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<P align="justify"> Proto-Saami is t … <P align="justify"> Proto-Saami is the last common [[Proto-language|proto-language]] of all the [[Modern Saami languages|modern Saami languages]]. It was descended from [[Early proto-finnic|Early Proto-Finnic]]. In other words, only those changes that appear in the Saami languages after Early Proto-Finnic, and which are common to them, are attributed to Proto-Saami. On the basis of sound changes, Proto-Saami is divided roughly into two stages: Early and Late Proto-Saami. The former is considered to have started with the vowel shifts in the first syllable (in Early Proto-Saami only in quality, not in length) that are characteristic of Saami. During the approximately two thousand years of Proto-Saami they resulted in some extreme sound changes: e.g. the short close i and front ü vowels of Early Proto-Finnic became a dark, back open vowel (a) in Saami.This represents a maximal qualitative change. Various stages are also distinguished in Later Proto-Saami, with Stage I representing Early Proto-Saami and Stages II, III and IV all representing distinct periods of Late Proto-Saami. </P>
<P align="justify"> As a result of sound changes in the first stage of Proto-Saami, the alveolar consonants of early Proto-Finnic became dentals (š > s, č > c); in the second stage, intervocalic single consonants and the initial elements of consonant clusters were lengthened, which constituted the initial impetus for the consonant gradation that is characteristic of Saami. In the third stage, this change was followed by a softening of single plosives and affricates, which also affected consonant gradation. In the fourth stage, there took place some sound changes that were common to all the Saami languages, e.g. the development of close vowels in non-initial syllables. </P>
<P align="justify"> Proto-Saami split into West and East Proto-Saami. The descendants of the latter are the South and North Saami languages, and those of the former Inari, Skolt, Kildin, Akkala and Ter Saami. </P>
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[[Modern Saami languages|Saami languages]]
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[[Table of contents: Languages and naming|Table of contents: Languages and naming]]<BR><BR>Languages and naming]]<BR><BR> +
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