Did you know one language falls silent every two weeks? Even in the most egalitarian of societies where policies are placed to preserve languages, memories of discrimination and inequality persevere, preventing people from speaking their mother tongue. That is the case of the Sámi languages.
That’s why this story matters right now. Today, on International Mother Language Day, we are reminded that language is more than communication: it’s belonging. It also sits alongside the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, UNESCO’s global push to protect and revitalize Indigenous languages. With the spotlight on youth voices and multilingual education, the Sámi experience shows what’s at stake when schools and societies don’t make space for the languages young people carry.
To understand what this looks like on the ground, this article draws on a discussion with Dr. Tanja Kupisch, Professor of General Linguistics at Lund University. Her research on multilingualism, minority languages, and language policy helps bring the Sámi situation into focus.
What are Sámi languages?
To see what “language endangerment” looks like, you need to look north, far north, to Sápmi, the traditional homeland of the Indigenous Sámi people across the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. “Sámi” isn’t one language; it’s a family of languages. Dr. Tanja Kupisch notes there are nine Sámi languages; with North Sámi the most widely spoken with around 20,000 speakers across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. But all of the Sámi languages are, in her words, ‘very’ much at risk.
Learning in Sámi: a right and a challenge in practice
Sámi is officially recognized in both Norway and Sweden, but access varies. In Norway, it is co-official in parts of Sápmi. In Sweden, it is a minority language, which means children have the right to be taught in Sámi, but that depends on multiple factors. Whether there are teachers available, municipality implementation, and how many Sámi-speaking pupils there are.
Passing Sámi forward
Here’s the statistic that should stop you mid-scroll: based on Kupisch’s research on Sámi communities in Sweden and Norway, she found that “a very, very, small proportion of ethnic Sámi – around 4% in Sweden and 11% in Norway – are highly fluent and use a Sámi language with their children, which seriously compromises transmission of the language to the next generation”. She also stresses that this concerns different Sámi languages, not one.
Kupisch is equally clear that this reflects history and lived experiences. She describes how, “not too long ago,” there were strong assimilatory policies: Sámi children were educated in majority languages, separated from their families, punished and ashamed for using their mother tongue. Today, although there are policies meant to protect Sámi languages, “ the memories live on…it is something that gets generations to heal”, she says.
Language is identity
Kupisch says it plainly: “If you don’t give multilingual people the opportunity to learn and develop their two languages, you basically take away an essential part of their identity.” When a language is treated as “less,” the person behind it gets treated that way too. In our discussion, Kupisch links the devaluing of languages to the devaluing of people and the risks of exclusion when schools and societies don’t recognise learners’ languages.
In simpler words: language is how we laugh, grieve, pray, fall in love, remember family, and know where we come from! It’s deeply personal. Taking it away isn’t “neutral”, it rewrites who you are.
Our brains are made for multilingualism!
During our discussion, Kupisch stressed that our brains are made for multilingualism and that learning two or more languages doesn’t come at any cost. In fact, she points to evidence that learning to read in a minority language can strengthen skills in the majority language too.
The real problem isn’t multilingualism, but how people react to it. Because when a language is mocked, the person attached to it is mocked too. “If languages are not valued, you devalue the person behind the language, their identity”, says Kupisch. She reinforces that such judgment can push people toward exclusion from school, work, and society overall.
Social Media helps…kind of.
Some Sámi youth are creating content in their native tongue, helping increase visibility and build community. Kupisch agrees that this can be “a very good thing,” especially when digital tools connect learners across long distances. But she also warns “not everything is rosy”: minority-language use online can attract hate, and visibility alone won’t replace schooling, teachers, and safe everyday spaces to speak. A language doesn’t survive on “content” alone. It survives when young people have teachers, classes, materials, safe spaces, public respect, and a free environment to speak. Most importantly, when society stops treating minority languages as minorities, and instead treats them as equals.
Make Speaking Sámi Safe
International Mother Language Day isn’t just a celebration; it’s a test of whether we’re willing to build education systems that match reality. With the 2026 theme: “Youth voices on multilingual education”, the point isn’t to put the burden on young people to “save” languages. It’s to make sure schools, policies, and communities stop turning linguistic diversity into a barrier. As Kupisch puts it, “all languages are equal… there’s not one language that is better or worse” .
If Sámi languages (and thousands like them) are going to live past this decade, it will be because multilingual education is treated as normal; and because more of us choose, actively, to make speaking safe.
Sources:
Tanja Kupisch is a Professor of General Linguistics at the Centre for Languages and Literature, with a PhD from the University of Hamburg and previous professorships at the University of Konstanz and UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Her research focuses on multilingualism, particularly minority languages, language acquisition, and language policy, and she serves as Editor of Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism.
Lloyd-Smith, A., Bergmann, F., Sapir, Y.,Yasar, R., & Kupisch, T. “Why Language Matters: Inequality Perceptions among the Sámi in Sweden and Norway” (Policy Papers of the Cluster “The Politics of Inequality”; Vol. 11). University of Konstanz.