Origins

Lithuanian is an Indo-European language, being considered the closest to the original proto-language of the family. It derives from the Baltic language family, and is one of two survivors together with Latvian, forming the Western branch of the group. Linguists determined that the split between Latvian and Lithuanian was a long process – they co-existed as dialects of the same language, starting to split around 800 AD, with the process completing during the 16th Century.

Official Language

Lithuanian is the official language of Lithuania. It’s also official in the commune of Puńsk in Poland. After the accession of Lithuania to the EU in 2004, it became an EU official language. Lithuanian is also spoken by communities of ethnic Lithuanians in Belarus, Moldova, Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia.

Varieties
Lithuanian has two distinct dialects – Highland Lithuanian or Aukstaitian, and Lowland Lithuanian or Žemaičių/ Žemaitiu. Lowland Lithuanian was formed under the strong influence of the Curonian language, another representative of the Baltic group which is now extinct. Dialects are divided into sub-dialects, according to regional principles.

Brief History

Lithuanian has always been a provocative area of research for linguists, as it’s one of two living remnants of the evolution of the Indo-European family of languages. It has preserved archaic models that lead directly to the proto-language of the family.

For many long centuries, Lithuanian didn’t exist as a separate language, but was a dialect of the same Baltic language as Latvian. After the gradual extinction of most of the other Baltic languages, Latvian and Lithuanian began a process of differentiation, transforming themselves into separate languages by the 16th Century, with the process having started in the 9th Century.

The first written documents in Lithuanian are dated from the beginning of the 16th Century – a translation of hymns. In the mid-19th Century, the Russian governor of Lithuania banned the use of Lithuanian, along with its alphabet. The language was restored as official in 1930, and has ever since then been the state’s official tongue. During the time of the Soviet Union, it shared the title of official state language with Russian.

Did you know?
Lithuanian is one of the most direct descendants of the proto-language of the Indo-European family – it preserves archaic models that have helped linguists restore the proto-language. As for its vocabulary, it has many words similar to their Sanskrit equivalents. It’s one of two surviving languages from the Baltic family.

Lithuanian has been one of the EU’s official languages since the accession of Lithuania to the EU in 2004.

Lithuanian is spoken by about 4 million people, not only in Lithuania, but also in Belarus, Moldova, Poland and Russia, as well as emigrant communities all over the world.