The Sami Alphabet

There are approximately 10 Sami languages ^[1], each a distinct language: Northern Sami, Southern Sami, Lule Sami, Skolt Sami, Inari Sami, Kildin Sami, and others. When people say "Sami language" or "Sami alphabet" without specification, they usually mean Northern Sami — the most widely spoken Sami language with about 25,000 speakers.

The name "Sami" without qualification is sometimes used for the Sami people and their language collective, not a specific language. The proper name for the most widely spoken variety is Northern Sami (Davvisámegiella). Each Sami language has its own orthography and is distinct enough to be mutually unintelligible with the others.

The Northern Sami alphabet has six unique letters ^[2] not found in English: Á (open back vowel), Č (ch-sound), Đ (voiced dental fricative), Ŋ (velar nasal), Š (sh-sound), and Ž (zh-sound). These represent sounds fundamental to Sami phonology.

The Ŋ (eng) is particularly distinctive — it represents the ng-sound in "sing" as a standalone letter that can appear word-initially in Sami. In English, this sound never appears at the start of a word, making Sami words like Ŋga or ŋilˈˈa phonologically striking to English speakers.

Yes — Sami languages and Finnish both belong to the Uralic language family ^[1]. They share a common ancestor, Proto-Uralic, spoken roughly 5,000–6,000 years ago. Within Uralic, Samic and Finnic are the two most closely related branches — together forming the Finno-Samic subgroup.

Despite this relationship, Sami and Finnish have been separate for 2,000–3,000 years and are not mutually intelligible. Common ancestry is visible in cognate words — numbers, body parts, basic verbs — but centuries of separate phonological development and different loanword sources have created substantial differences in sound, vocabulary, and some grammatical structures.

The total number of speakers of all Sami languages combined is estimated at approximately 20,000–30,000 ^[1], with Northern Sami having about 25,000 speakers — by far the largest group. The next largest Sami languages, Lule Sami and Southern Sami, have around 2,000 and 500 speakers respectively.

Northern Sami is the only Sami language with a growing or stable speaker community. Most other Sami languages are severely or critically endangered. Sami-medium schooling, NRK Sápmi (Norwegian broadcasting), and the political work of the Sami Parliaments have helped revitalise Northern Sami after severe declines during 20th century assimilation policies.

The ISO 639-3 code for Northern Sami (the most commonly meant language when "Sami" is used without qualification) is sme ^[2]. Other Sami languages have separate ISO codes: sma (Southern Sami), smj (Lule Sami), sms (Skolt Sami), smn (Inari Sami).

In Glottolog, Northern Sami is classified under the Samic branch of Uralic. The code sme is used in language databases, digital platforms, and minority language legal frameworks across Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The Sámediggi (Sami Parliament of Norway) ^[3] is the principal authority for Northern Sami language policy in Norway.

"Sami" by itself is an ambiguous term that can refer to the Sami people as a whole, the Sami language family (approximately 10 distinct languages), or — most commonly in general usage — specifically to Northern Sami, the largest Sami language ^[2]. "Northern Sami" is the precise academic and official term; "Sami" alone is the shorthand used in everyday language when context makes the reference clear.

The Sami language family includes Northern Sami, Southern Sami (~600 speakers), Lule Sami, Inari Sami, Skolt Sami, and several other varieties ^[1]. These are not mutually intelligible — a speaker of Northern Sami cannot understand Southern Sami without study. The Sámediggi ^[3] supports all Sami language varieties, but Northern Sami is the most resourced and widely spoken, making "Sami" the default shorthand for it in international contexts.

Northern Sami is spoken in three countries: Norway (the largest community, primarily in Finnmark, Troms, and Nordland counties), Sweden (primarily in Norrbotten County), and Finland (primarily in the municipalities of Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä, and Utsjoki) ^[3]. The total speaker population is approximately 25,000.

The traditional Sami homeland — Sápmi — spans this cross-border region and includes not only Northern Sami territory but also the territories of other Sami language communities ^[1]. Kautokeino (Guovdageaidnu) and Karasjok (Kárášjohka) in Norway are considered the cultural centres of Northern Sami, with a high concentration of speakers, Sami-medium schools, and Sami cultural institutions. The Sámediggi (Sami Parliament) is headquartered in Karasjok.

The modern Northern Sami orthography was standardised in 1979 ^[3] through an agreement between Norway, Sweden, and Finland, creating a unified writing system for the language across all three countries. This was a landmark achievement — previously, different orthographic conventions were used in each country, making written exchange difficult and fragmenting the literary tradition.

The 1979 standard introduced the six unique letters Á, Č, Đ, Ŋ, Š, Ž ^[2] that distinguish Northern Sami from all the national alphabets of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The Sámediggi oversees maintenance and updates to the orthographic standard. Since 1979, Northern Sami literacy rates have improved and written literature, journalism, and digital content in the language have grown substantially.

Northern Sami is classified as vulnerable by UNESCO — the most positive status in UNESCO's endangerment scale below "safe". With approximately 25,000 speakers ^[2], it is by far the largest Sami language and has official status in Sami municipalities of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is taught in Sami schools, used in broadcasting, and supported by the Sámediggi and equivalent bodies.

Despite this relatively strong position, Northern Sami faces ongoing pressures from the dominant languages of all three host countries ^[3]. Urban migration moves young speakers away from Sami-speaking communities. Language shift to Norwegian, Swedish, or Finnish has occurred across multiple generations, and many families who historically spoke Northern Sami have lost fluency. The Sámediggi's language programs aim to reverse this trend through education, media, and cultural support for the speaker community.