Ter Sámi
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Ethnicity | Kola Sámi |
---|---|
Native speakers | 2 (2011)[1] 30 (2007) |
| |
Latin script (historical), Cyrillic script (current) [2] | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | sjt |
Glottolog | ters1235 |
ELP | Ter Saami |
![]() Ter Sami language area (red) within Sápmi (grey) | |
![]() Ter Sámi is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010) |
Ter Sámi is the easternmost of the

History

In the end of the 19th century, there were six Ter Sámi villages in the eastern part of the Kola Peninsula, with a total population of approximately 450. In 2004, there were approximately 100 ethnic Ter Sámi of whom two elderly persons speak the language; the rest have shifted their language to Russian.[5]
The rapid decline in the number of speakers was caused by
Documentation
There are no educational materials or facilities in Ter Sámi, and the language has no standardized orthography. The language is incompletely studied and documented, though text specimens and audio recordings as well as dictionaries for linguistic purposes exist.[6][7]
Phonology
Consonants
Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive
|
p b | d
|
k ɡ | |||
Affricate
|
t͡s d͡z | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | ||||
Fricative
|
f v | s z | ʃ ʒ | x | h | |
Nasal | m | n
|
ŋ | |||
(Lateral)
|
j | |||||
l
|
||||||
Trill | r
|
- All consonants except for /j/ may be palatalized [ʲ].
- Consonants /t, d/ can also sound as half-palatalized.
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | i | iː | ɨ | ɨː | u | uː |
Mid | ɛ | o | ||||
Open | a | aː | ɔ |
Writing system
A spelling system for Ter Sámi using the Latin alphabet and based on Skolt Sámi was developed in the 1930s.[9] After the Second World War, this was replaced by a system using the Cyrillic alphabet, and based on Kildin Sámi.[10] This system was used by the Sámi poet Oktyabrina Voronova.[11]
А а | Ӓ ӓ | Б б | В в | Г г | Д д | Е е | Ё ё | Ж ж |
З з | И и | Й й | К к | Л л | Ӆ ӆ | М м | Ӎ ӎ | Н н |
Ӊ ӊ | Ӈ ӈ | О о | П п | Р р | Ҏ ҏ | С с | Т т | У у |
Ф ф | Х х | Ц ц | Ч ч | Ш ш | Ъ ъ | Ы ы | Ӹ ӹ | Ь ь |
Ҍ ҍ | Э э | Ӭ ӭ | Ю ю | Я я |
Morphology
Ter Sámi has 8 cases,
case | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
NOM | - | change of the main part of word |
GEN | change of the main part of word | change of the main part of word |
ACC | change of the main part of word | t |
ESS | n | n |
INE | s't | n |
DAT | a, i | t |
ABE | ta | ta |
COM | n | k'em, g'em |
Examples of the genitive
(in the
abre' paл = raining cloud
pɛci̮ pal'čemi̮š = slaughter of deer
taja oлmi̮j = German inhabitant
tara parnɛ = Russian boys
Plurals
In the nominative case, the base word changes when a plural is made.
Word | Meaning | Plural | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
mi̮rr | forest | mi̮r | forests |
k'iлл | language | k'iл | languages |
šiɛn'n' | swamp | šiɛn' | swamps |
tast | star | taast | stars |
The word ku 'who' in the cases.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | ku | kogg |
Genitive | konn | kojt |
Accusative | konn | kojt |
Essive | kon'n'in | kojn |
Inessive | kon'n'es't | kojn |
Dative | kon'n'i | kojt |
Abessive | konta | kojta |
Comitative | kon'in | kojgujm |
Vocabulary
Ter Sámi | Latin transcription | English gloss |
---|---|---|
выэййвэ | vɨejjve | head |
ныкчым | nɨkčɨm | tongue |
кидт | kidt | hand |
лоннҍт | lonn't | bird |
чадце | čadc'e | water |
ке̄ддҍкэ | kiedd'ke | stone |
аббьрэ | abb're | rain |
толл | toll | fire |
Notes
- ^ OCLC 755168782.
- ^ "Ter Sámi alphabet, pronunciation and language". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Nilsen, Thomas (2010-02-19). "Sami languages disappears". Barent's Observer. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ISBN 978-3-932406-26-3.
- ^ a b Tiuraniemi Olli: "Anatoli Zaharov on maapallon ainoa turjansaamea puhuva mies", Kide 6 / 2004.
- Société Finno-Ougrienne, 1958.
- Memoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne60
- ^ Tereškin, Sergej N. (2002). Jokan'gskij dialekt Saamskogo Jazyka. Sankt Petersburg: Rossijskij Gosudarstvennyj pedagogičeskij Universitet imeni.
- ^ "Ter Sámi language, alphabet and pronunciation". omniglot.com. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ "Ter Sami alphabet, pronunciation and language". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ Rießler, Michael (2018). "Kola Sámi literature (Kildin Sámi, Ter Sámi, Akkala Sámi)". In: "Čálli giehta olla guhkás" A writing hand reaches further ({S}ámi proverb) Johanna Domokos (ed.). Helsinki: Yhdenvertaisen kulttuurin puolesta ry, pp. 73–78.
- ^ Tereškin, Sergej (2002). . Йоганьгский диалект саамского языка. Saint Petersburg.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Tersamisk - Allkunne". www.allkunne.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2021-01-24.
External links
Media related to Ter Sami language at Wikimedia Commons
- Ter saami dictionary
- Die Struktur der Nominalphrase im Tersaamischen (in German)
- Koltan- ja kuolanlapin sanakirja (dictionary in German, contains Ter Saami)
- Koltan- ja kuolanlappalaisia satuja (texts in Kola Saami languages, includes Ter Saami)