The Ludza dialect or Lutsi () is a dialect of
South Estonian
South Estonian, spoken in south-eastern Estonia, encompasses the Tartu, Mulgi, Võro and Seto varieties. There is no academic consensus on its status, as some linguists consider South Estonian a dialect group of Estonian whereas other linguist ...
spoken in Latvia by the
Ludza Estonians
The Ludza Estonians (in the Ludza dialect: ''Lutsi maarahvas'' – ‘Lutsi Estonians’, in Latvian: ''Ludzas igauņi'') are a group of ethnic Estonians living in and around Ludza, south-eastern Latvia.
History
Most of the Ludza Estonians ...
near the town of
Ludza
Ludza (; pl, Lucyn, german: Ludsen, russian: Лудза, ''Ludza'') is a town in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. Ludza is the oldest town in Latvia and this is commemorated by a key in its coat of arms. Ludza is the administrative centre o ...
in Latvia. Ludza is the most similar to the
Seto dialect
Seto (; et, setu keel) is a dialect of Estonian or a separate language spoken by 12,549 people. It is sometimes identified as a dialect of Võro, or the two are described as one language, Võro-Seto. Setos () mostly inhabit the area near E ...
of South Estonian.
The Ludza dialect has been on a decline and is now extinct. It was estimated that around 800 people spoke Ludza in the year 1894, and in 1936 this number had decreased to only around 30-40 people. The
last native speaker
Within the linguistic study of endangered language, endangered languages, sociolinguists distinguish between different speaker types based on the type of Linguistic competence, competence they have acquired of the endangered language. Often when a ...
of Ludza died in the year 2006 but some people still have small knowledge of the dialect. The last native speaker of the Ludza dialect was
Nikolājs Nikonovs, who was from the village of
Lielie Tjapši.
The last knowledgeable passive speaker Antonīna Nikonova, died later in 2014.
History
The origin of the Ludza people is a mystery, and there are many theories about it. Lutsis themselves had many stories about their origins, one of the stories is about fleeing from
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. In 1893 Oskar Kallas found Ludzi speakers in 53 villages around
Mērdzene,
Pilda,
Nirza and
Brigi. There were attempts to get Ludza be taught in schools, and creating a standard written form. However these efforts were stopped by
Ulmanis
Ulmanis (feminine: Ulmane) is a Latvian surname of German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** ...
. And Voolaine, who was the one to attempt creating Ludza education was banned from entering
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. During the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation, Voolaine visited the Lutsis again. Lutsi dialect persisted the longest in
Lielie Tjapši.
Current situation
The Ludza people are still mostly aware of their heritage and some can make sentences in Ludza and know a few words. The Ludza people have in recent times connected with Livonians and in 2019 a Ludza song was performed at a Livonian culture event.
In the year 2020 a book was published for studying the Ludza dialect called "" by Uldis Balodis.
Lutsis who live in the area around
Mērdzene generally have no knowledge of the Ludza dialect but areas south of the town of Ludza near
Pilda have more knowledge of the language.
Example of words in Ludza
* = bread
* = butter
* = cat
* = dog
* = hen
* = house
* = pig
* = hand/arm
* = hat
* = head
* = leg/foot
* = girl
* = friend
Examples of Ludza
= ''The king sent the army to look for the boy''
= From where did you get those fish?
= Still the mother is sending the son to war.
= Come up the mountain
= Give it to me to taste, too
= The priest doesn't sleep until twelve o'clock
Phonology
Consonants
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lutsimaa
Estonian dialects
South Estonian language
Finnic languages
Vowel-harmony languages
Languages of Latvia
Extinct languages of Europe