Latvian

Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Latvian is a Baltic language and is most closely related to Lithuanian, although it is also influenced by Slavic, Germanic, and other languages. Latvian is written using the Latin alphabet, and there are two main dialects: the Latgalian dialect, spoken in Latgale, and the Standard Latvian dialect, spoken in the rest of Latvia. Standard Latvian is based on the Central Latvian dialect, which is spoken in the capital, Riga. Latvian has a rich vocabulary, with many words borrowed from other languages. Latvian grammar is relatively simple, and there is no grammatical gender. Latvian is a synthetic language, meaning that words are formed by adding suffixes and prefixes to stems. Latvian is a stress-timed language, meaning that the stressed syllable in a word is pronounced more strongly than the other syllables. Latvian words are often long and complex, and can be difficult to pronounce for speakers of other languages. Latvian is a relatively young language, having only been codified in the early 20th century. However, it has a long history, having been spoken in Latvia for centuries.