{"id":72862,"date":"2026-02-24T15:30:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=72862"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:30:58","slug":"saving-sami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=72862","title":{"rendered":"Saving S\u00e1mi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How toddlers in Finland are saving an endangered S\u00e1mi language<\/a>\"
by Erika Benke, BBC (5 days ago)<\/p>\r\n

Special nurseries are helping the S\u00e1mi people in Finland to bring their almost-lost language back from the brink of extinction.<\/b><\/p>\r\n

When I stayed in the Arctic Circle to finish writing\u00a0The True History of Tea<\/i>\u00a0with Erling Hoh, I was amazed by the symbiotic relationship the\u00a0S\u00e1mi there had with their vast herds of reindeer.\u00a0 \u00a0And, yes, they do ride them, which someone was asking about here recently.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

In 1995, only two families spoke Inari S\u00e1mi to their children, and just four speakers were under the age of 20.<\/p>\r\n

…<\/p>\r\n

Everything changed, Pasanen says, when local children began taking part in a novel, immersive language experiment. The programme has transformed a language that was once considered doomed after being inspired by indigenous language revitalisation projects in New Zealand, the other side of the world from Lapland.<\/p>\r\n

…<\/p>\r\n

Once back inside from the snowy playground, the 11 children of the Inari village nursery sit on soft pads resembling large tree slices.<\/p>\r\n

Their room is adorned with traditional S\u00e1mi decorations and symbols: a S\u00e1mi flag and several drums hang on the wall next to a picture of a hand-painted, cut-out paper reindeer. The curtain has a fish pattern and the dolls are dressed in bright, handmade S\u00e1mi outfits. In the entrance hall, there's a row of traditional outdoor drinking cups made of birch, each belonging to a child, with names neatly written on the handles.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The children's faces light up as they sing S\u00e1mi nursery rhymes, clapping to the rhythm while they chant. Activities like this play a crucial role in preserving and passing down the S\u00e1mi language and cultural heritage, says Tiina Lehmuslehti, their teacher, who leads the session by gently guiding the children and encouraging them to participate.<\/p>\r\n

This is an Inari S\u00e1mi Language nest \u2013 an early years education concept with the goal is to create a new generation of speakers by completely immersing young children in the indigenous language.<\/p>\r\n

Language nests were first developed in New Zealand in the 1970s<\/a> t<\/a>o help preserve M\u0101ori languages Following their success, they have since been recognised as a crucial tool for language revitalisation among indigenous communities, spreading worldwide.<\/p>\r\n

Can the same not be done for Manchu?\u00a0 There are still 10,000,000\u00a0 people who identify as Manchus, and there are nearly 200,000 Sibe<\/a> individuals, of whom 30,000 speak a living Southern Tungusic Jurchenic language (Xibe<\/a>) that is closely related to Manchu.<\/p>\r\n

Bear in mind that, as recently as 115 years ago, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), ruled by the Manchus, was the largest Chinese dynasty in history, and one of the largest and most populous dynasties on earth at the time.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Selected readings<\/b><\/p>\r\n