History of Lithuanian Language

Lithuanian language has similarities to Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin.

Dec 28, 2006 Kerry Kubilius

Lithuanian language has been one of the Indo-European languages to exhibit the least amount of change from its original form.

Lithuanian is recognized as an ancient language that has similarities with its proto-language, Indo-European (or Proto-Indo-European). Scholars have concluded that Lithuanian language also bears some resemblances to Sanskrit, which seems difficult to fathom considering how drastically separated the two languages are, geographically and otherwise. It is possible to compare the two languages in such a way that even those who have not studied linguistics may observe the similarities. In this way, Lithuanian has been somewhat useful in aiding the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European.

Because of the conservative nature of Lithuanian language, and its slow rate of change over the centuries, it’s also possible detect similarities with Latin and Greek

Lithuanian Becomes a Distinct Language

After Proto-Indo-European split into Proto-Italic, Proto-Indo-Iranian, and Proto-Baltic, the Proto-Baltic language then split into Proto-East and Proto-West Baltic between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. Latvian and Lithuanian began to diverge about 400 years later, but two other languages – Selonian and Semigallian – emerged and have since become extinct.

Modern Lithuanian

Lithuanian language was recorded in writing, as is in evidence by surviving documents, at least as early as the 16th century. However, When Lithuania became a part of the Russian Empire in 1863, the publication of Lithuanian books was banned, as well as the use of the Latin alphabet (Cyrillic replaced the Latin letters). After illegal Lithuanian-language book smuggling and a nationalist surge, the ban on Lithuanian publications was lifted. When Lithuania was absorbed into the USSR, Russian was used primarily, but Lithuanian was still spoken as a secondary language. Today, Lithuanian language is proudly spoken by Lithuanian nationals living in Lithuania and abroad.

Selected References

Schmalstieg, William R., “The Origin of Lithuanian Language.” Lituanas, Vol. 28, No. 1 (1982).

Other Lithuanian-history related articles:

Gediminas of Lithuania

Christmas Eve in Lithuania

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