Among Indo-European languages, Lithuanian is extraordinarily conservative, retaining many archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as Sanskrit or Ancient Greek.For this reason, it is one of the most important sources in the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language despite its late attestation (with the earliest texts dating only to c. 1500 AD). Linguists agree that Lithuanian is the single most conservative living Indo-European language. According to the 2017 CIA World Factbook, Lithuanian is spoken in Lithuania by 84% of the country’s 2.8 million inhabitants. Lithuanian also bears certain remarkable similarities to Sanskrit, the progenitor of the modern Indic languages. Lithuanian language, in the context of all Indo-European languages, has best upheld the ancient sound system and plenty of its singularities. First of all, Lithuanian is a very old language. I am - you are - they are. Not in the slightest is the short answer. It is commonly accepted that both Proto-Indo-European short *o and short *a merged as a in both Sanskrit and Lithuanian. All Indo-European languages descended from a hypothetical proto-language called Proto-Indo-European. For example, both Sanskrit ‘agnis’ and Lithuanian ‘ugnis’ mean ‘fire’, ‘sÅ«nus’ means ‘son’ in both languages, and Sanskrit ‘viras’ and Lithuanian ‘vyras’ mean ‘man’. Lithuanian words similar or exact to Sanskrit. Currently there are only two Baltic languages spoken in the world: Lithuanian and Latvian but in the past there were more, such as: Galindian, old Prussian, Yotvingian, Skalvian, Selonian, Semigallian. It has retained a lot of archaic elements: There are no articles in Lithuanian. In this respect, it is very similar to Sanskrit… or earlier. Studies in the field of comparative linguistics have shown it to be the most conservative living Indo-European language. It is considered as the oldest living Indo-European language which has preserved the most of the aspects of the proto-language which many other European languages have lost. Lithuanian language (lietuvių kalba)Lithuanian belongs to the family of Baltic languages. In contrast, languages like French, English and German have undergone many more changes throughout the centuries. Remarkably, Lithuanian is as close to this original language as Latin, Old Greek or Sanskrit. It has been said that the speech of a Lithuanian peasant is the closest thing existing today to the speech of the original Indo-Europeans. Renowned philologists have agreed that the Lithuanian is not only the oldest language in the world today, but the language used by Aryans before the invention of evolution of Sanskrit. Lithuanian du/dvi, Sanskrit dvi/dve, Greek duo/dwo/tyu, Latin duo ("two") Linguists say that Lithuanian is therefore the closest, among the Indo-European languages, to the parent language of Sanskrit. The antiquity of Lithuanian language and its grammatical structure place it in the same period with the oldest Sanskrit – 2000 B.C. The Lithuanian language has many similarities with Sanskrit – the classical language of ancient India, e.g. Also, she has an M.A. Today, it is one of the official languages of the European Union. Lithuanian is very old and is related to Sanskrit (which is a classical language of India), Latin and Greek. Status. singular lúk-os.) Lithuanian belongs to the Indo-European language family, and it is so conservative that it actually retains some shared lexicon and features with Sanskrit to this day. Greek nom. To this day, to … with the classical Indian language of Sanskrit, as well as Latin and Ancient Greek. It is a common belief that there is a close similarity between the Lithuanian and Sanskrit languages; Lithuanian being the European language grammatically closest to Sanskrit. Lithuanian - Lietuvių ... → Lithuanian language: dictionary, pronunciation, grammar It is actually difficult to determine which languages are the oldest and several linguistic scholars lament the scarcity of evidence to make concrete conclusions. in Linguistics, so she knows something about languages. It is related to Sanskrit (a classical language of India) Latin and Ancient Greek. Lithuanian is another old language that has some similarity with Sanskrit. However, other minor languages exist in some regions of the country which also have native speakers, including Russian and Polish languages. [citation needed]Traditionally, scholars count up to ten case forms in Lithuanian. Lithuanian is the official language in Lithuania, with over 85% of native speakers and 90% fluent speakers in the country. It is still spoken by more than three million people in Europe, Australia and Canada. A Lithuanian etymological index, based upon Brughanns Grundriss and the etymological dictionaries of Uhlenbeck (Sanskrit), Kluge (German), .. 1921 1921 by Bender, Harold Herman, 1882- Among Indo-European languages, Lithuanian is extraordinarily conservative, retaining many archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as Sanskrit or Ancient Greek.For this reason, it is one of the most important sources in the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language despite its late attestation (with the earliest texts dating only to c. 1500 AD). And, of course, the similarities between the languages. I am lucky in that my wife Mara was born in Latvia and is a native speaker of modern Latvian. Since the 19th century, when the similarity between Lithuanian and Sanskrit was discovered, Lithuanians have taken a particular pride in their mother tongue as the oldest living Indo-European language. Sanskrit is regarded as the ancient language in Hinduism, where it was used as a means of communication and dialogue by the Hindu Celestial Gods, and then by the Indo-Aryans. The language similarity is not due to their close relatives (Lithuanian language belongs to the Balto-Slavic languages and Sanskrit to Indo-Aryan), but due to the fact that both of these languages has retained much of Proto-Indo-European elements. From "Lithuania in the World", 1996 No1. It is the oldest surviving Indo-European language, which has preserved the most phonetical and morphological aspects of the proto-language which many other European languages come from. If comparing the Sanskrit Vedas to the similar Latvian (or Lithuanian) dainas, we see similar themes as well as structure. At around 5000 years old, Lithuanian is considered one of the oldest languages in the world. Due to centuries of usage in the country, Lithuanian is a national identity. Our language originates in Sanskrit – Lithuanian Foreign Secretary Whilst much of India is still re-discovering her past, the Lithuanian Foreign Secretary, Laimonas Talat-KelpÅ¡a, is the latest Western figure to explain how Sanskrit is a mother language to their own. I soon learn that the professor’s knowledge about the connections between Old Sanskrit and Lithuanian language and ancient cultural ties between India and Lithuania is nothing but amazing. He confirms that there since ancient times have been unique ties between India and Lithuania, not only with regards to language. Lithuanian has been the official language of Lithuania since 1918. Sanskrit is slightly related to the Baltic languages, but that relatiuon is overrated. Lithuanian is the closest modern language to Sanskrit, with Latvian a close second. Well, here Greek comes to the rescue with an -o-. In addition, similar language and its morphology: skr. Lithuanian declension is similar to declensions in ancient Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit, Latin or Ancient Greek.It is one of the most complicated declension systems among modern Indo-European and modern European languages. Under Office authoring languages and proofing, make sure the language you want to use for authoring your document is listed. The Lithuanian language (lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. The Lithuanian language has always fascinated the world’s linguists and has been admired for its complexity and beauty. Lithuanian is supposed by some to be the most conservative of all modern Indo-European languages and Sanskrit is one of the oldest examples of an Indo-European language, also both Slavic and Indo-Iranian are members of the ‘satum’ group of sub-families in the Indo-European family. It’s hardly surprising then that Lithuanian has strong links to Sanskrit, Latin, and Ancient Greek. Lithuanian language peculiarities. Online Lithuanian keyboard to type a text with the special characters. asmi - asi - asti = lit. That’s why you will hear that Lithuanian is an “old” or “conservative” language. Interestingly, old Lithuanian and Sanskrit have many related and closely linked words. If the language accessory pack includes proofing tools for that language, its status appears as Proofing installed. As the above answerer said, both Lithuanian and Sanskrit belong to the Indo-European family of languages. If the status is Proofing available, click the link to … Other languages spoken include Polish, Russian, and Belarusian. Scholars often make references to the Lithuanian language when conducting research on the history of other languages. I think that Lithuanian is considered the most conservative language and therefore is closer to the original PIE while Sanskrit, although very old, is relatively divergent, certainly in terms of idiom (going way beyond the SOV order) and sounds. We hope the lessons above helped you learn Lithuanian. The Lithuanian language has always fascinated the world’s linguists and has been admired for its complexity and beauty. Linguists say that Lithuanian is therefore the closest, among the Indo-European languages, to the parent language of Sanskrit. with the classical Indian language of Sanskrit, as well as Latin and Ancient Greek. Lithuanian still retains many of the original features of the nominal morphology found in some ancient Indo-European languages like Sanskrit and Latin, and has therefore been the focus of much study in the area of Indo-European linguistics. 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