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of the Laplanders. • • -9
The Verbs alfo are conjugated in their Tenfes, and PerSons, as in the
Indicative mood thus , Sing. Mun pwora&an I love, tr/m pworaftaci thru
lovest , fun pworafta. Plur. Mh pwarjfiop, we low^fiipworofl yru love, tack,
pwroii. And after this manner do they decline their other Verbs.
Sing, mun lam lam, tun l<fck_, thou art, fitu lia he is.
Plur. mii hep we are , fit U you are , ttck.ti they are.
TheSe will Serve to give us Some light into the nature of this Language;
at least as much as is to our purpofe, who did not undertake to write a
Grammar, but only give Some Small deCcriptron.
Now the Laplanders have a peculiar way of pronouncing words ,
according to which it is impoflible to exprefs them in letters, for they do mouth out
all their words, fo that the vowels might be heard loud enough, but the
other letters come very foftly our.they do alfo quite cut off and drc. wn the last
Syl labks, efpecially of Nouns. Letters they neither have, nor ever had any,
and in this they agree with their ancestors the Finlander: the Calendar which
they ufe, is no other but the SwediSh in Runick letters. And this alfo, btfore
they came to have commerce with the Swedes, and had learned of them the
observation of Holy-daies, was never in ufe among them. Johannes Bursas
tells us that he heard from perfonS of good credit, cf certain grave -stones
and monuments, which had Sometimes bin found in Lapland ( more
whereof perhaps might be found ) on which were engraved Rtmick. Characters.
But fuppofe we this true, it is not, I hope , therefore neceSTary that we
Should conclude that thefe were formerly the lerrers of the Laphnders, to
which indeed, as well themfelves as their forefathers the Finlanders are
e-qually Strangers. But we have more reafon to think that the Swedes coming
thither in ancient times, either by force of arms, or othetv iSe , inhabited
there abouts, and left thofe stones. To this day both the Laplander
3Finlander ufe the Larine letter-; in the fame Character the Swedes and Germans
make them, altho the number of them that can read among rhem is but very
fmall, and of them that can write , a great deal lefs, and are only Such as
they call great Scholars.
Now this Speeeh being only uftd among the Laplanders, and there
being none that deSire to learn it but rhemfelves, in all negotiations with
others, they are forced to ufe the help of Interpreters, of whom upon this
account there are great numbers, as I have formerly faid : tho thefe
Interpreters fpeak all Languages , but the Finmnick^very barbaroufly, which
is alfo the fault of all Laplanders, who are very hardly brought to learn or
pronounce any other Tongue, and much given to confound one with
another. So that they which traffic in Norway, and border upon that Country,
do in their Speaking mingle together the Speech of the Norwegians and Swedes,
as for instance , jeghkjfmi, for jag kom, jeg gaong, for jag gear. So for
hufiro, they fay kaona, for tnin myfsa, mitt hofwud, 8cc. But of the Lat>
gua-ge of the Laplanders let this Suffice.
CHAP
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