Also Known As:
rānda kēļ, Liv, Liivõ Keelj, liiv, Livisch, kurländisch-livisch, live, rändalis-, livy, Livian, rānda kēl΄, libiesu valoda, livskij jazyk
Dialects & Varieties
- Eastern Livonian
- Western Livonian
The role of Livonian in Latvia from a sociolinguistic perspective
The role of Livonian in Latvia from a sociolinguistic perspective
Awakening
"The 30 people mentioned above (Livones) who speak Livonian well include scientists and other interested individuals from research insti-tutions around the world but who are not Livonians themselves; Livo-nian descendants who did not learn Livonian from their parents but from their grandparents; also those who learned Livonian from a fluent older speaker (not a family member) and through self-study. It may be that 30 is too large of a number if we evaluate these speakers using, for example, the language proficiency levels as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (using their general principles, as a description of Livonian language proficiency levels is not, of course, currently available and for the time being is not even pos-sible to generate)."
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
250
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
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Location and Context
Countries
No results found.
Location Description
No results found.
Government Support
None
Institutional Support
Latvian Language Agency, University of Latvia Livonian Institute
Speakers' Attitude
"Indeed, despite the activities of the Livonian community, significant contributions to the field of Livonian language research, intense popularising of Livonian issues by the Latvian Language Agency, and the recent establishment of the University of Latvia Livonian Institute, some sense of alienation may still be felt between the Livonians and Latvian society as a whole. This situation may not be improved by governmental efforts alone; a change in public opinion is the decisive factor. Until now, the focus in public discourse concerning the Livonians has been on factual information about language, ethnodemography, history, and also on Livonian organisations and governmental support for Livo-nian language and culture. The development and protection measures directed to the Livonian language are largely ignoring the language situation in the Republic of Latvia – the ethnogenetic territory of both the Livonians and Latvians."
Other Languages Used By The Community
Latvian, Russian, English
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
No results found.
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
No results found.
Recent Resources
"A site where you can found objective, modern, scientifically precise and versatile information abou
Grizelda Kristiņ died in 2013. There are now thought to be no native speakers of Livonian.
Grizelda Kristiņ died in 2013. There are now thought to be no native speakers of Livonian.