Southern Sámi
Southern or South Sámi (Southern Sami: åarjelsaemien gïele; Norwegian: sørsamisk; Swedish: sydsamiska) is the southwesternmost of the Sámi languages, and is spoken in Norway and Sweden. It is an endangered language; the strongholds of this language are the municipalities of Snåsa, Røyrvik, Røros (Trøndelag, Central Norway) and Hattfjelldal (Nordland, Northern Norway) in Norway. Of the approximately 2000 Southern Sami, only about 500 still speak fluent Southern Sami. This language belongs to the Saamic group within the Uralic language family.
| Southern Sámi | |
|---|---|
| åarjelsaemien gïele | |
| Region | Norway, Sweden |
Native speakers | (600 cited 1992) |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Norway |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | sma |
| ISO 639-3 | sma |
| Glottolog | sout2674 |
| ELP | South Saami |
Southern Sami language area (red) within Sápmi (grey) | |
South Saami is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010) | |
In Sweden, Saami is one of five recognized minority languages, but the term "Saami" comprises different Saami varieties/languages but these different Saamic languages are not individually recognized, and in Norway South Saami is recognized as a minority language in its own right.
It is possible to study Southern Sámi at Nord University in Levanger, Umeå University in Umeå, and Uppsala University in Uppsala. In 2018, two master's degrees were written in the language at Umeå University. Language courses are also offered in different Sámi language centres throughout the south Sámi area.