Livonian Orthography
Livonian Orthography

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the development of Livonian written language and the related matters starting from the publication of first Livonian books until present day. In total four different spelling systems have been used in Livonian publications. The first books in Livonian appeared in 1863 using phonetic transcription. In 1880, the Gospel of Matthew was published in Eastern and Western Livonian dialects and used Gothic script and a spelling system similar to old Latvian orthography. In 1920, an East Livonian written standard was established by the simplification of the Finno-Ugric phonetic transcription. Later, elements of Latvian orthography, and after 1931 also West Livonian characteristics, were added. Starting from the 1970s and due to a considerable decrease in the number of Livonian mother tongue speakers in the second half of the 20th century the orthography was modified to be even more phonetic in the interest of those who did not speak the language. Additionally, in the 1930s, a spelling system which was better suited for conveying certain phonetic phenomena than the usual standard was used in two books but did not find any wider usage.

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