| Languages of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate | |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Extinct | 1st millennium AD |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
 Locations of proposed Pre-Finno-Ugric populations | |
Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate refers tosubstratumloanwords from unidentified non-Indo-European and non-Uralic languages that are found in variousFinno-Ugric languages, most notablySami. The presence of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate in Sami languages was demonstrated byAnte Aikio.[1]Janne Saarikivi [fi] points out that similar substrate words are present inFinnic languages as well, but in much smaller numbers.[2] The proposed substrate influence in Finnic may have been related either by borrowing or a direct genetic relationship to the languages that influenced Saami.[3][4]
Borrowing to Saami fromPaleo-Laplandic probably still took place after the completion ofthe Great Saami Vowel Shift. Paleo-Laplandic likely became extinct about 1500 years ago.[5]
TheNganasan language also has many substrate words from unknown extinct languages in theTaimyr peninsula.[6]
According to Aikio, the speakers of theProto-Samic language arrived inLapland around 650 BC and fully assimilated the localPaleo-European populations by the middle of 1st millennium AD. In his opinion, the detailed reconstruction of these languages is impossible.[1]
The languages of more eastern post-Swiderian cultures might have influenced Finno-Ugric languages as well. According toPeter Schrijver, some of these substrate languages probably had manygeminated consonants.[7][8] A lexical comparison with the hypotheticalPre-Germanic substratum yields no results.[9]
Paleo-Laplandic is a hypothetical group of extinct but related languages spoken inSápmi (northern Scandinavia, traditionally known as Lapland). The speakers of Paleo-Laplandic languages switched toSámi languages, and the languages became extinct around AD 500. A considerable amount of words in Sámi languages originate from Paleo-Laplandic;[10] more than 1,000 loanwords from Paleo-Laplandic likely exist. Many toponyms inSápmi originate from Paleo-Laplandic. Because Sámi language etymologies forreindeers have preserved a large number of words from Paleo-Laplandic, this suggests that Paleo-Laplandic groups influenced Sámi culture.[11]
Paleo-Lakelandic was likely distinguished into an Eastern and a Western language group, as Eastern Saami substrate words differ phonetically from those of Western Saami.[5]
Some examples ofKildin Sami words and corresponding Northern Sami cognates without convincingUralic/Finno-Ugric (or any other) etymologies:[12]
| Kildin Sami | Northern Sami | English |
|---|---|---|
| кӯттҍк | - | heart |
| вӯнтас | - | sand |
| поаввьн | - | hummock |
| ке̄ддҍк | geađgi | stone |
| пӣӈӈк | biegga | wind |
| ке̄ттҍк | geatki | wolverine |
| ныгкешь | - | pike (fish) |
| мӯрр | muorra | tree |
| цӣгк | - | mist |
| мӯнь | - | frost |
| пынне | - | to herd, to look after |
| чӯййкэ | čuoigat | to ski |
| лӯһпель | 1 y.o. reindeer | |
| курас | guoros | empty |
| мо̄джесь | beautiful | |
| нюччкэ | njuiket | to jump |
| чаццькэ | čiekčat | to throw |
| тӯллтэ | duoldit | to boil |
| North Saami | English |
|---|---|
| beahcet | fish tail |
| cuohppa | fish meat |
| šákša | capelin |
| ája | spring |
| skuoggir | ethmoid bone |
| šuorja | giant shark |
| buovjag | beluga |
| ruomas | wolf |
| bákti | cliff, rock |
| gieva | boghole |
| váiši | wild animal |
| itku | shady place |
| roggi | hole |
| sátku | landing place |
| skuolfi | owl |
| čuovga | light |
| soavli | slush |
| gákšu | she wolf |
Most of these words havecognates in all Sami languages. A more extensive list of such words can be found inG. M. Kert's 2009 work on Sami toponymics.[13] Semantically, pre-Sami substrate consists mostly of basic vocabulary terms (i.e. human body parts) and nature/animal names, and lacks terms of kinship and societal organization, which suggests a rather low level of socioeconomic development in pre-Sami cultures.[14]
Another group, the Paleo-Lakelandic languages, are a hypothetical group of languages similar to the Paleo-Laplandic languages which influenced the Saami languages more South, that were later assimilated byFinnic people. Nevertheless, the Saami substrate vocabulary inFinnish reveals many words of unknown origin which derive from the Paleo-European languages spoken in the region. Words such as *kāvë 'bend' and *šāpšë have been identified as originating in Paleo-Lakelandic.[15]
The Paleo-Baltic languages are a group of languages that have been proposed to have existed in the Baltic region prior to the migrations of the Indo-Europeans and Finno-Ugrians, that have been hypothesized to have influenced theBaltic andFinnic languages.[3][16] Among the suggested loanwords from a pre-Baltic language include the Finnic wordssaari 'island',niemi 'cape' andjänis 'hare',[17] alongside the shared words between Baltic and Finnic such as *samanā "moss" andsalo 'island'.[3][4][17]
A list of words suggested by Saarikivi as having Paleo-Baltic origin:[17]
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| saari | island |
| niemi | cape |
| oja | ditch |
| nummi | moor |
| ilves | lynx |
| koipi | leg (of a bird) |
| nenä | nose |
| jänis | hare |
| salakka | bleak (fish) |
| liha | meat |
Many words relating to fish in Finnic may have substrate etymologies suggesting influence from a culture centered around fishing. It is likely that this Paleo-European language also influenced some Indo-European languages.[18] It has been suggested that the Paleo-European language of the Baltic was perhaps related to Paleo-Laplandic, either by influence or by genetic relationship, particularly the words for "moss" and "island" have been suggested as cognates between Paleo-Laplandic and Paleo-Baltic.[3][1]
There are also some examples of possible substrate words the hypotheticalFinno-Volgaic languages group that differ from the Pre-Sami substrate, i.e. Proto-Finno-Volgaic *täštä 'star', or *kümmin 'ten'.[19][20]
Some words in Finno-Volgaic languages contain rare consonant clusters, which suggests loanwords from unknown languages.
Finnish words such asjauho ('flour'),lehmä ('cow'),tähti ('star'),tammi ('oak') andihminen ('human') could be substrate words.[19]
Aikio (2021) lists some other substrate vocabulary as:[21]
| Proto-form | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *wakštVrV | maple |
| *wešnä | wheat /spelt |
| *päkšnä | lime tree |
| ?*riŋiši | dryingkiln |
| ?*räppä(-nä) | smoke hole |
| *tammi | oak |
| *särńä | ash |
| *ša/u(w)p(k)a | aspen |
| *le/i(j)p(p)ä | alder |
| *pVškV(nä) | hazel |
Irregular correspondences among Uralic languages are frequent among some words, such as 'to milk' and 'hazelnut'. These are presumed to be non-native loanwords by Aikio (2021):[21]
| Language | Form | Gloss | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish | lypsää | to milk | < *lüpsä- or *lüpćä- |
| Mordvin | lovso, lofca | milk | < *lupsV or *lipsa |
| Mari | lüštem, dial. lüśtem, lǝštem | to milk | < *lüstä- ? < *lüps-tä- |
| Komi | li̮śt̮i- | to milk | < PNo *lüćtV- or *lućtV- (? < *lü/upć-tA-) |
| Language | Form | Gloss | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish | pähkinä, pähkenä | (hazel)nut | < *päškinä (?) |
| Mordvin | päšťä, päščä (etc.) | (hazel)nut | < *päš? |
| Mari | pükš | hazelnut | < ?*pekši |
| Udmurt | paš-, puš- | hazel(nut) | < *pVškV or *pVkšV |
Sometoponyms inFinland appear to be of non-Uralic origin; for example, a wordkoita regularly appears inhydronyms for long and narrow bodies of water and is thus probably the continuation of the native word for 'long, narrow'.[22]
Many other toponyms inFinland seem to come from a substrate language or from multiple substrate languages: among these areSaimaa,Imatra,Päijänne, andInari.[23]
There are also toponyms from a substrate language inSápmi; for example, an ending -ir (< *-ērē) is commonly found in names of mountains and is probably the continuation of the substrate word for 'mountain'.
Other such toponymic words are*skiečč 'watershed', *čār- 'uppermost (lake)', *jeak(k)- 'isolated mountain',*nus- 'mountain top on the edge of a mountain area', *sāl- 'large island in the sea',*čiest- 'seashore cliff', and *inč- 'outermost island'.[5][1]
There are irregularities in Sami substrate words which suggest they might have been borrowed from distinct, but related languages. In the west, the substrate languages probably had an s-type sibilant which corresponds to an š-type sibilant in the east.[5]
As we only have fragments of Lakelandic Sami which were preserved in Finnish placenames and dialectal vocabulary, the features of the Paleo-Lakelandic substrate in Lakelandic Sami cannot be studied. Many placenames in Finland come from Sami words of unknown origin which are likely substrate words, such asjokuu from Proto-Sami*čuokōs ‘track, way’.
The Sami substrate in Finnish dialects also reveals that Lakelandic Sami languages had a high number of words with an obscure origin, likely deriving from old languages of the region.[5]