Seminar: "Saami languages in time and space"

The Saami language? No, Saami languageS!

Saami is often mistaken for a single language, when in reality, it is a diverse group of ten living or recently extinct languages spoken across Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. The course “Saami Languages in Time and Space” shifts the focus from a generalized view to the rich linguistic diversity within this group.

Since the breakup of Proto-Saami (around 200–800 AD), different communities have developed distinct varieties. While neighboring Saami languages remain mutually intelligible, those at opposite ends of the continuum can be strikingly different.

This semester, our doctoral researcher Ilya Egorov will guide students through an exploration of Saami linguistic diversity—both its current state and historical evolution. Topics include unique phonological and morphosyntactic features, such as trinary quantitative oppositions, voiceless sonorants, extensive non-linear morphology, and case syncretism. We will also explore idiosyncratic patterns in tense, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and non-finite verb forms. On the historical side, the course covers internal reconstruction, external comparison, ancient loanword analysis, convergent processes, (de)grammaticalization, and the borrowing of bound morphemes.

Join us to explore the fascinating world of Saami languages!