Livonian language revival
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The
Livonian language The Livonian language ( liv, līvõ kēļ, link=no or ; et, liivi keel, link=yes) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Livonia, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia. Although its last ...
, spoken for centuries in Latvia, gradually declined until the death of its last fluent native speaker, , in 2013. Nevertheless, today there are several ethnic
Livonians The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language c ...
that are striving for the revival of the language, with about 210 people with some knowledge of it in the world.


Background

The
Livonian language The Livonian language ( liv, līvõ kēļ, link=no or ; et, liivi keel, link=yes) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Livonia, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia. Although its last ...
is a
Finnic language The Finnic (''Fennic'') or more precisely Balto-Finnic (Balto-Fennic, Baltic Finnic, Baltic Fennic) languages constitute a branch of the Uralic language family spoken around the Baltic Sea by the Baltic Finnic peoples. There are around 7 mi ...
, similar to Estonian and
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, spoken in Latvia. Its gradual decline, which had already been occurring for centuries earlier, was accelerated after the
Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in ...
. The
Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...
took control of the
Livonian Coast Livonian Coast ( liv, Līvõd Rānda, italic=no; lv, Lībiešu krasts, italic=no) is a territory of Latvia historically inhabited by Livonian people. It is located in Northern Courland and encompasses twelve Livonian villages. The protected are ...
, the place where a few hundred Livonian speakers still remained, and restricted access to the area. The Livonian language became extinct on 2 June 2013 when , its last fluent native speaker, died at age 103. She had left Latvia in 1944 due to its occupation by the Soviets and settled in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, where she lived until her death. She helped researchers preserve the language while being there. Shortly before her death, in the Latvian census of 2011, some 250 people declared their ethnicity to be Livonian.


Revival

Since the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, the Livonian language has been undergoing a revival process. As of 1998, there were already young Livonian volunteers motivated with the idea of reviving the language. Some of them were taught it by Livonian teachers through a textbook made by Kersti Boiko, a professor at the
University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...
, with 800 words designed to be taught on 10 lessons. A collection of Livonian
poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...
s had also been published and printed by then. A decade later, the movement was still popular among Livonian youth, some of whom met regularly in Riga, the Latvian capital, and then went to the village of
Mazirbe Mazirbe ( liv, Irē or '', german: Klein-Irben'') is a village place in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia 18 km southwest of Kolka. It is one of twelve Livonian villages on ' - the Livonian Coast. Mazirbe is the cultural capital ...
(where there is a Livonian
cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...
) or to Livonian language-only camps. The Livonian language revival movement is not being supported by either the
government of Latvia 200px, Meeting room of the Government of Latvia in the Palace of Justice The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia ( lv, Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic ...
or any other (such as the Estonian one), so it depends on Livonian cultural organizations. Some examples of these are the Livonian Association (), the Society of Friends of Livonia () or the Livonian Cultural Center (). These organize cultural events and publish studies on the Livonians, including their language. As of 2011, the number of people who had some knowledge of the language at a level of A1 or A2 was of 210, while those who had a knowledge of B1 or higher were 40. Some of them learned what they know of the language through programs of the Latvian Academy of Culture or the
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
of Tartu,
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
or Latvia.


See also

*
List of revived languages A revived language is one that, having experienced near or complete language extinction as either a spoken or written language, has been intentionally revived and has regained some of its former status. The most frequent reason for extinction i ...
*
Cornish language revival The Cornish language revival ( kw, dasserghyans Kernowek, lit='resurrection of Cornish') is an ongoing process to revive the use of the Cornish language of Cornwall, England. The Cornish language's disappearance began to hasten during the 13th cent ...
*
Māori language revival The Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the use of te reo Māori, the Māori language. Primarily in New Zealand, but also in places with large numbers of expatriate New Zealanders (such as London and Melbo ...
*
Revival of the Hebrew language The revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and Palestine toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, through which the language's usage changed from the sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and written language ...


References


External links

*, a website with information about Livonian culture, history and language *The of the Livonian Institute of the University of Latvia *{{URL, livones.net/lv/norises/2020/libiesu-vasaras-skola-mierlinkizt, Mierlinkizt, an annual summer camp for Livonian children for teaching them their culture and language revival Language revival Education in Latvia