If you are trying to learn the Latvian alphabet and spelling, you will find some practical means, including a course on the sound of all letters and the pronunciation to help you with your Latvian grammar. Try to focus on the lesson and learn the sounds. Also, don’t forget to check out the greetings in the native Latvian. But first, let’s get acquainted with the Latvian language and the country in which people speak this rare and modern language.
What Language Does Latvia Speak? – Latvian Language
Latvian, related to Old Prussian and Lithuanian, is a Baltic language and has around 1.5 million speakers in Latvia. There are also Latvian speakers in Russia, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and Brazil.
Ethnologists estimate that nearly 1.7 million people globally claim that Latvian is their primary language. Although the closest relative of Latvian is Lithuanian, both of them cannot understand each other. Both are believed to have evolved from a hypothetical common ancestor called Proto-Balto-Slavic. Both Lithuanian and Latvian retain many of the characteristics of Proto-Indo-European languages, especially in their noun systems. Latvian and Lithuanian are some of the oldest European languages and are also related to Sanskrit.
Standard Latvian Alphabet And Spelling
The oldest known written example of Latvian comes from a hymn translated in 1530 by the German priest Nicholas Ramm in Riga. Further, secular writings did not arrive until the 17th era. Historically, Latvian was written in the Latin alphabet, following the German spelling pattern. This system was replaced in 1908 by a system designed to represent the Latvian sound system more fully. There is good one-to-one conformity between phonemes and letters, that is, sounds that affect the meaning of words. The modern standard Latvian alphabet consists of 33 letters given below.
| A a | Ā ā | B b | C c | Č č | D d | E e | Ē ē | F f | G g | Ģ ģ |
| H h | I i | Ī ī | J j | K k | Ķ ķ | L l | Ļ ļ | M m | N n | Ņ ņ |
| O o | P p | R r | S s | Š š | T t | U u | Ū ū | V v | Z z | Ž ž |
The Latvian standard alphabet consists of 33 letters, 22 Roman letters (not including Q, W, X, or Y), and 13 extra letters with symbols below or above these letters. These symbols are called “diacritic marks.” The diacritics will change the way you pronounce letters.
How Do You Pronounce The Alphabet In Latvian? – Latvian Alphabet And Spelling
Learning the Latvian alphabet and spelling is very important because its structure is used in daily conversations. Without it, even if you know how to write these words, you cannot say them correctly. The better the pronunciation of the letters in a word, the better you will be understood when speaking Latvian.
The following table shows the Latvian alphabet and spelling and their pronunciation in English. Finally, there is an example of how these letters are pronounced when placed in a word.
Latvian Alphabet And Spelling
| Latvian Alphabet | English Sound | Pronunciation Example |
| A a | [ɑ] | as in up |
| Ā ā | [ɑː] | as in father |
| B b | [b] | as in brother |
| C c | [t͡s] | as in tsar |
| Č č | [t͡ʃ] | as in chair |
| D d | [d] | as in door |
| E e | [e], [æ] | as in elephant |
| Ē ē | [eː], [æː] | as in easter |
| F f | [f] | as in finger |
| G g | [ɡ] | as in gap |
| Ģ ģ | [ɟ] | as in general |
| H h | [x], [h] | as in hockey |
| I i | [i] | as in enough |
| Ī ī | [iː] | as in each |
| J j | [j] | as in you |
| K k | [k] | as in cat |
| Ķ ķ | [c] | as in jug |
| L l | [l] | as in lamp |
| Ļ ļ | [ʎ] | as in tool |
| M m | [m] | as in male |
| N n | [n], [ŋ] | as in nail |
| Ņ ņ | [ɲ] | as in onion |
| O o | [ua̯], [o], [oː] | as in ocular |
| P p | [p] | as in peace |
| R r | [r] | as in rest |
| S s | [s] | as in sock |
| Š š | [ʃ] | as in shadow |
| T t | [t] | as in table |
| U u | [u] | as in would |
| Ū ū | [uː] | as in you |
| V v | [v] | as in vacuum |
| Z z | [z] | as in zebra |
| Ž ž | [ʒ] | as in pleasure |
Latvian Alphabet And Spelling Is Not That Difficult
In the end, the Latvian alphabet and spelling are not much more complex than other languages. As we just mentioned, some areas can be difficult, but with continuance and dedication, you can learn. Also, taking time to practice is the key.
One way to help you learn the Latvian alphabet and spelling is to use a language learning app, such as the Ling App app. Mixing fun games and tests is one of the best means to help you learn Latvian.
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