Budget cuts threaten Sámi minority languages

Efforts to develop the Sámi language are threatened by budget cuts by the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish governments, according to the minority’s parliaments in all three Nordic countries.

The parliaments of the Sami minority in Sweden, Norway, and Finland have made a rare joint appeal to their governments to save the Sámi Giellagáldus, a pan-Nordic linguistic organisation that works on linguistic research and standardisation of the Sámi language.

In all three countries, the Sámi parliaments share the common goal of defending the cultural, linguistic and political interests of the Sámi people, although they have no binding legislative powers.

“We call for immediate action,” the top leaders of the three Sami parliaments told the Scandinavian press, adding that the Sami parliaments in all three Nordic countries are concerned about how budget cuts may create uncertainty about the future of Sámi language development.

The Sámi Giellagáldus is mainly funded by Sweden, Norway, and Finland, as the traditional Sami lands are located in the northern regions of these three countries.

However, the Sámi language organisation is facing reduced funding from Sweden, Finland, and Norway. All three countries have presented their budgets for next year and have reduced the parts allocated to the defence of the Sami language minority.

“This is a direct disaster for the Sámi languages,” Ole Henrik Magga, former vice-chairman of Sámi Giellagáld,u told Swedish broadcaster SVT.

According to him, the UN Decade of the World's Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) offers a unique opportunity to strengthen these languages, but it needs government support.

The total Sámi population is estimated to be between 65,000 and 100,000 who speak 10 related Sámi languages.

No Nordic government had reacted to the issue at the time of publication.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)