Smi and minority languages in the Nordic region

Sámi and minority languages in the Nordic region April 1 st 2016

Last 40 years: Increased interest in ethnicity - Increased focus on ethnic conflicts - Increase in migration and immigration within and into Europe - A new concept of the nation, ”new” ideal of pluralism

ECRML: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages This treaty aims to protect and promote the historical regional or minority languages of Europe. It was adopted, on the one hand, in order to maintain and to develop the Europe's cultural traditions and heritage, and on the other, to respect an inalienable and commonly recognised right to use a regional or minority language in private and public life. First, it enunciates objectives and principles that Parties undertake to apply to all the regional or minority languages spoken within their territory: respect for the geographical area of each language; the need for promotion; the facilitation and/or encouragement of the use of regional or minority languages in speech and writing, in public and private life (by appropriate measures of teaching and study, by transnational exchanges for languages used in identical or similar form in other States). Further, the Charter sets out a number of specific measures to promote the use of regional or minority languages in public life. These measures cover the following fields: education, justice, administrative authorities and public services, media, cultural activities and facilities, economic and social activities and transfrontier exchanges. Each Party undertakes to apply a minimum of thirty-five paragraphs or sub-paragraphs chosen from among these measures, including a number of compulsory measures chosen from a "hard core". Moreover, each Party has to specify in its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval, each regional or minority language, or official language which is less widely used in the whole or part of its territory, to which the paragraphs chosen shall apply. Enforcement of the Charter is under control of a committee of experts which periodically examines reports presented by the Parties. http: //conventions. coe. int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/148. htm

Denmark (Danish, German) – The Faroe Islands (Faroese, Danish) – Greenland (Inuit/Greenlandic (and Danish)) Finland (Finnish and Swedish are national languages. Sámi has official status in some areas. The Sami, Romani and other peoples have the right to maintain and develop their language (Romani, Russian, Tatar, Yiddish, Karelian) and culture + right to use sign language) – Åland Islands (Swedish) Sweden (Swedish + six official minority languages: Finnish, Meänkieli (Torne Valley Finnish), Sami, Yiddish, Romani Chib and Swedish sign language) Norway (Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk) + languages with different degrees of official status: Norwegian Sami (three written languages: Northern Sami, Lule Sami and Southern Sami), Kven, Romani, Romanes and Norwegian sign language) Iceland: Icelandic In addition: heterogeneous immigrant groups. Sorce: http: //www. norden. org/en/fakta-om-norden-1/language

Official state languages and regional or minority languages with official status in Europe, 2004

Languages used in different countries (2014)

Ethnic Revival • Sámi movement began in 1950 s and has become more vigorous; struggle against the Alta dam in 1970 s and 1980 s led to massive protests and organization; they lost the battle but got increased public support to Sámi issues: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=g 9 Jeb 2 XCGq 0 • Greenlandic movement following WWII, but picking up in the 1960 s and 1970 s • Tornedalian/Kven movement in 1970 s/80 s

Minority Movements as Emancipation Politics • Emancipation politics restructures hierarchies • In Nordic countries these are gradual reformations, not revolutions • 19 th c nationalism emancipated Faroese, Finnish, and Norwegian, which had previously been dominated by Swedish and Danish • But as some identities were formed, they in turn persecuted others, targeting them with assimilation policies

Language and Identity in Nordic Countries • Ethnic revival: – Arctic minorities (Sámi & Tornedalian/Kven) in Norway, Sweden, Finland – Sweden Finns (Finnish immigrants in Sweden; 400 K, an urban minority)

Ethnic Minorities in the Arctic Areas • Multiculturalism and multilingualism was the norm • Late 19 th c countries adopted assimilation policies • Modernization after WWII: schooling (often boarding schools), transportation, media – integrated Arctic into the nation-states

Ethnic Minorities in the Arctic Areas • Læstadianism (religious movement) promoted minority languages and opposed modernization & assimilation (Lars Levi Læstadius) • Building of the welfare state addressed poverty and inequality by treating all the same > assimilation • Modernization did not come at the same time everywhere – in coastal areas where it came earlier, there was more assimilation/loss of language – where it came later, ethnic revival came soon enough to save culture

Ethnic Minorities in the Arctic Areas • Ethnic revival redefined democracy to include pluralism, guaranteeing right to ethnic identity along with citizenship • 1970 s – realization that modernization was destroying the environment • Minority cultures gained respect for their knowledge of sustainable use of the Arctic

On Identity Strategies and Language • Many minority people have migrated out of traditional areas to cities, where there is less access to minority language in school • Great individual variation between ethnic activists who choose to use minority language and others who try to cover up their ethnicity

On Identity Strategies and Language • What is the “real” minority culture? Is it confined to the old traditions of previous generations? • Stereotype of minority culture focuses on the past, not on the present reality, creating a tension • Minorities’ right to modernize without compromising their identity

On the Identity of the Group and the Language • Establishment of ethnonyms – Rehabilitation of formerly pejorative “Kven” – “Lapp” > “Sámi” • Development of written languages • Acknowledgement of status of languages – Kven/Tornedalian as a separate language, not a dialect of Finnish

The Sweden Finns • Debate and confusion over bilingualism – Studies showed benefits of bilingualism, but – Parents were often encouraged to use majority language with children, even if they spoke it badly • 1976 Swedish Home Language Reform – immigrant & minority children have right to receive instruction in the language that is “a living part of the home environment” – But in reality, this policy was assimilationist, merely providing transition to majority language – 1980 s– 90 s both activist and anti-pluralist groups have gained strength and home-language instruction has been reduced – “Swedish-only” ideology and recession

Sweden Finnish: Minority Identity • Sweden Finns are the largest minority group in Scandinavia, and Swedish-Finnish cooperation is historically strong, yet Sweden Finns are strongly stigmatized, despite support from EU and even from Swedes in Finland • Proposed creation of Sweden Finnish Parliament (like Finland Swedish Parliament and the Sámi Parliaments) • Some have tried to establish private schools for Finnish in Sweden • 1975 Sweden Finnish Language Board deals with issues of variance from standard Finnish

Ethnic Languages and Minority Populations • Scandinavian speakers (Swedes, Danes, Norwegians) share a linguistic unity, all others are in a linguistically weaker situation • Debate over the role of English as a language of Nordic cooperation

- four colours known as "the Sámi (national) colours“ - motif derived from a sun/moon symbol appearing on many shaman's drums: blue representing the moon, red representing the sun - motif was chosen with the poem "Päiven parneh" ("Sons of the Sun") in mind: The poem describes the Sámi as "sons and daughters of the sun“ - in 2003, the Sámi flag received official status in Norway. It is now compulsory for municipalities in Norway to fly the flag on February 6, the Sámi National Day

Sámi • Northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula, in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia (Sápmi) • Retreated under pressure from Germanic, Balto-Finnic and Slavonic peoples 15 th-16 th Century

Sápmi

Linguistic heritage of the Sámi • The Sámi language belongs to the Finno. Ugrian branch of the Uralic language family • Closest linguistic relative is Finnish • Not all Sámi speak Sámi

Sámi languages and dialects • Speakers of contiguous dialects usually understand each other • Three dialect groups: Northern, Southern, and Eastern • Estimates for dialects are rough (no official statistics, and cross state borders)

• Abstandsprache ‘language by distance’ • Ausbausprache ‘language by development’

Dárogiella/ Norwegian (Bm) mamma jeg menneske bra tørr Swedish mamma jag människa bra torr Danish mamma jeg menneske god tør Máttasámegiella/ South Sámi tjidtjie manne almetje buerie gejhkie Julevsámegiella/ Lule Sámi eadnie mån ulmusj buorre gájkes Davvisámegiella/ Northern Sámi eadni mun olmmoš buorre goikkis Anárašsámegiella/ enni Inari Sámi mun olmmooš šiev koškes Golttásámegiella/ Skolt Sámi mon áálmaž šiegg káá´škes s munn olma šig koaššk jienn Gielddasámegiella jienn / Kildin Sámi

Endangered languages in Norway UNESCO defines four levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct": Vulnerable, Definitely endangered, Severely endangered and Critically endangered Language Status Lule Saami language Severely endangered North Saami language Pite Saami language Skolt Saami language South Saami language Yiddish language Comments Also spoken in: Sweden Also spoken in: Finland, Russia, Definitely endangered Sweden Critically endangered Also spoken in: Sweden Severely endangered Also spoken in: Finland, Russia Severely endangered Also spoken in: Sweden Definitely endangered Also spoken in: Germany, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Ukraine https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_endangered_languages_in_Europe#Norway

Dialects and numbers of speakers • Northern Sámi dialect group (in Northern Norway, with some in Sweden & Finland) – Northern Sámi: 30, 000 (75% of all Sámi speakers) – Pite Sámi: 20 – Lule Sámi: 2, 000 • Southern Sámi dialect group (central Norway & Sweden) – Southern Sámi: 500 – Ume Sámi: 20

Dialects and numbers of speakers • Eastern Sámi dialect group (Northern Norway, Finland, Russia) – Inari Sámi: 400 (Finland) – Skolt Sámi: 300 (Norway & Russia) – Kildin Sámi: 800 (only Sámi spoken in Russia with a written form) – Akkala Sámi: 8 (Russia) – Ter Sámi: 6 (Russia)

Countries and numbers of speakers • Norway: as many as 40, 000 ethnic Sámi, and perhaps 20, 000 speakers • Sweden: about 17, 000 ethnic Sámi, and 5, 000 speakers • Finland: about 6, 500 ethnic Sámi, and 3, 000 speakers • Russia: about 2, 000 ethnic Sámi, and less than 1, 000 speakers

https: //www. ssb. no/map/PXi. Map. asp? PXfile=201521715 2849764339642 Elev. Maal. Form. px&Temp. Path=/statistikk banken/temp/&language=1&Session. Name=323 bcc 28

Support for Sámi language • Best support is in Norway, with best financing • Education is the most important factor, and can stimulate improvements in language use among adults also • The greatest problem is the shortage of teachers

History of Sámi language education • Protestant and Orthodox missionary activities • During missionary period, Sámi boys were educated in their own language (in Lycksele Sweden and Trondheim Norway) so that they could conduct missionary work among their people • Sámi education was the responsibility of the church

Sámi language standardization • Early attempts (17 th c) to create a standard focused on Lule and Ume dialects of Sámi were unsuccessful • Knud Leem (missionary) created a Northern Sámi grammar (1748), a small dictionary (1768), and a dictionary in Sámi. Latin-Danish (1781)

Sámi language standardization: Alphabet • Leem (and other pioneers) used letter combinations for Sámi sounds not present in Scandinavian languages • 1832 Danish linguist Rasmus Rask, suggestions of special characters for Sámi phonemes • 1840 Nils Vibe Stockfleth added letters to Sámi alphabet: ž, č, š, ŧ

Sámi language standardization • 1951 Norway & Sweden agrees on spelling for North Sámi: phonetically based, based on Stockfleth. Finland adapts Friis’ alphabet to Finnish orthography • 1978 Norway, Sweden & Finland Sámi agree on a common orthography

Sámi language standardization • A literary standard has been developed for Lule Sámi since 1890, and a common Lule Sámi orthography has been used in Norway and Sweden since 1983 • There has been relatively little (or no) development of literary standards for the remaining Sámi dialects • In Russia, Latin alphabet was used in 1933 -35, and since then Cyrillic

History of Sámi language education • In 18 th c local schools established in Norway and Sweden, but these were in conflict with nomadic Sámi lifestyle • From mid-19 th c there was intense Norwegianization (fornorsking) and children were taken to boarding schools • Intense Norwegian assimilation policy in place until 1959, but practiced into the 1970 s

History of Sámi language education • In Sweden the language of education depended upon the majority language and there were special nomad schools • Finland never pursued an assimilation policy • Sámi joined the resistance against German occupation and were more appreciated after WWII

History of Sámi language education • Norway: – 1959: Use of Sámi as a secondary teaching language is legalized – 1969: Use of Sámi with children of Sámispeaking parents is legalized – 1975: Use of Sámi as both first and second language in education is legalized

History of Sámi language education • Sweden: – 1950 s Sámi language classes introduced as a subject in the nomad schools – 1964 Sámi lower secondary school established in Gällivare • Finland: – Early 1970 s use of Sámi in schools, but it was never previously forbidden either

Sámi language education (90 s) • Norway: – Situation is best, but there is a shortage of qualified Sámi teachers – In 1994/95 1, 698 children received education in Sámi • Sweden: – In 1992 123 students received education in Sámi, and only in the nomad schools • Finland – In 1993, about 600 children received education in Sámi • Russia – In 1992, 217 students went to the only school with Sámi, but they came from several ethnicities and Russian was the lingua franca

Education about and in Sámi • In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, there are special Sámi areas where schooling in and through Sámi is provided • Sámi education outside of those areas is restricted, and virtually all of it is about Sámi, not in Sámi • Approximately 50% of the Sámi people live outside the designated Sámi areas

Sámi language in higher education • Sami programs at universities are mostly located outside Sámi homeland – Sweden, Umea U Sámi chair since 1974 – Sámi courses offered within Finno-Ugrian linguistics in Uppsala and Oslo, and at Helsinki – Norway, Tromsø U Sámi chair since 1986 – Finland U of Lapland Sámi Lecturer since 1979; Sámi department in U of Oulu – All these locations have library holdings, and there is an international cooperative Nordic Sámi Bibliography project

Sámi High Schools • Norway, Sweden, and Finland • Boarding schools for adults, focusing on Sámi language, history, culture, and traditional crafts

Sámi media • Books: – The majority of books have been produced in Norway since 1976, but there is a shortage of textbooks • Newspapers: – Eight newspapers have been published in Norway since 1873 and all are now subsidized – A few monthly magazines are also published in Norway, Sweden, and Finland

Sámi media • Radio and TV – Norway, Sweden, and Finland all have broadcasts in Sámi, and in the majority languages about Sámi issues – Broadcasts are nearly all in Northern Sámi, though NRK has some programming in Southern and Lule Sámi

Cultural icon for Sámi self-determination: Samegutten Ante (‘Ante (The boy from Lapland’): sold to 23 distributors (among them BBC) https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=IL 1 k. EPkzl. Xk http: //tv. nrk. no/serie/oddasat-tv

Sámi literature • 1906 Isak Saba Sámi soga lávlla, declared the Sámi national anthem in 1986 • 1910 Johan Turi Tale of the Sámi (a novel) • 1912 Anders Larsen Daybreak (a novel) • 1915 Pedar Jalvi Snowflakes (collection of stories and poems) • Still the output of Sámi literature in 20 th c was very low until 1970 s

Sámi theater • Sámi protest against the Alta dam project in late 1970 s led to establishment of Beaivváš Sámi Teáhter in 1981 and Sámi theater organization for Norway, Sweden, and Finland • Dramas based on Sámi mythology, history, and folk tales, plus international repertoire

Sámi art Duodji Nils-Aslak Valkeapää

Sámi music (joik) • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a. Yev. BLUtu. Lc • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=mqu 2 MGX 7 A_Y

Signs in public places • Both Norway and Finland have Language Acts requiring bilingual signage, but this is often lacking even in core Sámi areas • In Norway, Sámi signposts were often destroyed and petitions against use of Sámi are still presented regularly

Are things getting better? Discussion in Tromsø 2011: Do we want Tromsø to be part of the administrative area for Sami languages? Summary of the debate in Norwegian: http: //forskning. no/content/samisktilstedevaerelse-i-tromso

Kvensk • Finnish immigrants in Troms and Finnmark from the 16 th Century • Status as a minority language • Linguistic rights in the school system • Kvensk department : http: //www. kvenskinstitutt. no/ • Norsk-kvensk ordbok: http: //sanat. oahpa. no/nob/fkv/

Tornedalsfinsk/ Meänkieli • This variety of Finnish is an original language in Sweden • It is not a result of immigration, but where the border between the states was drawn • Lost contact with Finnish in Finland after 1809 (Finland under Russian rule) – own development in grammar and lexicon • Influenced by Sámi and Swedish • 25 000 - 75 000 users • Web course in Meänkieli: http: //www. ur. se/meankielenkursi/ • Novel by Mikael Niemi (and a movie): Popular Music from Vittula

Max Weinreich • “A language is a dialect with an army and navy” • https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_wi th_an_army_and_navy • http: //www. rbnett. no/meninger/Kronikk/2016/04/09/Romsdalsk-%E 2%80%93 -likegjerne-eit-eige-spr%C 3%A 5 k-eller-ein-svensk-dialekt-12574463. ece

The flag's creator described the white stripe as representing the glaciers and ice cap, which cover more than 80% of the island; the red stripe, the ocean; the red semicircle, the sun, with its bottom part sunk in the ocean; and the white semicircle, the icebergs and pack ice. The design is also reminiscent of the setting sun half-submerged below the horizon and reflected on the sea. https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Flag_of_Greenland

Inuit Spoken in Alaska, Canada, Greenland. 1750: Poul Egede Foundations for written standard: published a Kalaallisut–Danish– Latin dictionary (1750), a revised Kalaallisut catechism (1756), and a Kalaallisut grammar (1760), as well as a number of other books concerning the language As for Sámi: Standards created by non-native speakers! 1851: Samuel Kleinschmidt • • German/Danish missionary linguist born in Greenland published a Greenlandic-German dictionary and a grammar invented the orthography used until 1973 translated parts of the Bible into Greenlandic

Post WWII: new generation of Greenlanders with university education. 1960 s: cultural and linguistic autonomy movement 1970 s: Inuit language cultivation, conducted by Greenlanders. 1973: reformed spelling 1979: Greenland granted home rule, Greenlandic as official language

Greenlandic today • 45 000 speakers • Majority speaking west Greenlandic http: //www. greenland. com/da/om-groenland/kultur-sjael/mode/

Other Indo-European languages

Romani (Indo-Iranian) • Scandinavian Romani: a creolized language, in Scandinavia for the last 500 years • Used by the Romani people (old and derogatory terms: ”Travellers” and in Norwegian “tatere”) – a nomadic people that emigrated from northern parts of India in the 14 th C. They came to Norway around 1500. • Romani has today Scandinavian phonology and morphology

Romani as ”secret” language • Viewed and used as a ”secret” language • Romani people were considered “low caste”: Norwegian as first language, but learned Romani at home and used it to communicate internally • Limited vocabulary: hardly possible to have a conversation today without mixing in Norwegian words • A couple of thousand users in Norway today → an endangered language

Description of Norwegian Romani • First dictionary made by the criminal Gjest Baardsen (not a Romani himself) • 1850: Book about the Romani people in Norway written by the social scientist and theologian Eilert Sundt, with one chapter describing the language and a word list • 1944: First big dictionary: “The Romany language in Norway” by linguist Ragnvald Iversen • 2014: Linguist Rolf Theil formulated the orthography used in the first book published in Romani: Vandriane rakkrar

Recognition of Romani?

Romanés (Indo-Iranian) • a more ”recent” language in the Nordic region: immigration followed the abolition of slavery in the Balkans from 1850 • Language used by the Rom people (old and derogatory term: the Gypsies) • Standard spelling created for education, but new wave in standardization followed ECRL • Many dialects in Europe • Has preserved it’s old grammar • Romanés and Romani are not mutually intelligible (Abstandsprache)

"Flag of the Romani people" by Adi. Japan - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http: //commons. wikimedia. org/wiki/File: Flag_of_the_Romani_people. svg#/media/File: Flag_of_the_Rom ani_people. svg NB! This is the international term Romani people (= Roma, Gypsies)