Latvian
Latvian, or Lettish, is the official language of the Republic of Latvia, where
about 1.7 million people speak it as their first language. It belongs to the
East Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family, which also contains
Lithuanian, its closest relative. Although spoken over a small area, Latvian
has a number of dialects that fall into two major groups, East and West. These
two dialect groups are quite similar, but each has a separate literary tradition.
West Latvian forms the basis of the standard.
The oldest known records of written Latvian can be traced back to the thirteenth
century, and, beginning in the sixteenth century, the Latvian language began
to be standardized. An important stage in the further development of the Latvian
standard language is linked with the National Awakening movement in the middle
of the nineteenth century when outstanding poets of the period attempted to
purify, enrich, and develop Latvian into a vehicle for poetry and science. Since
Latvia has been annexed by a succession of countries--Germany, Poland, Sweden,
and Russia--the various languages spoken in these countries (which were used
for administration, religion, and literature) have all influenced the formation
of Latvian. Latvian is written using a Roman alphabet.
Sources:
UCLA Language Materials Project
Information on writing system:
Independent Study Courses Available at UCSD:
Other Local Resources:
UCSD International Center
Mingei museum of folk art
International web radio