Language partners
Find someone to practise your Latvian with.

About the Latvian language

Latvian is the official language of Latvia. Some 1½ million of its population of 2¼ million speak Latvian as a native language, with a further 250,000 Latvian speakers living overseas.

Latvian is one of the two Baltic languages within the Indo-European group, the other being Lithuanian. The language of Latvia's northern neighbour Estonia does not belong to this group.

So why learn Latvian?

Tourism
A visit to Latvia and its historic capital Riga will be made all the more enjoyable by an ability to speak Latvian. Your efforts will be appreciated, as not many foreigners take the trouble to learn this minority language.

Culture
Latvia has a long cultural history, particularly in the field of song and dance, and a knowledge of Latvian will enable you to join in and enjoy their many festivals.