Akkala Saami

Akkala Sámi, also referred to, particularly in Russia, as Babin Sámi (Russian: Бабинский саа́мский), was a Sámi language spoken in the Sámi villages of Aʼkkel (Russian: Бабинский; Finnish: Akkala), Čuʼkksuâl (Russian: Экостровский) and Sââʼrvesjäuʼrr (Russian: Гирвасозеро; Finnish: Hirvasjärvi), in the inland parts of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Formerly erroneously regarded as a dialect of Kildin Sámi, it has recently become recognized as an independent Sámi language that is most closely related to its western neighbor Skolt Sámi, although the two are somewhat mutually intelligible.

Akkala Sámi was noted as extinct in the 2010 UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. Previously, it had been considered the most endangered Eastern Sámi language. On 29 December 2003 Maria Sergina – the last fluent native speaker of Akkala Sámi – died. However, as of 2011 there were at least two people, both aged 70, with some knowledge of Akkala Sámi. Remaining ethnic Akkala Sámi live in the village Yona, where there is a cultural office.

Although there exists a description of Akkala Sámi phonology and morphology, a few published texts, and archived audio recordings, as well as a grammar of the language, the Akkala Sámi language remains among the most poorly documented Sámi languages. One of the few items in the language are chapters 23–28 of the Gospel of Matthew published in 1897. It was translated by Arvid Genetz and published by the Finnish Literature Society, with costs paid by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

From Wikipedia · Akkala Sámi · CC BY-SA 4.0