Definition

Proper noun: 1. The Sami languages: A collective term for the group of Uralic languages traditionally spoken by the Sami people (historically referred to as Lapps) in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.

Usage Notes

• Historical and Modern Context: The term "Lappish" is considered dated and, by some, potentially pejorative. The preferred contemporary terms are "Sami" (for the people) and "Sami languages" (for the languages). "Lappish" may still be encountered in older linguistic texts or historical contexts.
• Grammatical Use: It functions as a proper noun (capitalized) when referring to the language group. It is not typically used as an adjective in modern English.

Examples

• Proper noun:
  • Some older linguistic studies classify Lappish as a branch of the Finno-Ugric language family.
  • The researcher documented several dialects under the umbrella term Lappish.

Advanced Usage

• In Historical or Anthropological Writing: The term may be used to maintain accuracy when quoting historical sources or describing past scholarship.
  • The 19th-century text referred to the indigenous tongues of the region collectively as Lappish.

Variants and Related Words

• Sami (n., adj.): The contemporary and preferred term for the people and their languages (e.g., North Sami, Inari Sami).
• Saami: An alternative spelling of "Sami."
• Uralic (adj.): Referring to the large language family that includes Sami, Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian.

Synonyms

• Sami languages
• Saami languages

Notes on Meaning

• The definition refers to "any of the languages," indicating it is not a single, unified language but a group of related languages and dialects. The core meaning is linguistic, referring to the language family itself.

Noun

1. any of the languages spoken by the Lapps and generally assumed to be Uralic languages