Lithuanian LanguageErasmus IP “Modernisation of Europe by
Innovating Teacher Training’4 – 7 July 2010
Vilnius
Lithuanian Language- Lithuanian, lietuvių kalba, is the official state
language of Lithuania;- recognized as one of the official languages of the
EU;- 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania
and 170,000 abroad;- Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to
Latvian;- written in an adapted version of the Roman script.
Lithuanian Language The earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a
translation dating from 1503-1525 of the Lord‘s Prayer, the Hail Mary (Sveika Marija), and the Nicene Creed written in the Southern Aukštaitijan dialect.
Printed books existed after 1547, when the first book in Lithuanian language was published by Martynas Mažvydas
The Catechism
(The Simple Words of Catechism)
Lithuanian LanguageThe book consists of :
- The dedication in Latin „To the Grand Duchy of Lithuania“
- Two prefices in Latin (in prose)
in Lithuanian (in verse)
- A Primer
- The Catechism
- The Book of Songs
Lithuanian Language
The Lithuanian language under the ban (1864, January Uprising, by Mikhail Muravyov, the Russian Govenor General of Lithuania)
Book smuggling The ban was lifted in 1904.
Lithuanian Language Jonas Jablonskis (1860-1930)
contributor to the formation of the standard Lithuanian language;
the first to formulate and expound/explain the essential principles of the language;
They were written in the introduction to his Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika
(Grammar of the Lithuanian Language).
Lithuanian LanguageThe oldest attested form of Greek is Mycenean
Creek,The oldest attested form of Indo-Iranian is Vedic
Sanskrit,The oldest attested form of Slavic is Old Church
SlavicThe oldest attested form of Baltic is Old Prussian
(avoid confusion with the German dialects)The oldest attested form of the Germanic language
is Gothic
Lithuanian LanguageGRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE
The Lithuanian language is a highly inflectional language
The relationships between parts of speech and their roles in a sentence are expressed by numerous inflections
There are two grammatical genders in Lithuanian – feminine and masculine
There are 5 noun and 3 adjective declensions
Lithuanian LanguageNouns and other parts of nominal morphology are declined in seven cases:
NOMINATIVEGENITIVEDATIVEACCUSATIVEINSTRUMENTALLOCATIVE (3 varieties: illative (into), adessive (in,
on, at, by), allative (onto))VOCATIVE
Lithuanian Language
Lithuanian has a free, mobile stress, and is also characterized by pitch accent.
Lithuanian LanguageThere are 3 verbal conjugations
All verbs have present, past, past iterative and future tenses of the Indicative Mood, Subjunctive or Conditional Mood, Imperative Mood (without distinction of tenses)
2nd person Sg. Eik (go)2nd person Pl. Eikite
Lithuanian LanguageIn practical terms: the rich overal inflectional system renders word order less important than in more isolating languages such as English.
A Lithuanian speaker may word:Aš myliu tave (I love you)Tave aš myliu Myliu aš tave
Lithuanian LanguageNOMINATIVE CASE (Subject)
The phrase: the wolf stands
Sanscrit vŕk-as tiśthatiLithuanian vilk-as stoviLatin lup-us stat
Lithuanian LanguageGENITIVE CASE (Possessive/ of word)
The phrase: the wolf‘s mother
Sanscrit vŕk-asya mātāLithuanian vilk-o mótinaLatin lup-i māterGreek lúk-ou mētēr
Lithuanian LanguageDATIVE CASE (Indirect Object)
The phrase: (he) gives to the wolf
Sanscrit dá-dāti vŕk-āyaLithuanian dúoda vilk-uiLatin dat lup-ōGreek dí-dōsi lúk-ō
Lithuanian LanguageACCUSATIVE ENDING (Direct Object)
The phrase: (he) sees the wolf
Sanscrit paśyati vrk-amLithuanian mãto vilk-ąLatin videt lup-umGreek horą lúl-on
Lithuanian LanguageVOCATIVE CASE (Calling Case)
Sanskrit vŕk-aLithuanian vilk-eLatin lup-eGreek lúk-e