The South Sami girls, Jonna Dunfjeld-Mølnvik (20) and Nelly Engström (25) will make a South Sami podcast. One of the things that is special about the podcast is that it is in the strongly endangered language Southern Sami, which is today only spoken by around 500 people. Photo: Vegard T. Blakstad / news Want to talk about sex in your own language In the podcast “Hævvi”, which can be translated into Norwegian as “of course”, we talk about South Sami life from a young perspective. – We want to achieve pride among the Sami, but also create curiosity among the majority population, say Jonna and Nelly. Topics such as jackets, depression, sex, and other things that happen in Sami society will be raised. The presenters say that the podcast is characterized by both humor and seriousness. Many had made the trip to the launch party to get a taste of the new podcast. Photo: Ida Emilie Lindseth / news – We want to create content that we ourselves miss on a daily basis. It’s always fun to listen to someone talk about sex, for example, in their own language. We want to show that the Sami have a sense of humour, they say. The South Sami girls will talk about a lot of different things in the podcast. Photo: Vegard T. Blakstad / news From language barrier to presenter Nelly Engström grew up in Vilhelmina in Sweden, with Swedish as her home language. When Nelly started school as a six-year-old, she started teaching Southern Sami. She says that it has always been South Sami that has been the language she has wanted to know. The language barrier is what she has had to work with the most. – I’m getting more and more comfortable speaking Southern Sami with each episode, and in a way we’ve put the language police in prison a bit, so we can play more freely with words and expressions, says Nelly. Nelly says that when she learned Southern Sami, it was only the professional language she learned at school – not the everyday language. She wants to be a role model for people who are working to learn, or want to learn, South Sami. – There was no one around me who spoke Southern Sami in daily life, I want to do something about that now, says Nelly. Photo: Vegard T. Blakstad / news Duoen Unlike Nelly, who has learned Southern Sami at school, Jonna has acquired Southern Sami through her mother’s milk. – I have always known that I have been incredibly lucky to have had Southern Sami as my mother tongue, it has been a luxury, says Jonna. The girls say that they hope that the listeners can recognize themselves in one of the presenters, if not both. – Maybe the listeners are a little more like Jonna, who thinks that it doesn’t matter if you speak a little incorrectly, you just have to speak. Or maybe they recognize themselves a little more in me, who understand that it can be scary, says Nelly smiling. Photo: Vegard T. Blakstad / news Historical It is the first time that news has published a podcast in Southern Sami, which is currently threatened with extinction. It will be available on both news TV and news Radio from Tuesday 18 April. Director at Saemien Sijte, Southern Sami Museum, Birgitta Fossum, says that a language and media offer for young Southern Sami adults has been long awaited. – Many children’s books have been published for the youngest generation, but have been a popular offer for the elderly, says Fossum. Birgitta Fossum, director at Saemien Sitje vil, is happy that there is finally a South Sami media offer for young South Sami adults. Photo: Mirja Flodin / news The director himself grew up outside the Southern Sami area, and does not speak Southern Sami. Nevertheless, she has a strong desire to approach the language to a greater extent. – For me, spoken language is most important, and then this podcast could be just what I need, says Fossum.
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Want to be the role models they themselves lacked growing up – news Sápmi
