The word "lapp" is spelled with two P's despite the fact that it only has one syllable. This is because the word comes from the Old Norse word "lappi", which was used to refer to the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. The double P in "lapp" serves to indicate the gemination, or lengthening, of the preceding vowel sound. In IPA phonetic transcription, "lapp" is spelled /læp/, with a short "a" sound followed by a consonant cluster of "p" and "p".
"Lapp" is a noun that refers to a member of the indigenous Sami people inhabiting the northern regions of Scandinavia and Russia, including parts of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Also known as the Saami or Sámi, they are considered as one of the oldest extant indigenous cultures in Europe. Historically, the term "Lapp" has been used as a general reference to the Sami people, although its use is now considered outdated and somewhat derogatory.
The Lapp people have a unique and rich cultural heritage, characterized by their language, Sámi, which belongs to the Uralic language family. They have a semi-nomadic lifestyle, traditionally relying on reindeer herding, fishing, and gathering for sustenance. Over the centuries, the Lapp people have endured many challenges to their way of life, including encroachment on their territories, assimilation efforts, and forced relocations.
As the Sami people strive to maintain and revitalize their cultural traditions, the use of the term "Lapp" is generally discouraged in favor of "Sami." This linguistic shift acknowledges the importance of accurately identifying and respecting indigenous communities while recognizing their significant contributions to the region's cultural diversity.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "lapp" derives from the Old Norse language. In Old Norse, the term "lapptr" or "lappadr" was used to refer to the indigenous people inhabiting the northern parts of modern-day Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. These people are now commonly known as the Sámi people. The term "lapp" gradually became a common way to refer to the Sámi people in various languages, including English. However, it is important to note that the term "lapp" is considered by many Sámi people as derogatory and disrespectful, so it is more appropriate to use the term "Sámi" instead.