November 28, 2008
Courses in the Latvian language are offered at several universities worldwide. The list below focuses mainly on European universities, but if you know of a university-level Latvian language program elsewhere in the world, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we will add it to our list.
According to a study by the National Agency for Latvian Language Training (Latviešu valodas apguves valsts aģentūra, or LVAVA) in 2008, Latvian language courses are now offered by 20 European universities outside of Latvia. Several of these language and cultural studies programs began in the early 1990s. Some of the universities listed below have developed a strong Baltic studies program, while others offer Latvian language instruction only through interdisciplinary studies or as an additional or elective subject.
Czech Republic
Charles University in Prague
http://www.cuni.cz/UKENG-1.html
Masaryk University in Brno, Faculty of Arts
http://www.muni.cz/to.en/
Estonia
Tallinn University
http://www.tlu.ee/?LangID=2
University of Tartu
http://www.ut.ee/index.aw/set_lang_id=2
Finland
University of Helsinki
http://www.helsinki.fi/university/
Germany
Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald
http://www.uni-greifswald.de/en.html
Humboldt University in Berlin
http://www.hu-berlin.de/standardseite/?set_language=en
Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz
http://www.uni-mainz.de/eng/
University of Cologne
http://www.pressoffice.uni-koeln.de/
University of Münster
http://www.uni-muenster.de/en/
Hungary
University of Western Hungary in Szombathely, Department of Philology (Uralistics Section)
Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Department of Philosophy (Slavic and Baltic Languages Section)
For more information contact Lāsma Ģibiete at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or +371 298 44 524.
Latvia
University of Latvia
http://www.lu.lv/eng/studies/courses/latvian.html
Lithuania
Klaipeda University, Faculty of Humanities
http://www.ku.lt/en/
Siauliai University
http://www.su.lt/en
Vilnius University
http://www.vu.lt/en/
Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas
http://www.vdu.lt/
Poland
Adam Mickiewicz Univeristy in Poznan
http://www.guide.amu.edu.pl/amu/index.htm
University of Warsaw
http://www.uw.edu.pl/en/
Russia
Saint-Petersburg State University
http://www.spbu.ru/e/
Scotland
The Department of Central and East European Studies at the University of Glasgow offers Latvian language courses (basic reading knowledge and communication skills) to its Honours and Masters students. For more information contact Dace Prauliņa at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Sweden
Stockholm University
http://www.su.se/english
United States
The University of Washington’s Baltic Studies Program allows students in Scandinavian Area Studies to specialize in Latvian, Estonian or Lithuanian studies.
Requiring less commitment, but still fairly intensive, is the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI), hosted each summer by a different participating university. BALSSI offers language classes in elementary Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian. Additional English-language courses in Baltic history and culture, as well as a variety of cultural events, are also offered. The Center for Russian, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host BALSSI in the summer of 2010, from June 14 to August 6, 2009. For more information visit the BALSSI website or contact Nancy Heingartner, BALSSI program coordinator, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or +1 (608) 262-3379.
Amanda Jātniece is a Latvian-American currently living in Latvia. She has been a member of the Latvian folk music ensembles Lini un Teiksma, both based in Minneapolis, Minn., and now sings with the Savieši folk ensemble in Riga. She has a strong interest in music and folklore, a degree in linguistics, and does freelance translation and writing along with raising her school-age children.
