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Latvian Language

Latvian CD-ROM
RRP: £24.95
Our Price: £19.99
with FREE P&P

Where does Latvian come from?
Latvian belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

The oldest surviving texts in Latvian date from the late 16th century. The language's first grammar appeared in the 18th century and in the 19th century a modern literary language developed, based on the Central Latvian dialect.

It became the official language of Latvia in 1918, the year in which Latvian independence was won.

How many people speak Latvian?
There are about 1.5 million speakers of Latvian.

In how many countries?
Latvia has a population of about 2.7 million people of whom some 54% speak the language. Other speakers are to be found in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Brazil & Venezuela.

Latvian Culture

Latvian Music and Dance
The first national song festival in Latvia was held in 1873 and it has grown in scale ever since. It's held every five years and climaxes with a giant choir singing in a huge open-air amphitheatre in the national capital.

The Baltika Annual International Folklore Festival, which has taken place in each Baltic capital in turn since 1987 is a weeklong affair of music, dance, exhibitions and parades. Ancient folksongs, or dainas were first collected and published in the mid-nineteenth century, most notably by Krisjanis Barons. In fact, over 1.4 million folk lyrics and 30,000 tunes have been written down in Latvia.

Latvian Food and Drink
Smoked foods, particularly fish, are popular in Latvia, as are dairy products, eggs, potatoes and grains. Smoked flounder, eel, herring and pilchards are staples of the country's diet, while specially preserved lampreys are a Latvian delicacy.

Latvian Attractions
Riga Riga is not as architecturally interesting as Tallinn or Vilnius, the other two Baltic capitals, but it does have parks, wide boulevards and churches and castles to see. There is an air of ethnic tension, fuelled by the fact that Russians outnumber native Latvians in the city.

Sigulda Known locally as the 'Switzerland of Latvia', Sigulda boasts a string of medieval castles and legend-laden caves scattered along one of the prettiest stretches of the Gauja valley.

Bauska The principal attraction of the country town of Bauska is its castle, built between 1443 and 1456 as a stronghold for the Livonian knights. Ancient music festivals are hosted in the castle and its elevated grounds.

Kuldiga This is the most picturesque and historic town in the Kurzeme region. It has a variety of Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox and Lutheran churches, an ancient fortress and other notable buildings.

About Talk Now! Language CD-ROMs
This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

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