Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Ume Sami language

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Native to  Norway, Sweden
Writing system  Latin
Glottolog  umes1235
Native speakers  20 (2000)
ISO 639-3  sju
Ume Sami language
Language family  Uralic Sami Western Ume Sami

Ume Sami is a Sami language spoken in Sweden and (formerly) in Norway. It is a moribund language with only about 10 native speakers left which used to be spoken mainly along the Ume River in the south of present-day Arjeplog, in Sorsele and Arvidsjaur.


Consonant gradation

Unlike its southern neighbor Southern Sami, Ume Sami has consonant gradation. However, gradation is more limited than it is in the more northern Sami languages, because it occurs only after long vowels or diphthongs. Consonants following a short vowel do not participate in gradation.

Person and grammatical number

The verbs in Ume Sami have three persons:

  • first person
  • second person
  • third person
  • There are three grammatical numbers: singular, dual and plural.


    Ume Sami has two grammatical moods:

  • indicative
  • imperative
  • Negative verb

    Ume Sami, like Finnish, the other Sámi languages and Estonian, has a negative verb. In Ume Sami, the negative verb conjugates according to mood (indicative and imperative), person (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and number (singular, dual and plural).

    Writing system

    Ume Sami is one of the four Sami languages that do not have an official written language, although it was the first Sami language to be written extensively. The New Testament was published in Ume Sami in 1755 and the first Bible in Sami was also published in Ume Sami, in 1811.


    Ume Sami language Wikipedia