Baltic Languages in the 20th and 21st Centuries

A welcoming letter containing information about roll-call and registration will be sent to accepted students during the first week of January.

The course provides an overview of the Baltic languages and their development and changes during the 19th and 20th centuries, primarily from a sociolinguistic perspective. The course offers in-depth knowledge of the intra-linguistic conditions of Latvian and Lithuanian and highlights the external factors—geographical, historical, and political—that have fundamentally influenced and shaped Latvian and Lithuanian as we know them today. The focus is on equipping students with both the essential theoretical and practical subject knowledge required for a professional career as a native language teacher in Latvian and Lithuanian. The course continuously connects to current research. The course is useful for all professions and positions where knowledge of Baltic languages in the 19th and 20th centuries is required or offers a competitive advantage.



The teaching consists of lectures, seminars, and (group) exercises. Mandatory components: Oral presentations in seminars are mandatory parts of the course.


The course is examined through three written assignments and three oral presentations in the seminar. The principles for combining the individual examination tasks are outlined in the grading criteria. The examination is conducted in English, Latvian, or Lithuanian.

The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.


Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.
  • Dini, P.U. Foundations of Baltic Languages. Vilnius, 2014.
  • Rūķe-Draviņa, V. The Standardization Process in Latvian. 16th Century to the Present. Stockholm, 1977.
  • Stundžia, B. The Lithuanian Language: Distinctive Features, Past and Present. Vilnius, 2014.
  • Veisbergs, A., Joma, D. (eds.) Break-out of Latvian. A Sociolinguistic Study. Rīga, 2008.
  • Zinkevičius, Z. The History of the Lithuanian Language. Vilnius, 1996.
  • Annat av läraren anvisat material.
Course reports are displayed for the three most recent course instances.









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