Personal profile
Teaching
At Kristianstad University I teach grammar, phonetics and phonology, Swedish language history, second language aquisition and sociolinguistics within teachers' training as well as contract courses. In 2022 I gave an Elfdalian language course to teachers in the Municipality of Älvdalen who were to teach and use Elfdalian in their work.
Further, I have taught general grammar, Swedish for international students, Danish, Icelandic and Hebrew at Uppsala and Lund University. As a guest professor at Ghent University I taught Old Icelandic as well as Scandinavian culture and history.
As a linguist, cooperation with the society is also important. First and foremost, to transmit my knowledge to the society, but to be up to date with current tendencies and developments in the language situation.
Research
I am a Docent and an Associate Professor of Scandinavian languages. In my research I have analysed Elfdalian from various perspectives - its strcuture, its political status and the efforts to revitalise Elfdalian in the Municipality of Älvdalen. Before this research, I have studied Icelandic word formation, language policy as well as as linguistic purism. Moreover, I have studied the revitalisation of the Sámi languages of Sweden - how these efforts are being carried out, as well as what is required on different levels to ensure a successful revitalisation of these languages in the future.
In 2024, Olof Lundgren and myself published the book A Grammar of Elfdalian, the first English-language grammar of Elfdalian, with UCL Press.
Collaboration
I cooperate with the Municipality of Älvdalen regarding the revitalisation of Elfdalian and I acted as a language consultant for the Elfdalian revitalisation project Wilum og bellum ('We want and we can') between 2019 and 2022.
Since 2004, I have been the coordinator of Råðdjärum, the Elfdalian Language Council, which introduced a standard orthography for Elfdalian in 2005.
Moreover, I am a corresponding member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy for Swedish Folk Culture.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A Grammar of Elfdalian
Sapir, Y. & Lundgren, O., 2024-Sept-30, London: UCL Press. 402 p. (Grammars of World and Minority Languages)Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Open AccessFile502 Downloads (Pure) -
A New Elfdalian Grammar
Sapir, Y., 2024-Jun-13.Research output: Contribution to conference › Oral presentation › peer-review
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Det flerspråkiga Sverige inom en historisk och ideologisk kontext
Sapir, Y., 2024, Språk i Norden: Svensklärarföreningens årsskrift 2023. Edvardsson, J., Winzell, H. & Svensson, M. (eds.). Stockholm: Svensklärarföreningen, Vol. 2023. p. 9-30 21 p. (Svensklärarföreningens årsskrift).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report › Chapter in book
Open AccessFile88 Downloads (Pure) -
What Elfdalian and Ancient Nordic can tell about each other
Sapir, Y., 2024-Nov-05.Research output: Contribution to conference › Oral presentation
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Why Language Matters: Inequality Perceptions among the Sámi in Sweden and Norway
Lloyd-Smith, A., Bergmann, F., Sapir, Y., Yasar, R. & Kupisch, T., 2023-Feb-21, 'The Politics of Inequality' Policy Papers, 11 8 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Featured article
Open Access
Activities
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Nyfiken på?
Sapir, Y. (Participant)
2025-Nov-27Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of public lecture/debate/seminar
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Älvdalskans och dalmålets ursprung och släktskap inom den nordiska språkfamiljen
Sapir, Y. (Speaker)
2025-Nov-19Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Varifrån kommer dalmålet och var är rättviksmålet plats bland dalmålen? Om urnordiska, jägare-samlare, svear och lövjerskor. Nya rön om dalmålet från Sapir & Lundgrens senaste bok, A Grammar of Elfdalian
Sapir, Y. (Speaker)
2025-Nov-15Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Dalarna under vendeltid och dalmålets ursprung – en kväll med Dalarnas historia och språk i fokus.
Sapir, Y. (Participant)
2025-Nov-10Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of public lecture/debate/seminar
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Minisymposium: Dalrunorna och dalskan – början på ett forskningsprojekt
Sapir, Y. (Participant)
2025-Nov-09Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of public lecture/debate/seminar
Press/Media
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Intervju till The Guardian om A Grammar of Elfdalian
24-11-03
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Newspaper
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Forskere fandt skatten i en svensk skov. Nu har de gennemskuet sproget.
24-10-02
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Newspaper
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Interview om projektet Small Languages Rock og truede sprog
23-11-16
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Radio