Future Prospects

"The problem is: in a democracy, the majority decides." - Sofia Jannok

Northern Saami currently has about 27,500 speakers. It has official status in the Finnmark and Troms provinces and multiple municipalities. Many children in Saami communities are still taught Northern Saami and remain speakers in adulthood ("North Sami"). Though this would seem to be a positive statistic, the truth is that even in Finnmark and Troms, Saami is not a widespread language. It is used mainly in small Northern Saami villages with populations from 500-3000 (Jones & Ogilvie). In truth, not all of these small Northern Saami villages have been successful in retaining their indigenous languages; some villages are as "weak linguistically" as some South Saami villages (South Saami has only 600 speakers) (Gaski & Weinstock). In households with one Saami and one non-Saami parent, the children are more likely to learn the majority language (Magga & Tove). For Saami not immersed in their indigenous culture, Northern Saami takes a great deal of effort to maintain; the economic and social advantages of speaking a majority language are hard to deny. Unless Northern Saami speakers immerse themselves in their language, as has occurred in the isolated villages of Troms and Finnmark, maintaining Northern Saami will become an ever more difficult task. However, this difficulty is no reason for complacency. In fact, it only proves the urgency of the linguist's mission: to catalogue these endangered languages before they are gone for good.

The Saami flag. Wikimedia Commons.