Lappish language
- noun
- Offensive
:
lengua lapona (despectivo, anticuado)
- The Lappish language has many dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible.
Examples
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She wrote her dissertation on the grammar of a Lappish language.
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Many young Sami are learning the Lappish languages today.
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Few people outside Scandinavia have studied the Lappish language in depth.
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The Lappish language is rich in cultural heritage.
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Few people outside Scandinavia have studied the Lappish language in depth.
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She wrote her dissertation on the grammar of a Lappish language.
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The Lappish language has many dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible.
Synonyms
A group of related languages spoken by the Sami people in northern Scandinavia and northwest Russia
A language spoken by the Sámi people in northern Europe
A language spoken by the Sami people in northern Europe
Languages spoken by the Sámi people in northern Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia
A language spoken by the Sami people in northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula
A language spoken by the Sámi people in northern Scandinavia, now usually called Sámi
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'Lappish' specifies the community (Sámi/Lapp) and 'language' names the speech system, so the meaning 'a language spoken by the Lapp/Sámi people' follows directly from the constituents. This adjective+noun pattern is a common cross-linguistic composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase Lappish language comes from the old name Lapp, a word outsiders used for the Sami people. One popular story says Lapp may come from a word for 'patch' or 'piece of cloth', perhaps from how their clothing looked to neighbours. That's why Lappish language means 'the language spoken by the Sami people'.
