Language Spotlight: Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian
Have you ever heard of the term ‘languages of lesser diffusion’? It is generally used to refer to languages that have a relatively small number of native speakers and are rarely learned by non-native speakers, as well as endangered or vulnerable languages.
Exploring the Baltic Linguistic Gems: Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian
Have you ever heard of the term ‘languages of lesser diffusion’?
It is generally used to refer to languages that have a relatively small number of native speakers and are rarely learned by non-native speakers, as well as endangered or vulnerable languages. That last group is far from small:
No less than 40% of some 6,700 languages spoken nowadays are in danger of disappearing.Source: UNESCO, "Towards World Atlas of Languages", 2016
In this post, we will shine a spotlight on three languages that, although very much alive and well, can be described as having lesser diffusion: Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian.
All three are official EU languages, and their speaker communities in the United States are small. The Census Bureau's latest detailed language tables, covering 2017 to 2021, count them like this:
36,030 people aged 5 and over in the United States speak Lithuanian at home, 5,618 speak Standard Estonian, and 12,060 speak "Other Baltic languages including Standard Latvian." These are sample estimates, each with a 90% margin of error.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over in the United States: 2017-2021", released June 2025
That adds up to roughly 54 thousand speakers, although the Latvian figure covers a wider category than Latvian alone.
Most of us study Spanish, French, or German at school and don’t consider learning a lesser diffusion language, and subsequently miss out on some real linguistic gems.
Perhaps by the end of this post, you’ll be inspired to start studying Estonian, Latvian, or Lithuanian.
Estonian at a Glance
Estonian is a Uralic language with a small but resilient speaker base:
As mother tongue, Estonian is spoken by approximately 1,107,000 people in the world. About 887,000 of them live in Estonia.Source: Estonian Institute, "The Estonian Language", 2015
Estonian is closely related to Finnish, rather than to the Indo-European languages of Russia or Latvia, which border Estonia.
All three Baltic countries have long histories of occupation, above all by Russia and the USSR, which has influenced their linguistic identities.
Estonian was declared the state language of Estonia in late 1988, less than three years before the Republic of Estonia’s independence was restored on 20 August 1991.
Estonian: A Challenge for English Speakers
Estonian has two main dialect groups, northern and southern, plus regional varieties such as Võro and Seto in the south. Like English, Estonian uses the Latin alphabet, with the addition of letters such as Õ, Ä, Ö, and Ü.
Fascinatingly, the letters F, Š, Z, and Ž are known as “foreign letters” (võõrtähed) and are only used in loan words and foreign proper names.
Estonian has no grammatical gender and no distinct future tense, but don’t be fooled into thinking that makes it an easy language to learn. Its 14 noun cases are just one of the reasons that Estonian is often described as one of the more difficult languages for English speakers to learn.
Fun Estonian Words
Another feature of Estonian that makes it challenging for English speakers is the seemingly endless vowels and the dearth of consonants. This aspect of the language leads to some particularly curious-looking words. Here are some of our favorite words in Estonian translated into English:
Öö - night
Töö-öö: working night
Jää-äär: edge of the ice
Jalalaba: sole of the foot
Asjaajaja: clerk
Kuuüür - monthly rent
Õue- yard
Latvian: A Baltic Language
Latvian is one of only two standard Baltic languages still spoken today, alongside Lithuanian. The Baltic languages belong to the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family.
The group is further divided into Western and Eastern Baltic languages; unfortunately, all Western Baltic languages are now extinct.
The Eastern Baltic languages include Lithuanian and Latvian, plus Latgalian, which is mainly spoken in the eastern part of Latvia known as Latgale. There is some debate about whether Latgalian is an independent language or a Latvian dialect.
Like Estonian, Latvian uses a modified Roman script. It has 33 letters in its alphabet, including 11 with diacritic marks. The letters q, w, x, and y do not feature in the standard alphabet.
The Official Language of Latvia
Latvian was declared the state language of the Latvian SSR in October 1988. Latvia declared the restoration of its independence on 4 May 1990, and it regained de facto independence on 21 August 1991, when its Supreme Council adopted the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia.
Russian is also widely spoken in Latvia. A national survey of adults shows how the two languages compare:
Latvian is the mother tongue of 64.3% of Latvia’s population aged 18 to 69 and Russian of 37.7%, since respondents could name more than one. As the language used at home, Latvian accounts for 62.0% and Russian for 34.6%.Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, "Latvian Is Mother Tongue of 64% of the Population", Adult Education Survey 2022, published 2023
Practical Latvian Phrases
If you plan to visit Latvia to explore its charming towns and the beautiful countryside, the following basic phrases translated from Latvian to English will come in handy:
Sveiki - Hello
Atā: Bye
Kā jums klājas?: How are you?
Paldies, labi. Un jums?: Fine, thanks. And you?
Vai jūs runājat angliski?: Do you speak English?
Jā - Yes
Nē - No
Paldies - Thanks
Lūdzu - Please
Piedod - Sorry
Atvainojiet: Excuse me
Kur ir dzelzceļa stacija? -Where is the train station?
Lithuanian: A Living Link to Ancient Indo-European Languages
Some linguists consider Lithuanian the most conservative of the living Indo-European languages. It retains numerous archaic features, many of which are believed to have been present in the early stages of the Proto-Indo-European language.
It’s hardly surprising then that Lithuanian shares features with Sanskrit, Latin, and Ancient Greek.
The Official Language of Lithuania
Lithuanian was restored as the state language in November 1988, and on 11 March 1990 Lithuania declared the restoration of its independence from the Soviet Union. Lithuanian has many similarities to Latvian, though the two languages are not mutually intelligible. The Lithuanian alphabet has 32 letters: 12 vowels and 20 consonants.
Of the three official languages spoken in the Baltics, Lithuanian has by far the largest speaker community in the US, as the Census figures above show.
Lithuanian Idioms That Will Make You Smile
As well as being one of the most fun things to learn about a language, idioms can tell us a lot about a country’s culture. Take a look at these fantastic idioms in Lithuanian and their English meanings:
Žodis - sidabras, tyla - auksas - Literal meaning: the word is silver, the silence is gold. Used when someone is talking too much.
Kaip šuniui penkta koja - Literal meaning: like a fifth leg for a dog. Used to describe a purchase or action that is pointless. It can also be translated as ‘the third wheel.’
Eiti pas nykštukus: Literal meaning: go and visit the dwarves: Means to go to the bathroom.
Ryti akimis: Literal meaning: swallow with your eyes. Means to enjoy the view
Neperšokęs griovio, nesakyk ‘op’- Literal meaning: don’t say “op” before you jump over the ditch. Similar to the English idiom ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch.’
Final Thoughts
We hope that you’ve enjoyed learning about these three fascinating languages, which are rarely studied by English speakers.
If your company is considering expanding into Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania, you will need an experienced professional translation service such as BeTranslated. For more information or a free, no-obligation quote, contact us today.
