Buch, Englisch, Band 144, 120 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 140 mm
Buch, Englisch, Band 144, 120 Seiten, Format (B × H): 210 mm x 140 mm
Reihe: Languages of the World - Materials
ISBN: 978-3-89586-158-1
Verlag: LINCOM
The Livonian, or Liv, language (Livonian randa kel 'coast language') is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup within Finno-Ugric. It was until recently spoken in twelve costal villages of Kurzeme province in Latvia. At the beginning of the twentieth century it had over two thousand speakers, but the dispersal of the population during two world wars and subsequently during the Soviet period has meant thtat the language has not been passed on to youngre generations, so that at present only about ten elderly first-langauge speakers remain alive. However, since the independence of Latvia in 1991, teaching of teh language has been resumed and other cultural activities to foster the langauge have provoded an opportunity for the belated revival of the language. Livonian is a written langauge, but the orthography has varied somewhat during the period of just over a century since it was firdt committed to writing.
