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<P align=justify> Today the Baltic … <P align=justify> Today the Baltic languages consist of Lithuanian and Latvian (or Lettish). Closely related to them is Old Prussian, now extinct. Baltic loan words in both the Saami languages and the [[Finnic languages|Baltic-Finnic languages]] were probably borrowed from Proto-Baltic, their common ancestor around 1000 B.C. Proto-Baltic has been linked to the appearance of the battle-axe culture in the Baltic area. The Baltic and partly overlapping [[Proto-Germa|Proto-Germanic]] influence is considered to have been partly responsible for the split between Proto-Finnic and Proto-Saami in the first half of the pre-Christian millennium. There are two different views about the borrowing of Baltic loan words into Saami. According to one, they were borrowed into [[Early proto-finnic|Early Proto-Finnic]] (the ancestor of Baltic-Finnic and Saami) and have thus come down into both the modern languages from a common ancestor. According to the other, only Proto-Finnic was directly influenced by the Baltic languages, and Baltic loan words in Saami have come through Finnish. The latter view is based on the argument that previously Saami was thought to lack Baltic loan words "of its own", i.e. words that do not also exist in Baltic Finnish. However, recently about ten such loan words have been suggested: e.g.
* <I>arvi </I> 'rain',
* <I>biebmat</I> 'to feed',
* <I> buorggos </I>'forbidden',
* <I> čiehkat </I>'to hide',
* <I> giehpa</I> 'soot',
* <I>leaibi </I>'alder' and
* South Saami <I>saertie </I>'heart (as food)'.
Moreover, in some words of Baltic origin, there are phonetic or semantic features that suggest a separate borrowing, although the words also occur in Baltic Finnish. Such words include
* the South Saami <I>daktere </i>'daughter' and
* the (mainly) North Saami <I>ráigi </I>'hole'
(in Baltic-Finnic languages, the original Baltic vowel quality exists only in Estonian and Livonan; in Finnish the corresponding word is <I>reikä</I>) ja <I>vuoras </I>'old' (the equivalent Finnish word <I>varhain(en)</I> means 'early'). On the basis of such examples it is feasible that there were also direct contacts between Proto-Saami and Proto-Baltic.</P>
<P align=justify> The best known Baltic borrowings that appear both extensively in Saami and in Baltic-Finnic include
* <I>gahpir</I> 'cap',
* <I>guoibmi</I> 'companion',
* <I>luossa</I> 'salmon',
* <I>neahpi</I> 'a man's nephew (or niece)',
* <I> sarvva </I>'elk',
* <I>suoidni</I> 'hay',
* <I>suoldni</I> 'dew; night frost',
* <I>suolu </I>'island'.
<BR> Bibliography:</P>
<BR><BR>[[Table of contents: Languages and naming|Table of contents: Languages and naming]]<BR><BR>Languages and naming]]<BR><BR> +
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