Paleo-Laplandic is a hypothetical group of extinct but related languages spoken in
Sápmi (northern Scandinavia). The speakers of Paleo-Laplandic languages switched to
Sámi languages, and the languages became extinct around . A considerable amount of words in Sámi languages originate from Paleo-Laplandic; more than 1,000 loanwords from Paleo-Laplandic likely exist. Many toponyms in
Sápmi originate from Paleo-Laplandic. Because Sámi language etymologies for reindeers have preserved a large number of words from Paleo-Laplandic, this suggests that Paleo-Laplandic groups influenced Sámi culture.
Due to irregular correspondences in Sámi loanwords from Paleo-Laplandic, it can be theorized that the words were borrowed from distinct but related languages that were characterized in the west by an ''s''-type sibilant, while in the east it was an ''š''-type sibilant.
Many words relating to the environment or reindeer such as ''ája'' ("spring") are likely loanwords from Paleo-Laplandic into
Sámi. The substrate words have no apparent parallels to any known language. Linguist compared them with the
Pre-Germanic substrate words but found no similarities aside from a distinction between central and peripheral accentuation.
See also
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Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate
Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate refers to substratum loanwords from unidentified non-Indo-European and non-Uralic languages that are found in various Finno-Ugric languages, most notably Sami. The presence of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate in Sami languages ...
References
{{Eurasian languages
Unclassified languages of Europe
Extinct languages of Europe
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