Livonian (Līvõ kēļ)

Livonian is part of the south-western branch of Finno-Ugric languages. It is spoken in Latvia by about 30 people, 9 of whom are native speakers. Inter-generational transmission of the language broke down during the 20th century, but efforts are currently being made to revive it.

Livonian is closely related to Estonian and Finnish and its orthography combines elements from both Estonian and Latvian spelling. The first book in Livonian was published in 1863.

Livonian alphabet and pronunication

Sample text in Livonian

Min izāmō, min sindimō,
ūod ārmaz rānda sa,
kus rāndanaigās kazābõd
vel vanād, vizād piedāgõd.
Min ārmaz īlmas ūod set sa,
min tõurõz izāmō!

part of Min izāmō (My Fatherland), the national anthem of Livonians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_izāmō

Links

Information about the Livonian language and people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livonian_language
http://www.suri.ee/r/liivi/air.html
http://www.kresy.co.uk/livonia.html

Virtual Livonia - information about the Livonian people, language and culture
http://homepage.mac.com/uldis/livonia/livonia.html
http://homepage.mac.com/uldis/livonia/livlang.html

Related languages

Erzya, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Karelian, Khanty, Komi, Livonian, Mansi, Mari, Moksha, Saami, Udmurt, Võro, Votic

Other languages written with the Latin alphabet