a form of structural violence. Another context where the notion of tradition is employed to often dismiss indigenous women’s concerns is violence against women and sexual violence, largely a taboo in contemporary Sami society. Particularly due to Christianity, the sexuality of women has been a major taboo in Sami society. Because of the shame surrounding sexual violence and the tendency to blame women, incidences of rape and sexual harassment have largely remained unreported. The article considers the recent incidents of sexual abuse of Sami girls and some of the public responses and reactions to them, some of which seek to explain them through Sami traditions and traditional upbringing. The article contextualizes violence in indigenous communities as a part of larger legacy of colonialism that, to a large extent, remains unexamined in Sami society. The article concludes with a brief discussion on equality, power and empowerment and points out possible directions for future research in this area.
The article deals with the transmission of knowledge to children within reindeer husbandry. Reindeer husbandry, in addition to being an industry, is also a livelihood that influences the way children are learning traditionally. This traditional way of learning differs from the regular education system. In reindeer husbandry the context is important in the learning situation. By way of comparison, the teachings of subjects in the school setting are often far from the places to which they belong. Therefore, places where the family herd is at that moment is important. Children have to learn to distinguish between different kinds of reindeer and learn to travel in the landscape in different weather and travelling conditions. All this knowledge is connected to the places. Before children gain enough competence to travel alone, they have to learn to observe significant phenomena in the landscape. Their observations help them to take the right decision in every situation. Many places also have stories that children are told. Stories make places alive especially when the child knows the people who are the main characters in the stories.
Sámi árbevirolaš matematihka diehtu ja máhttu – Akšuvdnadutkamis sámeskuvllas
This article has two goals. On the one hand, to discuss Sami traditional knowledge according to the concepts of counting, locating, measuring, designing, playing and explaining. On the other, to discuss the ongoing action research and school development project in Sami schools. The first part of the article is based on the results of an earlier Master’s thesis. The results are based on interviews with Sami handicraft makers and reindeer herders. The interviews were conducted from the point of a persons´ life story, or from the base of some guiding questions. There are for example several concepts for reindeer herds according to the approximate number of reindeer in the herd, how special reindeer are used as an aid for the counting or approximation, and the measurements and measuring methods that are based on the body. The Master’s thesis is the starting point for the ongoing project. The aim of the project is to start the reformulation of the education in mathematics in Sami schools through school activities, and to discuss challenges and possibilities connected with such a reformulation.
Juoiggus uksan sámi njálmmálaš girjjálašvuhtii – bálggis gillii, identitehtii ja iešárvui
Since the founding of the Sami University College, our students have been able to study the Sami language and Sami literature as separate subjects. One of the main themes of the literature education has been the study of the Sami oral tradition of yoiking – or chanting – because yoiking lies at the core of Sami culture, as well as being an important skill which requires a great deal of knowledge. Through oral literature, we can tell where we came from and share our personal histories and identities as well as the histories of our communities – and attain collective integrity. The oral tradition reflects that which is important for us, and, through language, we express our own world view and values. This world view has grown from our surroundings and from the connection we have with nature and all living creatures. Thus, this paper focuses on how we can use oral indigenous literature in learning our language, strengthening our selfesteem and building up a positive identity.
Copyright (c) 2009 Vuokku Hirvonen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sámi máhttu ja sámi skuvlamáhttu: teorehtalaš geahčastat
The Sami school system in its present state in Norway is founded on the ideas of the national Norwegian school system for basic training. One can certainly question whether such a school is something else other than a kind of adjustment to the national school model, and therefore primarily a kind of administrative solution. The school in its present state also has resolved what kind of knowledge is to be disseminated, and intends by this to fulfil the requirements of becoming a Sami school. On the other hand, the school has its structure and regulations in the western modern tradition, ideals that have certain negative implications for the potential to further develop a school that is based on both Sami traditions and contemporary Sami societal needs. Is it possible then to invent and implement solutions that promote a Sami schooling concept that also integrates a strong mandate which gives legitimacy to desires to manage and transfer Sami knowledge? The article focuses on the challenges of following such a process, ending with the possibility to use a poststructural perspective on curriculum development and ecological metaphors to describe a solution.
«Nubbi» sápmelašvuođas – ođđalágan identitehtat
In this article I discuss how urban Sami people perceive their lives, relationships and positions and how they negotiate the new social, cultural and political situations they experience in urban areas. The aim of this article is to contribute to the discussion on the theory of ethnicity and identity politics. I examine the power structures that urban Sami confront daily and the positions they themselves adopt. I focus on the Sami people who live in the capitals of three states, Finland, Norway and Sweden. They have migrated from Sápmi to cities in different times for different reasons and formed their Sami organizations in the diaspora. My study shows that Sami people have become part of dynamic urban life. The urban Sami organizations, which are no longer marginal, can function as their imagined homes, where they strengthen their cultural traditions and contacts with other Sami people but also with other people. Urban Sami actively redefine and renew the imagined cultural boundaries between the Sami communities and those in the urban areas, for example through the use of new artistic methods or new technologies. In human networks, urban Sami have created and produced new subject positions and social identities. They can be called as johtti maŋŋemodernat, postmodern nomads. Sami migrations and recent global changes have contributed to breaking down the boundaries between the urban areas and Sápmi established by the dominant population but also by the Sami themselves. This has caused a new image of Sami people to appear in the city, not only for the dominant society but also for the Sami native community.
Language technology constitutes the foundation for the necessary infrastructure needed for any language to function in a modern literary society. The Sami languages differ from the languages for which most such technology is developed in two important ways: The body of text available (either Sami or bilingual Sami – majority language) constitutes but a fraction of what is available for Western European state languages, and the Sami languages have morphological structures far more complex than the ones for most of the Western European state languages. The article argues that the answer to this challenge is to build a grammar-based language technology for the Sami languages, and presents ongoing work fulfilling this goal. It is shown how morphophonological processes and inflectional and derivational morphology may be modelled as finite-state transducers, and combined with a syntactic component consisting of context-sensitive constraint grammar rules, to constitute a robust grammatical analyser capable of both analysing running text, and generating any word form. The speech communities of the Sami languages are not large enough to uphold a language technology industry, but the grammar-based language model is interesting for theoretical linguists as well. Practical applications derived from the basic grammatical analysers include spell-checkers, interactive computer-assisted language learning programs, and machine translation.
Copyright (c) 2010 Lene Antonsen, Trond Trosterud
Mainna lágiin galget siiddat joatkahuvvat? Siidda sulladallama gažaldagat
The siida (plural: siiddat) is of both ancient and contemporary interest. Siiddat were and re­ main local Sami communities, which thanks to written sources, we know met and negotiated with trades people and representatives of neighbouring and southern powers centuries ago. The siida even predates these written sources. Nowadays siiddat primarily organize the day-­to-­day practices of reindeer herding and siiddat have undergone major changes primarily due to the growing influence from outside. The main features of this institutions continuity are the existence of siida territories, the mem­bership of Sami families in the siida through generations, the membership also of their animals, and traditional Sami knowledge. Reindeer, or rather in Sami, boazu, has at all times been a member of the siida. Reindeer constituted a minor part of the siida in earlier times, but have been growing in importance over the last three or four centuries. The relations between rein­deer as boazu and the Sami reindeer herder is used as an example to demonstrate elements of the traditional knowledge of reindeer herding Sami and their worldview. The reindeer herding Sami way of thinking stands for a day­-to­-day relation to questions of sustainability and ethics, which I term ‘a siida way of thinking’, as opposed to the economic and ecological modelling encountered in official and administrative thinking and direction. A focus needs to be placed on a clarification of siida land rights, moreover on a protection and realization of the siida right to self­determination in internal affairs, thereby acknowledging the importance and relevance of traditional Sami knowledge. This is decisive for the continuation of the Sami siida system.
This article is an introductory analysis of North Sami snow concepts and snow terminology, their use and definitions. The focus is on concepts used to communicate grazing conditions for reindeer on snow-covered ground. On the basis of terminological theory, and in particular on the basis of six basic elements of practical reindeer herding, the content and use of the most central snow concepts is discussed. The concepts seem to be linked to each other depending on which elements of reindeer herding they are used to describe and communicate. While scientific concepts and their definitions seek to be both clear and independent from their use in different contexts, the terminology of languages embedded in nature tend to carry much content derived from practical use. The article is a demonstration of the challenges everybody will face when attempting to define the conceptual content, because their content comprises both a central meaning, which is often intuitive, and connected to practical use, but also to communicative functions. In this respect, they differ in an important way from terms which have been developed to express scientifically defined concepts. A natural next step will be to compare these concepts with snow concepts developed for scientific use.
Copyright (c) 2010 Inger Marie Gaup Eira, Ole Henrik Magga, Nils Isak Eira
Norgga sámepolitihka molsašupmi ođđa áiggis
Sami politics has throughout the ages been colorful even as the knowledge regarding it has been narrow. People are familiar with some parts of Sami political history. Generally it has been widely discussed that the assimilation policy of the Norwegian state changed as a result of the demonstrations against the hydro power dam project in the Alta river canyon. However, the policy had begun to transmute already during World War II. After the authorities had decided to consider the adoption of an official Sami policy, the Sami Committee was established in 1956. In 1963, the Norwegian Parliament created the basis for a new era of politics toward the Sami people without further altercation. The protection and promotion of the Sami language and culture was from then on the objective of the official Sami policy. The purpose of this article is to evoke an overall understanding based on new research on the transition of Norway’s policies towards the Sami from assimilation to the maintaining of ‘Saminess’. I have gathered the most up-to-date information from documents and through interviews with persons who participated in the actions and activities which took place in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Copyright (c) 2011 Johan Klemet Hætta Kalstad
Johan Turi duddjonmuitalusat ja -vásáhusat
This paper is about the Sami handicraft (duodji) and craftsmanship of Johan Turi as I have chosen to look at Johan Turi’s storytelling through his duodji. What did handicrafts mean to him? What did he want to express by the duodji in different situations? Johan Turi lived in a time when museums started to collect handicrafts from different people, as a means of picturing a people’s characteristics. Did Johan Turi have the same intention as museums with his duodji? To delve deeper into the subject, I have chosen some duodji that have been restored by museums, and investigated related written materials. At the time there was a «handicraft wave» both in Sweden and the rest of Europe. How did this influence the craftsmanship of Johan Turi? Some of his duodji lies at the Nordiska museet (in Stockholm) which were items that Turi made for Emilie Demant-Hatt, who later gave or sold it to the museum. When studying Johan Turi and Emilie Demant-Hatt’s correspondence, I get a certain picture why Turi made an item and why Demant-Hatt ordered it from him. In addition, I use Turi’s book Muitalus sámiid birra (2010 (1910)) as an important source to get closer to the purpose of the duodji and Demant-Hatt’s books. I paid special attention to the chest (giisá) that Turi made. This chest, which ended up in the Nordiska museet contains many different stories, Emilie Demant-Hatt’s relationship with Johan Turi, the stories belonging to the museum, and Johan Turi’s story about his relationship to Emilie Demant-Hatt and to the Sami environment.
It has been difficult for the researchers to define the literary production of Johan Turi, most especially Muitalus sámiid birra (An Account of the Sami), according to «Western» concepts of literature. It cannot be seen as fiction, because he tells stories about «real life». Turi’s main work is not purely autobiographical, because he describes a whole life style and way of thinking through detailed observations. There has been a convention to classify him as a folk artist or a folk writer. My paper tries – even in a playful manner – to apply the concept of ethnographer to describe Turi’s way of representing his own people. Following a common definition, ethnography is a qualitative method examining the cultural systems of different communities. Through field work, the ethnographer acts as a certain kind of translator, interpretator or intermediator between the object and the research results. In my article, I present some research fields of Turi concerning historical and archeological studies, social sciences and folklore. The most basic information in Turi’s book is the close connection between man and nature, especially the animals. Contrary to the lappologist scientists of his time, Turi tried to describe the culture through the experiences and stories of an indigenous people. Using humour and irony as an objectifying method which is well reflected in his multivoiced way of writing, Turi takes flexible perspectives on his research objects. The character of Turi resembles another non-academic writer and researcher, a Finnish contemporary Samuli Paulaharju.
Várjjaga sisabahkkema historjá: Fápmobáiki Várggáid ladni luohti, gonagasa rápmi vai guovllu sámiid ilgadis luohti?
Dát artihkal váldá ovdan Várjjat guovllu seavdnjadeamos áigodaga historjjás, namalassii stáhtaid sisabahkkema áigái ja makkár vugiiguin dat dáhpáhuvai. Finnmárkku nuortadavimus guovllus Sámis lea Dánmárku-Norgga váldegoddi 1300-logu rájes ásahan gávpogiid: Várggáide (jagis 1307) ja Čáhcesullui (jagis 1500). Várggáid sullui huksejuvvui maiddái seammás fápmobáiki Várggáid ladni, man doaibma vuosttažettiin lea leamašan hehttet Ruošša váldegotti leavvama guvlui. Ladni sáhttá jahkečuđiid mielde leamašan uhkádussan guovllu sámiide, go ladni dološ luohti govve balu maid olbmot vissásit dovde, go measta olles 1600-logu áigge čađahuvvojedje Várggáid ladnis noaidevuođaváinnut. Dan oktavuođas váldojedje olu olbmot giddagassii, álggos noaiddit, de nissonat geain eatnasat – maŋŋá ráŋggáštuvvomiid ja illastemiid ladnis – dubmejuvvojedje jápmindollii. Ođđasit áiggis leat dutkit guorahallan ráŋggáštusaid historjjálaš dokumeanttaid, numo riekteprotokollaid ja eará almmolaš gálduid váinnuin. Nu sii leat lokten Várggáid ladni issoras historjjá dán áigge čuovgga ovdii. Várggáid sullui leat maid ceggejuvvon muitovisti váinniid muitotávvaliiguin ja dollaboaldinlatnja muittuhussan fasttes ráŋggáštusain. Lassin ladni surgadis historjái, de háliidan čájehit ahte sámiid jietna lea leamašan jaskkodahtton ladni almmolaš historjjás, vaikko muitotávvalat duođaštit ahte eatnasat geat ráŋggáštuvvojedje ledje guovllu olbmot geat riekteprotokolla dovddastemiin ovdanbukte maiddái sámivuođaset bienaid ja kultuvrralaš iešvuođaid, ja sii ledje mu áddejumi mielde dasto sámit. Danin váldá dát artihkal ovdan Várggáid ladni luođi, mii lea áidna báhcán sámi jietna, dološ luohti mii sámegillii ovdanbuktá mo sámit sáhttet leat vásihan dan, ahte ladni leamaš sullos jahkečuđiid.
Copyright (c) 2025 Mai Britt Utsi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Dán artihkkalis guorahalan sámi ja inuihta realisttalaš nuoraidrománaid queer intersekšuvnnalaš representašuvnna ja identitehtagieđahallama nuorra sámi árvvoštalliid vuostáiváldimiin. Dát temáhtalaš guorahallan ovdanbuktá mo realisma doaibmá girjjálašvuođa gaskaoapmin, ja mo dat boktala lohkki beroštumi queer-áššiide. Teoriijan lea eamiálbmogiid ja sámi intersekšuvnnalaš queer-dutkan ja realisttalaš nuoraidrománaid girjjálaš iešvuođaid dutkan. Š-nuoraidmagasiinna, Girjemiela ja Tjállegoađi árvvoštallit buktet románaid queer váldopersovnnaid vásáhusaid servodatdássái románain Ihpil – Láhppon mánáid bestejeaddji (Skåden 2008), Himlabrand (Åstot 2021) ja Homo Sapienne (Korneliussen 2018 (2014)). Árvvoštalliid vuostáiváldin lea čielga dekoloniála proseassa mas čuvgehit intersekšuvnna gaskal dan ahte leat eamiálbmot ja queer.
Copyright (c) 2025 Saia Marilena Stueng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mii lea sámi sátnevájas? Gielalaš fuomášumit sámi sátnevádjasiid birra
Dávjá atnet sátnevádjasiid álkes cealkkan, dadjanvuohkin dahje sátnin, danin go dat leat álbmoga njálmmálaš dadjanvuogit. Dattetge sátnevádjasiid birra sáhtášii dadjat maid girkoáhčči Augustinus dadjá iežas Dovddastusain (Confessiones, XI, 14, 17) áiggi birra: mii gáddit diehtit mii lea sátnevájas, muhto jos soamis jearrá mis, mii dat lea, de eat šat dieđe. Ja oainnat mii lea dárkilit sátnevájas? Mot doibmet sátnevádjasat, dat «myhtažat», dego daid gohčodeaba Visetti ja Cadiot (2006)? Sápmelaččain leat rikkes sátnevájastradišuvdna ja daid čoakkáldagat. Mot doibmet dát sápmelaš myhtažat gielalaš geahččanguovllus? Dán artihkkala olis ii dieđusge leat vejolaš guorahallat ollislaš láhkai buot sámi sátnevádjasiid, muhto ulbmilin lea guorahallat dárkilit ovtta čoakkáldaga ja buktit ovdan smiehttamušaid das, maid galggašii viiddidit ja čiekŋudit eará dutkamiid bokte. Dás dutkojuvvojit Harald Gaski ja Aage Solbakk čoaggin sátnevádjasat girjjis Jođi lea buoret go oru (Gaski & Solbakk 2011).
Copyright (c) 2025 Guillaume Gibert https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Artihkkalis mii leat guorahallan njeallje davvisámegiela adposišuvnna maid sáhttá geavahit sihke preposišuvdnan ja postposišuvdnan, nu gohčoduvvon ambiposišuvdnan: miehtá, čađa, rastá ja maŋŋel. Mii ovddidit golbma hypotesa suopmaniid, giellatypologiija ja mearkkašumi ektui. Gávdnan dihte ambiposišuvnnaid juohkáseami pre- ja postposišuvdnan, de leat analyseren cealkagiid sihke aviisa- ja čáppagirjjálašvuođateakstačoakkáldagas. Bohtosat čájehit ahte giellageavaheddjiin Suoma bealde ja nuppe dáfus Norgga ja Ruoŧa bealde lea goabbatlágan juohkáseapmi ambiposišuvnnaid geavaheamis. Leat maid erohusat das mo mearkkašumit juohkásit posišuvnna ektui, ja orru leamen giellatypologalaš korrelašuvdna ambiposišuvnnaid loguid ja daid mohkkás geavahusa gaskkas.
Copyright (c) 2012 Lene Antonsen, Laura Janda, Berit Anne Bals Baal
Lánjáid stellen – duddjoma ovdánahttinbargu fenomenologalaš geahčastagas
Dát artihkal lea vuođđuduvvon duodjeovdánahttinprošektii, maid lean čađahan Sámi allaskuvllas jagiid 2010–2012, ja mii de lea oassi empiriijas. Báikkit, ávdnasat ja muđui vásáhusat mat bohtet muitui, leat gávnnadeamit mat buktet bohtosiid, ja dat sáhttet leat áibbas eará go dat maid lei álgoálggus jurddašan duddjot. Dát gávnnadeamit leat rumašlaččat. Artihkkala čuolbma lea mo duddjon ja duojára vásáhusat deaivvadit ja mii dan deaivvadeamis lea boađusin. Lean geavahan Merleau-Ponty (1994, 2012 (1962)) čállosiid rumašlaš fenomenologiija birra go lean geahččalan áddet mii lea su mielas rumašlaš vásáhus dahje eallinmáilmmi gamus dovdan, ja suokkardalan dan ektui mo iežan duddjonvásáhusaid sáhttá čilget fenomenologalaš lahkonanvugiin.