Latvian Grammar

“Latvian Grammar” was written to make information about the Latvian language and its grammatical system more easily available not only within Latvia, but also beyond its borders. A modern grammar of Latvian written in English is as important for native speakers of Latvian as for those who have learned Latvian as a second language and also is of great value for anyone interested in the culture and history of Latvia or the Latvian language itself. The need for a reference grammar of Latvian written in English is especially important right now due to the existence of a large Latvian diaspora community abroad, particularly in English-speaking countries where children and young people are educated in the language of their home countries rather than in Latvian. A Latvian grammar written in English will also be useful for those who are learning Latvian as a foreign language and wish to learn more about its grammatical system and unique features. Likewise, “Latvian grammar” will be a useful reference and source for examples for teachers of Latvian – both those who teach it to speakers as a school or university subject and those who teach it as a foreign language. There is also considerable demand among linguists abroad for a systematic and dependable description of Latvian written by native speakers of Latvian. Latvian is a rather unique combination of ancient as well as relatively new features, which are of interest to researchers abroad and are important for the typological, cognitive, pragmatic, functional, and contrastive analysis of language.University of Latvia State research program “Letonika – the history, languages, culture, values of Latvia

Subject case alternation in negated existential, locative, and possessive clauses in Latvian

[full article and abstract in English] The goal of this article is to analyse the alternation between the genitive and nominative cases in Latvian. As the alternation between genitive and nominative cases is possible in all clauses in which the verb būt ‘to be’ is used as an independent verb, this article examines existential, locative, and also possessive clauses, while also demonstrating that distinguishing these clause types is problematic for Latvian utilising the criteria given in the linguistic literature. Clauses containing the negative form of būt ‘to be’, i.e. nebūt, form the foundation of those selected for this study, as only in these sentences the genitive/nominative alternation can be seen for the subject in Latvian. There are only fragmentary descriptions of existential clauses as a unique semantic type, primarily in connection with the function of the verb būt ‘to be’ and the problems associated with distinguishing its independent and auxiliary meanings. Word order in existential, locative, and possessive clauses has, until now, been examined in connection with typical clause expanders – adverbial modifiers and the dative of possession as well as the information structure of the clause. At the same time, case choice for objects in negative existential clauses has traditionally been one of the most studied themes regarding language standardisation. In order to determine which factors affect the choice of either the genitive or nominative case, a corpus study was done analysing 979 examples: 882 with a genitive subject and 97 with a nominative subject. It was found that a connection exists between the definiteness of the subject, word order, and case choice; however, this manifests only as a tendency rather than as a strict rule.[straipsnis ir santrauka anglų kalba

Subject case alternation in Latvian and Estonian existential clauses

In Latvian and Estonian existential clauses, the subject’s case form alternates between nominative vs. genitive (in Latvian) and nominative vs. partitive (in Estonian). This article is a study of the case-alternation systems of existential clauses and related clause types, locative and possessive clauses in these languages. It includes a corpusbased analysis of Latvian existential clauses that is being compared with Estonian corpus-based findings on similar clause types in Estonian. *** "Subjekti käändevaheldus läti ja eesti keele eksistentsiaallausetes" Nii eesti kui ka läti keeles esineb subjekti käändevaheldust. Läti keeles saab subjekt olla lisaks nominatiivile ka genitiivis, eesti keeles lisaks nominatiivile ka partitiivis. Artiklis võrreldakse subjekti käändevaheldust mõlema keele kirjaliku variandi eksistentsiaallauses, lisaks vaadeldakse ka eksistentsiaallausega seostuvaid lausetüüpe: lokatiiv- ja possessiivlauset. Läti keele subjekti käändevaheldus leiab aset eitavates lausetes verbiga nebut ‘mitte olema’, mida nimetame tinglikult eksistentsiaal-, possessiiv- ja lokatiivlauseteks. Kõigis lausetüüpides domineerib genitiivsubjekt mõjukalt nominatiivsubjekti üle. Eesti keele subjektikäände varieerumine ilmneb kõige produktiivsemalt eksistentsiaal- ja possessiivlausetes, seejuures on olulisemateks käändevaliku mõjuriteks lause polaarsus ja subjekti referendi kvantitatiivne määratletus. Esitame tänapäeva läti keele korpusematerjalil põhinevaid uuringutulemusi ning kõrvutame neid seniste uuringutega läti ja eesti keele kohta. Erinevalt varasematest seisukohtadest ilmneb, et lausetüübil peaaegu puudub mõju läti keele subjektikäändele. Uurime seetõttu peamisi subjekti käänet mõjutavate muutujate klastreid, keskendudes nende erinevatele realiseerumisvõimalustele. Peamised muutujad on subjekti referendi definiitsus, subjekti sõnaliik, subjektifraasi raskus ning subjekti paiknemine predikaadi ja määruse suhtes. Andmetest ei ilmne tugevaid reegleid, vaid ainult eelistuste tendentsid. Kõigis vaadeldavates lausestruktuuritüüpides on sagedasem genitiivsubjekt, kuid ülekaalukuse määr varieerub. Korpusematerjali suurim rühm subjekte on verbijärgsed indefiniitsed genitiivsubjektid. Nominatiivi kasutus on kõige sagedasem verbijärgsete definiitsete subjektide puhul, ületades kahekordselt nominatiivsubjektide osakaalu kogu uuritud korpusematerjalis. Teatud puhkudel on ka lausetüüp subjektikäände osaliseks mõjutajaks. Näiteks on eitavas lokatiivlauses, mille sõnajärg meenutab jaatavat lokatiivlauset, definiitne subjekt just nominatiivis. Artikkel esitab läti keele uuringutulemuste kõrvale tänapäeva eesti keele korpusematerjalil põhinevaid kvalitatiivseid ja arvulisi andmeid eesti keele võrreldavate subjektikäände tegurite ja tingimuste kohta

Infinitive predicate in Latvian, Latin and Classical Greek and Kārlis Mülenbachs’ “infinitivus absolutus”

Kārlis Mülenbachs, who published his monograph “Teikums” (“A sentence”) at the end of the 19th century, provided the first scientific description of Latvian syntax. Paradoxically enough, several issues declared controversial in the theory of his time preserve such a status till present day. Among them there are infinitive predicative constructions, their typology and semantics. The term infinitivus absolutus used by Kārlis Mülenbachs also deserves attention as it is not used in current linguistics. Our contribution is devoted to the discussion of three major theoretical issues. The first one is linked to the definition, typology and usage of infinitive predicative constructions in Latvian, Latin and Classical Greek. The second delves into the question whether we can argue that infinitive predicative constructions represent the same type in all three languages. The third is the question why the term infinitivus absolutus is used mainly in the diachronic analysis of the ancient languages, but we do not encounter it in the description of modern languages. The article is divided into five parts. First, there is an introduction that includes the definition of infinitive predicative constructions and the description of the purpose of our research. The second and third parts are devoted to the typology, semantics and pragmatics of the Latvian infinitive predicative constructions, while the fourth part discusses these constructions in Latin and Classical Greek. The fifth part deals with the interpretation of the notion and term infinitivus absolutus

Nelokāmā divdabja -ot(ies) sintaktiskās un pragmatiskās funkcijas latviešu valodā

Although the semantic, syntactic and especially pragmatic functions of the participles constitute a significant aspect of the sentence structure and also play a role in the area of stylistics, in Latvian linguistics, they have not yet suffieciently explored. Traditional Latvian grammars provide descriptions of the tense, aspect and voice meanings of the participles, while their pragmatic aspects largely remain unexplored. This study attempts to describe and classify syntactic constructions that involve the Latvian indeclinable participle in -ot(ies). The description of such constructions enables one to see whether the participle in -ot(ies) can be used in subjecthood tests to determine the subject of the sentence, especially in the cases of the non-canonical subject (e.g. the dative).With regard to pragmatics, it is important to understand why there is an increase in the use of the constructions involving the participle in -ot(ies) in Modern Latvian in various texts types and styles. The participle in -ot(ies) is sometimes used against the principles of efficient langauge use because it renders the link between the action and its subject unclear and thereby hinders the perception of the content of the sentence. The possible reasons are clumsy translations from other languages (especially in the mass media and various applied texts), also the linguistic skills of the native speakers concerned, for instance, an insufficient mastery or careless use of syntactic constructions

Polyfunctionality and distribution of reflexive verbs in Latvian

The aim of the current paper is to analyze Latvian reflexive verbs from the point of view of their polyfunctionality and distributon.The polysemy of the reflexive verbs is not usually disucussed in the connection with its distribution pattern in the sentence either. This can be partly explianed by the fact that the reflexive verb can have some non-standard language meanings, which following the established practice of the traditional grammars and sometimes even dictionaries,  were not depicted in the language system description either. So the current paper is an attempt to analyze the polyfunctionality of reflexive verbs in connection with their semantic and syntactic functions, without judging the language use from the normative point of view.The classification of Latvian reflexive verbs is based on the relationship between semantic roles and syntactic structure according to the principles devised by Palmer (1994) and Saeed (1997).One and the same reflexive verb may have different lexical meanings with a different distribution for each of the meanings. One and the same verb can belong to different subclasses of the subject and object (or impersonal) verbs.Some reflexive verbs have evaluative or aspectual (iterative) meanings. The evaluative meanings usually are manifested by a positive or negative assessment of the event (the context can be enhanced by the adverbs good or bad) and the consequences while the aspectual meaning is manifested by the intensity of the action, that is – iterativity.The study confirms the assumption that reflexive verbs are independent lexemes as opposed to non-reflexive verb forms. Each reflexive verb has its distinct semantic system and distribution which is different from polysemy of non-reflexive verbs and their distribution. The system of reflexive verbs in Latvian is open where new meanings and even new reflexive verbs arise particularly in colloquial use.</p

The verb vajadzēt ‘to need, must’ in Latvian: its Livonian origins, modal and distributional features

The focus of this study is on the Latvian modal verb vajadzēt ‘to need, must’&nbsp;derived from the noun vajaga ‘need, necessity’ believed to be a borrowing from Livonian&nbsp;vajag, vajāg ‘need, necessary’. The objective of this study is to provide a full, comprehensive&nbsp;description of the grammatical forms and distribution of the verb vajadzēt,&nbsp;and an analysis of its modal and evidential semantics. This is essential, first and foremost,&nbsp;for contrastive language studies (vis-à-vis Livonian and Estonian counterparts of&nbsp;the verb vajadzēt) and will help to lay the necessary foundation for further research on&nbsp;modal verbs and their associated syntactic constructions in Latvian (Baltic) and Finnic&nbsp;language contacts. The verb vajadzēt is part of a larger system of Latvian impersonal modal verbs&nbsp;taking a dative experiencer/agent/possessor; it is also, by virtue of its semantics and&nbsp;functions, one of the primary lexical means for expressing deontic modality in contemporary&nbsp;Latvian. This study takes a closer look at the distribution, semantics of the verb and its&nbsp;syntactic&nbsp;constructions, which are clearly related to the expression of deontic, sometimes&nbsp;also epistemic, and evidential meanings. In addition, the study provides an overview&nbsp;of the grammatical forms of the verb vajadzēt and its parallel uses with the debitive&nbsp;mood. Kokkuvõte. Andra Kalnača, Ilze Lokmane: Läti verb vajadzēt ‘vajama,&nbsp;pidama’: selle liivi juured ning modaalsuse ja distributsiooni eripärad.&nbsp;Selle uurimuse keskmes on läti modaalverb vajadzēt ‘vajama, pidama’, mis&nbsp;on tuletatud nimisõnast vajaga ‘vajadus, tarvidus’, mida omakorda peetakse&nbsp;laenuks&nbsp;liivikeelsest sõnast vajag, vajāg ‘vajadus, vajalik’. Uurimuse eesmärk&nbsp;on anda kõikehõlmav ülevaade verbi vajadzēt grammatilistest vormidest ja&nbsp;distributsioonist&nbsp;ning analüüsida selle modaalset ja evidentsiaalset semantikat.&nbsp;See on oluline eelkõige kontrastiivse keeleuurimise jaoks (verbi vajadzēt&nbsp;võrdlemisel&nbsp;liivi ja eesti vastetega) ning aitab luua vajaliku aluse modaalverbide&nbsp;ja nendega seotud süntaktiliste konstruktsioonide edasiseks uurimiseks&nbsp;seoses läti (balti) ja läänemeresoome keelekontaktidega. Verb vajadzēt on osa suuremast läti üldisikuliste modaalverbide süsteemist,&nbsp;kus kogeja/agent/valdaja ühildub daativis; samuti on see oma semantika ja&nbsp;funktsioonide tõttu üks peamisi leksikaalseid vahendeid deontilise modaalsuse&nbsp;väljendamiseks tänapäeva läti keeles. Käesolevas uurimuses vaadeldakse lähemalt verbi distributsiooni, semantikat&nbsp;ja selle süntaktilisi konstruktsioone, mis on selgelt seotud deontiliste, mõnikord&nbsp;ka episteemiliste ja evidentsiaalsete tähenduste väljendamisega. Lisaks&nbsp;antakse uurimuses ülevaade verbi vajadzēt grammatilistest vormidest ja selle&nbsp;paralleelsest kasutusest debitiiviga. Kubbõvõttõks. Andra Kalnača, Ilze Lokmane: Lețkīel verb vajadzēt:&nbsp;sīe līvõd jūrd, modalitāt ja distribūtsij eņtšsuglit. Sīe tuņšlimiz sidāms&nbsp;um lețkīel modāli verb vajadzēt ‘um vajāg’, mis alīzõks um nimsõnā vajaga&nbsp;‘vajāgõm’, mis tegīž um täpīņtõd līvõ kīel sõnāst vajāg. Tuņšlimiz merk um&nbsp;tǟmikšõ iļvaņtlõks iļ verb vajadzēt formõd ja distribūtsij, ja tuņšlõ sīe modāliz ja&nbsp;evidentsiāliz semantik. Se um tǟdzi amā jeds kontrastīviz kīel tuņšlimiz pierāst&nbsp;(ītlõs verb vajadzēt līvõ ja ēsti kīelkõks) ja äbțõb lūodõ tārpaliz alīz modālizt&nbsp;verbõd ja näntkõks sidtõd sintaks konstruktsijd jeddõpēḑiz tuņšlimiz&nbsp;pierāst&nbsp;lețkīel (baltõd) ja vāldamiersūomõ kīeld kontaktõd kontekstõs. Verb vajadzēt&nbsp;um ikš jag jo sūrst lețkīel modālizt verbõd sistēmst; nei īž eņtš semantik ja&nbsp;funktsijd pūolst tämpizõs lețkīels se um ikš tǟdzi leksikāli vaindõks&nbsp;deontiliz&nbsp;modalitāt nägțimiz pierāst. Sīes tuņšlimizõs jo ležgõld sōbõd vaņtõltõd&nbsp;verb&nbsp;distribūtsij, semantika ja sīe sintaks konstruktsijd, mis ātõ sieldist sidtõd&nbsp;deontiliz,&nbsp;vaišti ka epistēmliz ja evidentsiāliz tǟntõks nägțimizõks. Nei iž tuņšlimi&nbsp;tǟmikšõb iļvaņtlõks iļ verb vajadzēt formõd ja sīe paralēliz kȭlbatimiz&nbsp;īdskubs debitīvõks

Attitude dative (dativus ethicus) as an interpersonal pragmatic marker in Latvian

Among varied syntactic and semantic functions of the dative case in Latvian, the attitude dative or dativus ethicus is a less studied one. As an optional pronominal clitic, it serves two broad functions: first, it expresses the speaker’s authority and affectedness of the speaker or the addressee in a speech-act situation, and second, it expresses the speaker’s stance towards the contents of the utterance. In terms of register, the attitude dative normally occurs in informal interaction. The current study examines three basic types of attitude datives in Latvian and their functions in different syntactic constructions and speech acts. The examples are extracted from corpora as well as Latvian fiction and everyday speech. It follows from the examples that the attitude dative has different meanings in certain speech acts and syntactic constructions. The attitude dative is used in giving orders, expressing prohibition and threats, as well as showing disagreement, disappointment, and regret. The study suggests that the attitude dative tends to be used in lexicalized syntactic constructions (set expressions) including specific lexemes and grammatical forms, and its functions are emphasized with particles

Pragmatiniai predikatinių bendraties konstrukcijų aspektai latvių kalboje

Šio straipsnio tikslas – ištirti pragmatinius predikatinės bendraties konstrukcijos latvių kalboje aspektus ir įrodyti, kad šios konstrukcijos turi specifinius pragmatinius ženklus. Priešingai nei tokie pragmatiniai ženklai kaip dalelytės, jungtukai, prieveiksmiai ar prozodija, predikatinės bendraties konstrukcijos latvių kalboje pragmatiškai funkcionuoja kaip atskiras vienetas, t. y., struktūrinis funkcionalumas kyla iš sąsajos, o ne iš atskirų leksinių ar gramatinių elementų. Šios konstrukcijos latvių kalboje žymi marginalinį modalumą, o jų vartojimas yra susijęs su neutraliais, pažymėtais kalbos registrais. Taigi straipsnyje pagrindinis dėmesys skiriamas modalinėms ir laikinoms reikšmėms bei predikatinių bendraties konstrukcijų poliariškumui. Kadangi šių konstrukcijų modalinės ir laiko reikšmės yra glaudžiai susijusios su komunikaciniais kalbos tipais, jų naudojimas apsiriboja tam tikrais teksto tipais: įspėjimais, kategoriškais prašymais ir draudimais, reklama, antraštėmis žiniasklaidoje ir t. t.The purpose of this article is to examine Latvian predicative infinitive constructions in a pragmatic aspect, showing that they constitute a special type of pragmatic marking. Unlike such pragmatic markers as particles, conjunctions, adverbs or prosody, predicative infinitive constructions in Latvian are pragmatically functioning as a single unit, i.e., their constructional functionality follows from this unity rather than from separate lexical or grammatical elements. Insofar as they represent a marginal modally marked construction type in Latvian, their use is related to non-neutral, marked registers of the language. Therefore, the article focuses on modal and temporal meanings, as well as polarity of predicative infinitive constructions. As their modal and temporal meanings are closely related to communicative types of utterances, the use of these constructions is restricted to specific text types – warnings, categorical requests and prohibitions, advertisements, headlines in mass media, etc