Ter Sámi
Nearly extinct Uralic language
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Ter Sámi is the easternmost of the Sámi languages. It was traditionally spoken in the northeastern part of the Kola Peninsula, but now it is a moribund language; in 2004, only ten speakers were left. By 2011, the number of speakers had decreased to two.[3][1] Other estimates counted about 30 Ter Sámi speakers in Murmansk Oblast, as well as in St. Petersburg, in 2007. The mean age of the youngest Ter Sámi speakers at that time was 50.[4]
30 (2007)
| Ter Sámi | |
|---|---|
| saa´mekiill са̄мькӣлл | |
| Native to | Russia |
| Region | Murmansk Oblast, St. Petersburg |
| Ethnicity | Kola Sámi |
Native speakers | 2 (2011)[1] 30 (2007) |
Uralic
| |
| 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) | |
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 Soviet collectivisation, in the 1930s, and the largest Ter Sámi village, Yokanga, was declared "perspectiveless" and its inhabitants were forced to move to the Gremikha military base.[5]
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
- All consonants except for /j/ may be palatalized [ʲ].
- Consonants /t, d/ can also sound as half-palatalized.
Vowels
Writing system
A spelling system for Sámi languages using the Latin alphabet and based on Skolt Sámi was developed in the 1930s.[9] Oktyabrina Voronova published the only poetry booklet in Ter Sámi in 1989 using an orthography based on the Cyrillic Kildin Sámi orthography of 1982.[10]
| 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, Nominative, Genitive, Accusative, Essive, Inessive-Lative, Dative-Illative, Abessive, and Comitative.[11]
| 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 UPA)
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 |
