Not to be confused with Livvi-Karelian language or Livonian dialect.
This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used - notably liv for Liv. See why.(May 2019)
Livonian
līvõ kēļ
Native to
Latvia
Region
Livonian Coast
Ethnicity
Livonians
Extinct
2 June 2013, with the death of Grizelda Kristiņa (initial)[1][2]
Revival
1 native speaker[3]
~40 L2 speakers at B1 and up ~210 at A1–A2[4]
Language family
Uralic
Finno-Ugric
Finno-Permic?
Finno-Samic?
Finnic
Southern Finnic
Livonian
Dialects
Courland
Salaca †[5]
Official status
Recognised minority language in
Latvia[6]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
liv
Glottolog
livv1244
ELP
Livonian
Medieval Livonian areas (brown). Inset shows the Livonian villages at the beginning of the 20th century.[7][8]
Livonian is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
The Livonian language (Livonian: līvõ kēļ or rāndakēļ) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Riga, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia but also used to be spoken in the Salaca River valley. Although initially its last native speaker died in 2013,[1][9] a child, Kuldi Medne, born in 2020 is reported to be a native speaker of Livonian. Her parents are Livonian language revival activists Jānis Mednis and Renāte Medne.[10] Also, there are about 40 reported L2 speakers and 210 having reported some knowledge of the language. Possibly uniquely among the Uralic languages but similarly to Latvian and Lithuanian, Livonian has been described as a pitch-accent language (or restricted tone language, see below).[11]
Some ethnic Livonians are learning or have learned Livonian in an attempt to revive it, but because ethnic Livonians are a small minority, opportunities to use Livonian are limited. The Estonian newspaper Eesti Päevaleht erroneously announced that Viktors Bertholds, who died on 28 February 2009, was the last native speaker who started Latvian-language school as a monolingual.[12] Some other Livonians had argued, however, that there were some native speakers left,[13] including Viktors Bertholds' cousin, Grizelda Kristiņa, who died in 2013.[1] 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. In a 2009 conference proceeding, it was mentioned that there could be "at best 10 living native" speakers of the language.[14]
The promotion of the Livonian language as a living language has been advanced mostly by the 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), formerly a national branch of the European Bureau of Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL).
The language is taught in universities in Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden, which constantly increases the pool of people with some knowledge of the language who do not permanently reside in Latvia.
^ abcCharter, David (2013-06-05). "Death of a language: last ever speaker of Livonian passes away aged 103". The Times. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
^"Viimane emakeelne liivlane lahkus jäädavalt" Postimees, June 14, 2013 (in Estonian)
^""Kūldaläpš. Zeltabērns" – izdota lībiešu valodas grāmata bērniem un vecākiem". Latvijas Sabiedriskie Mediji (LSM.lv). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
^"LĪBIEŠU VALODAS SITUĀCIJA". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
^"Glottolog 4.5 – Salaca Livonian".
^Keeping Livonian – Latvia's Lesser Known Language – Alive, 17.06.2007 at dw.de
^Rantanen, Timo; Tolvanen, Harri; Roose, Meeli; Ylikoski, Jussi; Vesakoski, Outi (2022-06-08). "Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic". PLOS ONE. 17 (6): e0269648. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1769648R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269648. PMC 9176854. PMID 35675367.
^Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). Geographical database of the Uralic languages (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188
^"Obituary: Last Native Speaker of the Livonian Language Died Age 103". GeoCurrents. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
^"«Kūldaläpš. Zeltabērns» – izdota lībiešu valodas grāmata bērniem un vecākiem" ["Kūldaläpš. Golden Child" - Livonian book for children and parents published]. Lsm.lv (in Latvian). 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
^"Sketch of Livonian Sounds and Grammar". Virtual Livonia. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
^(in Estonian)Eesti Päevaleht Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine "Suri viimane vanema põlve emakeelne liivlane" ("The last native speaker of Livonian from the older generation has died"), March 4, 2009.
^"Latvia's tiny Livonian minority struggles to keep its language alive | Baltic States news & analytics". The Baltic Course. 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
^Balodis, Pauls (August 2009). "Personal Names of Livonian Origin in Latvia: Past and Present" (PDF). In Wolfgang Ahrens; Sheila Embleton; André Lapierre (eds.). Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. Toronto, Canada: York University. pp. 105–116. ISBN 978-1-55014-521-2. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
The Livonianlanguage (Livonian: līvõ kēļ or rāndakēļ) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Riga, located in the...
Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian and Finnish. Initially, the last person to have learned and spoken Livonian as a mother tongue...
The Livonianlanguage, spoken for centuries in Latvia, gradually declined until the death of its last fluent native speaker, Grizelda Kristiņa, on 2 June...
been also influenced by the Livonianlanguage. For example, Latvian borrowed first-syllable stress from Finno-Ugric languages. According to some glottochronological...
Look up Livonian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Livonian may refer to: Livonians, the Livonian people Livonianlanguage, a Finnic language native...
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. The...
language, which later spread through the rest of modern Latvia, absorbing features of the Old Curonian, Semigallian, Selonian and Livonianlanguages....
for children to teach children about the Livonianlanguage, culture etc. Līvõd Īt (Livonian Union) The Livonian linguistic and cultural heritage is included...
smaller minority languages are Sámi languages of the northern Fennoscandia; other members of the Finnic languages, ranging from Livonian in northern Latvia...
Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia...
The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal-sanctioned...
region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th...
who brought their Low German language to the region, which shaped many loanwords in the Latvian language. After the Livonian War (1558–1583), Livonia (Northern...
"extinct" to "critically endangered". A Livonianlanguage revival movement to promote the use of the Livonianlanguage has managed to train a few hundred people...
The Livonian Chronicle of Henry (Latin: Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland...
Livonian cuisine consists of the cuisine of Livonia and the Livonians, and is characterized by the rich use of local foods. Livonians are a coastal people...
February 2009) was a Livonian and one of the last native speakers of the Livonianlanguage. He was born in the village of Vaide (Livonian: Vaid) in 1921. Formerly...
Livonian is a Finnic language, and, as such, is closely related to both Estonian and Finnish. Livonian is a pitch accent language. It has a broken tone...
erected with the municipality's Livonian name to reflect its Livonian cultural heritage as part of the Livonianlanguage revival process. The sign is notable...
The Livonian War (1558–1583) was fought for control of Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a...
Livonian Coast (Livonian: Līvõd rānda; Latvian: Lībiešu krasts) also known as Livonia is a culturally protected territory of Latvia that was historically...
of the Livonians (Livonian: Līvõd plagā; Latvian: Līvu karogs) is a flag used to symbolize the Livonian people. It is in use of various Livonian cultural...
in Chile Grizelda Kristiņa (1910–2013), last native speaker of the Livonianlanguage Griselda Pascual (1926–2001), Spanish Catalan mathematician Griselda...
Elisa von der Recke /ˈkʊərlənd/; Latvian: Kurzeme; Livonian: Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: Kurland; Latin: Curonia/Couronia; Russian: Курляндия;...
develop their languages. Livonianlanguage is recognized as "the language of the indigenous (autochthon) population" in the Official Language Law, but Latgalian...
The other Finnic languages in the Baltic Sea region are Ingrian and Votic, spoken in Ingria by the Gulf of Finland, and Livonian, once spoken around...