| Bjarmian languages | |
|---|---|
| (geographic) | |
| Geographic distribution | Bjarmia |
| Extinct | early 2nd millennium |
| Linguistic classification | Uralic |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
 Map of Bjarmia, where the Bjarmian languages were spoken | |
TheBjarmian languages are a group of extinctFinnic andSámi languages once spoken inBjarmia, or the northern part of theDvina basin.[1] Vocabulary of the languages in Bjarmia can be reconstructed from toponyms in theArkhangelsk region, and a few words are documented by Norse travelers. Some Saamic toponyms can also be found in the Dvina basin,[2][3] and Permic peoples also inhabited Bjarmaland.
There were likely manyFinnic languages spoken in Bjarmia. The first one was an archaic Finnic language with the diphthong *ai instead of Finnic ei, lack of consonant gradation and the vowel/ɤ/. However, toponymic and historical data also suggest that laterKarelian speakers also later migrated to the Dvina basin in the 15th and 16th centuries, just before the Slavic tribes had arrived.[2]
Some toponyms in Bjarmia also have the sound/ʃ/ instead of/s/.
Janne Saarikivi suggests that someSámi languages were spoken in Bjarmia alongside Finnic languages.[2]
Many toponyms in theArkhangelsk oblast are of Finno–Ugric origin, together with the Vologda oblast. According toAleksandr Matveyev, there are up to 100,000 such toponyms.[2]
| Bjarmian | English |
|---|---|
| *kaski | burnt-over clearing |
| *hattara | bush |
| *lauta | board |
| *palttV | slope |
| *lima | slime |
| *kelta | yellow |
| *petra | wild reindeer |
| *pime | dark |
| *haina | hay |
| *leettek | fine sand |
| *varkas | thief |
| *kicca | narrow |
| *ruske | red |
| *kylmä | cold |
Some Finnic substrate words can be found inNorthern Russian dialects, for example the words: лахта (lahta) 'marsh, moist place, meadow', луда (luda) 'rocky islet', каска (kaska) 'young woods' and щелья (schelja) 'hill or steep bank by a river'. Such words can be found in theRussian dialects aroundPinega.[2]
Gandvík is a name associated with Bjarmia that appears inNorse poems. The word could have been a Norse translation of a Finnic word, which is "Kantalahti" in Finnish. The word Vína appears in many Norse sagas that refer to Bjarmia; it is likely related to the Finnish word "Vienanmeri" (White Sea). Norse sagas also documented a Bjarmian word "Jómali", which is likely related to Finnish "Jumala" 'God'.[3]
| Finnic | .png) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sámi |
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| Mordvinic | |||||||
| Mari | |||||||
| Permic | |||||||
| Ugric |
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| Samoyedic | |||||||
| Others | |||||||
| Reconstructed | |||||||
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