An outline of the sociolinguistic situation

Latgalian among other languages of Latgale

Latgale is a naturally multilingual region. There are probably no monolingual Latgalian speakers. Most of them are trilingual – apart from Latgalian and Latvian, they can also speak Russian (Nau 2011: 4

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

).
In the past, societies in Latgale communicated with each other using the Polish language, and bilingualism in a Latvian/Latgalian configuration (+/- Russian) did not appear until 20th c. when Latvia gained independence (Čekmonas 2001: 130

Čekmonas 2001 / komentarz/comment/r /
Čekmonas, Valeriy 2001. „Russian varieties in the southeastern Baltic area: Rural dialects”, w: Ö. Dahl & M. Koptjevskaja-Tamm (red.). Circum-Baltic Languages. vol.1. Past and Present. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 101–136.

). At the end of 19th c. many Latgalians spoke Russian as it was the only language used in schools in years 1865-1904. The students often continued their education at Russian universities. The significance of Russian fell into a decline during interwar years, only to increase again during Soviet times.
Most Latgalians are descendants of peasantry, who, unlike land owners, were influenced neither by germanization nor polonization (Jankowiak 2010: 52

Jankowiak 2010 / komentarz/comment/r /
Jankowiak, Mirosław 2010. „Wielonarodowość i wielokulturowość Łatgalii w aspekcie społecznym i historycznym”, w: J. Mędelska & Z, Sawaniewska-Mochowa (red.) Językowe i kulturowe dziedzictwo Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. Księga jubileuszowa na 1000-lecie Litwy. Bydgoszcz: UKW.

). Years of purposeful policy of rusification, first conducted by tsar authorities, and then by Soviets, brought different results however. Nowadays Russian is present in all domains of life, and despite Latvian authorities pursuing a letonization policy, it still bears a status of the most important language in Latgale (Jankowiak 2010: 53

). It is also the only language every Latgalian can understand. (Jankowiak 2009: 229

Jankowiak 2009 / komentarz/comment/r /
Jankowiak, Mirosław 2009. Gwary białoruskie na Łotwie w rejonie krasławskim. Studium socjolingwistyczne. Warszawa: Slawistyczny Ośrodek Wydawniczy.

).
In southern Latgale, it is Belarussian and its variants which is regarded as the language used in contacts with one’s neighbours. Belarussian subdialects and the so-called simple speech (Polish ‘mowa prosta’) are the most natural varieties used by all Slavonic-language speakers of the south (Jankowiak 2010: 53

Status of Latgalian in Latvia

In 18th and 19th centuries Latgalian and Latvian were mutually comprehensible in speech, but not when written. Literatures of those languages were developing separately (Nau 2011: 5

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). The second half of 19th c. brought forced compulsory rusification, and in 1865, a ban of publications written in the Latin alphabet. Attempts at writing in Latgalian using the Cyrillic alphabet failed, as the Cyrillic alphabet is associated with orthodox rites and Catholic Lathalians found its use unacceptable. Therefore, mass manual copying and transcription of texts into Latgalian lasted up to 1904. Those texts were mainly for domestic usage (Nau 2011: 5

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

).
The 20th c. was a time of identity awakening among Latgalians. Texts writtten in Latgalian during this period were created by people for whom Latgalian was the first language. After gaining independence by Latvia, Latgalian started to be used in schools and public administration and it was considered as a way of using Latvian. Since the 1930s the status of Latgalian has been changing quite rapidly, in short periods of time. In the days of the authoritative reign of the last king before the outbreak of WW2, Kārlis Ulmanis, an ideology of one nation and one language was dominant in Latvia. Latgalian became more respected in Soviet Russia where it had a status of minority language and was taught at schools (Nau 2011: 6

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). The policy of the German occupants in relation to Latgalians and the Latgalian language was very favourable. It was, however, because of the fact that Germans wanted to endear themselves to locals living in militarily strategic areas. After WW2, the majority of activities in favour of Latgalian were conducted outside of the borders of the Soviet Union. Officially, the Soviet policy regarding Latgalian was not unfavourable. Nonetheless, the language did not receive any support, and its use was rather unacceptable. In Soviet Latvia publications in Latgalian were rarely published up to the first half of 1960s and they started coming out again several years before the collapse of communism. One Latgalian publishing house operating in Munich, Latgaļu Izdevnīceiba (Latgalian Publishing Co. / Latgalischer Verlag) existed in the times of Soviet Latvia.
The current situation of Latgalian is interesting because of the fact that in the majority of Latvian political debates and general sociolinguistic discourse, more attention is being drawn to Latvian and Russian. Public debate on the matter of language in Latvia seems to be dominated by an official state policy aimed at the “restoration” of the Latvian language (which was supposed to be the first and dominant language in post-Soviet times) as well as by a large Russian minority, demanding Russian as the rightful language of public life. Latgalian is still outside any debates about linguistic situation in Latvia, even though, if treated as a separate language, it would be the third language spoken in Latvia. When it comes to the regional aspect, Latgalian awakens very vivid emotions and is of great importance for Latgalians’ identity. Latvian academic and political elite, however, is focused on and in Riga, the capitol city where, apart from Latvians, there is also a large Russian community. (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 66–67

Lazdiņa & Marten 2012 / komentarz/comment/r /
Lazdiņa, Sanita & Heiko F. Marten 2012. ”Latgalian in Latvia. A Continuous Struggle for Political Recognition”, Journal of Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe 11: 66–87.

). On the other hand, Latgalian is one of the three languages, along with Latvian and Livonian, mentioned in the Latvian constitution (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 68

), even if only as a variant of Latvian written language protected by law. Latvian linguistic rights (Valsts valodas likums) regard Latgalian dialects as a group of Upper-Latvian dialects, and its written form as a “historical variant of Latvian” (Nau 2011: 4

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

).
There is an ongoing discussion among the linguists concerning the status of Latgalian as a dialect or language. From the dialectological point of view, Latgalian belongs to Upper-Latvian dialects (Balode & Holvoet 2001

Balode & Holvoet 2001 / komentarz/comment/r /
Balode, Laimute & Axel Holvoet 2001. „The Latvian language and its dialects”, w: Ö. Dahl & M. Koptjevskaja-Tamm (red.) Circum-Baltic Languages. vol.1. Past and Present. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 3–40.

), which are internally divided into northern, middle-eastern and southern dialects (Nau 2011: 4

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). Linguistically, there is no clear justification showing that Latgalian is supposed to be the language continuing the line of dialects spoken by Medieval Balts who lived in Latgale. Phonetically, Latgalian differs from other Latvian dialects, but it is not due to individual language development. The archaisms, also mentioned as arguments proving the autonomy of Latgalian, can also be found in Courlandish (Balode & Holvoet 2001: 8

).
Though Latgalian is dialectologically treated as a dialect of Latvian, when taking into account macrolinguistic aspects, Latgalian meets all the requirements needed to acknowledge it as a separate language: it has a relatively long literary tradition, and a large number of Latvian speakers finding Latgalian speakers very difficult to understand (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 68

). Finally, it is Latgalians themselves who consider their language it a language and not a dialect.
Since Latvia regained independence in 1990, there is an ongoing intense campaign among the users of Latgalian aimed at increasing the significance of Latgalian in both public and private sphere. Numerous institutions were brought into being, e.g. Latgalian Cultural Centre and Latgalian Teachers Association. Multiple school competitions and Latgalian summer camps for children are organized (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 75

). Thanks to the efforts of Latgalian activists, the language obtained the international ISO code ltg in 2010 and a special working party which is tasked with taking care of the Latgalian matters has been created. After great effort on the part of the Latvian Department of Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, the question of using Latgalian in everyday life appeared for the first time in the 20011 census (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 76–77

Proclamation encouraging declaring the respondent’s knowledge of Latgalian in 2011 census.

The discussion of whether to acknowledge Latgalian as a separate language or not seems to be dominated by arguments of linguistic or socio-political nature and not sociolinguistic. Participants of the 2nd Latgalian Academic Conference in 2009, in Rēzekne, petitioned for recognition of Latgalian as a regional language but the petition was declined by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Science. The decision was motivated by the fact that the European Charter for Refional or Minority Languages does not take into consideration a possibility of awarding a dialect of national language with such a status (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 76–77

). Nevertheless, Latgalians claim there is a chance that Latgalian will be given a status of regional language in the near future (Nau 2011: 4

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). Some researchers deliberately use the term “national language” in relation to Latgalian referring to, among others, the status of Cashubian in Poland or Lower-German in Germany (Nau 2012: 473

Nau 2012 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2012. “Modality in an areal context: the case of a Latgalian dialect”, w: B. Wiemer i in. (red.) Grammatical replication and borrowability in language contact. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. 465–508.

Domains of usage

Latgalian, in its form most resembling the spoken variety (meaning a variety least similar to standard Latvian), can be found in many contemporary texts on the Internet, such as various informal written statements, short stories and autobiographies of Latvian writers, as well as in folk texts, fables from 19th/20th centuries. (Nau 2011: 3

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

Informal contacts

Latgalian exists mainly in speech. It is a means of domestic and neighbourly contacts and other unofficial situations. Usage of Latgalian in informal contact is not limited to any extent (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 80

Liturgy

The second strongest sphere where Latgalian is used is religion. Latgalian is the language of Catholic liturgy in Latgale and beyond its borders, in Latvia. There are even masses in Riga conducted in Latgalian (Nau 2011: 6

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). Catholics in Latvia are most often either pure Latgalians or of Latgalian descent. Latgalian is also the traditional language of the Catholic Church in Latvia. There is a Catholic magazine Katolu dzeive published in Latgalian, but more and more of its articles are written in Latvian.

Photograph: Church in Viļāni, by Aleksandra Mrozińska 2012.

Photograph: Publishing house of the magazine „Katōļu dzeive”; by Alexandra Mrozińska 2012.

Official domains

Latgalian is not the language of public administration. There are no informative tables or road signs in Latgalian. Usage of Latgalian at schools is very limited and all educational initiatives in favour of the language are individual, and not issued by a superior (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012:

70). Lessons in Latgalian are conducted only as additional classes in primary schools organized by Latgalian activists and Latgalian teachers (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 83

). In education, Latgalian is treated as equal to Latvian dialects whose speakers never tried to make them acknowledged as separate languages (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 72

).
When it comes to official and national contacts, it is rather unacceptable to use Latgalian in writing. To use Latgalian in speech is acceptable on a regional level, e.g. in commune offices, between people who know each other or in places where it is known who speaks Latgalian and who does not (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 80

).
Starting from the year 2008, an annual Latgalian conference Latgalistica takes place. These conferences are external signs of a rising interest in the Latgalian language among academics (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 80

). Rēzeknes Augstskola (Highschool in Rzeżyce) and University of Dyneburg enable their students to enroll on courses in Latgalian.

Media and cultural life

The last few years have been marked with an increase in the use of Latgalian on the Internet, e.g.: www.latgola.lv.
There is an e-magazine LaKuGa (www.lakuga.lv/lg) and various sites about history and culture of Latgale written in Latgalian. Furthermore, many Latgalian-language blogs are run.
There is also a radio station in Latgalian – Latgolys radeja (www.lr.lv) although it currently belongs to the Catholic Church. Many musicians write songs in Latgalian (http://lakuga.lv/latgalisu-muzyka).

Other domains

In Latgale there are some examples of symbolic use of Latgalian, such as naming companies or diners with Latgalian names. These examples indicate the increase in prestige of the language among the local community. Latgalian is becoming a clearer sign of national identity of Latgalians (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 80

Photograph: Latgalian language landscape in Rēzekne; Mōls ‘clay’ (the shop’s name); Krūgs ‘pub’, Tiergōtava ‘shop’; by Aleksandra Mrozińska 2012.

"Gaisma" – the first newspaper in Latgalian; T. Wicherkiewicz

Tourist information in Rēzekne - the first two languages are Latgalian and Latvian; by N. Nau

Latgalian shop in Kuorsova (Karsava); by T. Wicherkiewicz

Latgalian language landscape in Kuorsova (Karsava), by T. Wicherkiewicz

Catholic prayer book in Latgalian; by T. Wicherkiewicz

Museum of Latgalian Literature in Rēzekne (in 2007); by T. Wicherkiewicz

Latgalian village names as local bus destinations; by T. Wicherkiewicz

Lord's Prayer in Latgalian

J. Macilevičs' monument in Ludza (below the title of hist book in Latgalian); by T. Wicherkiewicz

In the Catholic church of Kruoslova (Kraslava); by T. Wicherkiewicz

Attitude towards Latgalian

Flag of Latgale

Most Latgalian speakers consider themselves Latvians speaking a separate language – Latgalian (Nau 2011: 4

Nau 2011 / komentarz/comment/r /
Nau, Nicole 2011. A short grammar of Latgalian. München: Lincom Europa.

). Latgalian is considered an indicator of linguistic separateness (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 68

), but not ethnical separateness: for inhabitants of Latgale, what is important is their regional identity, which is in no opposition to Latvian national identity (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 71

).
Research of attitudes of language communities towards their languages conducted recently (above all Šuplinska & Lazdiņa 2009

Šuplinska & Lazdiņa 2009 / komentarz/comment/r /
Šuplinska, Ilga & Sanita Lazdiņa (red.) 2009. Valodas Austrumlatvijā: pētījuma dati un rezultāti. Via Latgalica: humanitarno zinātņu žurnāla pelikums 1. Rēzekne: Rēzeknes Augustskola.

) show that the general attitude of Latgalians towards the Latgalian language is rather positive. 35% of Latgalians wants Latgalian as an official language in Latvia, the opposition is at 33.9%. 58.9% claim that knowing Latgalian is a crucial requirement for belonging to a Latgalian community. 77% wants Latgalian in schools, but only 8.3% stated that it should be present in higher education. 10.5% say that Latgalian should be taught obligatorily as a second language in schools (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 70–71

).
According to Lazdina & Marten (2012

), there is a large diversity in academic circles as to how Latgalian is seen in Latgale and the rest of Latvia and beyond its borders. Furthermore, authors claim that it is hard to accuse foreign linguists of being motivated not to recognise or even ignore Latgalian (Lazdiņa i Marten 2012: 74

).
Within Latvian society, Latgalian is undoubtedly regarded as a part of Latvian cultural legacy. However, it lacks the prestige attributed to Latvian or any other exogenic language, not native to Latvia, like English.
The place of Latgalian in language hierarchy in Latvia is presented below:

Languages in Latvia (by: Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 73

)

If there is anything to be said about language policy regarding Latgalian in Latvia, then it is to a great extent unofficial and generally tolerant. Nevertheless, when Latgalian activists want to introduce Latgalian to more official spheres of life, tolerance towards their language decreases (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 73

).
There is no official policy towards Latgalian in Latvia. During elections, it is common for politicians to promise to make efforts to improve situation of Latgalian language in order to win voters’ support. They withdraw from their promises after the campaign however (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 76–77

). Politicians’ attitude towards Latgalian is better, the greater political benefits they will gain from such actions. This leads to conclusion that regulating the official status of the Latgalian language is not a major goal (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 79

). Unwillingness to take care of that matter is probably caused by the fact that it would require an official examination of Latvian ethnic composition. Such an action would be unjustified, though, since Latgalians consider themselves Latvians. Sociolinguists concerned with Latgalian emphasise that a rather easy to regulate question is met with an unjustifiable, administrative resistance. Sociolinguists mention the following as causes: the high level of centralization of the actual making decisions process, lack of the regional context by the high-up clerks, and up to recently, lack of a decisive regional policy (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 84

Latgalian as an endangered language

The inter-generational transmission of the Latgalian language is very broad and it affects most Latgalian-speaking houses. Still, many Latgalian families do not pass down the language to the next generation (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 82–83

).
UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger classifies Latgalian as vulnerable. It is certainly not on the brink of extinction, but the fact that it is not used in official contacts makes it not entirely safe. Apart from that, the number of people speaking Latgalian decreases (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 81

Perspectives for the Latgalian language

Latgalian is used in many domains and it is a subject of interest for many linguists. Despite the decrease in the number of speakers, there are still thousands of people capable of speaking the language which makes it relatively secure in comparison to other endangered languages. Latgalian is still passed on to younger generations. Furthermore, Latgalian speakers are very positive about their language. Activists in favour of Latgalian – and there are non-Latgalians among them – are becoming more influential abroad.
On the other hand, because of the very vague policy concerning Latgalian, or even a lack of such a policy at all, it is difficult to predict anything that concerns the language development (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 75

). The lack of a language policy and socio-economic matters (such as the fact that Latgale is one of the poorest regions of Latvia and many Latgalians emigrate in search for better perspectives) does not bode well for the language maintenance (Lazdiņa & Marten 2012: 84

).

A Latgalian text corpus is being created.