Livonian language

History

In the nineteenth century, about 2,000 people still spoke Livonian; in 1852, the number of Livonians was 2,394. Various historical events have led to the near total language death of Livonian:

The Livonians' ancestors settled in Livonia in the first half of the 1st millennium B.C., probably moving along the Daugava. In the 13th century, the native Livonians inhabited the Estonian counties Alempois, Jogentagana Järva, Läänemaa, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Sakala, Ugandi, and Vaiga in the north, and by the Daugava in the south. The Livonian settlement of Curonia was also begun then. In the 12th-13th centuries the Livonian lands were conquered by the Teutonic Order. The conquest led to a strong decrease in the number of speakers of the Livonian language, empty Livonian lands inhabited by the Latvians, which contributed to the replacement of the Livonian language in favor of Latvian. It is estimated that at the time of the German colonization, there were 30,000 Livonians. In the 19th century the number of speakers of the Couronian dialect is estimated as follows: 2,074 people in 1835, 2,324 people in 1852, 2,390 people in 1858, 2,929 people in 1888. According to the Soviet Census of 1989, 226 people were Livonian, and almost half of them spoke Livonian. According to estimates of the Liv Culture Center in 2010, only 40 people spoke Livonian in everyday life. In 2013, there were none who spoke Livonian in everyday life.

Early literature

The first Livonian words were recorded in the Livonian Chronicle of Henry. The first written sources about Livonian appeared in the 16th century. The collection of Livonian poems "Mariners sacred songs and prayers" (Latvian: Jūrnieku svētās dziesmas un lūgšanas) was translated to Latvian by Jānis Prints and his son Jānis Jr. was published in 1845. The first book in Livonian was the Gospel of Matthew, and was published in 1863 in London in both the eastern and western Courland dialects. It was translated to eastern Couronian by Nick Pollmann, and to western Couronian by Jānis Prints and Peteris. The plan with the book was to establish a standard orthography by F. Wiedemann, which consisted of 36 letters with many diacritics. The total circulation was 250 copies. The Livonians received only one copy of each dialect. The second book in Livonian was the same Gospel of Matthew, published in 1880 in St. Petersburg, with an orthography based on Latvian and German.

In the interwar period, there were several dozen books published in Livonian, mainly with the help of Finnish and Estonian organizations. In 1930, the first newspaper in Livonian, "Līvli", was published. In 1942, a translation of the New Testament was published in Helsinki. It was translated by Kōrli Stalte, with help from the Finnish linguist Lauri Kettunen. After the war, books in Livonian were no longer published, as Latvia was in the Soviet Union.

After Latvia regained its independence, the newsletter "Õvâ" was published in Livonian in 1994, dedicated to the Livonian culture, art and figures of the national movement, and in 1998 with the support of the "Open Society", the first collection of poetry anthology in Livonian "Ma akūb sīnda vizzõ, tūrska!" was published and presented in Finland and Estonia, and it combines the works of famous Livonian poets. To date, the only Livonian media outlet is trilingual (English-Latvian-Livonian) livones.lv (livones.net) operated by the Liv Culture Center.

Speakers of Livonian in the twenty-first century

Viktors Bertholds (July 10, 1921 – February 28, 2009), one of the last Livonian speakers of the generation who learnt Livonian as first language in a Livonian-speaking family and community, died on February 28, 2009. Though it was reported that he was the last native speaker of the language, Livonians themselves claimed that there are more native speakers still alive, albeit very few.

As reported in the Estonian newspaper Eesti Päevaleht, Viktors Bertholds was born in 1921 and probably belonged to the last generation of children who started their (Latvian-medium) primary school as Livonian monolinguals; only a few years later it was noted that Livonian parents had begun to speak Latvian with their children. During World War II, Bertholds, unlike most Livonian men, managed to avoid being mobilized in the armies of either occupation force by hiding in the woods. After the war, Bertholds worked in various professions and shared his knowledge of Livonian language with many field linguists; in the 1990s, he also taught Livonian in children’s summer camps.

Bertholds' Livonian-speaking brother and wife died in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, many other prominent "last Livonians" also died, such as Poulin Klavin (1918–2001), keeper of many Livonian traditions and the last Livonian to reside permanently on the Courland coast, and Edgar Vaalgamaa (1912–2003), clergyman in Finland, translator of the New Testament and author of a book on the history and culture of the Livonians.

Supposedly the last native speaker of Livonian was Grizelda Kristiņa, née Bertholds (1910–2013), who lived in Canada beginning in 1947. According to Valts Ernštreits, she spoke Livonian as well "as if she had stepped out of her home farm in a Livonian coastal village just yesterday". She was also a member of the Bertholds family and qualified as the last living native speaker of the Livonian language of her generation. She died on June 2, 2013.

The survival of the Livonian language now depends on young Livonians who learned Livonian in their childhood from grandparents or great-grandparents of the pre-war generations. There are not very many of them, but all in all, there are a few hundred ethnic Livonians in Latvia now who are interested in their Livonian roots. Some young Livonians not only sing folk-songs in Livonian but even strive at actively using Livonian in everyday communication. One such younger generation Livonian speaker is Julgī Stalte, who performs with the Livonian-Estonian World Music group Tuļļi Lum.

Phonology

Livonian, like Estonian, has lost vowel harmony, but unlike Estonian, it has also lost consonant gradation.

Vowels

Livonian has 8 vowels (2 vowels, marked in parentheses, were present in earlier generations but merged with other vowels in later generations; These were present as late as 1997):

1. Unstressed /ɨ/ is realized as [ə].

All vowels can be long or short. Short vowels are written as indicated in the table; long vowels are written with an additional macron ("ˉ") over the letter, so, for example, [æː] = ǟ. The Livonian vowel system is notable for having a stød similar to Danish. As in other languages with this feature, it is thought to be a vestige of an earlier pitch accent.

Livonian has also a large number of diphthongs, as well as a number of triphthongs. These can also occur short or long.

The two opening diphthongs /ie/ and /uo/ vary in their stress placement depending on length: short ie, uo are realized as rising [i̯e], [u̯o], while long īe, ūo are realized as falling [iˑe̯], [uˑo̯]. The same applies to the triphthongs uoi : ūoi.

Consonants

Livonian has 23 consonants:

/n/ becomes [ŋ] preceding /k/ or /ɡ/.

Alphabet

The Livonian alphabet is a hybrid which mixes Latvian and Estonian orthography.

A/a, Ā/ā, Ä/ä, Ǟ/ǟ, B/b, D/d, Ḑ/ḑ, E/e, Ē/ē, F/f, G/g, H/h, I/i, Ī/ī, J/j, K/k, L/l, Ļ/ļ, M/m, N/n, Ņ/ņ, O/o, Ō/ō, Ȯ/ȯ, Ȱ/ȱ, (Ö/ö), (Ȫ/ȫ), Õ/õ, Ȭ/ȭ, P/p, R/r, Ŗ/ŗ, S/s, Š/š, T/t, Ț/ț, U/u, Ū/ū, V/v, (Y/y), (Ȳ/ȳ), Z/z, Ž/ž The letters in parentheses were used for phonemes that were unrounded in later generations; these were used as late as 1997.

Language contacts with Latvians and Estonians

Livonian has for centuries been thoroughly influenced by Latvian in terms of grammar, phonology and word derivation etc. The dative case in Livonian, for example, is very unusual in a Finnic language. There are about 2,000 Latvian and 200 German loanwords in Livonian and most of the German words were adopted through Latvian. Latvian, however, was influenced by Livonian as well. Its regular syllable stress based on Livonian is very unusual in a Baltic language. In both languages the letter h is silent, unlike other Finnic and Baltic languages. Especially as of the end of the nineteenth century there was a great deal of contact with Estonians, namely between (Kurzeme) Livonian fishers or mariners and the Estonians from Saaremaa or other islands. Many inhabitants of the islands of Western Estonia worked in the summer in Kurzeme Livonian villages. As a result, a knowledge of Estonian spread among those Livonians and words of Estonian origin also came into Livonian. There are about 800 Estonian loanwords in Livonian, most of which were borrowed from the Saaremaa dialect.

Common phrases

Examples

1st Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

English

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Livonian

Amād rovzt attõ sindõnd brīd ja īdlizt eņtš vǟrtitõks ja õigiztõks. Näntõn um andtõd mūoštõks ja sidāmtundimi, ja näntõn um īdtuoisõ tuoimõmõst veļkub vaimsõ.

Estonian

Kõik inimesed sünnivad vabadena ja võrdsetena oma väärikuselt ja õigustelt. Neile on antud mõistus ja südametunnistus ja nende suhtumist üksteisesse peab kandma vendluse vaim.

Võr

Kyik' inemiseq sünnüseq avvo ja õiguisi poolõst ütesugumaidsis. Näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetunnistus ja nä piät üts'tõõsõgaq vele muudu läbi käümä

Seto

Kõik inemiseq sünnüseq avvo ja õiguisi poolõst ütesugumaidsist. Näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetun'stus ja nä piät ütstõõsõga vele muudu läbi kjauma.

Finnish

Kaikki ihmiset syntyvät vapaina ja tasavertaisina arvoltaan ja oikeuksiltaan. Heille on annettu järki ja omatunto, ja heidän on toimittava toisiaan kohtaan veljeyden hengessä.

Karelian

Kai rahvas roittahes vällinny da taza-arvozinnu omas arvos da oigevuksis. Jogahizele heis on annettu mieli da omatundo da heil vältämättäh pidäy olla keskenäh, kui vellil.

Vepsian

Kaik mehed sünduba joudajin i kohtaižin, ühtejiččin ičeze arvokahudes i oiktusiš. Heile om anttud mel’ i huiktusentund i heile tariž kožuda toine toiženke kut vel’l’kundad

The Lords Prayer

English

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom The power, and the glory Forever and ever. Amen

Livonian

Mạd iza, kis sa vuod touvis! pǖvātộd las sig sin nim. Las tugộ sin vạlikštộks, sin mēľ las sugūg kui touvis nei ka mạ pạ'l.Mạd jega pạvvist leibộ ạuda mạdộn tạmpộ. Un jeta mạdộn mạd vǖlgsd, kui ka meig jetām ummo vǖlgaloston. Un ạla ū meidi k'ertāmiz sizộl, aga pạsta meidi jera siest kunēsst

Estonian

Meie Isa, kes sa oled taevas, pühitsetud saagu sinu nimi, sinu riik tulgu, sinu tahtmine sündigu, kui taevas nõnda ka maa peal. Meie igapäevane leib anna meile tänapäev, ja anna andeks meile meie võlad, kui ka meie andeks anname oma võlglastele. Ja ära saada meid mitte kiusatuse sisse, vaid päästa meid ära kurjast

Finnish

Isä meidän, joka olet taivaissa, Pyhitetty olkoon sinun nimesi. Tulkoon sinun valtakuntasi. Tapahtukoon sinun tahtosi, myös maan päällä niin kuin taivaassa. Anna meille tänä päivänä meidän jokapäiväinen leipämme. Ja anna meille meidän syntimme anteeksi, niin kuin mekin anteeksi annamme niille, jotka ovat meitä vastaan rikkoneet. Äläkä saata meitä kiusaukseen, vaan päästä meidät pahasta. Sillä sinun on valtakunta ja voima ja kunnia iankaikkisesti

John chapter 1 verse 1 to 10

English

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

Livonian

1 Ȳrgandõksõs voļ Sõna ja Sõna voļ Jumal jūs ja Jumal voļ Sõna. 2. Ȳrgandõksõs ta voļ Jumal jūs 3. Amad ažad āt leb täm tiedõt ja ilm tǟnda äb ūo mittõ midagist tiedõt, mis um tiedõt. 4. Täms voļ jelami ja jelami voļ rovz sieldõm aga 5. Ja sieldõm pāistiz pimdõms ja pimdõm iz võta tǟnda vastõ 6. Ykš rišting, nimtõt Jān, sai Jumalst kaimdõt. 7) ta tuļ tapartõks pierast,āndam tapartõkst yļ sieldõm, laz amad uskõgõd leb täm. 8. Ta iz ūo sieldõm, aga tämmõn voļ sieldõm tapartõmõst. 9. Se voļ õigi sieldõm, mis āndab sieldõmt amad rovstõn, kis māilmõ tulbõd.

Estonian

1Alguses oli Sõna ja Sõna oli Jumala juures ja Sõna oli Jumal. 2Seesama oli alguses Jumala juures. 3Kõik on tekkinud tema läbi ja ilma temata ei ole tekkinud midagi. Mis on tekkinud 4tema kaudu, oli elu, ja elu oli inimeste valgus. 5Ja valgus paistab pimeduses, ja pimedus ei ole seda omaks võtnud. 6Oli Jumala läkitatud mees, nimega Johannes, 7see pidi tunnistust andma, tunnistama valgusest, et kõik hakkaksid tema kaudu uskuma. 8Tema ise ei olnud valgus, vaid ta pidi tunnistama valgusest. 9Tõeline valgus, mis valgustab iga inimest, oli maailma tulemas. 10Ta oli maailmas, ja maailm on tekkinud tema läbi, ja maailm ei tundnud teda ära.

Finnish

1 Alussa oli Sana, ja Sana oli Jumalan tykönä, ja Sana oli Jumala. 2 Hän oli alussa Jumalan tykönä. 3 Kaikki on saanut syntynsä hänen kauttaan, ja ilman häntä ei ole syntynyt mitään, mikä syntynyt on.4 Hänessä oli elämä, ja elämä oli ihmisten valkeus. 5 Ja valkeus loistaa pimeydessä, ja pimeys ei sitä käsittänyt. 6 Oli mies, Jumalan lähettämä; hänen nimensä oli Johannes. 7 Hän tuli todistamaan, todistaaksensa valkeudesta, että kaikki uskoisivat hänen kauttansa. 8 Ei hän ollut se valkeus, mutta hän tuli valkeudesta todistamaan. 9 Totinen valkeus, joka valistaa jokaisen ihmisen, oli tulossa maailmaan. 10 Maailmassa hän oli, ja maailma on hänen kauttaan saanut syntynsä, ja maailma ei häntä tuntenut.