Ethnicity and Language Tensions in Latvia
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Latviešu-Lībiešu-Angļu Sarunvārdnīca Leţkīel-Līvõkīel-Engliškīel Rõksõnārōntõz Latvian-Livonian-English Phrase Book
Valda Šuvcāne Ieva Ernštreite Latviešu-lībiešu-angļu sarunvārdnīca Leţkīel-līvõkīel-engliškīel rõksõnārōntõz Latvian-Livonian-English Phrase Book © Valda Šuvcāne 1999 © Ieva Ernštreite 1999 © Eraksti 2005 ISBN-9984-771-74-1 68 lpp. / ~ 0.36 MB SATURS SIŽALI CONTENTS I. IEVADS ĪEVAD INTRODUCTION __________________________________________________________________ I.1. PRIEKŠVĀRDS 5 EĆĆISÕNĀ 6 FOREWORD 6 I.2. LĪBIEŠI, VIŅU VALODA UN RAKSTĪBA 7 LĪVLIST, NÄNT KĒĻ JA KĒRAVĪŢ LIVONIANS, THEIR LANGUAGE AND ORTOGRAPHY 12 I.3. NELIELS IESKATS LĪBIEŠU VALODAS GRAMATIKĀ 9 LĪTÕ IĻ LĪVÕ GRAMĀTIK EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE LIVONIAN SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION 14 _____________________________________________________________________________ II. BIEŽĀK LIETOTĀS FRĀZES SAGGÕLD KȬLBATÕT FRĀZÕD COMMON USED PHRASES __________________________________________________________________ II.1. SASVEICINĀŠANĀS UN ATVADĪŠANĀS 16 TĒRIŅTÕMI JA JUMĀLÕKS JETĀMI GREETINGS II.2. IEPAZĪŠANĀS UN CIEMOŠANĀS 16 TUNDIMI JA KILĀSTIMI INTRODUCING PEOPLE, VISITING PEOPLE II.3. BIOGRĀFIJAS ZIŅAS 17 BIOGRĀFIJ TEUTÕD PERSON'S BIOGRAPHY II.4. PATEICĪBAS, LĪDZJŪTĪBAS UN PIEKLĀJĪBAS IZTEICIENI 18 TIENĀNDÕKST, ĪŅÕZTŪNDIMI JA ANDÕKS ĀNDAMI SÕNĀD EXPRESSING GRATITUDE, POLITE PHRASES II.5. LŪGUMS 19 PÕLAMI REQUEST II.6. APSVEIKUMI, NOVĒLĒJUMI 19 2 VȮNTARMÕMI CONGRATULATIONS, WISHES II.7. DIENAS, MĒNEŠI, GADALAIKI 20 PǞVAD, KŪD, ĀIGASTĀIGAD WEEKDAYS, MONTHS, SEASONS II.8. LAIKA APSTĀKĻI 23 ĀIGA WEATHER II.9. PULKSTENIS 24 KĪELA TIME, TELLING THE TIME _____________________________________________________________________________ III. VĀRDU KRĀJUMS SÕNA VŌLA VOCABULARY __________________________________________________________________ III.1. CILVĒKS 25 RIŠTĪNG PERSON III.2. ĢIMENE 27 AIM FAMILY III.3. MĀJOKLIS 28 KUOD HOME III.4. MĀJLIETAS, APĢĒRBS 29 KUODAŽĀD, ŌRÕND HOUSEHOLD THINGS, CLOTHING III.5. ĒDIENI, DZĒRIENI 31 SĪEMNAIGĀD, JŪOMNAIGĀD MEALS, FOOD, DRINKS III.6. JŪRA, UPE, EZERS 32 MER, JOUG, JŌRA SEA, LAKE, RIVER III.7. -
The Role of National Language Policy Institutions in the Implementation of the Law on the Official State Language in Latvia
Ina Druviete/Jānis Valdmanis The role of national language policy institutions in the implementation of the law on the Official State Language in Latvia Abstract (Latvian): Valsts valodas politikas institūciju loma Latvijas Valsts valodas likuma īstenošanā 2018. gada 18. novembrī apritēs simt gadu kopš Latvijas Republikas dibināšanas, un šajā gadā īpaši tiek izvērtēta valsts vēsture un valsts simbolu loma. Latviešu valoda ir galvenais, kaut ne vienīgais, Latvijas nacionālās identitātes elements, tāpēc, 1991. gadā atjaunojot neatkarību pēc padomju okupācijas, latviešu valodas statusa nostiprināšanai un valodas attīstīšanai tika pievērsta īpaša uzmanība. Valsts valodas statuss latviešu valodai tika atjau- nots jau 1988. gadā, paredzot arī īpašu pasākumu kompleksu latviešu valodas apguvei un valodas funkciju atjaunošanai pēc intensīvas rusifikācijas un asimetriskā bilingvisma perioda. 1992. gadā, kad tika veikti grozījumi 1989. gada Valodu likumā, tika likts pamats izvērstajai valsts valodas politikas institūciju sistēmai, pamatojoties uz vispusīgu Latvijas valodas situācijas analīzi, ņemot vērā Latvijas Republikas pieredzi no 1918. gada līdz 1940. gadam un apzinot citu valstu valodas politiku. Pašlaik spēkā ir 1999. gadā pieņemtais Valsts valodas likums, kura izpildi konkretizē vairāki Ministru Kabineta noteikumi, kā arī valdības apstiprinātas Valsts valodas politikas programmas (2010-2014, 2015-2020). Raksturīga Latvijas valodas politikas īpatnība no neatkarības atjaunošanas līdz pat mūsu dienām ir profesionālu sociolingvistu iesaiste lingvistiskajā -
Representations of Holiness and the Sacred in Latvian Folklore and Folk Belief1
No 6 FORUM FOR ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURE 144 Svetlana Ryzhakova Representations of Holiness and the Sacred in Latvian Folklore and Folk Belief1 In fond memory of my teacher, Vladimir Nikolaevich Toporov The term svēts, meaning ‘holy, sacred’ and its derivatives svētums (‘holiness’, ‘shrine/sacred place’), svētība (‘blessing’, ‘paradise’), svētlaime (‘bliss’), svētīt (‘to bless’, ‘to celebrate’), and svētīgs (‘blessed’, ‘sacred’) comprise an im- portant lexical and semantic field in the Latvian language. These lexemes are regularly en- countered in even the earliest Latvian texts, beginning in the 16th century,2 and are no less frequent in Baltic hydronomy and toponymy, as well as in folklore and colloquial speech. According to fairly widespread opinion, the lexeme svēts in Latvian is a loanword from the Svetlana Ryzhakova 13th-century Old Church Slavonic word svyat Institute of Ethnology [holy] (OCS — *svēts, svyatoi in middle Russian, and Anthropology from the reconstructible Indo-European of the Russian Academy 3 of Sciences, Moscow *ђ&en-) [Endzeīns, Hauzenberga 1934–46]. 1 This article is based on the work for the research project ‘A Historical Recreation of the Structures of Latvian Ethnic Culture’, supported by grant no. 06-06-80278 from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, as well as the Programme for Basic Research of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sci- ences ‘The Adaptation of Nations and Cultures to Environmental Changes and Social and Anthropo- genic Transformations’ on the theme ‘The Evolution of the Ethnic and Cultural Image of Europe under the Infl uence of Migrational Processes and the Modernisation of Society’. 2 See [CC 1585: 248]; [Enchiridon 1586: 11]; [Mancelius 1638: 90]; [Fürecher II: 469]. -
The Constitution of the Republic of Latvia
Source: http://www.saeima.lv/Likumdosana_eng/likumdosana_satversme.html (accessed December 2008) THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA The people of Latvia, in freely elected Constitutional Assembly, have adopted the following State Constitution: Chapter I General Provisions 1. Latvia is an independent democratic republic. 2. The sovereign power of the State of Latvia is vested in the people of Latvia. 3. The territory of the State of Latvia, within the borders established by international agreements, consists of Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale. 4. The Latvian language is the official language in the Republic of Latvia. The national flag of Latvia shall be red with a band of white. [15 October 1998] Chapter II The Saeima1 5. The Saeima shall be composed of one hundred representatives of the people. 6. The Saeima shall be elected in general, equal and direct elections, and by secret ballot based on proportional representation. 7. In the division of Latvia into separate electoral districts, provision for the number of members of the Saeima to be elected from each district shall be proportional to the number of electors in each district. 8. All citizens of Latvia who enjoy full rights of citizenship and, who on election day have attained eighteen years of age shall be entitled to vote. 9. Any citizen of Latvia, who enjoys full rights of citizenship and, who is more than twenty-one years of age on the first day of elections may be elected to the Saeima. 10. The Saeima shall be elected for a term of four years. 11. Elections for the Saeima shall be held on the first Saturday in October. -
General Assembly Distr.: General 16 July 2021
United Nations A/HRC/48/15 General Assembly Distr.: General 16 July 2021 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-eighth session 13 September–1 October 2021 Agenda item 6 Universal periodic review Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review* Latvia * The annex is being circulated without formal editing, in the language of submission only. GE.21-09347(E) A/HRC/48/15 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its thirty-eighth session from 3 to 14 May 2021. The review of Latvia was held at the 13th meeting, on 11 May 2021. The delegation of Latvia was headed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs. At its 17th meeting, held on 14 May 2021, the Working Group adopted the report on Latvia. 2. On 12 January 2021, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Latvia: Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Italy and Japan. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Latvia: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a);1 (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b);2 (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c).3 4. -
Discursive Practices of the Baltic States
Peace and Conflict Studies Volume 7 Number 2 Article 2 11-2000 Securitizing Russia: Discursive Practices of the Baltic States Øyvind Jæger Norwegian Institute of International Affairs Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs Part of the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Jæger, Øyvind (2000) "Securitizing Russia: Discursive Practices of the Baltic States," Peace and Conflict Studies: Vol. 7 : No. 2 , Article 2. DOI: 10.46743/1082-7307/2000.1009 Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol7/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Peace & Conflict Studies at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Peace and Conflict Studies by an authorized editor of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Securitizing Russia: Discursive Practices of the Baltic States Abstract The author argues that the security situation of the Baltic countries cannot be separated from the way the Balts themselves speak of security. This is a discourse of danger producing insecurity in pursuit of security. Moreover, this article is a study of identity by demonstrating how Baltic security issues are constituted by discourses of danger revolving around Russian Otherness and European Sameness. In conclusion, the following aspects are addressed: the prospects for the coming together of East and West in the Baltic Sea Region – and NATO’s role in this process – and whether this process will come to ease with a parallel between sovereignty and regionality as organising principles for political space, or whether the one will succumb to the other in the course of a prolonged contest. -
The Russian Minority in Latvia
an FP7- SSH collaborative research project [2008- 2011] www.enri- east.net Interplay of European, National and Regional Identities: Nations between States along the New Eastern Borders of the European Union Series of project research reports Contextual and empirical reports on ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe Belarus Research Report #6 Germany The Russian Minority in Latvia Hungary Latvia Authors: Arvydas Matulionis | Vida Beresnevičiūtė Lithuania Tadas Leončikas | Andrius Marcinkevičius Monika Frėjutė-Rakauskienė | Kristina Šliavaitė Poland Hans-Georg Heinrich | Olga Alekseeva Russia Slovakia Series Editors: Ukraine Hans-Georg Heinrich | Alexander Chvorostov Project primarily funded under FP7-SSH programme Project host and coordinator EUROPEAN COMMISSION www.ihs.ac.at European Research Area 2 ENRI- East Research Report #6: The Russian Minority in Latvia About the ENRI-East research project (www.enri-east.net) The Interplay of European, National and Regional Identities: Nations between states along the new eastern borders of the European Union (ENRI-East) ENRI-East is a research project implemented in 2008-2011 and primarily funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Program. This international and inter-disciplinary study is aimed at a deeper understanding of the ways in which the modern European identities and regional cultures are formed and inter-communicated in the Eastern part of the European continent. ENRI-East is a response to the shortcomings of previous research: it is the first large-scale comparative project which uses a sophisticated toolkit of various empirical methods and is based on a process-oriented theoretical approach which places empirical research into a broader historical framework. The distinct ethno-national diversity in this region, along with the problems resulting from it was generated by dramatic shifts of borders, populations and political affiliation which have continued until today. -
Language Attrition and Death: Livonian in Its Terminal Phase
1 Christopher Moseley LANGUAGE ATTRITION AND DEATH: LIVONIAN IN ITS TERMINAL PHASE Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London March 1993 ProQuest Number: 10046089 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10046089 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 INTRODUCTION This study of the present state of the Livonian language, a Baltic-Finnic tongue spoken by a few elderly people formerly resident in a dozen fishing villages on the coast of Latvia, consists of four main parts. Part One gives an outline of the known history of the Livonian language, the history of research into it, and of its own relations with its closest geographical neighbour, Latvian, a linguistically unrelated Indo-European language. A state of Latvian/Livonian bilingualism has existed for virtually all of the Livonians' (or Livs') recorded history, and certainly for the past two centuries. Part Two consists of a Descriptive Grammar of the present- day Livonian language as recorded in an extensive corpus provided by one speaker. -
Minority Rights Constraints on a State's Power to Regulate
London School of Economic and Political Science Minority Rights Constraints on a State’s Power to Regulate Citizenship under International Law A Thesis submitted by Jungwon Park Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Law University of London December 2006 1 UMI Number: U615744 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615744 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 THeses F. 352k Library British Library of Political and Economic Science ABSTRACT In international law, there is no officially accepted definition of a minority. The traditional view on the definition of a minority requires that in order for persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic groups to receive minority status and enjoy relevant minority rights, they must hold the citizenship of their State of residence. This thesis questions the traditional approach to the concepts of minority and minority rights with special reference to the case of the ethnic, linguistic Russians in Estonia and Latvia. It presents an analysis of the international legal and normative bases for justifying the effective protection of the ethnic, linguistic Russians in Estonia and Latvia as persons belonging to minorities with reference to their citizenship status. -
Nils Muižnieks (Born on 31 January 1964 in the United States) Is a Latvian Human Rights Activist and Political Scientist
Nils Muižnieks (born on 31 January 1964 in the United States) is a Latvian human rights activist and political scientist. Since April 1, 2012 he serves as Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, succeeding Thomas Hammarberg (2006-2012) and Alvaro Gil-Robles (1999- 2006). Prior to his appointment as Commissioner for Human Rights, he held prominent posts such as Director of the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia in Riga (2005-2012); Chairman of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (2010-2012); Latvian minister responsible for social integration, anti- discrimination, minority rights, and civil society development (2002-2004); and Director of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies - now Latvian Centre for Human Rights (1994-2002). EARLY LIFE His parents, Ansis and Ingrid, were both refugees who left Latvia in 1944. They spent 6 years in displaced persons camps in the American zone in Germany before moving to the United States in 1950. His father is a retired medical doctor and his mother was trained as an architectural historian. Born and educated in the United States of America, Nils Muižnieks obtained a Ph.D. in political science at the University of California at Berkeley (1993). Prior to that, he obtained a Master of Arts in political science from the same University (1988) and a summa cum laude Bachelor of Arts in politics at Princeton University. In 1992 he married Andra Fedder, who is a piano teacher and singer, with whom he has two daughters. Latvian and English are his mother tongues, and he is also fluent in French and Russian. -
The Russian Population in Latvia
The Russian Population in Latvia - The Russian Population in Latvia - Puppets of Moscow? Puppets of Moscow? Latvian integration policy concerns a complex of issues such as citizenship, school language Tomas Malmlöf:TheRussianPopulationinLatvia and minority status. The policy has let Latvia become an accepted member of the international community, but it is challenged by domestic Russian-speaking groups and by the Russian TOMAS MALMLÖF Federation. The disagreements originate in the interpretation of Latvian 20th century history and the definition of a national minority, based on the actual Latvian situation. A crucial question is whether Russia exercises any influence on the Latvia-Russian community, giving it an improper impact on Latvian interior affairs. Official Russian compatriot policy seems to have had little success in this, but it has still been able to keep the ethnic question in the Baltic states alive at the international level. Radical Russian free-lancers in ethnic policymaking might be a bigger nuisance for Latvia, but without official Russian support, they are in all likelihood easier to come to terms with. As a group, the Latvia-Russians seem to have reached a critical level of internal organisation with several political parties, NGOs and competing mass media. They have therefore turned into a self-sufficient actor capable of setting its own agenda instead of implementing the agenda of others. Thus the Latvia-Russians are hardly remote-controlled from Moscow, which, of course, does not prevent them from cooperating with different Russian actors when their interests coincide. Tomas Malmlöf is Master of Political Science and Economy and an expert on Russian business questions. -
Human Rights in Latvia 1 January 2002 – 30 June 2002
Human Rights in Latvia 1 January 2002 – 30 June 2002 Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies a member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Alberta St. 13, Riga LV 1010 tel. 371-7039290 fax: 371-7039291 e-mail: [email protected] Contents Elections and Political Rights…...…………………………………………………….1 Judicial System and Domestic Safeguards…………………………………………….1 Freedom of Expression and the Media………………………………………………...2 Right to Privacy and Family Life……………………………………………………...3 Torture, Ill-Treatment and Misconduct by Law Enforcement Officials………………4 Freedom of Religion (and Conscientious Objection)………………………………….4 Conditions in Prisons and Detention Facilities………………………………………..5 Minority Rights……….……………………………………………………………….5 Citizenship………………………………………………….………………………….7 Intolerance, Xenophobia, Racial Discrimination and Hate Speech…………………...7 Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees………………………………………….8 Women’s Rights……………………………………………………………………….9 Rights of the Child…………………………………………………………..…….…10 Rights of the Mentally Ill…………………………………………………………….10 Patient’s Rights………………………………………………………………………10 LCHRES Legal Aid, 1 January 2002- 30 June 2002……………………………..11 Activities of the LCHRES, 1 January 2002- 30 June 2002……………………….12 Elections and Political Rights The first half of 2002 witnessed abolition of the controversial language requirement for public office. On 9 April 2002 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a ruling on Ingrida Podkolzina’s application challenging the language requirement. Podkolzina had been a deputy candidate from the People’s Harmony Party in the parliamentary elections held in October 1998. On 21 August 1998 the Central Electoral Commission struck Podkolzina from the electoral list on the basis of a decision of the State Language Centre. Although Podkolzina possessed the required state language proficiency certificate of the highest level, the State Language Centre re-examined Podkolzina’s language proficiency and found that it did not correspond to the level indicated in her state language certificate.