The following overview is based on Pekka (Pyotr) M. Zaykov's volume. Zaykov's
Uralic phonetic transcription is retained here. The middle dot ˑ denotes palatalization of the preceding consonant, analyzed by Zaykov as
semisoft pronunciation.
Noun Akkala Sámi has eight
cases,
singular and plural:
nominative,
genitive-
accusative,
partitive,
dative-
illative,
locative,
essive,
comitative and
abessive. Case and number are expressed by a combination of endings and
consonant gradation: • Nominative: no marker in the singular, weak grade in the plural. • Genitive-accusative: weak grade in the singular, weak grade +
-i in the plural. • Partitive: this case exists only in the singular, and has the ending
-. • Dative-illative: strong grade +
-a,
-a͕ or
-ɛ in the singular, weak grade +
-i in the plural. • Locative: weak grade +
-st,
-śtˑ in the singular, weak grade +
-nˑ in the plural. • Essive: this case exists only in the singular: strong grade +
-nˑ. • Comitative: weak grade +
-nˑ in the singular, strong grade +
-,
- or
- in the plural. • Abessive: weak grade +
-ta in the singular.
Pronoun The table below gives the declension of the
personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’. The pronouns ‘you (sg.)’ and ‘(s)he’ are declined like , the pronouns ‘you (pl.)’ and ‘they’ are declined like . The
interrogative pronouns ‘what?’ and ‘who?’ are declined as follows: The
demonstratives are declined as follows:
Verb Akkala Sámi
verbs have three
persons and two numbers, singular and plural. There are three
moods:
indicative,
imperative and
conditional; the
potential mood has disappeared. Compound tenses such as
perfect and
pluperfect are formed with the verb in the present or imperfect as
auxiliary, and the
participle of the main verb. Examples are ‘I have known’ from ‘to know’, and ‘(s)he had made’ from ‘to make’. The conditional mood has the marker
-č, which is added to the weak grade of the stem: ‘I would sew’, ‘you (sg.) would become tired’. As in other Sámi languages, Akkala Sámi makes use of a
negative verb that conjugates according to person and number, while the main verb remains unchanged. The conjugation of the negative verb is shown here together with the verb ‘to begin’: The third person singular and plural of the verb ‘to be’ have special contracted forms and . ==References==