Latvian Language Agency is honoured to present the annual celebration of languages – a whole programme of events under the European Language Day. This day is celebrated in Europe on September 26th since the year 2001. This year, for the fourtheenth year in a row events in Latvia were organised and coordinated by the Latvian Language Agency, in close partnership with a number of cooperation partners.
Our programme of European Language day started On Seotember 1st at the Saldus City Library where we inaugurated photo exhibition „If It’s a Mistake, Make it Funny”. On September 18th Ventspils University of Applied Sciences and Baltic – German University Liaison Office hosted a theme event „Globalisation and Language”.
On September 25th we held a though exchange workshop under the title „Translating the World into Latvian Language”, showcasing such participants as Andrejs Vasiļjevs, Baiba Moļņika, Arno Jundze, Sigita Kušnere, Juta Pīrāga and Janušs Kaminskis. This event gathered distinguished experts from the literature and literary translation field to a panel discussion on teaching and preparing a new generation of translators and interpreters, but also on the diverse opportunities that a translator can encounter by becoming an ambassador of their language through the medium of literature. This event started at 11:00 a.m. and same day at 14:15 Latvia Univeristy Faculty of Humanities hosted a ceremonial inauguration of portraits of outstanding linguists J.Endzelīns and P. Šmits, which was followed by a lecture „English Language: Is It Really Illogical?” by lecturer Lauma Terēze Lapa. Later that day, at 17:00 Europe House was the venue for Masterclass in Greek Language, that offered an introduction to the basics of the Greek language and a glimpse into Greek culture. This class was lead by Prof. Ilze Rūmniece from the University of Latvia, founder of the Latvia University Centre of Hellenic studies. The other teacher was Gatis Ezerkalns, who had just graduated from his studies of Contemporary Greek language in Greece.
On September 26th, EU House offered a musical event „Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – 100 years! Listen and Sing the Languages of Baltic States!”, where participants were invited to learn the basics and try singing in all three languages: Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian. At the beginning of the event, from 18:00 participants were offered to learn short phrases in Lithuanian and Estonian languages as well as hear some exciting facts about these languages. This was followed by singing together, interactively lead by folklore group „Budēļi”.
Other European languages were also presented during this week. Special classes were held offering participants to listen to the sound and melody of a language, learn to say a few important words and phrases, as well as get inspired to eventually learn some of these languages more in-depth.
German language workshop on September 26th, at 15:00 showcased well known German ex-pat musician Jorans Steinhauers, who speaks several languages freely but regards German as his native language.
French Language workshop at 17:00 on September 27th offered a presentation of the French language with lecturers from the French Institute in Latvia. Participants engaged in interactive discussions about French words and phrases. Class offered a chance to hear many common words spoken in daily life, as well as a special selection of words that are similar in French and Latvian.
At 17:30 on September 27th started yet another class at „Birojnica”- „Latvian Language in the Family of European Languages”. This event was hosted by Elvis Jansons and included presentations by linguists Ilze Rūmniece and Jānis Silis.
On September 28th, at 17:00 in the afternoon Director of the Spanish Culture centre „Seneca” Javier Fernandez Cruz delivered at lecture „Spain: Myths and Truths”. Javier Fernandez Cruz has been teaching Spanish in Latvia for over ten years. His lecture provided a chance to learn some new exciting facts about the Spanish language and Spanish traditions, while also opened our eyes to certain misleading stereotypes about life in Spain.
Valmiera city hosted a larger cooperation project „School Bridges” between Latvian and Swedish educational establishments, with several events running from September 26th to September 29th.
The project aimed at promoting further cooperation between schools in Latvia and Sweden, including with Latvian diaspora schools abroad. This exchange event offered a chance for representatives from schools in Sweden and teachers from Latvian diaspora schools to get a deeper insight into the Latvian education system and school programmes, as well as to see with their own eyes how the schools actually work on normal day-today basis. Teachers from Latvian schools got an opportunity to know more about possibilities for learning Latvian language abroad and to exchange valuable experieces.
Baltic International Academy held a quiz show for students of humaniora „100 years of Latvia (1918 – 2018) in European Translations” on October 1st.
On October 5th to 6th Tartu University hosted the 6th International Baltic Students Conference „Bridged in the Baltics” .
On October 18th at 10:30 the EU House in Riga hosted international language consultant symposium „Challenges in the Life of Language Consultants”.
Our Agency announced yet another school student creative writing competition „My Childhood Story” on September 26th. This competition was open to schoolchildren and teenagers from Latvia and abroad, while adults and young adults were inivited to participate in story and photography competition „Word in the Right (Wrong) Place”. Competitions ran until November 18th, and rules of the competitions can be found on the homepage of Latvian Language Agency : www.valoda.lv
We invited enthusiasts in Latvia and abroad to participate and enrich the learning and usage experience of languages spoken in Europe, while also honouring and recognizing the Latvian language as our official state language.
European Language Day is an initiative of the Council of Europe. Latvian Language Agency implements the initiative in Latvia in cooperation with a whole number of partner organizations. European Language Day is held annually on September 26th, while many exciting events are held both before and after this date as well.
with no, little or good knowledge of Latvian (0 – B1 levels)
July 25 – August 8, 2018
For the fourth year, the University of Latvia in collaboration with the Latvian Language Agency organizes “Summer School of Latvian Language and Culture” for students and everyone who wants not only to learn or improve their Latvian language skills, but also to expand their knowledge of Latvian history, art and folklore.
The University offers:
intensive, modern and interactive Latvian language course (grammar, reading, writing, speaking, 64 academic hours);
afternoondiscussion of Latvian history and politics, getting acquainted with modern Latvian history and political situation in Latvia;
afternoondiscussion of Latvian culture and art, getting acquainted with its historical development and key figures, especially, in the visual arts and architecture;
afternoondiscussion of Latvian folklore: customs and traditions, getting acquainted with one of the most interesting forms of folklore – Latvian folk songs or dainas, by singing and dancing;
guided tour of Riga, visiting several museums;
a two-day trip to port city Ventspils, sightseeing.The attendees, having successfully completed the course, are awarded 4 credits (6 ECTS).
The Latvian Language Agency has published a new book: the dictionary “Latvian surnames in archival sources: Latgale”, developed by the historian, geographer and demographer Ilmārs Mežs.
On January 19, 2018 the Livonian culture, language and history web portal www.livones.net met its readers in an updated and modern form. This was a tribute – in the Livonian culture centre (Līvõ Kultūr sidām) – for the most active Livonian culture representative and native speaker in the second half of the twentieth century Paulīne Kļaviņa’s 100th jubilee.
The website, which has been working since 2006, is the only one portal in Latvia available online that is related to Livonian topics. On it still can be found detailed information about the Livonians, their culture, language, history, and the Livonian heritage in Latvia. The content can be read not only in Latvian, but also in English and Livonian languages.
The updated portal www.livones.net has been supplied not only with a new visual layout, but is also supplemented with various important new sections.
The most important of them is lingua.livones.net – a section that provides various tools connected to the Livonian language that could be used both by readers showing interest in the Livonian language, and by researchers from all over the world. In the section could be found studies about the Livonian language, as well as a constantly updated version of a Livonian-Estonian-Latvian dictionary supplemented with word forms and data from the Livonian language corpus. Available are also the Livonian place name register, a list of borrowings from Livonian into Latvian language, and other tools for getting acquainted with the Livonian language and acquiring it. The new section of the portal will be gradually filled in with the University of Tartu’s upcoming Livonian language grammar this very year.
The second most important section is “Library”, in which the readers could find a compilation of articles, websites, video materials, photo galleries and documentaries on various topics.
The transformation of the portal and its modern visual and technical form has happened thanks to the Ministry of Culture of Latvia, and the creation of the Livonian language tools – thanks to the Latvian Language Agency. Special thanks go to the Member of the Parliament Veiko Spolītis. Read more
We invite you to take a look at the informative video materials (six short movies), in which Latvian language teachers and students share their experience of studying.
The video materials do not only acquaint us with the work experience of the teachers, but also the students give their answers to the question: “How to learn a language better?” These short movies have been filmed to serve as a methodical material in a spoken form. Pedagogues talking about their experience acquaint the viewers with the methods used and allow them to take a look into their classes. At the same time it is revealed which factors have contributed to the acquisition of Latvian language and why the latter should be mastered. The information concerns native speakers of other languages for whom Latvian has turned into an everyday communication language and who has integrated successfully into the life in Latvia.
We hope that these examples will help the beginners overwhelm their fear of learning the Latvian language.
The movies have been filmed at the Latvian Language Agency, implementing the European Union Asylum, the Migration and Integration Fund for the project Latvian language acquisition in order to promote the inclusion of citizens from third countries into the labour market planned for the period 2014-2020.
Special thanks go to the team of the creative agency “Tribe”.
Authors of the text collection: Inga Sarma, Signe Ābola
Visual conception and layout: Annija Grosa
In the beginning of 2018 has been published the textbook “Lasīšanas tekstu un uzdevumu krājums” prepared by the Latvian Language Agency. The collection of reading comprehension texts and exercises has been created as an addition to the schoolbook „Latviešu valoda studentiem”, so that it could improve the students’ literacy in Latvian as a foreign language, as well as their ability to perceive and use a text according to the situation. The texts and the exercises in the study tool vary according to their type, length and complexity. They strengthen and broaden the students’ vocabulary, develop their reading comprehension skills and their ability to perceive information in Latvian language. Moreover, they increase one’s linguistic competence. For their part, the illustrations inserted will help the students to perceive certain objects or processes in a visual way.
The collection consists of two parts. The structure of Part 1 corresponds to the schoolbook „Latviešu valoda studentiem” in terms of the sequence of chapters 1. – 10 and the topics covered in them. Read more
This study analyzes the dynamics of the language situation between 2010 and 2015, discussing the language proficiency and language use of Latvia’s residents in various sociolinguistic domains, the existing proficiency of various languages in society, and the position of these languages within the linguistic environment. Other topics discussed include the events significant to the implementation of language policy that occurred during this period and the language situation in the Latvian diaspora. At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of the main conclusions and recommendations for implementing language policy in the future. In this study, as in the study published by LVA analyzing the previous period (2004-2010), there is discussion of the development and events which have occurred for the two communities mentioned in the State Language Law and which are significant in Latvia’s cultural history and linguistic environment. These are the spoken and written forms of the Latgalian variety of Latvian and the indigenous Livonian language.
This study is based on quantitative as well as qualitative survey results, which are analyzed in the context of the newest theories and insights offered by the global sociolinguistic community. This study will be useful to all organizations involved in implementing language policy, to linguists, to students of sociology and history as well as to university lecturers. At the end of this volume, a broad collection of literature and sources used in this study is provided. The goal of this is to inspire the reader to independent research and further study.
For the third year, the University of Latvia in collaboration with the Latvian Language Agency organizes “Summer School of Latvian Language and Culture” for students and other interested parties who want not only to learn and improve their Latvian language skills, but also to expand their knowledge of Latvian history, art and folklore. The students who study the Latvian Language or other Baltic languages at their home universities are particularly encouraged to apply.
We offer:
intensive, modern and interactive Latvian language course (grammar, reading, writing, speaking, 64 academic hours), which includes such topics as the human personality, experience, knowledge and skills, friendly contacts and time spent in Latvia, versatile and unique Riga, city tour and orientation, daily life and holidays in Latvia, Latvian traditional and modern culture, current events in Latvian media, Latvia’s and Latvians’ success stories in the world;
afternoondiscussion on Latvian history and politics, getting acquainted with modern Latvian history and political situation in Latvia;
afternoondiscussion on Latvian culture and art, getting acquainted with its historical development and key figures, especially, in the visual arts and architecture;
afternoondiscussion on Latvian folklore: customs and traditions, getting acquainted with one of the most interesting forms of folklore – Latvian folk songs or dainas, by singing and dancing;
guided tour of Riga, visiting several museums (e.g., Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation or Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Laima Chocolate Museum or Sun Museum, Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga Art Nouveau Museum, Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum);
a two-day trip to port city Ventspils, sightseeing (e.g., the Seaside Open-air Museum with an opportunity to ride a narrow-gauge train Mazbānītis, Ventspils Crafts House, a boat tour aboard “Duke Jacob” (Hercogs Jēkabs) along the Venta River).
The attendees, having successfully completed the course, are awarded 4 credits (6 ECTS).
The Latvian Language Agency has published a short dictionary about the origin of Latvian geographical names “No Abavas līdz Zilupei. Vietvārdu cilmes īsā vārdnīca = From Abava to Zilupe. The origin of Latvian geographical names. A short dictionary” (Riga : LVA, 2015. 304 pp.).
In this book information has been compiled about the origins of more than a hundred of the best-known Latvian place names by the authors ((Dr. Laimute Balode and Dr. Ojārs Bušs). The dictionary contains information about the origin of the names of all Latvian cities as well as some bigger or better-known villages. From the names given for hills, rivers, lakes and other geographical points only some widely known examples are discussed. Authors have also not forgotten about the name of the country ‘Latvija’ (Latvia), the name of the Baltic Sea ‘Baltijas jūra’ and the names of the five cultural and historical Latvian regions.
The bilingual book contains information in Latvian as well as in English. It can be bought in the Latvian Language Agency.
Language Day. This day is celebrated in Europe on September 26th since the year 2001. This year, for the fourtheenth year in a row events in Latvia were organised and coordinated by the Latvian Language Agency, in close partnership with a number of cooperation partners.
