Latvian is a Baltic language in the Indo-European language family, whose closest linguistic relative is Lithuanian. Around 1.3 million people speak it in Latvia, and 100,000 more speak it outside of the country. This means around 80% of the population of Latvia speaks Latvian. 

With a high immigrant population, about 25% of the Latvian population speaks Latvian as a second language, as fluency is required for many careers.

Latvian experienced heavy German influence up until the 1800s, which was followed by a period of “purification” of the language. Afterwards, the Soviet occupation of Latvia meant “Russification” was inevitable. Today there are three main dialects of Latvian: Livonian, High Latvian, and Middle. 

As with any language that has multiple dialects, you must take care to ensure your Latvian translations are accurate for the specific market you are targeting. At Alpha Omega Translations we have Latvian translators who work exclusively with their native dialect of the language to ensure your translations make sense for the culture.