Latvian Translation Services
Language History
Latvian belongs to the Indo-European language family and is the one of the only two Baltic languages to exist today. Throughout the years of its development, Latvian blended Latgalian, Curonian, Semigallan and Selonian to become one. Despite many influences from other languages like German and Russian, it’s believed that the language hasn’t drastically changed in the last few hundred years.
The earliest Latvian texts were written in the Gothic script rooting back to the 16 th century. The grammar of the language appeared in the 18 th century and by the 20 th century, the Latin alphabet was introduced.
Where is Latvian Spoken?
According to MustGo, Latvian is spoken by more than 1.5 million people in Latvia.\nHowever, it is also used as a primary language by another 150,000 people worldwide.
Latvian is the official language of Latvia. This language is also spoken in other countries around the world including Australia, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, the U.K, USA, and others.
FACT
The modern standard Latvian alphabet uses the same letters as the Latin alphabet except Q, W, X and Y. The modern standard Latvian alphabet uses the same letters as the Latin alphabet except Q, W, X and Y.
Did you know
Amharic is the second most spoken Semitic language in the whole
The Latvian Dialects
Livonian – spoken in Northwestern Latvia
Middle Latvian (basis of standard Latvian) – spoken in central and Southwestern and Northeastern Latvia
High Latvian – spoken in Southeastern Latvia
| Latvian | English |
|---|---|
| Sveicināti | Hello/greetings |
| Lūdzu | Please/you’re welcome |
| Paldies | Thank you |
| Labvakar | Good evening |
Population vs. Internet Penetration
Population
1,886,198
Internet users
1,663,739
Penetration
87.1%
Latvian Translation Tips
- Latvian has 12 vowels – either short or long. The length of the vowel length is determined by the meaning of the word.
- There are two genders in the Latvian language – masculine and feminine.
- Latvian nouns are either singular or plural but sometimes dual.
- Word order in Latvian is generally Subject-Verb-Object, but other orders are also seen in the language.
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