Words and Varieties: Lexical Variation in Saami

The study of the linguistic geography of Saami has in the main been based on phonological and morphological criteria. This study takes another approach, though, and discusses spatial variation in Saami from the point of view of lexicon. The point of departure is the assumption that when the share of common lexemes decreases between two localities, the difficulties in understanding increase. From this point of view, a simple measure of the communicative relation between two localities is the size of the shared vocabulary, and it is just such a comparison of vocabularies that is undertaken in Words and Varieties.

Based on the material for Atlas Linguarum Europae (ALE), the investigation analyses lexical variation in Saami by means of dialectometrical methods, and with a special focus on nine points of inquiry: Gåebrie, Suorssá, Girjes / Girjjis, Gárasavvon, Guovdageaidnu, Návuotna, Aanaar, A´kkel, and Luujaavv’r. The results are presented in tables, figures and maps, and discussed in relation to earlier research.