Livonian language
| Livonian | ||
|---|---|---|
| Līvõ kēļ | ||
| Spoken in | ||
| Region | Livonia (Livonian Coast) | |
| Total speakers | no native users[1] but numerous second language users[2] |
|
| Language family | Uralic
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| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | None | |
| ISO 639-2 | fiu (Other Finno-Ugric languages) | |
| ISO 639-3 | liv | |
| Linguasphere | ||
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Livonian (Līvõ kēļ or rāndakēļ) belongs to the Baltic Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. It is a extinct language, the last native speaker past away in February 2009.[3] It is closely related to Estonian. The native land of the Livonian people is Livonia, located in Latvia, in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula.
Some ethnic Livonians are learning or have learnt the language in an attempt to revive it, but, as ethnic Livonians are a small minority, opportunities to use Livonian are limited. The Estonian newspaper Eesti Päevaleht announced that Viktor Berthold, the last native speaker who started the Latvian-language school as a monolingual, died on 28 February 2009. Some other Livonians recently argued, though, that there are some native speakers left[4]. An article published by the Foundation for Endangered Languages in 2007 stated that there were only 182 registered Livonians and a mere six native speakers. Last native user of Livonian, Viktor Berthold, died in 2009[5].
The promotion of the Livonian language as a living language has been advanced mostly by Livonian Cultural Centre (Līvõ Kultūr Sidām), an organisation of mostly young Livonians. Livonian as a lesser used language in Latvia – along with Latgalian – is represented by the Latvian Bureau of Lesser Used Languages (LatBLUL), a national branch of the European Bureau of Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL).
As a second language, Livonian has about 20 speakers in Latvia.[6] However, the language is taught in universities in Latvia, Estonia and Finland, which constantly increases the pool of second-language speakers who do not constantly reside in Latvia.
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Death of last Livionian
This text was written by Johanna Laakso at Tangyras website. Tangyra is a non-governmental organisation working to spread the interest of finno-ugric language and culture.
The last Livonian is dead.
Viktor Berthold, probably the last Livonian speaker of the generation who learnt Livonian as first language in a Livonian-speaking family and community, is dead on February 28th, 2009, ironically, the day of Kalevala (day of Finnish culture).
As reported in the Estonian newspaper “Eesti Päevaleht”, Viktor Berthold was born in 1921 and probably belonged to the last generation of children who started their (Latvian-medium) primary school as Livonian monolinguals; only a few years later it was noted that Livonian parents had begun to speak Latvian with their children. During World War II, Berthold, unlike most Livonian men, managed to avoid being mobilized in the armies of either occupation force by hiding in the woods. After the war, Berthold worked in various professions and shared his knowledge of Livonian language with many field linguists; in the 1990s, he also taught Livonian in children’s summer camps.
Berthold’s last Livonian-speaking family members, his brother and his wife, died in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, many other prominent “last Livonians” have also passed away, such as Poulin Klavin (1918-2001), keeper of many Livonian traditions and the last Livonian to reside permanently on the Courland coast, and Edgar Vaalgamaa (1912-2003), clergyman in Finland, translator of the New Testament and author of a book on the history and culture of the Livonians (“Valkoisen hiekan kansa”, Jyväskylä 2001).
The survival of the Livonian language now depends on young Livonians who, in the best case, may have learnt Livonian in their childhood from grandparents or great-grandparents of the pre-war generations. There are not very many of them, but all in all, there are a few hundred ethnic Livonians in Latvia now who are interested in their Livonian roots. Some young Livonians not only sing folk-songs in Livonian but even strive at actively using Livonian in everyday communication.
Phonology
Vowels
Livonian has 8 vowels:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i /i/ | õ /ɨ/ | u /u/ |
| Near-close | ȯ /ʊ/ | ||
| Mid | e /ɛ/ | [ə]1 | o /o/ |
| Open | ä /æ/ | a /ɑ/ |
- Unstressed /ɨ/ is realized as [ə].
All vowels can be long or short. Short vowels are written as indicated in the table; long vowels are written with an additional macron ("¯") over the letter, so, for example, [æː] = ǟ. The Livonian vowel system is notable for having a stød similar to Danish. As in other languages with this feature, it is thought to be a vestige of an earlier pitch accent.
Consonants
Livonian has 23 consonants:
| Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ņ /ɲ/ | [ŋ]1 | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | p /p/ | t /t̪/ | ț /c/ | k /k/ | |
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d̪/ | ḑ /ɟ/ | g /ɡ/ | ||
| Fricative | voiceless | f /f/ | s /s/ | š /ʃ/ | h /h/ | |
| voiced | v /v/ | z /z/ | ž /ʒ/ | |||
| Trill | r /r/ | ŗ /rʲ/ | ||||
| Approximant | Central | j /j/ | ||||
| Lateral | l /l/ | ļ /ʎ/ | ||||
/n/ becomes [ŋ] preceding /k/ or /ɡ/.
Alphabet
The Livonian alphabet is a hybrid which mixes Latvian and Estonian orthography.
A/a, Ā/ā, Ä/ä, Ǟ/ǟ, B/b, D/d, Ḑ/ḑ, E/e, Ē/ē, F/f, G/g, H/h, I/i, Ī/ī, J/j, K/k, L/l, Ļ/ļ, M/m, N/n, Ņ/ņ, O/o, Ō/ō, Ȯ/ȯ, Ȱ/ȱ, Õ/õ, Ȭ/ȭ, P/p, R/r, Ŗ/ŗ, S/s, Š/š, T/t, Ț/ț, U/u, Ū/ū, V/v, Z/z, Ž/ž
Grammar
History
In the 19th century, about 2,000 people still spoke Livonian; in 1852, the number of Livonians was 2394 (Ariste 1981: 78). Various historical events have led to the near total language death of Livonian:
- In the 13th century, speakers of Livonian numbered 30,000 (Schätzung Vääri, 1966).
- The German invasion: around the year 1200, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the Teutonic knights conquered Livonia, leading to contention of rule of the area between these orders and the Archbishopric of Riga.
- 1522: The introduction of the Reformation. Courland was annexed to Denmark.
- 1557: The Russian invasion.
- 1558-1583: Livonian War. Russians, Swedes, Danes, Lithuanians and Poles fought over the area.
- 1721: The Treaty of Nystad. Livonia and Courland became provinces of Tsarist Russia.
- 1918: The founding of Latvia; the Livonian language re-blossomed.
- World War II and Soviet Union: Marginalization of Livonian.
Language contacts with Latvians and Estonians
Livonian has been - for centuries - thoroughly influenced by Latvian in terms of grammar, phonology and word derivation etc. It is worthy of mention, that especially from the end of the 19th century on there were also many contacts with Estonians, namely, between (Kurzeme) Livonian fishers or mariners and the Estonians from Saaremaa or other islands. Many inhabitants of the islands of Western Estonia went to work in summer to the villages of the Kurzeme Livonians. As a result, the knowledge of Estonian spread among those Livonians and words of Estonian origin also came into Livonian. (Ariste 1981: 79)
Common phrases
- Hello! – Tēriņtš!
- Bon Appetit - Jõvvõ sīemnaigõ!
- Good morning! - Jõvā ūomõg! / Jõvvõ ūomõgt!
- Good day! - Jõvā pǟva! / Jõvvõ päuvõ!
- Thank you! - Tienū!
- Happy new year! - Vȯndzist Ūdāigastõ!
- die - kȭlmä
- one – ikš
- two – kakš
- three – kuolm
- four – nēļa
- five – vīž
- six – kūž
- seven – seis
- eight – kōdõks
- nine – īdõks
- ten – kim
Written language example
Mustā plagā valsõ
- Kubbõ āt tuļ immõr satunnõd mingizt.
- Mustā lupāt um vȯrd tutkām jūs.
- Nǟlgalizt nīelõb min mȯistõmõt rõkūd
- Sigžtūļ käds ikš dadžā ja ūgõb.
- Mitikš äb tō ku sa kēratõkst pǟgiņ:
- Um jõvīst, až sāina pǟl kēratõd "A".
- Võid stalažod arrõ, až sainõ äb sȭita -
- Ma vāgiž set kītõb, ku jõvīst tīed sa
- Ja tikkiž ja tegīž um lagtõd sin tōmi
- Sīest, mis sinnõn tīemõst ja mis sinā võid.
- Až suggõbõd suodād ja revolūtsijõd,
- Siz nustām sīes pāikal. Pǟdõ ka mēg.
- Až nai ikškõrd vāldiž ka mäddõn tīeb sillõ.
- Īezõ palābõd sīlmad, kus pīegiļtiz irm.
- Siz grumā touvõd mäd' āndabõd villõ
- Ja kõzzist pīkstõbõd pimdõd joud.
- Ni īdskubs himnõ mēg lōlam īe pierrõ,
- Sīest mēḑi ta kāitsõb ja sīnda ka tōks.
- Sīest lōlam mēg: "Julgizt ni, veļīd, tīe jūrõ!"
- Täuds sidāms oppõrmīel põrāndõks.
- Leb Valst āigastsadā võilõb se kāngaz,
- Mustā ku loptõmõt mōīlmarūim.
- Kuņš īebõd pandõkst, kūoḑõd ja kuodād,
- Täddõn nagrõs muidlõb kūolõn pǟlū.
- Lyrics by Tõnu Trubetsky, translated by Valt Ernštreit.
See also
- Min izāmō – The national anthem of the Livonians
- Tulli Lum - A music group with a Livonian singer
References
- ↑ Helsinki.fi - Uralic (Finno-Ugrian) languages
- ↑ Livonian is listed as “critically endangered” in the latest atlas of endangered languages compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Latvians on line
- ↑ extinct language
- ↑ http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=3215
- ↑ (Estonian)Eesti Päevaleht “Suri viimane vanema põlve emakeelne liivlane″ ('The last native speaker of Livonian from the older generation has died'), March 4, 2009.
- ↑ UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Select « Country or area » : Latvia and then Livonian language in list.).
Bibliography
- Fanny de Sivers. 2001. Parlons live – Une langue de la Baltique. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-7475-1337-8. (French)
- Paul Ariste 1981. Keelekontaktid. Tallinn: Valgus. [pt. 2.6. Kolme läänemere keele hääbumine lk. 76 - 82] (Estonian)
- Lauri Kettunen. 1938. Livisches Wörterbuch : mit grammatischer Einleitung. Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian Society. (German)
- Tooke, William (1799). View of the Russian Empire During the Reign of Catharine the Second, and to the Close of the Present Century.. London: T. N. Longman, O. Rees, and J. Debrett. pp. 523–527. http://books.google.com/books?id=wBIbAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA523,M1.
External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Livonian Anthem
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