Lithuanian (lietuvių kalba)

Lithuanian is an Eastern Baltic language spoken mainly in Lithuania by about 2.9 million people. There are also speakers of Lithuanian in a number of other countries, including the UK (91,700), Germany (53,200), Norway (39,300), the USA (39,800), and the Russian Federation (31,300) [source].

Lithuanian is related to Latvian and Old Prussian. It is thought to be the most conservative of the Indo-European languages currently spoken, and retains elements of Proto-Indo-European not found in other modern Indo-European languages.

Lithuanian first appeared in print in 1547 in a catechism. The first Lithuanian dictionary was printed during the 17th century. Between 1864 and 1904 the printing and teaching of Lithuanian was banned; Russian, Polish, Belarusian or Latin had to be used instead. After this ban was lifted in 1904, there was a resurgence of Lithuanian literature.

From 1918 to 1940, the nation of Lithuania was independent, and over 7,000 books in Lithuanian were published. Since 1991, when Lithuania once more gained its independence, a large number of publications in Lithuanian has appeared, including newspapers, magazines and scientific and technical works.

Lithuanian is the state language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union (EU). It is also recognised as a minority language in Poland.

Lithuanian alphabet (lietuvių abėcėlė) & pronunciation

Listen to Augustinas Žemaitis reading the Lithuanian alphabet

Notes

• In dictionaries and where clarity is needed, acute, grave, macron or tilde accents are used to mark stress and vowel length, however they are not generally used elsewhere.
• Before e, ę, ė, i, į and y consonants are palatalized. Before other vowels palatization is indicated by adding and i after the consonant.

Download a Lithuanian alphabet chart (Excel)

Sample text

Visi žmonės gimsta laisvi ir lygūs savo orumu ir teisėmis. Jiems suteiktas protas ir sąžinė ir jie turi elgtis vienas kito atžvilgiu kaip broliai.

Listen to Augustinas Žemaitis reading this text

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample videos in Lithuanian

Page last modified: 26.09.21

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