Līvõ kēļ

Livonian

Uralic (Finnic, South)

FamilyUralic (Finnic, South) Speakers~30 partial ScriptLatin (with ā ē ī ō ū macrons + ǟ ȭ palatalized ļ ņ ŗ) CountriesLatvia (Kurzeme — Livonian Coast) Official inLatvia (protected indigenous heritage language) Vitalitycritically endangered ISO 639-3liv

Livonian (Līvõ kēļ) is the southernmost Finnic language, spoken historically along the Kurzeme (Courland) coast of Latvia. Heavy Latvian (Indo-European Baltic) contact gave it tonal features unusual among Finnic languages. The last fluent native speaker, Grizelda Kristiņa, died in 2013, but several dozen partial speakers remain through revitalization programs. Latvia officially protects it as part of indigenous heritage.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Livonian

Water

vež

vɛʒ

Fire

tūl

tuːl

Sun

pǟva

pæːva

Moon

kūʼ

kuː

Star

tēḑ

teːdʲ

Night

īe

iːɛ

Rain

vīmõ

ˈviːmɤ

Snow

lum

lum

Wind

tūļ

tuːlʲ

Earth

mō

mɔː

Stone

kivā

ˈkivɑː

Mountain

mäg

mæɡ

Sea

mer

meˀr

Mother

jemā

jɛmaː

Father

izā

izaː

Daughter

tidār

tidaːr

I

minā

ˈminaː

You

sinā

ˈsinaː

We

mēg

mɛːɡ

Name

nim

nim

Person

rištīng

riʃtiːŋɡ

Head

pǟ

pæː

Eye

sīlma

siːlma

Ear

kūora

kuːɔra

Nose

nanā

nanaː

Mouth

sū

suː

Tooth

āmbaz

ˈɑːmbɑz

Tongue

kēļ

kɛːʎ

Hand

kež

kɛʒ

Foot

jālga

jɑːlɡɑ

Heart

sidām

sidaːm

Bone

lūʼ

luːʔ

Blood

ver

ver

Poop

sitā

ˈsitaː

Love

ārmaztõ

aːrmastə

Tree

pū

puː

Dog

piņ

piɲ

Cat

kaš

kaʃ

Fish

kalā

ˈkɑlɑː

Bird

lind

lind

Butterfly

li’bla’bbiņ

liˀblɑˀbːiɲ

Egg

munā

munaː

Bear

okš

okʃ

Horse

i'bbi

ˈiˀbːi

House

kuodā

kuədaː

Milk

sēmḑa

ˈseːmdʲa

Honey

mež

mɛʒ

Salt

sūoļ

suoːlʲ

Wine

vīnõ

ˈviːnə

Rice

rīsõd

ˈriːsəd

Iron

rōda

ˈroːdɑ

Wheel

kȭr

kɤːr

Silk

zīḑõz

ˈziːɟəz

Book

rǭntõz

ˈrɔːntəz

Eat

sīedõ

siːədə

Drink

jūodõ

juːədə

Sleep

maggõ

mɑɡːə

One

ikš

ikʃ

Two

kakš

kakʃ

Three

kuolm

ˈkuolm

Four

nēļa

ˈneːlʲa

Five

vīž

viːʒ

Hundred

sadā

ˈsadaː

Hello

tervīst

tɛrviːst

Thank you

tienū

tiɛnuː

Good

jõvā

jəvaː

New

ūž

uːʒ

Red

punni

ˈpunːi

White

vālda

ˈvaːlda

Black

mustā

ˈmustaː

Green

ǭļaz

ˈoːʎaz

Blue

siņņi

ˈsiɲːi

Cuckoo

kēg

keːɡ

Computer

datōr

ˈdɑtoːr

Tea

tēj

teːj

Coffee

kaffe

ˈkafːe

Sugar

tsukkõr

ˈtsukːɤr

Orange

appõlsin

ˈapːəlsin

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Uralic (Finnic, South)

Meaning LivonianEstonianVõroFinnishVoticVepsMeänkieli
Water vež /vɛʒ/ vesi /vesi/ vesi /vesi/ vesi /ʋesi/ vesi /ˈvesi/ vezi /ˈvezi/ vesi /ˈʋesi/
Fire tūl /tuːl/ tuli /tuli/ tuli /tuli/ tuli /tuli/ tuli /ˈtuli/ lämoi /ˈlæmoi/ tuli /ˈtuli/
Sun pǟva /pæːva/ päike /pæike/ päiv /pæiv/ aurinko /ɑuriŋko/ päivä /ˈpæivæ/ päiväine /ˈpæivæine/ aurinko /ˈɑuriŋko/
Moon kūʼ /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ kuu /kuː/ ku /ku/ kuu /kuː/
Star tēḑ /teːdʲ/ täht /tæht/ täht /tæht/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähti /ˈtæhti/ tähtaz /ˈtæhtaz/ tähti /ˈtæhti/
Night īe /iːɛ/ öö /øː/ üü /yː/ yö /yø/ öö /øː/ ö /ø/ yö /yø/
Rain vīmõ /ˈviːmɤ/ vihm /ʋihm/ vihm /ʋihm/ sade /ˈsɑde/ vihma /ˈvihma/ vihm /ˈvihm/ sae /sae/
Snow lum /lum/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/ lumi /lumi/ lumi /ˈlumi/
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