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Language Information By Source

Livonian – the most endangered language in Europe?
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Dormant

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

Some

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

"...in 2011 a 101-year-old speaker was known to be living... in Toronto; she moved away [from Latvia] in 1944. She has since died, and so, in terms of native-born mother-tongue speakers, the language could be said to be extinct." "Ethnic Livonians using the heritage language are scattered."

Year of info

2014

Location and Context

Countries

Latvia

Coordinates

No data

Location description

"on the northern edge of the coast of Kurzeme province in western Latvia."

Government support

None

Institutional support

Līvõ Kultūr Sidām (Latvia), Liivi Sõprade Selts (Tartu, Estonia), Livonian-German dictionary, New Testament

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

Latin

Other writing systems

"on the northern edge of the coast of Kurzeme province in western Latvia."

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Latvian

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

"...it is not actively promoted by central government in either Estonia or Latvia. Therefore the language is destined to be the focus of a minority interest group and, even on its home territory, the reminders of the language’s presence are pretty weak."

Critically Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

1

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

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Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

200

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

(T. Salminen)

Year of info

2015

Location and Context

Countries

Latvia

Coordinates

No data

Location description

"Riga city: Kurzeme district, west of Kolkasrags, 12 coastal villages; otherwise scattered."

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

Latin

Other writing systems

"Riga city: Kurzeme district, west of Kolkasrags, 12 coastal villages; otherwise scattered."

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Critically Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

~1

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

In 1989, fifty speakers were reported from Latvia and about the same number in parts of the Russian Federation, but these figures were clearly inflated. There is possibly only one speaker with full native competence, which makes the language nearly extinct. At the same time, there are several younger descendants of Livonian speakers who have learnt Livonian as second language and cultivate it actively.

Year of info

2007

Location and Context

Countries

Latvia

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Spoken mainly along the northern coast of Curonia in the northwest, but also scattered elsewhere; formerly also in the historical province of Livonia east of the Gulf of Riga.

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Spoken mainly along the northern coast of Curonia in the northwest, but also scattered elsewhere; formerly also in the historical province of Livonia east of the Gulf of Riga.

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Critically Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

~15

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

~20

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

About 35 persons could speak Livonian in 1990, 15 of them fluently.

Year of info

1993

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Ancient Livonians lived in Livonia, i.e. in the 60--100 km wide area on the eastern coast of the Livonian Bay from the Väina river (Daugava) to the Estonian territory and in north Courland among the Courlanders. Some researchers are of the opinion that the Livonian habitat in North Latvia could have been wider. According to the chronicle of Henrik the Lett, the Livonians lived at the estuary of the Väina, on the Koiva (Gauya) and in Salatsi (Salaca). Nowadays, there are only an insignificant number of Livonians, living in the coastal villages of Northwest Courland and dispersed throughout Latvia (Ventspils, Talsi, Riga).

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Ancient Livonians lived in Livonia, i.e. in the 60--100 km wide area on the eastern coast of the Livonian Bay from the Väina river (Daugava) to the Estonian territory and in north Courland among the Courlanders. Some researchers are of the opinion that the Livonian habitat in North Latvia could have been wider. According to the chronicle of Henrik the Lett, the Livonians lived at the estuary of the Väina, on the Koiva (Gauya) and in Salatsi (Salaca). Nowadays, there are only an insignificant number of Livonians, living in the coastal villages of Northwest Courland and dispersed throughout Latvia (Ventspils, Talsi, Riga).

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Latvian

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2005

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

56.8333333333,24.0

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Severely Endangered

Native Speakers Worldwide

18

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Media Resources

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  3. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  4. Europe and North Asia
    Salminen, Tapani. 2007. "Europe and North Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 211-282. London & New York: Routledge.
  5. The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire
    "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire." edited by Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits. Online: http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook.
    http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook
  6. The World Atlas of Language Structures
    2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.
  7. Livonian
    Moseley, Christopher. 2002. "Livonian." 144: München: Lincom.
  8. Livische Grammatik nebst Sprachproben
    Sjogren, J. A. 1861. "Livische Grammatik Nebst Sprachproben." Commisionare der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  9. Livonian – the most endangered language in Europe?