Latvian language

The Latvian language, also known as Lettish, is an East Baltic language in the larger Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Baltic region and is the official language of Latvia. It is also an official language in the European Union. Today, about 1.5 million people speak Latvian as their first language, most living in Latvia and some in other countries.

Latvian is closely related to the Lithuanian language and to the now-extinct Old Prussian language. Though these languages come from the same root, Latvian has developed its own unique way over time. There is some discussion about whether certain dialects, like Standard Latgalian and Kursenieki, are part of Latvian or separate languages.

The Latvian language first appeared in printed books in the middle of the 1500s. One of the earliest printed examples was the Lord's Prayer in a big book called Cosmographia universalis by Sebastian Münster. This book used the Latin script, the alphabet most people use today to write Latvian.

Classification

The Latvian language is part of a big group of languages called Indo-European. It belongs to a special group called the Baltic languages, along with Lithuanian. These two languages share many old features from an ancient language called Proto-Indo-European. Over time, they have changed in their own ways. Latvian has been influenced by the Livonian language.

History

The Latvian language comes from ancient Baltic roots. It started to form after mixing with languages from nearby tribes like the Curonians and Semigallians. This happened mostly after the 13th century when Latvia became part of Medieval Livonia.

In the 1500s and 1600s, the first books in Latvian were written. These included a hymn translation, a catechism, and the first Bible translations. The first alphabet book was also created.

During the 1800s, Latvian culture grew stronger, and more people began using the language. Later, rules under Russian control changed how the language was used. In the 1900s, many new people moved to Latvia, and not all learned the language well. After Latvia became independent again in 1991, new rules helped everyone learn and use Latvian. Today, about 80% of people in Latvia speak the language. There are also contests to help pick the best new words for modern ideas.

Dialects

There are three dialects in Latvian: the Livonic dialect, High Latvian, and the Central dialect. The Livonic dialect was influenced by the Livonian language and has two types: Vidzeme and Courland. It has special ways of using sounds in words and has changed over time due to people moving and using a standard language.

The Central dialect, spoken in central and southwestern Latvia, is the basis of standard Latvian. It has three types: Vidzeme, Curonic, and Semigallic. Each type has its own special ways of using sounds in words.

High Latvian is spoken in eastern Latvia and has two main types: Selonic and Non-Selonic. These types have different sound patterns. There is also a standard form called Standard Latgalian, which helps keep this dialect alive. Many people in Latvia speak this dialect, and they also use the standard Latvian language. Efforts are made to protect and promote this dialect.

Non-native speakers

Many people in Latvia speak Latvian even if it is not their first language. There are around 700,000 people who are not native Latvians, including Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Poles. Most of these people moved to Latvia between 1940 and 1991.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Latvian became the country's only official language. This helped more people learn to speak it. In a survey from 2009, many people who grew up speaking Russian also knew Latvian well. Younger people, especially those between 17 and 25 years old, were even better at speaking Latvian. Today, knowing Latvian is important for many jobs.

Grammar

Main article: Latvian grammar

Latvian grammar has a clear system for changing words to show meaning. The stress is usually on the first part of a word. Latvian does not use words like "the"; instead, it changes the endings of adjectives. The usual order in a sentence is subject, then verb, then object, but this order can change sometimes.

Main article: Latvian declension

Latvian has two genders — masculine and feminine — and two numbers — singular and plural. Nouns, adjectives, and some other words change their endings to show relationships in the sentence.

Main article: Latvian grammar § Verb conjugation

Latvian verbs are divided into three groups. They change their endings to show who is doing the action, when it is happening, and how it is viewed.

Orthography

Main articles: Latvian orthography and Latvian Braille

Latvian uses the Latin alphabet. It once followed German writing rules, but now it matches sounds more closely.

Today, Latvian writing has 33 characters. It uses normal Latin letters with extra marks to show different sounds. These marks are small and appear above or below the letters, helping people read and say words right.

Before, Latvian writing was harder and followed German styles. Now, it is simpler and easier for people to use when writing or typing.

Phonology

Main article: Latvian phonology

Latvian has special sounds called consonants and vowels. Some consonants can be long or short, like in the word "mamma". Vowels can also be long or short. There are special vowel combinations called diphthongs.

The stress in Latvian words always starts at the beginning. Long vowels and diphthongs have a special tone, no matter where they appear in the word.

Loanwords

Many words in the Latvian language come from other languages. When Livonia was ruled by Germany, words like amats (profession) and būvēt (to build) entered Latvian from Middle Low German.

When Sweden ruled Livonia, words such as skurstenis (chimney) came from Swedish.

Latvian also borrowed words from Finnic languages, mainly from Livonian and Estonian. Examples include māja (house) and puika (boy). Other loanwords come from Old Prussian and Lithuanian.

History of the study

The first dictionary of the Latvian language, called Lettus, was made by Georg Mancelius and published in 1638.

In 1644, the first grammar book for the Latvian language was written by Johans Georgs Rehehūzens. It was a short guide called Manuductio ad linguam lettonicam and was printed in Riga.