Kildin Saami

• Main Author: Rießler, Michael
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University PressOxford 2022
• Subjects: Kildin; kola peninsula; North-West Russia; saami
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0013; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/47094842/oso-9780198767664-chapter-13.pdf

Abstract This is the first English-language description of Kildin Saami and the basic features of its phonology, morphology, and syntax. Kildin Saami is a critically endangered indigenous language of the Kola Peninsula in north-west Russia, with only about 100 active speakers. It is characterized by a complex phonology, a remarkably rich inventory of consonant phonemes and a highly fusional inflectional morphology, including the occurrence of several different kinds of non-linear morphological marking. In verb inflection, there is a special form for impersonal passive. The intensive contact with the Russian language has led to Russian influences in essentially all components of Kildin Saami language structure, especially in discourse pragmatics. The chapter includes a glossed text example.