Orthography
Northern Sami has a long orthographic history, which has witnessed no less than 9 Latin alphabets. The most recent version was approved in 1979 and last modified in 1985:
| Sami | Letter's Name | IPA | English Approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | /ɑ/ | spa |
| Á á | á | /a/ | chai |
| B b | be | /b/ | bat |
| C c | ce | /ts/ | lets |
| Č č | če | /tʃ/ | chew |
| D d | de | /d/ | do |
| Đ đ | đe | /ð/ | this |
| E e | e | /e/ | sleigh |
| F f | áf | /f/ | fun |
| G g | ge | /ɡ/ | go |
| H h | ho | /h/ | help |
| I i | i | /i/ | me |
| J j | je | /j/ | yes |
| K k | ko | /k/ | cat |
| L l | ál | /l/ | lip |
| M m | ám | /m/ | myth |
| N n | án | /n/ | no |
| Ŋ ŋ | áŋ | /ŋ/ | sing |
| O o | o | /o/ | (usually oʊ in reality) go |
| P p | pe | /p/ | park |
| R r | ár | /r/ | (trilled) rat |
| S s | ás | /s/ | sip |
| Š š | áš | /ʃ/ | shed |
| T t | te | /t/ | told |
| Ŧ ŧ | ŧe | /θ/ | thick |
| U u | u | /u/ | do |
| V v | ve | /v/ | vex |
| Z z | ez | /dz/ | rods |
| Ž ž | ež | /dʒ/ | joke |
An acute accent was placed over the corresponding Latin letter to represent the letters particular to Northern Sami (Áá Čč Đđ Ŋŋ Šš Ŧŧ Žž) when typing when there was no way of entering these letters correctly otherwise. These substitutions are still found in books printed after the common orthography was adopted due to system limitations when typing.
Until the official orthography currently in use was adopted in 1979, each country had its own, slightly different standard, so it is quite possible to come across older books that are difficult to understand for people unacquainted with the orthography:
- Maanat leät poahtan skuvllai.
- Mánát leat boahtán skuvlii.
(The children have come to school.)
The first sentence is from Antti Outakoski's Samekiela kielloahpa from 1950; the second one is how it would be written according to the current orthography.
Read more about this topic: Northern Sami Language