Livonian (Līvõ kēļ) belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. It is a moribund language now spoken by some 35 people, of whom only 10 are fluent.^[1] It is related to Finnish, spoken on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, and (more closely) to Estonian. The native land of the Livonian people is Livonia, located in Latvia, 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. Baltic Tribes, ca 1200 CE This article is about the region in Europe. ... A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... Geographical distribution of Samoyedic, Finnic, Ugric and Yukaghir languages  Yukaghir  Samoyedic  Ugric  Finnic The Uralic languages (pronounced: ) form a language family of about 30 languages spoken by approximately 20 million people. ... Approximate geographical distribution of areas where indigenous Finno-Ugric languages are spoken. ... Geographical distribution of Finno-Ugric (Finno-Permic in blue, Ugric in green). ... Baltic-Finnic languages are a subgroup of Finno-Ugric languages, spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 6 million people. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... The Unicode Standard, Version 5. ... Finnic peoples (Fennic, sometimes Baltic-Finnic) refers to a group of related ethnic groups and nations speaking Finnic languages (also known as Balto-Finnic languages). ... Approximate geographical distribution of areas where indigenous Finno-Ugric languages are spoken. ... A language is usually considered moribund (literally, dying) when it is no longer the language of the community, and is no longer learned by children, so that without massive intervention it will likely become extinct when the last of its current speakers dies. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... The Livonians are the indigenous inhabitants of a large part of what is today the Republic of Latvia. ... Baltic Tribes, ca 1200 CE This article is about the region in Europe. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ...

The Livonian alphabet is a hybrid which mixes Latvian and Estonian orthography.

Livonian alphabet:

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.

Phonology

Vowels

Livonian has 8 vowels:

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. In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... A macron, from Greek (makros) meaning large, is a diacritic ¯ placed over a vowel originally to indicate that the vowel is long. ...

Consonants

Livonian has 23 consonants:

/n/ becomes [ŋ] preceding /k/ or /ɡ/.

Grammar

Main article: Livonian grammar

Livonian is a Baltic-Finnic language, and, as such, is closely related to both Estonian and Finnish. ...

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: It has been suggested that Moribund language be merged into this article or section. ...

• 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 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.

Map of the Livonian Confederation, showing the territories of the Order in 1260 Capital Fellin (Viljandi) Language(s) Low German Religion Roman Catholicism Government Principality Master of the Livonian Order  - 1204–09 Wenno von Rohrbach  - 1209–36 Volquin  - 1237–38 Hermann Balk¹  - 1559–61 Gotthard Kettler¹ Historical era Middle Ages... For the state, see Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. ... Baltic Tribes, ca 1200 CE This article is about the region in Europe. ... The Archibishopric of Riga within the Livonian Confederation, circa 1260. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Coat of arms of Courland Courland (Latvian: ; German: ; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: ; Estonian: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is an historical Baltic province now part of Latvia. ... Events Spain is effectively bankrupt. ... January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of the Kingdom of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Reformation reached Livonia in the 1520s. ... // Events Pope Innocent XIII becomes pope Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos April 4 - Robert Walpole becomes the first prime minister of Britain September 10 - Treaty of Nystad is signed, bringing an end to the Great Northern War November 2 - Peter I is proclaimed Emperor of All the Russias... The Treaty of Nystad (1721), signed at the present-day Finnish town of Uusikaupunki (Swedish Nystad), ended the Great Northern War, in which Russia received the territories of Estonia, Livonia and Ingria, as well as much of Karelia and Tsar Peter I of Russia replaced King Frederick I of Sweden... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

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 (consequently, Livonians called all Estonians 'rāndalist' ('islanders')). As a result, the knowledge of Estonian spread among those Livonians and words of Estonian origin also came into Livonian. (Ariste 1981: 79) Courland, Kurland, Couronia, or Curonia, a former Baltic province of the Teutonic Order state in Livonia (ca. ... Map of the Estonian archipelago (Saaremaa and Hiiumaa) Landsat satellite photo of Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island (2,673 km²) belonging to Estonia. ...

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 Valsō

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 pǟgiñ:

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.

Kuñš īebõd pandõkst, kūoḑõd ja kuodād,

Täddõn nagrõs muidlõb kūolõn pǟlū.

Lyrics by Tõnu Trubetsky

Translated by Valt Ernštreit

Tõnu Trubetsky (born 24 April 1963), also known as Tony Blackplait, is a Polish-Ruthenian-Estonian New Romantic/punk rock musician, film and music video director, and anarchist. ...

See Also

• Min izāmō – The national anthem of the Livonians

Min izāmō is the national anthem of the Livonians. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogising the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognised either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ...

Bibliography

• Fanny de Siviers. 2000. 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. 1999. Livisches Wörterbuch : mit grammatischer Einleitung. Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian Society. (German)

Paul Ariste Paul Ariste (February 3, 1905, Torma, Jõgevamaa – February 2, 1990, Tartu) was an Estonian linguist renowned for his studies of the Finno-Ugric languages (especially Estonian and Votic), Yiddish[1] and Baltic Romani language. ...

References

1. ^ ed. György Nanovfszky: Nyelvrokonaink. Budapest, 2000.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Livonian Anthem

• Virtual Livonia
• Ethnologue report
• Latvian-Livonian-English Dictionary