Lappish
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Language Information
Lappish is the language of the Lapps, or Laplanders, who live in northernmost Scandinavia, Finland, and a small part of the Soviet Union. They number approximately 35,000, distributed roughly as follows: Norway, 20,000; Sweden, 10,000; Finland, 2,500; Russia (Kola Peninsula), 2,000.
Lappish is one of the Finno-Ugric languages, bearing certain similarities to Finnish, but the two languages are actually vastly different. Since the Lapps are of different racial stock than the Finns, it is assumed that about 2,000 years ago they adopted the language of the ancestors of the Finns. Subsequently many words were borrowed from the Scandinavian languages.
- Language Family
- Uralic
- Subgroup
- Finno-Ugric
- Branch
- Finnic
Lappish Language Sample
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1
North Saami
Buot olbmot leat riegádan friddjan ja olmmošárvvu ja olmmošvuoigatvuođaid dáfus. Sii leat jierbmalaš olbmot geain lea oamedovdu ja sii gálggaše leat dego vieljačagat.English translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Source: OHCHR translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights