Curonian language

The Curonian language (German: Kurisch; Latvian: kuršu valoda; Lithuanian: kuršių kalba), or Old Curonian, is a nearly unattested Baltic extinct language spoken by the Curonians, a Baltic tribe who inhabited the Courland Peninsula (now western Latvia) and the nearby Baltic shore. Curonian was a Baltic language;[1] some scholars consider it to have been an Eastern Baltic, intermediate between Lithuanian and Latvian,[2] while others like Vytautas Mažiulis classify it as Western Baltic.[3] Linguist Eduard Vääri argues that it is possible that Curonians were Baltic Finns.[4] The attested local Finnic language, Livonian, may be the source of Finnic elements in Curonian. In 1912 Latvian linguist Jānis Endzelīns finally proved that Curonian was a Baltic language; according to him, Curonian by its qualities was in between Lithuanian and Latvian languages.[5]

Distribution of the Baltic tribes, circa 1200 CE (boundaries are approximate)

Old Curonian disappeared in the course of the 16th century,[1] leaving substrata in western dialects of the Latvian and Lithuanian, namely the Samogitian dialect. No written documents in this language are known, but some ancient Lithuanian texts from western regions show some Curonian influence. According to Lithuanian linguist Zigmas Zinkevičius, long and intense Curonian–Lithuanian bilingualism existed.

There are attested names of Curonian noblemen such as: Lammechinus, Veltūnas, Reiginas, Tvertikis, Saveidis. Samogitian words such as kuisis (a mosquito), pylė (a duck), blezdinga (a swallow), cyrulis (a skylark), zuikis (a rabbit), kūlis (a stone), purvs (a marsh), and pūrai (a winter wheat) considered to be of Curonian origin. [6]

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Baltic states saw a revival of scientific and cultural interest in extinct Baltic languages and tribes, including Yotvingian, Curonian, and Old Prussian.