View source for Lithuanian language

{{Short description|Baltic language spoken in Lithuania}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Lithuanian
| nativename = {{lang|lt|lietuvių kalba}}
| states = [[Lithuania]]
| region = [[Baltic region|Baltic]]
| ethnicity = [[Lithuanians]]
| speakers = 3.0&nbsp;million
| date = 2012
| ref = <ref>{{e19|lit}}</ref>
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3 = [[Baltic languages|Baltic]]
| fam4 = [[East Baltic languages|East Baltic]]
| dia1 = [[Aukštaitian dialect|Aukštaitian]]
| dia2 = [[Samogitian language|Samogitian]]
| script = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Lithuanian alphabet]])<br />[[Lithuanian Braille]]
| nation = {{flag|Lithuania}}<br />{{flag|European Union}}
| minority = {{flag|Poland}}
| agency = [[Commission of the Lithuanian Language]]
| iso1 = lt
| iso2 = lit
| lc1 = lit
| ld1 = Modern Lithuanian
| lc2 = olt
| ld2 = Old Lithuanian
| lingua = 54-AAA-a
| map = Map of Lithuanian language.svg
| mapcaption = Map of areas where Lithuanian is spoken as a majority language (marked in dark blue) and minority language (marked in light blue)
| notice = ipa
| glotto = lith1251
| glottorefname = Lithuanian
| ancestor = [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2 = [[Proto-Balto-Slavic]]
| ancestor3 = [[Proto-Baltic]]
| pronunciation = {{IPA|lt|lʲiəˈtʊvʲuː kɐɫˈbɐ |}}
}}

'''Lithuanian''' ({{Langx|lt|label=[[endonym]]|lietuvių kalba}}, {{IPA|lt|lʲiəˈtʊvʲuː kɐɫˈbɐ|pron}}) is an [[East Baltic languages|East Baltic language]] belonging to the [[Baltic languages|Baltic branch]] of the [[Indo-European language family]]. It is the language of [[Lithuanians]] and the [[official language]] of [[Lithuania]] as well as one of the official languages of the [[European Union]]. There are approximately 2.8 million<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodiklių duomenų bazė |title=Oficialiosios statistikos portalas |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize/?hash=ea516958-db7e-431f-931e-0f42e7f9e6bc&portletFormName=visualization#/ |website=osp.stat.gov.lt |language=lt-LT}}</ref> native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 1 million speakers elsewhere. Around half a million inhabitants of Lithuania of non-Lithuanian background speak Lithuanian daily as a second language.

Lithuanian is closely related to neighbouring [[Latvian language|Latvian]], though the two languages are not mutually intelligible. It is written in a [[Latin script]]. In some respects, some linguists consider it to be the most [[conservative (language)|conservative]] of the existing [[Indo-European languages]], retaining features of the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] that had disappeared through development from other [[descendant language]]s.<ref name="zinkevicius">{{Cite book |last=Zinkevičius |first=Z. |title=Rytų Lietuva praeityje ir dabar |publisher=[[Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla]] |year=1993 |isbn=5-420-01085-2 |location=Vilnius |page=9 |language=lt |trans-title=Eastern Lithuania in the Past and Now |quote=...linguist generally accepted that Lithuanian is the most archaic among living Indo-European languages...}}</ref><ref name="Britannica2">{{Cite web |title=Lithuanian Language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lithuanian-language |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bonifacas|first=Stundžia|date=2021-11-20|title=How did Vytautas the Great speak and would we manage to have a conversation with VI century Lithuanians?|url=https://www.15min.lt/ar-zinai/naujiena/idomi-lietuva/kaip-snekejo-vytautas-didysis-ir-ar-siandien-susikalbetume-su-vi-a-lietuviais-1162-1600456|access-date=2021-11-20|website=[[15min]]}}</ref>

==History==
{{quote box
| width = 25em
| align = center
| quote = Anyone wishing to hear how [[Indo-European]]s spoke should come and listen to a Lithuanian peasant.
| source = — [[Antoine Meillet]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Ever wanted to travel back in time? Talk to a Lithuanian! |url=https://termcoord.eu/2014/08/ever-wanted-travel-back-time-talk-lithuanian-3/ |website=[[Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament]] |access-date=16 August 2021 |date=19 August 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013145427/https://termcoord.eu/2014/08/ever-wanted-travel-back-time-talk-lithuanian-3/ |archivedate=13 October 2014}}</ref>
}}
Among Indo-European languages, Lithuanian is conservative in its grammar and phonology, retaining archaic features otherwise found only in ancient languages such as [[Sanskrit]]<ref name="Smalstieg 19822">{{Cite journal |last=Smalstieg |first=William |date=1982 |title=The Origin of the Lithuanian Language |url=http://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_01.htm |journal=Lituanus |volume=28 |issue=1 |access-date=2016-08-07 |via=lituanus.org}}</ref> (particularly its early form, [[Vedic Sanskrit]]) or [[Ancient Greek]]. Thus, it is an important source for the reconstruction of the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] despite its late attestation (with the earliest texts dating only to {{Circa|1500 [[AD]]}}, whereas [[Ancient Greek]] was first written down about three thousand years earlier in c.{{nbsp}}1450 BC).<ref name="Britannica2"/>

[[File:The prevalence of Baltic hydronyms.png|thumb|left|Map of the prevalence of hydronyms of Baltic origin<ref name="OriginVle"/>]]
According to [[hydronym]]s of [[Balts|Baltic]] origin, the [[Baltic languages]] were spoken in a large area east of the [[Baltic Sea]], and in c.{{nbsp}}1000 BC it had two linguistic units: western and eastern.<ref name="OriginVle">{{cite web |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |title=Lietuvių kalbos kilmė |trans-title=The Origin of the Lithuanian Language |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-kalbos-kilme/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=21 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> According to [[Glottochronology|glottochronological]] research, the Eastern Baltic languages split from the Western Baltic ones between c.{{nbsp}}400 BC and c.{{nbsp}}600 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Girdenis |first1=Aleksas |last2=Mažiulis |first2=Vytautas |date=1994 |title=Baltų kalbų divergencinė chronologija |journal=Baltistica |language=lt |volume=27 |issue=2 |page=10 |doi=10.15388/baltistica.27.2.204 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Novotná |first1=Petra |last2=Blažek |first2=Václav |date=2007 |title=Glottochronology and Its Application on the Balto-Slavic Languages |journal=Baltistica |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=208–209 |doi=10.15388/baltistica.42.3.1178 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The Greek geographer [[Ptolemy]] had already written of two Baltic tribe/nations by name, the [[Galindians#Western Galindians|Galindai]] ({{Lang|grc|Γαλίνδαι}}) and [[Sudovians|Sudinoi]] ({{Lang|grc|Σουδινοί}}), in the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Patackas |first1=Algirdas |title=Apie galindus, baltų gentį, ir jų kelionę į vakarus, pasaulio pakraštį (nuotraukos) |url=https://www.lrytas.lt/kultura/istorija/2010/09/24/news/apie-galindus-baltu-genti-ir-ju-kelione-i-vakarus-pasaulio-pakrasti-nuotraukos--4681476 |website=[[lrytas.lt]] |access-date=22 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Baltų kalbos ir tautos |url=https://www.aidai.eu/index.php?view=article&catid=202%3A6-rugsjis&id=2746%3Ais&option=com_content&Itemid=233 |website=Aidai.eu |access-date=22 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Lithuanian originated from the Eastern Baltic subgroup and remained nearly unchanged until c.{{nbsp}}1 AD, however in c.{{nbsp}}500 AD the language of the northern part of Eastern Balts was influenced by the [[Finnic languages]], which fueled the development of changes from the language of the Southern Balts (see: [[Latgalian language|Latgalian]], which developed into [[Latvian language|Latvian]], and extinct [[Curonian language|Curonian]], [[Semigallian language|Semigallian]], and [[Selonian language|Selonian]]).<ref name="OriginVle"/> The language of Southern Balts was less influenced by this process and retained many of its older features, which form Lithuanian.<ref name="OriginVle"/>

[[File:Lithuanian language in the 16th century.png|left|thumb|Area where Lithuanian was spoken in the 16th century]]
The differentiation between Lithuanian and Latvian started after c.{{nbsp}}800 AD; for a long period, they could be considered dialects of a single language.<ref name="Blspace">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://balticlanguage.space/history/ |website=Balticlanguage.space |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref> At a minimum, transitional dialects existed until the 14th or 15th century and perhaps as late as the 17th century.<ref name="Blspace"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Indo-European Languages|last1=Ramat|first1=Anna Giacalone|author-link=Anna Giacalone Ramat|last2=Ramat|first2=Paolo|publisher=Routledge|year=1998|isbn=9781134921867|pages=454–479|chapter=The Baltic Languages|oclc=908192063}}</ref> The German [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] occupied the western part of the [[Daugava River|Daugava]] basin, which resulted in [[colonization]] of the territory of modern [[Latvia]] (at the time it was called [[Terra Mariana]]) by Germans and had a significant influence on the language's independent development due to [[Germanisation]] (see also: [[Baltic Germans]] and [[Baltic German nobility]]).<ref name="Blspace"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Latvia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Latvia/History |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref>

There was fascination with the Lithuanian people and their language among the late 19th-century researchers, and the philologist [[Isaac Taylor (priest)|Isaac Taylor]] wrote the following in his ''The Origin of the Aryans'' (1892):
<blockquote>"Thus it would seem that the Lithuanians have the best claim to represent the primitive [[Aryan race]], as their language exhibits fewer of those phonetic changes, and of those grammatical losses which are consequent on the acquirement of a foreign speech."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Taylor (priest) |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924029872847/page/n277/mode/2up |title=The Origin of the Aryans: An Account of the Prehistoric Ethnology and Civilisation of Europe |publisher=24 Warwick Lane, [[Paternoster Row]] |year=1892 |edition=2nd |series=The Contemporary Science |location=London |page=261}}</ref></blockquote>

Lithuanian was studied by several linguists such as [[Franz Bopp]], [[August Schleicher]], [[Adalbert Bezzenberger]], [[Louis Hjelmslev]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQ6CTNgAbPMC&q=danis+hjelmslev+studied+lithuanian&pg=PA124 |title=Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195187687 |editor-last=Chapman |editor-first=Siobhan |page=124 |editor-last2=Routledge |editor-first2=Christopher}}</ref> [[Ferdinand de Saussure]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Joseph |first=John E. |date=2009 |title=Why Lithuanian Accentuation Mattered to Saussure |url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~josephj/LHI_Joseph%5b1%5d.pdf |journal=Language & History |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=182–198 |doi=10.1179/175975309X452067 |s2cid=144780177 |access-date=1 April 2018 |via=lel.ed.ac.uk}}</ref> [[Winfred P. Lehmann]] and [[Vladimir Toporov]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sabaliauskas |first=Algirdas |date=2007 |title=Remembering Vladimir Toporov |url=http://www.lituanus.org/2007/07_2_01%20Sabaliauskas.html |journal=Lituanus |volume=53 |issue=2 |access-date=4 April 2018 |via=lituanus.org |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224180000/http://www.lituanus.org/2007/07_2_01%20Sabaliauskas.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Jan Safarewicz,<ref>{{cite web |title=Jan Safarewicz |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/jan-safarewicz/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=21 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> and others.

By studying place names of Lithuanian origin, linguist {{Ill|Jan Safarewicz|pl}} concluded that the eastern boundaries of Lithuanian used to be in the shape of zigzags through [[Grodno]], [[Shchuchyn]], [[Lida]], [[Valozhyn]], [[Svir, Belarus|Svir]], and [[Braslaw]].<ref name="OriginVle"/> Such eastern boundaries partly coincide with the spread of [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] faith, and should have existed at the time of the [[Christianization of Lithuania]] in 1387 and later.<ref name="OriginVle"/> Safarewicz's eastern boundaries were moved even further to the south and east by other scholars (e.g. {{ill|Mikalay Biryla|be|Мікалай Васілевіч Бірыла}}, {{Ill|Petras Gaučas|lt}}, {{ill|Jerzy Ochmański|pl}}, [[Aleksandras Vanagas]], [[Zigmas Zinkevičius]], and others).<ref name="OriginVle"/>

[[Proto-Balto-Slavic]] branched off directly from Proto-Indo-European, then sub-branched into [[Proto-Baltic]] and [[Proto-Slavic]]. Proto-Baltic branched off into Proto-West Baltic and Proto-East Baltic.<ref name="Smalstieg 1982">{{Cite journal |last=Smalstieg |first=William |date=1982 |title=The Origin of the Lithuanian Language |url=http://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_01.htm |url-status=dead |journal=Lituanus |volume=28 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111175048/http://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_01.htm |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=2016-08-07 |via=lituanus.org}}</ref> The Baltic languages passed through a Proto-Balto-Slavic stage, from which the Baltic languages retain exclusive and non-exclusive lexical, morphological, phonological and accentual isoglosses in common with the [[Slavic languages]], which represent their closest living Indo-European relatives. Moreover, with Lithuanian being so archaic in phonology, Slavic words can often be deduced from Lithuanian by regular [[sound law]]s; for example, Lith. ''[[wikt:vilkas#Lithuanian|vilkas]]'' and [[Polish language|Polish]] [[wikt:wilk#Polish|wilk]] ← [[Proto-Balto-Slavic language|PBSl.]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Balto-Slavic/wilkás#Proto-Balto-Slavic|*wilkás]] (cf. [[Proto-Slavic language|PSl.]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/vьlkъ#Proto-Slavic|*vьlkъ]]) ← [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/wĺ̥kʷos#Proto-Indo-European|*wĺ̥kʷos]], all meaning "[[wolf]]".

Because of the three archaeological cultures in Lithuania, some scholars divide the Lithuanian ethnos into three cultural groups – Samogitians (Western), Aukštaitians{{Efn|In academic literature, they are referred to as ''Aukštaitians'' (a neologism derived from ''Aukštaičiai'') or upland Lithuanians. The translation ''highland Lithuanians'' is not applicable.|name=a}} (Central) and Lithuanians (Eastern). Traditionally, the [[Samogitians|Samogitian]] tribe is included within the broader Lithuanian ethnos as suggested by historical accounts, dividing Lithuania into two parts – ''Austechia'' ([[Aukštaitija]]) and ''Samogitia'' ([[Samogitia|Žemaitija]])<ref>[[Tomas Baranauskas|Baranauskas, Tomas]] (2006). ''Aukštaitija XIII–XV amžiuje'' [''Aukštaitija in the 13th–15th centuries''] (in Lithuanian). Kaunas: Žiemgalos leidykla. p. 1.</ref><ref>Misiūnas, Romuald J., Bater, James H. ''Prehistory to the 18th Century. Baltic states''. [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopaedia Britannica]].</ref> – but their origins are a subject of ongoing debates. Linguist Jūratė Sofija Laučiūtė argues that prior to their [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]], ancient Samogitians were a different tribe from the [[Lithuanians (tribe)|Lithuanians]], which is evinced by certain linguistic features not explainable by [[phonetics]] alone, such as the ending ''-ou <*-ou'' of masculine [[noun]]s in [[Genitive case|genitive form]] (e.g. [[Samogitian language|Samogitian]] ''velkou'', Lithuanian ''vilkui'', meaning ([[Dative case|{{sc|'''dat'''}}]]) 'wolf'). Valdemaras Šimėnas suggests that both culturally and linguistically ancient Samogitians were closer to [[Curonians]], [[Semigallians]] and [[Selonians]] than Lithuanians.<ref>Kavaliauskas, Antanas (1 January 2018). "Žemaičių kilmės problematika" [The Problematic Nature of Samogitian Origin] (in Lithuanian). ''Kalvotoji Žemaitija''. Retrieved on 5 February 2025.</ref> In the late 12th century, Samogitians and Lithuanians formed a tribal union, which was the basis for the future Lithuanian state.<ref>[[Edvardas Gudavičius|Gudavičius, Edvardas]]. "[https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-zemiu-konfederacija/ Lietuvos žemių konfederacija]" [The Confederation of Lithuanian Lands] (in Lithuanian). [[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija|''Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia'']].</ref>

Initially, Lithuanian was a [[spoken language]] in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and [[Duchy of Prussia]], while the beginning of Lithuanian writing is possibly associated with the introduction of [[Catholic Church in Lithuania|Christianity in Lithuania]] when [[Mindaugas]] was [[Baptism|baptized]] and crowned King of Lithuania in 1250–1251.<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle">{{cite web |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |title=Lietuvių rašomoji kalba |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-rasomoji-kalba/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="OriginVle"/> It is believed that [[prayer]]s were translated into the local dialect of Lithuanian by [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] monks during the baptism of Mindaugas, however none of the writings has survived.<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> The first recorded Lithuanian word, reported to have been said on 24 December 1207 from the chronicle of [[Henry of Latvia]], was ''Ba'', an [[interjection]] of a Lithuanian raider after he found no loot to pillage in a Livonian church.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Antanavičius |first1=Darius |last2=Baronas |first2=Darius |last3=Dubonis |first3=Artūras |last4=Petrauskas |first4=Rimvydas |title=Mindaugo knyga. Istorijos šaltiniai apie Lietuvos karalių |date=2005 |publisher=Lietuvos istorijos instituto leidykla |location=Vilnius |isbn=9986780683 |page=97}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = right
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| footer = Lithuanian was mentioned as one of the languages of the participants of the [[Council of Constance]] in 1414–1418: see ''{{Lang|la|Lingwa Lietowia}}'' (left) and {{lang|de|Littowelch}} (right) in a 15th century ''{{Lang|de|Chronik des Konstanzer Konzils}}'' compiled by [[Ulrich of Richenthal]].
| footer_align = left/right/center
| image1 = Lingwa Lietowia (Lithuanian language; lietuvių kalba), mentioned in Chronik des Konstanzer Konzils by Ulrich von Richental, 15th century.jpg
| width1 = 250
| image2 = Lithuanian language. Lithuanian language mentioned among other languages of participants of Council of Constance, 1483.png
| width2 = 102
}}

Although no writings in Lithuanian have survived from the 15th century or earlier,<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> Lithuanian ({{langx|la|Lingwa Lietowia}}) was mentioned as one of the European languages of the participants in the [[Council of Constance]] in 1414–1418.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tarp Europos kalbų U. Richentalis paminėjo ir Lingwa Lietowia – lietuvių kalbą |journal=Lietuvos bajoras |date=2015 |issue=21 |page=22 |url=https://www.lbks.lt/images/zurnalai/pdf/bajoru_zurnalas21.pdf |access-date=17 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=[[Ulrich of Richenthal]] |title=Concilium zu Constencz (Chronik des Konstanzer Konzils) |page=232v |url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/ir00196000/0463/image,info,thumbs |access-date=17 January 2023 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rutkauskienė |first1=Violeta |title=Istorinės Lietuvos valdovų vėliavos ir LDK delegacijos herbai Konstanco metraštininkų kronikose |journal=Voruta |date=2016 |issue=1 |page=5 |url=https://www.voruta.lt/wp-content/uploads/Voruta-2016-nr.-1.pdf |access-date=9 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> From the middle of the 15th century, the legend spread about the [[Roman people|Roman]] origin of the [[Lithuanian nobility]] (from the [[Palemonids|Palemon lineage]]), and the closeness of the Lithuanian language and Latin, thus this let some intellectuals in the mid-16th century to advocate for replacement of Ruthenian with Latin, as they considered Latin as the native language of Lithuanians.<ref name="Dubonis2016"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kiaupa |first1=Zigmantas |title=The history of Lithuania before 1795 |last2=Kiaupienė |first2=Jūratė |last3=Kuncevičius |first3=Albinas |year=2000 |isbn=9789986810131 |page=194 |publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History |location=Vilnius}}</ref>

Initially, [[Latin]] and [[Church Slavonic]] were the main [[written language|written]] ([[Chancery (medieval office)|chancellery]]) languages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but in the late 17th century – 18th century Church Slavonic was replaced with Polish.<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Poliakovas |first1=Olegas |title=Slavų kanceliarinė kalba |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/slavu-kanceliarine-kalba/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=16 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Nevertheless, Lithuanian was a [[spoken language]] of the [[List of heads of state of Lithuania#Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1263–1569)|medieval Lithuanian rulers]] from the [[Gediminids]] dynasty and its cadet branches: [[Family of Kęstutis|Kęstutaičiai]] and [[Jagiellonian dynasty|Jagiellonian dynasties]].<ref name="KalbaVR">{{cite web |title=Kurie Lietuvos valdovai mokėjo protėvių kalbą, kurie – ne? / Laida "Lietuva – mūsų lūpose" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_I9qGa1J44 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/o_I9qGa1J44| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=YouTube |publisher=Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania |access-date=16 February 2023 |language=lt}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Pancerovas">{{cite web |title=Ar perrašinėjamos istorijos pasakų įkvėpta Baltarusija gali kėsintis į Rytų Lietuvą? |url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/istorija/ar-perrasinejamos-istorijos-pasaku-ikvepta-baltarusija-gali-kesintis-i-rytu-lietuva-582-456877 |last1=Pancerovas |first1=Dovydas |website=[[15min.lt]] |access-date=16 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="Statkuviene">{{cite web |last1=Statkuvienė |first1=Regina |title=Jogailaičiai. Kodėl ne Gediminaičiai? |url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/istorija/jogailaiciai-kodel-ne-gediminaiciai-582-1056552 |website=15min.lt |access-date=16 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="Stone"/> It is known that [[Jogaila]], being [[Lithuanians|ethnic Lithuanian]] by the [[Patrilineality|male-line]], himself knew and spoke Lithuanian with [[Vytautas the Great]], his cousin from the Gediminids dynasty.<ref name="Pancerovas"/><ref name="Statkuviene"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Plikūnė |first1=Dalia |title=Kodėl Jogaila buvo geras, o Vytautas Didysis – genialus |url=https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/kodel-jogaila-buvo-geras-o-vytautas-didysis-genialus.d?id=76794153 |website=[[DELFI]] |access-date=17 July 2021 |language=lt}}</ref> During the [[Christianization of Lithuania#Christianization by Jogaila and Vytautas|Christianization of Samogitia]] none of the clergy, who arrived to [[Duchy of Samogitia|Samogitia]] with Jogaila, were able to communicate with the natives, therefore Jogaila himself taught the [[Samogitians]] about [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]; thus he was able to communicate in the [[Samogitian dialect]] of Lithuanian.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baronas |first1=Darius |title=Žemaičių krikštas: tyrimai ir refleksija |date=2013 |publisher=[[Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science]] |location=[[Vilnius]] |isbn=978-9986-592-71-6 |pages=33–34 |url=https://www.lkma.lt/site/files/file/leidiniai/Zemaiciu_krikstas.pdf |access-date=16 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Soon afterwards Vytautas the Great wrote in his 11 March 1420 letter to [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor]], that Lithuanian and Samogitian are the same language.<ref>{{cite book |author1=[[Vytautas the Great]] |author2=Valkūnas, Leonas (translation from [[Latin]]) |title=Vytauto laiškai [ Letters of Vytautas the Great ] |publisher=[[Vilnius University]], Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore |page=6 |url=http://www.šaltiniai.info/files/literatura/LC00/Vytauto_lai%C5%A1kai.LC2100.pdf |access-date=4 March 2023 |language=lt |quote=Juk pirmiausia Jūs padarėte ir paskelbėte sprendimą dėl Žemaičių žemės, kuri yra mūsų paveldėjimas ir mūsų tėvonija iš teisėtos prosenolių bei senolių įpėdinystės. Ją ir dabar nuosavybėje turime, ji dabar yra ir visada buvo viena ir ta pati Lietuvos žemė, nes yra viena kalba bei tie patys gyventojai. (...) Taip pat Žemaitijos žmonės nuo senų laikų save vadino lietuviais ir niekada žemaičiais, ir dėl tokio tapatumo (sic) savo rašte mes nerašome apie Žemaitiją, nes viskas yra viena, vienas kraštas ir tie patys gyventojai.}}</ref>

[[File:1501. Roman Catholic churches within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where the priests must know the Lithuanian language.svg|thumb|left|175px|The Grand Duke of Lithuania, [[Alexander Jagiellon]], specified that the Roman Catholic priests in these 28 churches must know the Lithuanian language, according to his letter of 18 September 1501, which was addressed to the Bishop of Vilnius Albertas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fijał |first1=Jan |last2=Semkowicz |first2=Władysław |date=1948-01-01 |title=Kodeks dyplomatyczny katedry i diecezji Wilenskiej. Tomu 1. Zeszyt 3 (1501–1507, uzupełn. 1394–1500) (W Krakowie 1948) |url=https://www.academia.edu/45078413 |journal=Codex Diplomaticus Ecclesiae Cathedralis Necnon Dioceseos Vilnensis. Voluminis I. Fasciculus 3 (1501–1507, Addenda 1394–1500). |pages=616–617 |access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baranauskas |first=Tomas |date=2009-01-01 |title=Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė ir lietuvių tauta |trans-title=The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Lithuanian nation |url=https://www.academia.edu/3715377 |journal=Lietuvių tauta |language=lt |volume=11: Tirpstančios lietuvių žemės |page=82 |access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref>]]
The use of Lithuanian continued at the Lithuanian [[royal court]] after the deaths of Vytautas the Great (1430) and Jogaila (1434).<ref name="Stone"/> For example, since the young Grand Duke [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] was underage, the supreme control over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was in the hands of the [[Lithuanian Council of Lords]], presided by [[Jonas Goštautas]], while Casimir IV Jagiellon was taught Lithuanian and [[Culture of Lithuania|customs of Lithuania]] by appointed court officials.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Eugenija |last1=Ulčinaitė |last2=Jovaišas |first2=Albinas |url=http://ualgiman.dtiltas.lt/vid..html#Hermanas_Vartbergietis_ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026081117/http://ualgiman.dtiltas.lt/vid..html#Hermanas_Vartbergietis_ |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 October 2007 |title=Lietuvių kalba ir literatūros istorija |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ulčinaitė |first1=Eugenija |last2=Jovaišas |first2=Albinas |title=Lietuvių literatūros istorija: XIII-XVIII amžius |date=2003 |publisher=Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas |location=Vilnius |isbn=995547551X |pages=13–66}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stryjkowski |first1=Maciej |author-link1=Maciej Stryjkowski |title=Kronika Polska, Litewska, Zmódzka i wszystkiéj Rusi. |date=1582 |publisher=Warszawa Nak. G.L. Glüsksverga |page=207 |url=https://archive.org/details/kronikapolskalit02stryuoft/page/206/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="KalbaVR"/> During the Polish [[szlachta]]'s envoys visit to Casimir in 1446, they noticed that in Casimir's royal court the Lithuanian-speaking courtiers were mandatory, alongside the Polish courtiers.<ref name="Dubonis2016">{{cite journal |last1=Dubonis |first1=Artūras |title=The Prestige and decline of the official (state) language in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (fifteenth-sixteenth century): problems in Belarusian historiography |journal=Lithuanian Historical Studies |date=2016 |volume=20 |pages=6–7, 15–16, 21 |url=https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2016~1512655799738/datastreams/DS.002.1.01.ARTIC/content |access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kutrzeba |first1=Stanisław |last2=Semkowicz |first2=Władysław |title=Akta unji Polski z Litwą, 1385-1791 |date=1932 |publisher=Polska Akademia Umiejętności |location=[[Kraków]] |page=117 |url=https://pbc.biaman.pl/dlibra/publication/1419/edition/1545?language=en |access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref> Casimir IV Jagiellon's son [[Saint Casimir]], who was subsequently announced as patron saint of Lithuania, was a [[polyglot]] and among other languages knew Lithuanian.<ref name="KazimierasVK">{{cite web |title=Šventojo Kazimiero gyvenimo istorija |url=https://www.katedra.lt/sv-kazimieras/istorija/ |website=[[Vilnius Cathedral]] |access-date=3 March 2023 |language=lt |quote=Jo gyvenimą tyrinėjo popiežiaus Leono X legatas vyskupas Z. Ferreri. 1521 m. jis išspausdino biografiją "Vita beati Casimiri, scripta Vilniae" – tai vienintelis XVI a. šaltinis, kalbantis apie asketišką Kazimiero gyvenimą. Autorius akcentuoja, kad Kazimieras mokėjęs lietuvių, lenkų, vokiečių ir lotynų kalbas, turėjęs nemažai dorybių: buvo teisingas, susivaldantis, tvirtos dvasios, išmintingas.}}</ref> Grand Duke [[Alexander Jagiellon]] also could understand and speak Lithuanian as multiple Lithuanian priests served in his royal chapel and he also maintained a Lithuanian court.<ref name="Dubonis2016"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pietkiwicz |first1=K. |title=Dwór litewski wielkiego księcia Aleksandra Jagiellończyka (1492–1506) |date=1997 |location=Vilnius}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kiaupa |first1=Zigmantas |last2=Mickevičius |first2=Arturas |last3=Sarcevičienė |first3=Jolita |title=Lietuvos valstybė: XII-XVIII a. |date=1997 |publisher=Lietuvos istorijos institutas, Lietuvos mokslų akademija |isbn=978-9986-780-08-3 |pages=88–89 |language=lt}}</ref> In 1501, [[Erazm Ciołek (bishop of Płock)|Erazm Ciołek]], a priest of the Vilnius Cathedral, explained to the [[Pope]] that the Lithuanians preserve their language and ensure respect to it ({{langx|la|Linguam propriam observant|label=none}}), but they also use the [[Ruthenian language]] for simplicity reasons because it is spoken by almost half of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.<ref name="Dubonis2016"/> A note written by [[Sigismund von Herberstein]] in the first half of the 16th century states that, in an ocean of [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]] in this part of Europe, there were two non-Ruthenian regions: Lithuania and Samogitia where its inhabitants spoke their own language, but many Ruthenians were also living among them.<ref name="Dubonis2002">{{Cite journal |last=Dubonis |first=Artūras |date=2002 |title=Lietuvių kalba: poreikis ir vartojimo mastai : XV a. antra pusė - XVI a. pirma pusė |url=https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2002~1367186030476/datastreams/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC/content |journal=Naujasis židinys–Aidai |volume=9-10 |pages=473–478}}</ref>

[[File:Oldest surviving writing in Lithuanian language.jpg|thumb|150px|The oldest surviving [[manuscript]] in Lithuanian ({{c.|1503}}), rewritten from a 15th century original text.]]
The earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503–1525 of the [[Lord's Prayer]], the [[Hail Mary]], and the [[Nicene Creed]] written in the Southern Aukštaitian dialect.<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> Since 1530–1560 [[Prussian Lithuanians]] were taught in native Lithuanian language in parishes and peasants schools of [[Lithuania Minor]], and in 200 years the authorities of the [[Duchy of Prussia]] have not taken obstructive measures against such education.<ref name="JuskaMle">{{cite web |last1=Juška |first1=Albertas |title=Lietuvių kalba Mažosios Lietuvos mokyklose |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/lietuviu-kalba-mazosios-lietuvos-mokyklose |website=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija |access-date=21 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref> On 8 January 1547 the first Lithuanian book was printed – the [[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas|''Catechism'' of Martynas Mažvydas]].<ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/>

At the royal courts in Vilnius of [[Sigismund II Augustus]], the last Grand Duke of Lithuania prior to the [[Union of Lublin]], both Polish and Lithuanian were spoken equally widely.<ref name="Stone">{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Daniel |title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795 |date=2001 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-98093-5 |pages=4, 52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&q=Lithuanian&pg=PA52 |access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> In 1552 Sigismund II Augustus ordered that orders of the [[Magistrate]] of Vilnius be announced in Lithuanian, Polish, and Ruthenian.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Menelis |first1=E. |last2=Samavičius |first2=R. |title=Vilniaus miesto istorijos chronologija |url=http://www.vilnijosvartai.lt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Vilniaus-miesto-istorijos-chronologija.pdf |website=Vilnijosvartai.lt |access-date=12 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> The same requirement was valid for the Magistrate of [[Kaunas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kauno rotušė |url=http://www.autc.lt/lt/architekturos-objektai/971 |website=Autc.lt |access-date=12 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Butėnas |first1=Domas |title=Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valstybinių ir visuomeninių institucijų istorijos bruožai XIII–XVIII a. |date=1997 |publisher=Lietuvos istorijos instituto leidykla |location=Vilnius |pages=145–146}}</ref>

In the 16th century, following the decline of Ruthenian usage in favor of Polish in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language strengthened its positions in Lithuania due to reforms in religious matters and judicial reforms which allowed lower levels of the [[Lithuanian nobility]] to participate in the social-political life of the state.<ref name="Dubonis2016"/> In 1599, [[Mikalojus Daukša]] published his [[Postil of Mikalojus Daukša|Postil]] and in its [[preface]]s he expressed that the Lithuanian language situation had improved and thanked bishop [[Merkelis Giedraitis]] for his works.<ref name="Dubonis2016"/>

The early 18th century was devastating for the Lithuanian speakers as the [[Great Northern War plague outbreak]] in 1700–1721 killed 49% of residents in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1/3 of residents in [[Lithuania proper]] and up to 1/2 of residents in [[Samogitia]]) and 53% of residents in [[Lithuania Minor]] (more than 90% of the deceased were [[Prussian Lithuanians]]).<ref name="MarasVle"/> On the other hand, Lithuanian language seminars were established in the [[University of Königsberg]] (1718) and in the [[Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg|Prussian University of Halle]] (1727).<ref name="SvietimasML">{{cite web |title=Švietimas Mažojoje Lietuvoje |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/svietimas-mazojoje-lietuvoje/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=19 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref>

Until 1741 in the Lithuanian Province ({{lang|de|Provinz Litauen}}) of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which encompassed the counties of [[Klaipėda]], [[Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Tilsit]], [[Neman, Russia|Ragnit]], [[Chernyakhovsk|Insterburg]], there were 275 Lithuanian primary schools (in multinational areas separate classes were formed for Lithuanian and German speakers), in 1800 – 411 Lithuanian schools.<ref name="SvietimasML"/>

In 1776–1790 about 1,000 copies of the first Catholic [[Primer (textbook)|primer]] in Lithuanian – ''[[Mokslas skaitymo rašto lietuviško]]'' – were issued annually, and it continued to be published until 1864. Over 15,000 copies appeared in total.<ref name="Ldm">{{cite web |title=Lietuvių kalbos elementorius "Mokslas skaitymo rašto lenkiško" |url=http://old.ldm.lt/klasicizmo_epocha/atrask/3_0_p2.asp |website=[[Lithuanian National Museum of Art]] |language=lt |access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="Baranauskas">{{cite web |last1=Baranauskas |first1=Tomas |authorlink1=Tomas Baranauskas |title=Ar Seimo nariams reikia išmanyti istoriją? |url=https://www.delfi.lt/archive/tbaranauskas-ar-seimo-nariams-reikia-ismanyti-istorija.d?id=18754936 |website=[[DELFI]] |language=lt |access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Moksłas skaytima raszta lietuwiszka dieł mażu wayku |date=1828 |publisher=Drukarnioy Kunigu Misionoriu |location=Vilnius |url=https://kolekcijos.biblioteka.vu.lt/en/objects/VUB01_000283162#00003 |access-date=12 February 2023 |language=Lithuanian}}</ref> The [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]] was translated into the Lithuanian language shortly after its adoption by the [[Great Sejm]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/geguzes-treciosios-konstitucija/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref> During the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] (1794) directive documents were distributed and appeals were published in various languages, including Lithuanian, also the Lithuanian language was used for [[sermon]]s dedicated to the uprising (e.g. preached at [[Church of St. Johns, Vilnius]] and other churches, as well as in military units).<ref>{{cite web |title=1794 m. Tado Kosciuškos sukilimo parodoje – didingo Abiejų Tautų Respublikos įvykio palikimas |url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/istorija/parodoje-tado-kosciuskos-sukilimo-1794-m-dokumentai-didingo-abieju-tautu-respublikos-pasipriesinimo-palikimas-582-440457 |website=15min.lt |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bibliotekos unikumai ir raritetai |url=http://www.mab.lt/Biblioteka100/5.html |website=[[Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania]] |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vilniaus istorijos puslapiai: miesto gynyba 1794 m. sukilimo metu |url=https://www.15min.lt/kultura/naujiena/literatura/vilniaus-istorijos-puslapiai-miesto-gynyba-1794-m-sukilimo-metu-286-2356310 |website=15min.lt |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kuolys |first1=Darius |title=Mykolas Pranciškus Karpavičius |url=http://www.xn--altiniai-4wb.info/index/details/968 |website=Šaltiniai.info |publisher=Vilnius University, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Šmigelskytė-Stukienė |first1=Ramunė |last2=Brusokas |first2=Eduardas |title=Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė. Visuomenė. Kasdienybės istorija |journal=XVIII amžiaus studijos |date=2018 |issue=4 |page=225 |url=https://www.istorija.lt/data/public/uploads/2021/06/2018-xviii-a.-studijos-t.-4-9-eduardas-brusokas-1794-m.-sukileliu-viesieji-p.-218-228.pdf |publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=lt}}</ref>

[[File:Vilnia, Lidzkaja-Franciškanskaja. Вільня, Лідзкая-Францішканская (J. Bułhak, 1912).jpg|thumb|Lithuanian school in Vilnius in 1902]]
In 1864, following the [[January Uprising]], [[Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky|Mikhail Muravyov]], the Russian [[Governor General of Lithuania]], banned the language in education and publishing [[Lithuanian press ban|and barred use of the Latin alphabet]] altogether, although books continued to be printed in Lithuanian across the border in [[East Prussia]] and in the [[United States]].<ref name="SpaudosDraudimasVle">{{cite web |last1=Merkys |first1=Vytautas |title=Lietuvių spaudos draudimas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-spaudos-draudimas/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="Lituanus1863-1893">{{cite journal |last1=Klimas |first1=Antanas |title=Lithuania 1863–1893: tsarist Russification and the beginnings of the modern Lithuanian National Movement |journal=Lituanus |date=1996 |volume=42 |issue=3 |url=https://www.lituanus.org/1996/96_3_03.htm |access-date=9 February 2023}}</ref> Brought into the country by [[Lithuanian book smugglers|book smugglers]] ({{langx|lt|knygnešiai|links=no}}) despite the threat of long prison sentences, they helped fuel [[Lithuanian National Revival|growing nationalist sentiment]] that finally led to the lifting of the ban in 1904.<ref name="SpaudosDraudimasVle"/><ref name="Lituanus1863-1893"/> According to the [[Russian Empire Census]] of 1897 (at the height of the Lithuanian press ban), 53.5% of Lithuanians (10 years and older) were literate, while the average of the [[Russian Empire]] was only 24–27.7% (in the European part of [[Russia]] the average was 30%, in [[Poland]] – 40.7%).<ref name="Baranauskas" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Education - Revolutionary, Patterns, Education |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Revolutionary-patterns-of-education |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref> In the Russian Empire Lithuanian children were mostly educated by their parents or in secret schools by "daractors" in native Lithuanian language, while only 6.9% attended Russian state schools due to resistance to [[Russification]].<ref name="RastingumasVle">{{cite web |title=Raštingumas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/rastingumas/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vaivada |first1=Rimantas |title=Tautos tradicijos daraktorių veikloje, formuojant vertybių sistemą |journal=Pedagogika |date=2007 |issue=88 |pages=13–18 |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=22344 |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt |issn=1392-0340}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Daraktorius |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/daraktorius/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Russian governorates with significant Lithuanian populations had one of the highest population [[literacy]] rates: [[Vilna Governorate]] (in 1897 ~23.6–50% Lithuanian of whom 37% were literate), [[Kovno Governorate]] (in 1897 66% Lithuanian of whom 55.3% were literate), [[Suwałki Governorate]] (in 1897 in counties of the governorate where Lithuanian population was dominant 76,6% of males and 50,2% of females were literate).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mulevičius |first1=Leonas |title=Vilniaus gubernija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/vilniaus-gubernija/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kauno gubernija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kauno-gubernija/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Merkys |first1=Vytautas |title=Suvalkų gubernija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/suvalku-gubernija/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaitekūnas |first1=Stasys |title=Lietuvos gyventojai Rusijos imperijos valdymo metais (1795–1914) |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-gyventojai-rusijos-imperijos-valdymo-metais-1795-1914/ |website=Vle.lt |access-date=1 October 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

In 1872, the German Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] started Germanisation policies ({{lang|de|Allgemeine Bestimmungen}}) after finishing the [[unification of Germany]] and the Lithuanian language education in primary schools of Lithuania Minor was started to be replaced with German, however due to parents protests the Lithuanian language education remained alongside German until the late 19th century.<ref name="SvietimasML"/><ref name="JuskaMle"/>
{{multiple image
| align = right
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| total_width = 
| header_align = left/right/center
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| image1 = Map with an area (marked in greenish-yellow) where Lithuanian language was dominant in 1827 (from Atlas statystyczny Polski i krajow okolicznych by Stanisław Plater).jpg
| width1 = 200
| caption1 = Area (marked in greenish-yellow) where Lithuanian language was dominant in 1827, depicted in a map by Lithuania-born historian, geographer [[Stanisław Plater]] (1827)
| image2 = Mapa języka litewskiego.tif
| width2 = 215
| caption2 = Area where Lithuanian language was dominantly spoken, including its islands and mixed territories in the late 19th century by Polish linguist [[Jan Michał Rozwadowski]] (1930)
| image3 = Litauen BV042518396.jpg
| width3 = 190
| caption3 = Ethnolinguistic area of Lithuanians and the Lithuanian language in 1917 by [[Prussian Lithuanian]] professor [[Vilius Gaigalaitis]] (Wilhelm Gaigalat), the dashed areas represent linguistically mixed border areas where Lithuanians formed a large minority
}}
[[Jonas Jablonskis]] (1860–1930) made significant contributions to the formation of standard Lithuanian.<ref name="JablonskisVle">{{cite web |last1=Sabaliauskas |first1=Algirdas |title=Jonas Jablonskis |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/jonas-jablonskis/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> The conventions of written Lithuanian had been evolving during the 19th century, but Jablonskis, in the introduction to his ''Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika'', was the first to formulate and expound the essential principles that were so indispensable to its later development.<ref name="JablonskisVle"/><ref name="BendrineVle"/> His proposal for Standard Lithuanian was based on his native [[Suvalkija|Western Aukštaitian]] dialect with some features of the eastern [[Prussian Lithuanians]]' dialect spoken in [[Lithuania Minor]].<ref name="JablonskisVle"/><ref name="BendrineVle"/> These dialects{{clarify|date=November 2014}}<!--Which dialects? Both the western and the eastern?--> had preserved archaic phonetics mostly intact due to the influence of the neighbouring [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]], while other dialects had experienced different [[Vowel shift|phonetic shift]]s.

[[File:Title page of Vyriausybės Žinios which includes articles of the 1922 Constitution of Lithuania (6 August 1922 edition).jpg|thumb|upright|Title page of ''Vyriausybės Žinios'' with articles of the 1922 Constitution of Lithuania. The sixth article established Lithuanian as the sole official language of Lithuania.]]
Lithuanian became the official language of the country following the [[Act of Independence of Lithuania|restoration of Lithuania's statehood]] in 1918. The 1922 [[Constitution of Lithuania]] (the first permanent Lithuanian [[constitution]]) recognized it as the sole [[official language]] of the state and mandated its use throughout the state.<ref name="ValstybineKalbaVle">{{cite web |last1=Ambrazas |first1=Vytautas |title=Lietuvos valstybinė kalba |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-valstybine-kalba/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Večerskytė |first1=Juta |title=1922 Lietuvos Valstybės Konstitucija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/n1922-lietuvos-valstybes-konstitucija/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=9 February 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> The improvement of education system during the [[interwar period]] resulted in 92% of literacy rate of the population in Lithuania in 1939 (those still illiterate were mostly elderly).<ref name="RastingumasVle"/>

Following the Żeligowski's Mutiny in 1920, Vilnius Region was detached from Lithuania and was eventually annexed by Poland in 1922. This resulted in repressions of Lithuanians and mass-closure of Lithuanian language schools in the Vilnius Region, especially when Vilnius Voivode [[Ludwik Bociański]] issued a secret memorandum of 11 February 1936 which stated the measures for suppressing the Lithuanians in the region.<ref name="Ereminas">{{cite journal |last1=Ereminas |first1=Gintautas |title=Lenkijos valdžios politika lietuvių tautinės mažumos atžvilgiu (1935–1939 m.) |journal=Gimtasai kraštas |date=2015 |volume=9 |pages=5–15 |url=https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/60381 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="Tyla">{{cite web |last1=Tyla |first1=Antanas |date=6 October 2011 |title=Suvalkų sutartis ir jos išniekinimas |url=https://alkas.lt/2011/10/06/a-tyla-suvalku-sutartis-ir-jos-isniekinimas/ |website=Alkas.lt |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1=Ludwik |last1=Bociański |url=http://pbc.biaman.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=6846&from=publication |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509015230/http://pbc.biaman.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=6846&from=publication |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 May 2016 |title=Ściśle tajny memorjał Wojewody Wileńskiego Bociańskiego z dnia 11 lutego 1936 r. O posunięciach władz administracji ogólnej w stosunku do mniejszości litewskiej w Polsce oraz o zamierzeniach w tym wględzie na przyszłość : dwa załączniki z d. 11 i 21 marca 1938 r.)|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smolarczyk |first1=Andrzej |title=Administracja państwowa wobec szkolnictwa mniejszości narodowych na terenach województw północno-wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1935–1939 |pages=98–120 |url=https://www.snpl.lt/Rocznik/17/R.17.098-120.pdf |publisher=Politechnika Białostocka |language=pl}}</ref> Some Lithuanian historians, like {{Ill|Antanas Tyla|lt}} and Ereminas Gintautas, consider these Polish policies as amounting to an "[[ethnocide]] of Lithuanians".<ref name="Ereminas"/><ref name="Tyla"/>

Between 1862 and 1944, the Lithuanian schools were completely banned in Lithuania Minor and the language was almost completely eliminated there.<ref name="BendrineVle"/> The Baltic-origin place names retained their basis for centuries in [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] but were Germanized (e.g. {{lang|lt|Tilžė}} – {{lang|de|Tilsit}}, {{lang|lt|Labguva}} – {{lang|de|Labiau}}, {{lang|lt|Vėluva}} – {{lang|de|Wehliau}}, etc.); however, after the annexation of the [[Königsberg (region)|Königsberg region]] into the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], they were changed completely, regardless of previous tradition (e.g. {{lang|de|Tilsit}} – {{lang|ru|Sovetsk}}, {{lang|de|Labiau}} – {{lang|ru|Polesk}}, {{lang|de|Wehliau}} – {{lang|ru|Znamensk}}, etc.).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kuzmickas |first1=Bronislovas |title=Kaimynas Vakaruose – iš Rytų. Prūsijos nebeliko |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/169721/kaimynas-vakaruose-is-rytu-prusijos-nebeliko |website=Lithuanian National Radio and Television |access-date=9 February 2023 |language=lt |date=15 April 2017}}</ref>

The [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940]], [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|German occupation in 1941]], and eventually [[Soviet re-occupation of the Baltic states (1944)|Soviet re-occupation in 1944]], reduced the independent Republic of Lithuania to the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]] within the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="BendrineVle"/> [[Government of the Soviet Union|Soviet authorities]] introduced Lithuanian–[[Russian language|Russian]] bilingualism,<ref name="BendrineVle"/> and Russian, as the ''de facto'' official language of the USSR, took precedence and the use of Lithuanian was reduced in a process of Russification.<ref>{{harvnb|Dini|2000|page=362}} "Priešingai nei skelbė leninietiškos deklaracijos apie tautas ("Jokių privilegijų jokiai tautai ir jokiai kalbai"), reali TSRS politika – kartu ir kalbų politika – buvo ne kas kita kaip rusinimas<sup>77</sup>. Ir 1940–1941 metais, iš karto po priverstinio Pabaltijo valstybių įjungimo į TSRS, ir vėliau vyraujanti kalbos politikos linija Lietuvos TSRS ir Latvijos TSRS buvo tautinių kalbų raidos derinimas su socialistinių nacijų raida<sup>78</sup>. Tokia padėtis tęsėsi penkiasdešimt metų<sup>79</sup>."</ref><ref name="BendrineVle"/> Many Russian-speaking workers and teachers migrated to the Lithuanian SSR (fueled by the [[industrialization in the Soviet Union]]).<ref name="RusinimasVle">{{cite web |title=Lietuvos sovietinimas, rusinimas ir kolonizavimas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuvos-sovietinimas-rusinimas-ir-kolonizavimas/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Russian consequently came into use in state institutions: the Central Committee of the [[Communist Party of Lithuania]] (there were 80% Russians among the 22,000 [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] members in the Lithuanian SSR in 1948), radio and television (61–74% of broadcasts were in Russian in 1970).<ref name="RusinimasVle"/> Lithuanians passively resisted Russification and continued to use their own language.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staliūnas |first1=Darius |title=Rusinimas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/rusinimas/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

On 18 November 1988, the [[Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR]] restored Lithuanian as the official language of Lithuania, under from the popular pro-independence movement [[Sąjūdis]].<ref name="ValstybineKalbaVle"/>

On 11 March 1990, the [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania]] was passed. Lithuanian was recognized as sole official language of Lithuania in the Provisional Basic Law (Lithuanian: ''Laikinasis Pagrindinis Įstatymas'') and the Constitution of 1992, written during the [[1992 Lithuanian constitutional referendum|Lithuanian constitutional referendum]].<ref name="ValstybineKalbaVle"/><ref>{{cite web |title=LR Konstitucija – 14 straipsnis |url=https://www.lrk.lt/lietuvos-respublikos-konstitucija/1-skirsnis-lietuvos-valstybe/22-14-straipsnis |website=Lrk.lt |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

==Classification==
[[File:Baltic Tribes c 1200.svg|thumb|left|Distribution of the Baltic tribes, {{c.|1200}} (boundaries are approximate).]]
[[File:Balto-Slavic theories 2.svg|thumb|right|450px|Various schematic sketches of possible Balto-Slavic language relationships.]]
Lithuanian is one of two living [[Baltic languages]], along with [[Latvian language|Latvian]], and they constitute the eastern branch of the Baltic languages family.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dahl |first1=Östen |title=Circum-Baltic Languages |last2=Koptjevskaja-Tamm |first2=Maria |date=2001 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=9789027230591 |editor-last=Dahl |editor-first=Östen |series=Studies in Language Companion Series 55 |volume=II: Grammar and Typology |page=43 |doi=10.1075/slcs.55.02dah |editor-last2=Koptjevskaja-Tamm |editor-first2=Maria}}</ref> An earlier [[Baltic region|Baltic]] language, [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]], was extinct by the 18th century; the other Western Baltic languages, [[Curonian language|Curonian]] and [[Sudovian language|Sudovian]], became extinct earlier. Some theories, such as that of [[Jānis Endzelīns]], considered that the Baltic languages form their own distinct branch of the family of [[Indo-European languages]], and Endzelīns thought that the similarity between Baltic and Slavic was explicable through language contact.{{sfn|Dini|2000|pp=139–140}} There is also an opinion that suggests the union of Baltic and Slavic languages into a distinct sub-family of [[Balto-Slavic languages]] amongst the Indo-European family of languages. Such an opinion was first represented by [[August Schleicher]].<ref name="FoundationsBook">{{cite book |last1=Dini |first1=Pietro U. |last2=Richardson |first2=Milda B. |last3=Richardson |first3=Robert E. |title=Foundations of Baltic languages |date=2014 |publisher=Eugrimas |location=Vilnius |pages=206–208 |isbn=978-609-437-263-6 |url=http://www.esparama.lt/es_parama_pletra/failai/ESFproduktai/2014_Foundations_of_Baltic_Languages.pdf |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> Some supporters of the Baltic and Slavic languages unity even claim that [[Proto-Baltic language|Proto-Baltic branch]] did not exist, suggesting that Proto-Balto-Slavic split into three language groups: [[East Baltic languages|East Baltic]], [[West Baltic languages|West Baltic]] and [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]].{{sfn|Dini|2000|p=55}}<ref>'''<sup>104</sup>'''Plg. J. Otrębski 1956–1965 I, p. 44; Schmitt-Brandt 1972. Griežtai prieš baltų (ir baltų-slavų) prokalbės hipotezę pasisakė Mayer 1981."</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Kortlandt|first=Frederik|year=2009|title=Baltica & Balto-Slavica|page=5|quote=Though Prussian is undoubtedly closer to the East Baltic languages than to Slavic, the characteristic features of the Baltic languages seem to be either retentions or results of parallel development and cultural interaction. Thus I assume that Balto-Slavic split into three identifiable branches, each of which followed its own course of development.}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon|first=Rick|last=Derksen|year=2008|page=20|quote=I am not convinced that it is justified to reconstruct a Proto-Baltic stage. The term Proto-Baltic is used for convenience's sake.}}</ref> [[Antoine Meillet]] and [[Jan Baudouin de Courtenay]], on the contrary, believed that the similarity between the Slavic and Baltic languages was caused by independent parallel development, and the Proto-Balto-Slavic language did not exist.{{sfn|Dini|2000|p=138}}
[[File:Lithuanian language in European language map 1741.jpg|thumb|A map of European languages (1741) with the first verse of the [[Lord's Prayer]] in Lithuanian]]

An attempt to reconcile the opposing stances was made by [[Jan Michał Rozwadowski]].<ref name="FoundationsBook"/> He proposed that the two language groups were indeed a unity after the division of Indo-European, but also suggested that after the two had divided into separate entities (Baltic and Slavic), they had posterior contact.<ref name="FoundationsBook"/> The genetic kinship view is augmented by the fact that Proto-Balto-Slavic is easily reconstructible with important proofs in historic prosody. The alleged (or certain, as certain as historical linguistics can be) similarities due to contact are seen in such phenomena as the existence of definite adjectives formed by the addition of an inflected pronoun (descended from the same Proto-Indo-European pronoun), which exist in both Baltic and Slavic yet nowhere else in the Indo-European family (languages such as Albanian and the [[Germanic languages]] developed definite adjectives independently), and that is not reconstructible for Proto-Balto-Slavic, meaning that they most probably developed through language contact.{{sfnp|Zinkevičius|1984|pp=117–138, 209–210}}

The Baltic [[hydronym]]s area stretches from the [[Vistula]] River in the west to the east of [[Moscow]] and from the [[Baltic Sea]] in the north to the south of [[Kyiv]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaindo00mall |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |date=1997 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |isbn=9781884964985 |editor-last=Mallory |editor-first=J. P. |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaindo00mall/page/n84 49] |editor-last2=Adams |editor-first2=Douglas Q. |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fortson |first=Benjamin W. |url=https://archive.org/details/indoeuropeanlang00ivbe |title=Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction |date=2004 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |location=Padstow |pages=[https://archive.org/details/indoeuropeanlang00ivbe/page/n393 378]–379 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Vladimir Toporov and [[Oleg Trubachyov]] (1961, 1962) studied Baltic hydronyms in [[Russia]]n and [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] territory.{{sfn|Dini|2000|p=38}} Hydronyms and [[archaeology]] analysis show that the Slavs started migrating to the Baltic areas east and north-east directions in the 6–7th centuries, before then, the Baltic and Slavic boundary was south of the [[Pripyat River]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smoczyński |first=W. |title=Języki indoeuropejskie. Języki bałtyckie |date=1986 |publisher=PWN |location=Warszawa |language=lt |trans-title=Indo-European Languages. Baltic Languages}}</ref> In the 1960s, [[Vladimir Toporov]] and [[Vyacheslav Ivanov (philologist)|Vyacheslav Ivanov]] made the following conclusions about the relationship between the Baltic and Slavic languages:
* a) Proto-Slavic formed from the peripheral-type Baltic dialects; 
* b) the Slavic linguistic type formed later from the structural model of the Baltic languages; 
* c) the Slavic structural model is a result of a transformation of the structural model of the Baltic languages.

These scholars' theses do not contradict the Baltic and Slavic languages closeness and from a historical perspective, specify the Baltic-Slavic languages' evolution.{{sfn|Dini|2000|p=143}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Birnbaum |first=H. Х. Бирнбаум |authorlink=Henrik Birnbaum|date=1985 |title=O dvukh osnovnykh napravleniyakh v yazykovom razvitii |script-title=ru:О двух основных направлениях в языковом развитии |url=https://vja.ruslang.ru/archive/1985-2.pdf#page=32 |journal=Voprosy yazykoznaniya |language=ru |volume=1985 |issue=2 |page=36 |script-journal=ru:Вопросы языкознания}}</ref>

So, there are at least six points of view on the relationships between the Baltic and Slavic. However, as for the hypotheses related to the "Balto-Slavic problem", it is noted that they are more focused on personal theoretical constructions and deviate to some extent from the [[Comparative linguistics|comparative method]].<ref>Б. Вимер. [http://www.philology.ru/linguistics3/vimer-07.htm Судьбы балто-славянских гипотез и сегодняшняя контактная лингвистика.] Ареальное и генетическое в структуре славянских языков. Москва, Институт славяноведения РАН, 2007 (in Russian). Retrieved 2 February 2023</ref>

==Geographic distribution==
Lithuanian is spoken mainly in [[Lithuania]]. It is also spoken by ethnic Lithuanians living in today's [[Belarus]], [[Latvia]], [[Poland]], and the [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] of Russia, as well as by sizable emigrant communities in [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Iceland]], [[Ireland]], [[Norway]], [[Russia]], [[Sweden]], the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]], [[Uruguay]], and [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pasaulio lietuvių bendruomenės |url=https://pasauliolietuva.tv/bendruomenes/ |website=TV žurnalas – "Pasaulio Lietuva" |access-date=25 June 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

2,955,200 people in Lithuania (including 3,460 [[Lipka Tatars|Tatars]]), or about 86% of the 2015 population, are native Lithuanian speakers; most Lithuanian inhabitants of other nationalities also speak Lithuanian to some extent. The total worldwide Lithuanian-speaking population is about 3,200,000.

===Official status===
Lithuanian is the [[state language]] of Lithuania and an [[Languages of the European Union|official language of the European Union]].<ref name="ValstybineKalbaVle"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Languages |url=https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/languages_en |website=[[European Union]] |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref>

===Dialects===
[[File:Map of dialects of Lithuanian language.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Dialects of Lithuanian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Girdenis |first1=Aleksas |last2=Zinkevičius |first2=Zigmas |date=1966 |title=Dėl lietuvių kalbos tarmių klasifikacijos |trans-title=Regarding the Classification of Lithuanian Dialects |journal=Kalbotyra |language=lt |volume=14 |pages=139–147 |doi=10.15388/Knygotyra.1966.18940 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
Map of the dialects of the Lithuanian language based on the classification by linguist and [[Baltistics|baltist]] [[Zigmas Zinkevičius]].
<br />
'''[[:en:Samogitian dialect|Samogitian dialect]]''':<br />
'''Western Samogitian'''
{{legend|#986b1f|Western Samogitian sub-dialect}}
'''Northern Samogitian'''
{{legend|#e65c5c|Sub-dialect of [[Kretinga]]}}
{{legend|#e26399|Sub-dialect of [[Telšiai]]}}
'''Southern Samogitian'''
{{legend|#e8ec0e|Sub-dialect of [[Varniai]]}}
{{legend|#f3b317|Sub-dialect of [[Raseiniai]]}}
'''[[:en:Aukštaitian dialect|Aukštaitian dialect]]''':<br />
'''Western Aukštaitian'''
{{legend|#34f762|Sub-dialect of [[Šiauliai]]}}
{{legend|#39841e|Sub-dialect of [[Kaunas]]}}
{{legend|#61d31c|Sub-dialect of [[Klaipėda]] Region}}
'''Eastern Aukštaitian'''
{{legend|#19d5b9|Sub-dialect of [[Panevėžys]]}}
{{legend|#8cdde1|Sub-dialect of [[Širvintos]]}}
{{legend|#427ec6|Sub-dialect of [[Anykščiai]]}}
{{legend|#07ddff|Sub-dialect of [[Kupiškis]]}}
{{legend|#66a6e6|Sub-dialect of [[Utena, Lithuania|Utena]]}}
{{legend|#3c18ca|Sub-dialect of [[Vilnius]]}}
'''Southern Aukštaitian'''
{{legend|#aa51e7|[[Dzūkian dialect|Southern Aukštaitian]] or [[Dzūkija|Dzūkian]] sub-dialect}}]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Erika speaking Lithuanian.webm|thumb|A woman speaking in Lithuanian]]
In the ''[[Compendium Grammaticae Lithvanicae]]'', published in 1673, three dialects of Lithuanian are distinguished: [[Samogitian dialect]] ({{langx|la|Samogitiae}}) of [[Samogitia]], Royal Lithuania ({{langx|la|Lithvaniae Regalis}}) and Ducal Lithuania ({{langx|la|Lithvaniae Ducalis}}).<ref name="Zinkevicius2009">{{cite journal |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |title=Senųjų lietuvių kalbos gramatikų duomenys ir ano meto tarmės |journal=Lituanistica |date=2009 |volume=55 |pages=52–54 |publisher=Publishing House of the [[Lithuanian Academy of Sciences]] |url=http://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2009~1367168050037/datastreams/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC/content |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Ducal Lithuanian is described as pure ({{langx|la|Pura}}), half-Samogitian ({{langx|la|SemiSamogitizans}}) and having elements of [[Curonian language|Curonian]] ({{langx|la|Curonizans}}).<ref name="Zinkevicius2009"/> Authors of the ''Compendium Grammaticae Lithvanicae'' singled out that the Lithuanians of the [[Vilnius Region]] ({{langx|la|in tractu Vilnensi}}) tend to speak harshly, almost like [[Austrians]], [[Bavarians]] and others speak [[German language|German]] in [[Germany]].<ref name="Zinkevicius2009"/>

Due to the [[History of Lithuania|historical circumstances of Lithuania]], Lithuanian-speaking territory was divided into [[Lithuania proper]] and [[Lithuania Minor]], therefore, in the 16th–17th centuries, three regional variants of the common language emerged.<ref name="BendrineVle">{{cite web |last1=Ambrazas |first1=Vytautas |last2=Zinkevičius |first2=Zigmas |title=Lietuvių bendrinė kalba |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-bendrine-kalba/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor spoke Western Aukštaitian dialect with specifics of [[Įsrutis]] and [[Ragainė]] environs (e.g. works of [[Martynas Mažvydas]], [[Jonas Bretkūnas]], [[Jonas Rėza]], and [[Daniel Klein (grammarian)|Daniel Klein]]'s ''[[Grammatica Litvanica]]'').<ref name="BendrineVle"/><ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> The other two regional variants of the common language were formed in Lithuania proper: middle, which was based on the specifics of the [[Duchy of Samogitia]] (e.g. works of [[Mikalojus Daukša]], [[Merkelis Petkevičius]], [[Steponas Jaugelis‑Telega]], [[Samuelis Boguslavas Chylinskis]], and [[Mikołaj Rej]]'s Lithuanian [[postil]]), and eastern, based on the specifics of Eastern Aukštaitians, living in [[Vilnius]] and [[Vilnius Region|its region]] (e.g. works of [[Konstantinas Sirvydas]], [[Jonas Jaknavičius]], and [[Robert Bellarmine]]'s [[catechism]]).<ref name="BendrineVle"/><ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> In [[Vilnius University]], there are preserved texts written in the Lithuanian language of the Vilnius area, a dialect of Eastern Aukštaitian, which was spoken in a territory located south-eastwards from Vilnius: the sources are preserved in works of graduates from [[Stanislovas Rapolionis]]-based Lithuanian language schools, graduate Martynas Mažvydas and Rapalionis relative [[Abraomas Kulvietis]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pociūtė-Abukevičienė |first1=Dainora |title=Martynas Mažvydas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/martynas-mazvydas/ |website=[[Vle.lt]] |access-date=23 June 2024 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Tumelis |first1=Juozas |title=Abraomas Kulvietis |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abraomas-kulvietis/ |website=[[Vle.lt]] |access-date=23 June 2024 |language=lt}}</ref> The development of Lithuanian in Lithuania Minor, especially in the 18th century, was successful due to many publications and research.<ref name="BendrineVle"/><ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> In contrast, the development of Lithuanian in Lithuania proper was obstructed due to the [[Polonization]] of the [[Lithuanian nobility]], especially in the 18th century, and it was being influenced by the Samogitian dialect.<ref name="BendrineVle"/><ref name="RasomojiKalbaVle"/> The Lithuanian-speaking population was also dramatically decreased by the [[Great Northern War plague outbreak]] in 1700–1721 which killed 49% of residents in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] (1/3 of residents in Lithuania proper and up to 1/2 of residents in [[Samogitia]]) and 53% of residents in Lithuania Minor (more than 90% of the deceased were [[Prussian Lithuanians]]).<ref name="MarasVle">{{cite web |last1=Gruodytė |first1=Stefanija |last2=Matulevičius |first2=Algirdas |title=Maras Lietuvoje |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/maras-lietuvoje/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Since the 19th century to 1925 the amount of Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania Minor (excluding [[Klaipėda Region]]) decreased from 139,000 to 8,000 due to [[Germanisation]] and [[Drang nach Osten|colonization]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jasas |first1=Rimantas |last2=Kairiūkštytė |first2=Nastazija |last3=Matulevičius |first3=Algirdas |title=Kolonizacija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/kolonizacija/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=8 April 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

[[File:Ethnographic map of Lithuanians and Latvians in 1847 by Heinrich Berghaus.jpg|thumb|Ethnographic map of Lithuanians (''Littauer'') and Latvians (''Eigentliche Letten'') in 1847 by [[Heinrich Berghaus]]]]
As a result of a decrease in the usage of spoken Lithuanian in the eastern part of Lithuania proper, in the 19th century, it was suggested to create a standardized Lithuanian based on the Samogitian dialect.<ref name="BendrineVle"/> Nevertheless, it was not accomplished because everyone offered their Samogitian subdialects and the Eastern and Western Aukštaitians offered their Aukštaitian subdialects.<ref name="BendrineVle"/>

[[File:Die Slaven in Deutschland 1902 (117434969).jpg|thumb|Linguistic areal of the Lithuanian language in Russia and German Prussia by Ethnographer Franz Oskar Tetzner in 1902]]
In the second half of the 19th century, when the [[Lithuanian National Revival]] intensified, and the preparations to publish a Lithuanian periodical press were taking place, the mostly south-western Aukštaitian revival writers did not use the 19th-century Lithuanian of Lithuania Minor as it was largely [[Germanisation|Germanized]].<ref name="BendrineVle"/> Instead, they used a more pure Lithuanian language which has been described by [[August Schleicher]] and [[Friedrich Kurschat]] and this way the written language of Lithuania Minor was transferred to resurgent Lithuania.<ref name="BendrineVle"/> The most famous standardizer of the Lithuanian, [[Jonas Jablonskis]], established the south-western Aukštaitian dialect, including the Eastern dialect of Lithuania Minor, as the basis of standardized Lithuanian in the 20th century, which led to him being [[nickname]]d the father of standardized Lithuanian.<ref name="BendrineVle"/><ref name="JablonskisVle"/>

According to Polish professor [[Jan Otrębski]]'s article published in 1931, the Polish dialect in the [[Vilnius Region]] and in the northeastern areas in general are very interesting variant of the Polish language as this dialect developed in a foreign territory which was mostly inhabited by the Lithuanians who were [[Belarusization|Belarusized]] (mostly) or Polonized, and to prove this Otrębski provided examples of Lithuanianisms in the [[Tutejszy#Language|Tutejszy language]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nitsch |first1=Kazimierz |last2=Otrębski |first2=Jan |title=Język Polski. 1931, nr 3 (maj/czerwiec) |date=1931 |pages=80–85 |url=http://mbc.malopolska.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=15400 |access-date=3 November 2023 |publisher=Polska Akademia Umiejętności, Komisja Języka Polskiego |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Martinkėnas |first1=Vincas |title= Vilniaus ir jo apylinkių čiabuviai |url=https://alkas.lt/2016/12/19/is-rytu-lietuvos-lenkinimo-istorijos-vincas-martinkenas-vilniaus-ir-jo-apylinkiu-ciabuviai/ |website=Alkas.lt |access-date=3 November 2023 |language=lt |date=19 December 2016}}</ref> In 2015, Polish linguist {{ill|Mirosław Jankowiak|pl}} attested that many of the Vilnius Region's inhabitants who declare [[Poles in Lithuania|Polish nationality]] speak a Belarusian dialect which they call ''mowa prosta'' ('[[simple speech]]').<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Jankowiak |first1=Miroslaw|url=http://zw.lt/opinie/jankowiak-mowa-prosta-jest-dla-mnie-synonimem-gwary-bialoruskiej/|title="Mowa prosta" jest dla mnie synonimem gwary białoruskiej|date = 26 August 2015|access-date=3 November 2023|language=pl}}</ref>

Currently, Lithuanian is divided into two dialects: [[Aukštaitian dialect|Aukštaitian]] (Highland Lithuanian), and [[Samogitian language|Samogitian]] (Lowland Lithuanian).<ref name="MorkunasVle">{{cite web |last1=Morkūnas |first1=Kazys |title=Lietuvių kalbos tarmės |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/lietuviu-kalbos-tarmes/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schmalstieg |first1=William R. |title=Standard Lithuanian and its dialects |journal=Lituanus |date=1982 |volume=28 |issue=1 |url=https://www.lituanus.org/1982_1/82_1_02.htm |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref> There are significant differences between standard Lithuanian and Samogitian and these are often described as separate languages.<ref name="MorkunasVle"/> The modern Samogitian dialect formed in the 13th–16th centuries under the influence of [[Curonian language|Curonian]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bukantis |first1=Jonas |title=Žemaičių kalba šiandien ir jos išlikimo perspektyvos |url=https://zemaitiuzeme.lt/aktualijos/jonas-bukantis-zemaiciu-kalba-siandien-ir-jos-islikimo-perspektyvos/ |website=Zemaitiuzeme.lt |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Lithuanian dialects are closely connected with [[regions of Lithuania|ethnographical regions of Lithuania]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lietuvių kalbos tarmių klasifikacija |url=http://www.šaltiniai.info/index/details/331 |website=Šaltiniai.info |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> Even nowadays Aukštaitians and Samogitians can have considerable difficulties understanding each other if they speak with their dialects and not standard Lithuanian, which is mandatory to learn in the Lithuanian education system.{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=7}}

Dialects are divided into subdialects. Both dialects have three subdialects. Samogitian is divided into West, North and South; [[Aukštaitian dialect|Aukštaitian]] into West (Suvalkiečiai), South ([[Dzūkian dialect|Dzūkian]]) and East.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lietuvių kalbos tarmės |url=https://geografija6-8.mkp.emokykla.lt/lt/mo/zinynas/lietuviu_kalbos_tarmes/ |website=Emokykla.lt |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

==Script==
{{main|Lithuanian orthography}}
{{see also|Lithuanian Braille}}
Lithuanian uses the [[Latin script]] supplemented with [[diacritic]]s. It has 32 [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]]. In the [[collation]] order, ''y'' follows immediately after ''į'' (called ''i [[ogonek|nosinė]]''), because both ''y'' and ''į'' represent the same long vowel {{IPAblink|iː}}:<ref>{{cite web |title=Lietuvių kalbos abėcėlė |url=http://xn--lietuvyb-ceb.lt/standartai/lietuvi%C5%B3-kalbos-ab%C4%97c%C4%97l%C4%97/ |website=Lietuvybė.lt |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="32"|[[Capital letters|Majuscule forms]] (also called '''uppercase''' or '''capital letters''')
|-
| A || Ą || B || C || Č || D || E || Ę
| Ė || F || G || H || I || Į || Y || J
| K || L || M || N || O || P || R || S
| Š || T || U || Ų || Ū || V || Z || Ž
|-
! colspan="32"|[[Lower case|Minuscule forms]] (also called '''lowercase''' or '''small letters''')
|-
| a || ą || b || c || č || d || e || ę
| ė || f || g || h || i || į || y || j
| k || l || m || n || o || p || r || s
| š || t || u || ų || ū || v || z || ž
|}

In addition, the following digraphs are used, but are treated as sequences of two letters for collation purposes. The digraph ''ch'' represents a single sound, the velar fricative {{IPAblink|x}}, while ''dz'' and ''dž'' are pronounced like straightforward combinations of their component letters (sounds):

Dz dz {{IPAblink|dz}} (dzė), Dž dž {{IPAblink|dʒ}} (džė), Ch ch {{IPAblink|x}} (cha).

The distinctive Lithuanian letter ''[[Ė]]'' was used for the first time in the [[Daniel Klein (grammarian)|Daniel Klein]]'s ''[[Grammatica Litvanica]]'' and firmly established itself in Lithuanian since then.<ref name="MilinieneVe">{{cite web |last1=Milinienė |first1=Audronė |last2=Subačius |first2=Giedrius |title=Kas išrado raidę Ė? |trans-title=Who invented the letter Ė? |url=https://ve.lt/naujienos/lietuva/lietuvos-naujienos/kas-isrado-raide-e-1583724 |website=Ve.lt |access-date=16 January 2023 |language=lt |date=30 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gedutienė |first1=Audronė |title=Danieliaus Kleino knyga |trans-title=Daniel Klein's book |url=https://maironiomuziejus.lt/post-t-exhibit/danieliaus-kleino-knyga/ |website=Maironiomuziejus.lt |access-date=16 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Seniausia unikali lietuvių kalbos raidė |trans-title=The oldest unique letter of Lithuanian |url=https://rekordai.lt/rekordai/seniausia-unikali-lietuviu-kalbos-raide/ |website=Records of Lithuania |access-date=16 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> However, linguist [[August Schleicher]] used ''Ë'' (with two points above it) instead of ''Ė'' for expressing the same.<ref name="Subacius2019">{{cite web |last1=Antanavičius |first1=Ugnius |title=Pokalbis su filologu G.Subačiumi: kaip atsirado bendrinė lietuvių kalba ir kodėl turime Ė, bet praradome W? |url=https://www.15min.lt/gyvenimas/naujiena/ar-zinai/pokalbis-su-filologu-g-subaciumi-kaip-atsirado-bendrine-lietuviu-kalba-ir-kodel-turime-e-bet-praradome-w-1634-1192962 |website=[[15min.lt]] |access-date=16 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> In the ''Grammatica Litvanica'' Klein also established the letter ''[[W]]'' for marking the sound [v], the use of which was later abolished in Lithuanian (it was replaced with ''V'', notably by authors of the ''[[Varpas]]'' newspaper).<ref name="MilinieneVe"/><ref name="Subacius2019"/>{{sfn|Venckienė|2017|p=16-20}} The usage of ''V'' instead of ''W'' especially increased since the early 20th century, likely considerably influenced by Lithuanian press and schools.{{sfn|Venckienė|2017|p=16-20}}

The Lithuanian writing system is largely phonemic, i.e., one letter usually corresponds to a single [[phoneme]] (sound). There are a few exceptions: for example, the letter ''i'' represents either the vowel {{IPAblink|ɪ}}, as in English ''sit'', or is silent and merely indicates that the preceding consonant is [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]]. The latter is largely the case when ''i'' occurs after a consonant and is followed by a [[Back vowel|back]] or a [[central vowel]], except in some borrowed words (e.g., the first consonant in ''lūpa'' {{IPA|[ˈ'''ɫ'''ûːpɐ]}}, "lip", is a [[Velarized alveolar lateral approximant|velarized dental lateral approximant]]; on the other hand, the first consonant in ''liūtas'' {{IPA|[ˈ'''lʲ'''uːt̪ɐs̪]}}, "lion", is a palatalized [[alveolar lateral approximant]]; both consonants are followed by the same vowel, the long {{IPAblink|uː}}, and no {{IPAblink|ɪ}} can be pronounced in ''liūtas'').

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 
| header_align = left/right/center
| footer = Title pages of two Lithuanian [[Primer (textbook)|primers]]: ''[[Mokslas skaitymo rašto lietuviško|Moksłas skaytima raszta lietuwiszka]]'' (1783 edition) and ''Mažas lietuviškas elementorius'' (1905 edition), demonstrating changes of Lithuanian orthography in the 19th–20th centuries
| footer_align = left/right/center
| image1 = Lithuanian primer for kids, published in Vilnius, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1783 edition.jpg
| width1 = 150
| image2 = Lithuanian language primer, printed in Vilnius, 1905.jpg
| width2 = 156
}}
Due to [[Polonization|Polish influence]], the Lithuanian alphabet included ''[[Sz (digraph)|sz]]'', ''[[Cz (digraph)|cz]]'' and the Polish ''[[Ł]]'' for the first sound and regular L (without a following i) for the second: ''łupa'', ''lutas''.{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9}} During the [[Lithuanian National Revival]] in the 19th century the Polish ''Ł'' was abolished, while [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] ''sz'', ''cz'' (that are also common in the [[Polish orthography]]) were replaced with ''[[š]]'' and ''[[č]]'' from the [[Czech orthography]] because formally they were shorter.{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9}}<ref name="Subacius2019"/>{{sfn|Venckienė|2017|p=20-25}} Nevertheless, another argument to abolish ''sz'' and ''cz'' was to distinguish Lithuanian from [[Polish language|Polish]].<ref name="Subacius2019"/> The new letters ''š'' and ''č'' were cautiously used in publications intended for more educated readers (e.g. ''Varpas'', ''[[Tėvynės sargas]]'', ''[[Ūkininkas]]''), however ''sz'' and ''cz'' continued to be in use in publications intended for less educated readers as they caused tension in society and prevailed only after 1906.{{sfn|Venckienė|2017|p=20-23}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Venckienė |first1=Jurgita |title=Dvejopa XIX a. pabaigos lietuviškų laikraščių rašyba |journal=Raidžių draudimo metai |date=2004 |location=Vilnius |publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History Press |pages=207–213}}</ref>

The Lithuanians also adopted the letter ''[[ž]]'' from the Czechs.{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9}}

The [[nasal vowel]]s ''[[ą]]'' and ''[[ę]]'' were taken from the Polish spelling and began to be used by [[Renaissance]] [[Lithuanian literature|Lithuanian writers]], later the Lithuanians introduced the nasal vowels ''[[į]]'' and ''[[ų]]'' as analogues.{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9}}<ref name="Subacius2019"/> The letter ''[[ū]]'' is the latest addition by linguist [[Jonas Jablonskis]].{{sfn|Subačius|2005|p=9-10}}<ref name="Subacius2019"/>

A [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] (on ''u''), an [[ogonek]] (on ''a'', ''e'', ''i'', and ''u''), a [[Dot (diacritic)|dot]] (on ''e''), and ''y'' (in place of ''i'') are used for grammatical and historical reasons and always denote [[vowel length]] in Modern Standard Lithuanian. [[Acute accent|Acute]], [[Grave accent|grave]], and [[tilde]] diacritics are used to indicate [[pitch accent]]s. However, these pitch accents are generally not written, except in dictionaries, grammars, and where needed for clarity, such as to differentiate homonyms and dialectal use.

==Phonology==
{{main|Lithuanian phonology}}

===Consonants===
[[File:Oath in Lithuanian regarding the lands of the Svobiškis manor, 1p, 1680.06.19, Lithuania.png|thumb|upright|Written oath in Lithuanian (1680) where Lithuanians names and surnames has endings with "-as" (e.g. Jonas Miteykienas, Kazimieras Wikszcialunas, etc.)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drungilas |first1=Jonas |last2=Šinkūnas |first2=Mindaugas |title=1680 m. lietuviška priesaika dėl Svobiškio dvaro žemių |journal=Istorijos šaltinių tyrimai |date=2018 |volume=6 |pages=359–368 |url=https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2018~1574600438243/datastreams/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC/content |access-date=28 November 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Consonant phonemes of Lithuanian
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"|&nbsp;
! colspan="2"|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2"|[[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan="2"|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2"|[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2"|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|- style="font-size:small;"
! hard
! soft
! hard
! soft
! hard
! soft
! hard
! soft
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|mʲ]]
| {{IPA link|n̪|n}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|nʲ]]
| 
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| {{IPA link|p}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|pʲ]]
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|tʲ]]
|
|
|
| [[Voiceless velar plosive|k]]|| {{IPA link|kʲ}}
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| {{IPA link|b}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|bʲ]]
| {{IPA link|d̪|d}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|dʲ]]
|
|
|
| [[Voiced velar plosive|ɡ]]|| {{IPA link|ɡʲ}}
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| colspan="2"|&nbsp;
| {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪|t͡s}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|t͡sʲ]]
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} || {{IPA link|t͡ɕ}}
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| colspan="2"|&nbsp;
| {{IPA link|d̪͡z̪|d͡z}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|d͡zʲ]]
| {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} || {{IPA link|d͡ʑ}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! {{small|voiceless}}
| ({{IPA link|f}}) || ([[Palatalization (phonetics)|{{IPA|fʲ|cat=no}}]])
| {{IPA link|s̪|s}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|sʲ]]
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} || {{IPA link|ɕ}}
|
| ([[Voiceless velar fricative|x]]) || ({{IPA link|xʲ}})
|-
! {{small|voiced}}
| rowspan="2"|[[Voiced labiodental fricative|v]]|| rowspan="2" |[[Palatalization (phonetics)|vʲ]]
| {{IPA link|z̪|z}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|zʲ]]
| {{IPA link|ʒ}} || {{IPA link|ʑ}}
| rowspan="2"|[[Voiced palatal approximant|j]]
| ([[Voiced velar fricative|ɣ]]) || ({{IPA link|ɣʲ}})
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|ɫ̪|ɫ}}
|
| 
| {{IPA link|l|lʲ}}
| ||
|-
! colspan="2"|[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan="2"|&nbsp;
| colspan="2"|&nbsp;
| {{IPA link|r}} || [[Palatalization (phonetics)|rʲ]]
|
|
|
|}

All Lithuanian consonants except {{IPA|/j/}} have two variants: one non-[[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] and one palatalized, for example, {{IPA|/b/}}&nbsp;– {{IPA|/bʲ/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}&nbsp;– {{IPA|/dʲ/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}}&nbsp;– {{IPA|/ɡʲ/}} (see the chart above for the full consonant set, represented by [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] symbols). The consonants {{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/x/}}, {{IPA|/ɣ/}} and their palatalized counterparts are only found in [[loanword]]s.

{{IPA|/t͡ɕ, d͡ʑ, ɕ, ʑ/}} have been traditionally transcribed with {{angbr IPA|t͡ʃʲ, d͡ʒʲ, ʃʲ, ʒʲ}}, but they can be seen as equivalent transcriptions, with the former set being somewhat easier to write.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=?}}</ref>

===Vowels===
[[File:Universitas lingvarum magno Palaemonii orbis et urbis hospiti (...) Christophoro Joanni comiti in Slupow Szembek (...), p8, Litvanice, 1729, Vilnius, Lithuania.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of [[poetry]] in Lithuanian, published by [[Vilnius University]] in 1729]]
Lithuanian has six long vowels and four short ones (not including disputed phonemes marked in brackets). Length has traditionally been considered the distinctive feature, though short vowels are also more centralized and long vowels more peripheral:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! &nbsp;
! colspan="2"|[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2"|[[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2"|[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|iː}} || {{IPA link|ɪ}} || colspan="2"|&nbsp; || {{IPA link|ʊ}} || {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|eː}} || {{IPA link|ɛ}}, ({{IPA link|e}}) || colspan="2"|&nbsp; || ({{IPA link|ɔ}}) || {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPA link|æː}} || || {{IPA link|ɐ}} || {{IPA link|ä|aː}} || colspan="2"|&nbsp;
|}
* {{IPA|/e, ɔ/}} are restricted to loanwords. Many speakers merge the former with {{IPA|/ɛ/}}.{{sfnp|Ambrazas et al.|1997|p=24}}

===Diphthongs===
Lithuanian is traditionally described as having nine [[diphthong]]s, ''ai'','' au'','' ei'','' eu'','' oi'','' ou'','' ui'','' ie'', and'' uo.'' However, some approaches (i.e., Schmalstieg 1982) treat them as vowel sequences rather than diphthongs; indeed, the longer component depends on the type of stress, whereas in diphthongs, the longer segment is fixed.

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! &nbsp;
! stressless<br />or tilde
! acute stress
|-
! ai
| {{IPA|[ɐɪ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[âˑɪ̯]}}
|-
! ei
| {{IPA|[ɛɪ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[æ̂ˑɪ̯]}}
|-
! au
| {{IPA|[ɒʊ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[âˑʊ̯]}}
|-
! eu
| {{IPA|[ɛʊ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛ̂ʊ̯]}}
|-
! iau
| {{IPA|[ɛʊ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛ̂ˑʊ̯]}}
|-
! {{Not a typo|ie}}
| {{IPA|[iə]}} || {{IPA|[îə]}}<ref name="Girdenis 2009">{{Cite journal |last=Girdenis |first=Aleksas |date=2009 |title=Vadinamųjų sutaptinių dvibalsių [ie uo] garsinė ir fonologinė sudėtis |journal=Baltistica |language=lt |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=213–242 |doi=10.15388/baltistica.44.2.1313 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
|-
! oi
| — || {{IPA|[ɔ̂ɪ̯]}}
|-
! ou
| — || {{IPA|[ɔ̂ʊ̯]}}
|-
! ui
| {{IPA|[ʊɪ̯ˑ]}} || {{IPA|[ʊ̂ɪ̯]}}
|-
! uo
| {{IPA|[uə]}} || {{IPA|[ûə]}}<ref name="Girdenis 2009" />
|}

===Pitch accent===
{{Main|Lithuanian accentuation}}
The Lithuanian prosodic system is characterized by free accent and distinctive quantity (i.e. [[syllable weight]]). The word prosody of Lithuanian is sometimes described as a restricted [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] system, also called a [[pitch accent]] system.<ref name="tone">{{Cite conference |last1=Dogil |first1=Grzegorz |last2=Möhler |first2=Gregor |date=1998 |title=Phonetic Invariance and Phonological Stability: Lithuanian Pitch Accents |url=https://www.isca-speech.org/archive/icslp_1998/i98_0206.html |conference=5th International Conference on Spoken Language Processing, Sydney, Australia, November 30 – December 4, 1998 |access-date=27 May 2021 |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802002227/https://www.isca-speech.org/archive/icslp_1998/i98_0206.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> In Lithuanian, [[lexical word]]s contain a single syllable that is prominent or stressed. Among those, [[heavy syllable]]s – that is, those containing a [[long vowel]], [[diphthong]], or a [[sonorant]] coda – bear either one of two tones: a falling (or ''acute tone'') or a rising (or ''circumflex tone''). Light syllables (syllables with short vowels and optionally also [[obstruent]] codas) do not have the two-way contrast of heavy syllables.

==Grammar==
{{Main|Lithuanian grammar|Lithuanian declension}}
[[File:GRAMMATICA Litvanica by Daniel Klein, published in Königsberg, 1653.jpg|thumb|[[Daniel Klein (grammarian)|Daniel Klein]]'s ''[[Grammatica Litvanica]]'', the first printed grammar of Lithuanian, published in Königsberg in 1653]]
[[File:Grammar of Lithuanian language; 1737.jpg|thumb|''[[Universitas lingvarum Litvaniae]]'', published in Vilnius in 1737, the oldest surviving grammar of Lithuanian published in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]
[[File:Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika (Grammar of the Lithuanian language) by Jonas Jablonskis, published in Tilžė in 1901.jpg|thumb|''Lietuviškos kalbos gramatika'' ({{langx|en|Lithuanian Grammar}}) by [[Jonas Jablonskis]], published in [[Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Tilsit]] in 1901]]
The first prescriptive printed [[grammar]] of Lithuanian, ''[[Grammatica Litvanica]]'', was commissioned by the [[Duke of Prussia]], [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Friedrich Wilhelm]], for use in the Lithuanian-speaking parishes of [[East Prussia]]. It was written by [[Daniel Klein (grammarian)|Daniel Klein]] in [[Latin]] and was published by Johann Reusner in 1653 in [[Königsberg]], [[Duchy of Prussia]].<ref name="KleinasMle">{{cite web |last1=Kaunas |first1=Domas |last2=Žemaitaitis |first2=Algirdas |title=Danielius Kleinas |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/danielius-kleinas |website=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Novickas |first1=Elizabeth |title=The printer and the scholar: the making of Daniel Klein's Grammatica Litvanica |journal=Archivum Lithuanicum |date=2004 |volume=6 |pages=17–41 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Chicago]] |location=[[Chicago]] |url=http://www.elibrary.lt/resursai/Leidiniai/Archivum_Lithuanicum/2004/al_04_05.pdf |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Šilas |first1=Vytautas |last2=Sambora |first2=Henrikas |title=Karaliaučius, Tvangystė |url=https://vkpk.lt/u-zemelapis/karaliaucius-tvangyste/ |website=National Commission for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> In ~1643 Christophorus Sapphun wrote the Lithuanian grammar ''[[Compendium Grammaticae Lithvanicae]]'' slightly earlier than Klein, however the edited variant of Sapphun's grammar was published only in 1673 by Theophylus Gottlieb Schultz.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kalbotyros pradmenų konspektas |url=https://mokslai.lietuviuzodynas.lt/lietuviu-kalba/kalbotyros-pradmenu-konspektas |website=Mokslai.lietuviuzodynas.lt |date=16 June 2015 |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |title=Kristupas Sapūnas |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/kristupas-sapunas |website=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zinkevičius |first1=Zigmas |title=Teofilis Gotlibas Šulcas |url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/teofilis-gotlibas-sulcas |website=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

In one of the first Lithuanian grammars, ''[[Compendium Grammaticae Lithvanicae]]'', published in 1673, most of the given examples are with Lithuanian endings (e.g. names Jonas = Jonas, Jonuttis = Jonutis, etc.), therefore it allows to highlight the tendency of spelling the endings of words in the Old Lithuanian writings.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gudelienė |first1=Birutė |title=The Endings of Proper Names in Simonas Daukantas' and Simonas Stanevičius' Translations of Epitome Historiae Sacrae |journal=Lituanistica |date=2016 |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=38–44 |url=https://www.ateitis.net/lt/temos/1638/#post-14565 |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref>

The ''[[Universitas lingvarum Litvaniae]]'', published in [[Vilnius]] in 1737, is the oldest surviving grammar of Lithuanian published in the territory of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sabaliauskas |first1=Algirdas |title=Universitas lingvarum Litvaniae |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/universitas-lingvarum-litvaniae/ |website=[[Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia]] |access-date=16 August 2021 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=UNIVERSITAS Lingvarum Litvaniæ |date=1737 |publisher=Typis Collegii Academici Soc: JESU |url=https://kolekcijos.biblioteka.vu.lt/en/objects/VUB01_000451740#00007 |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref>

The first scientific ''Compendium of Lithuanian'' was published in German in 1856/57 by [[August Schleicher]], a professor at [[Charles University]] in [[Prague]].<ref>{{cite web |title=August Schleicher |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/august-schleicher/ |website=Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schleicher |first1=August |title=Handbuch der litauischen Sprache von August Schleicher: Litauisches Lesebuch und Glossar |date=1857 |publisher=J. G. Calve |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qM9fEHvO4cYC |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=de}}</ref> In it he describes Prussian-Lithuanian, which later became the "skeleton" (Būga) of modern Lithuanian. Schleicher asserted that Lithuanian can compete with the [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Old Latin|Roman (Old Latin) language]]s in perfection of forms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Arbačiauskas |first1=Giedrius |title=Lietuva mūsų lūpose. Kodėl mokslininkas Schleicheris teigė, kad lietuvių kalba gali lenktyniauti su graikų ir romėnų kalbomis? |url=https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000145101/lietuva-musu-lupose-kodel-mokslininkas-schleicheris-teige-kad-lietuviu-kalba-gali-lenktyniauti-su-graiku-ir-romenu-kalbomis |website=[[Lithuanian National Radio and Television]] |access-date=15 January 2023 |language=lt |date=28 March 2021}}</ref>

Lithuanian is a highly [[inflected language]]. In Lithuanian, there are two [[grammatical gender]]s for nouns (masculine and feminine) and three genders for adjectives, pronouns, numerals and participles (masculine, feminine and neuter). Every attribute must agree with the gender and number of the noun. The neuter forms of other parts of speech are used with a [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] of an undefined gender (a pronoun, an infinitive etc.).

There are twelve [[noun]] and five [[adjective]] [[declension]]s and one (masculine and feminine) participle declension.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika |date=1997 |location=Vilnius |language=lt |trans-title=A Grammar of Modern Lithuanian}}</ref>

Nouns and other parts of nominal morphology are declined in seven [[grammatical case|cases]]: [[nominative]], [[genitive]], [[dative]], [[Accusative case|accusative]], [[instrumental case|instrumental]], [[Locative case|locative]] ([[Inessive case|inessive]]), and [[Vocative case|vocative]]. In older Lithuanian texts, three additional varieties of the locative case are found: [[Illative case|illative]], [[Adessive case|adessive]] and [[Allative case|allative]]. The most common are the [[Illative case|illative]], which is still used, mostly in spoken language, and the [[Allative case|allative]], which survives in the standard language in some idiomatic usages. The adessive is nearly extinct. These additional cases are probably due to the influence of [[Uralic languages]], with which Baltic languages have had a longstanding contact. (Uralic languages possess a great variety of noun cases, a number of which are specialised locative cases.)

Lithuanian verbal morphology shows a number of innovations; namely, the loss of synthetic passive (which is hypothesized based on other archaic Indo-European languages, such as Greek and Latin), [[synthetic perfect]] (formed by means of reduplication) and [[aorist]]; forming [[subjunctive]] and [[imperative mood|imperative]] with the use of suffixes plus flexions as opposed to solely flections in, e.g., [[Ancient Greek]]; loss of the [[optative mood]]; merging and disappearing of the -''t''- and -''nt''- markers for the third-person singular and plural, respectively (this, however, occurs in Latvian and Old Prussian as well and may indicate a collective feature of all Baltic languages).

On the other hand, Lithuanian verbal morphology retains a number of archaic features absent from most modern Indo-European languages (but shared with Latvian). This includes the synthetic form of the future tense with the help of the -''s''- suffix and three principal verbal forms with the present tense stem employing the -''n''- and -''st''- infixes.

There are three [[verb]]al [[grammatical conjugation|conjugation]]s. The verb ''būti'' is the only [[auxiliary verb]] in the language. Together with [[participle]]s, it is used to form dozens of compound forms.

In the '''active voice''', each verb can be inflected for any of the following [[Grammatical mood|moods]]:

# Indicative
# Indirect
# Imperative
# Conditional/subjunctive

In the [[indicative mood]] and indirect moods, all verbs can have eleven [[Grammatical tense|tenses]]:

# simple: [[present tense|present]] (e.g., ''nešu'' 'I carry'), [[past tense|past]] (''nešiau''), [[past iterative tense|past iterative]] (''nešdavau'') and [[future tense|future]] (''nešiu'')
# compound:
## present perfect (''esu nešęs''), past perfect (''buvau nešęs''), past iterative perfect (''būdavau nešęs''), future perfect (''būsiu nešęs'')
## past [[Inchoative aspect|inchoative]] (''buvau benešąs''), past iterative inchoative (''būdavau benešąs''), future inchoative (''būsiu benešąs'')

The [[indirect mood]], used only in written narrative speech, has the same tenses corresponding to the appropriate active participle in nominative case; e.g., the past of the indirect mood would be ''nešęs'', while the past iterative inchoative of the indirect mood would be ''būdavęs benešąs''. Since it is a nominal form, this mood cannot be conjugated but must match the subject's number and gender.

The [[subjunctive mood|subjunctive]] (or [[conditional mood|conditional]]) <!-- see notes in the discussion page of the Lithuanian grammar--> and the [[imperative mood]]s have three tenses. Subjunctive: present (''neščiau''), past (''būčiau nešęs''), inchoative (''būčiau benešąs''); imperative: present (''nešk''), perfect (''būk nešęs'') and inchoative (''būk benešąs'').

The [[infinitive]] has only one form (''nešti''). These forms, except the infinitive and indirect mood, are conjugative, having two singular, two plural persons, and the third person form common both for plural and singular.

In the '''passive voice''', the form number is not as rich as in the active voice. There are two types of passive voice in Lithuanian: present participle (type I) and past participle (type II) (in the examples below types I and II are separated with a slash). They both have the same moods and tenses:

# Indicative mood: [[present tense|present]] (''esu nešamas/neštas''), [[past tense|past]] (''buvau nešamas/neštas''), [[past iterative tense|past iterative]] (''būdavau nešamas/neštas'') and [[future tense|future]] (''būsiu nešamas/neštas'')
# Indirect mood: [[present tense|present]] (''esąs nešamas/neštas''), [[past tense|past]] (''buvęs nešamas/neštas''), [[past iterative tense|past iterative]] (''būdavęs nešamas/neštas'') and [[future tense|future]] (''būsiąs nešamas/neštas'').
# Imperative mood: present (type I only: ''būk nešamas''), past (type II only: ''būk neštas'').
# Subjunctive / conditional mood: present (type I only: ''būčiau nešamas''), past (type II only: ''būčiau neštas'').

Lithuanian has the richest [[participle]] system of all Indo-European languages, having participles derived from all simple tenses with distinct active and passive forms, and two gerund forms.

In practical terms, the rich overall inflectional system makes the word order have a different meaning than in more [[analytic language]]s such as English. The English phrase "'''a''' car is coming" translates as "atvažiuoja automobilis" (the [[Topic and comment|theme]] first), while "'''the''' car is coming" – "automobilis atvažiuoja" (the theme first; word order inversion).

Lithuanian also has a very rich word derivation system and an array of diminutive suffixes.

Today there are two definitive books on Lithuanian grammar: one in English, the ''Introduction to Modern Lithuanian'' (called ''Beginner's Lithuanian'' in its newer editions) by [[Leonardas Dambriūnas]], [[Antanas Klimas]] and [[William R. Schmalstieg]]; and another in Russian, [[Vytautas Ambrazas]]' ''Грамматика литовского языка'' (''Lithuanian Grammar''). Another recent book on Lithuanian grammar is the second edition of ''Review of Modern Lithuanian Grammar'' by Edmund Remys, published by Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, Chicago, 2003.

==Vocabulary==
[[File:Lkz.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian|Great Lithuanian Dictionary]] consists of 20 volumes and contains more than half a million [[headword]]s.]]
[[File:Illustration from Lithuanian-language primer (1824).jpg|thumb|Page from the Lithuanian primer ''Naujas moksłas skaytima diel maźū waykū Źemaycziu yr Lietuwos'' illustrating the letters [[D]], [[E]] and [[G]]]]

===Indo-European vocabulary===
Lithuanian retains [[cognate]]s to many words found in classical languages, such as [[Sanskrit]] and [[Latin language|Latin]]. These words are descended from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]. A few examples are the following:
* Lith. {{Transliteration|lt|sūnus}} and Skt. {{Transliteration|sa|sūnu}} (son)
* Lith. {{Transliteration|lt|avis}} and Skt. {{Transliteration|sa|avi}} and Lat. ''ovis'' (sheep)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|dūmas}} and Skt. ''d<sup>h</sup>ūma'' and Lat. ''fumus'' (fumes, smoke)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|antras}} and Skt. {{Transliteration|sa|antara}} (second, the other)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|vilkas}} and Skt. ''vṛka'' (wolf)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|ratas}} and Lat. ''rota'' (wheel) and Skt. ''rat<sup>h</sup>a'' (carriage)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|senis}} and Lat. ''senex'' (an old man) and Skt. ''sanas'' (old)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|vyras}} and Lat. ''vir'' (a man) and Skt. ''vīra'' (man)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|angis}} and Lat. ''anguis'' (a snake in Latin, a species of snakes in Lithuanian)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|linas}} and Lat. ''linum'' (flax, compare with English 'linen')
* Lith. {{lang|lt|ariu}} and Lat. ''aro'' (I plow)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|jungiu}} and Lat. ''iungo'', and Skt. ''yuñje'' (mid.), (I join)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|gentys}} and Lat. ''gentes'' and Skt. ''jāti'' (tribes)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|mėnesis}} and Lat. ''mensis'' and Skt. ''māsa'' (month)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|dantis}} and Lat. ''dens'' and Skt. ''danta'' (tooth)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|naktis}} and Lat. ''noctes'' (plural of ''nox'') and Skt. ''naktam'' (night)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|ugnis}} and Lat. ''ignis'' and Skt. ''agni'' (fire)
* Lith. {{lang|lt|sėdime}} and Lat. ''sedemus'' and Skt. ''sīdāmaḥ'' (we sit)

This even extends to grammar, where for example Latin noun declensions ending in ''-um'' often correspond to Lithuanian ''-ų'', with the [[Latin declension#Fourth declension (u)|Latin]] and [[Lithuanian declension#Table of noun declension endings|Lithuanian fourth declensions]] being particularly close. Many of the words from this list are similar to other Indo-European languages, including English and Russian. The contribution of Lithuanian was influential in the reconstruction of [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]].

Lexical and grammatical similarities between Baltic and [[Slavic languages]] suggest an affinity between these two language groups. On the other hand, there exist a number of Baltic (particularly Lithuanian) words without counterparts in Slavic languages, but which are similar to words in Sanskrit or Latin.<!-- Not from the list above. Cf. Russian сын, овца, дым, волк, etc. --> The history of the relationship between Baltic and Slavic languages, and our understanding of the affinity between the two groups, remain in dispute (see: [[Balto-Slavic languages]]).

===Loanwords===
In a 1934 book entitled ''Die Germanismen des Litauischen. Teil I: Die deutschen Lehnwörter im Litauischen'', K. Alminauskis found 2,770 loanwords, of which about 130 were of uncertain origin. The majority of the loanwords were found to have been derived from [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], and [[German language|German]], with some evidence that these languages all acquired the words from contacts and trade with [[Prussia]] during the era of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cepiene |first=N. |date=2006 |title=Ways of Germanisms into Lithuanian |url=http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?07PLAAAA02144515c |url-status=dead |journal=Acta Baltico-Slavica |type=Abstract |volume=30 |pages=241–250 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206043012/http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?07PLAAAA02144515 |archive-date=6 February 2012}}</ref> Loanwords comprised about 20% of the vocabulary used in the first book printed in Lithuanian in 1547, [[Martynas Mažvydas]]'s ''[[Catechism]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zinkevičius |first=Zigmas |author-link=Zigmas Zinkevičius |date=1996 |title=Martynas Mažvydas' Language |url=http://pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt/Leidiniai/History.en.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023445/http://pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt/Leidiniai/History.en.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=26 October 2007 |via=pirmojiknyga.mch.mii.lt}}</ref> But as a result of language preservation and purging policies, Slavic loanwords currently constitute only 1.5% of the Standard Lithuanian lexicon, while German loanwords constitute only 0.5% of it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Skoliniai |url=http://www.patariu.lt/studijos/2010/11/skoliniai/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130219022046/http://www.patariu.lt/studijos/2010/11/skoliniai/ |archive-date=19 February 2013 |website=Studijos |language=lt |access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> The majority of loanwords in the 20th century arrived from [[Russian language|Russian]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sakalauskienė |first=V. |date=2006 |title=Slavic loanwords in the northern sub-dialect of the southern part of west high Lithuanian |url=http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?07PLAAAA02154540 |journal=Acta Baltico-Slavica |type=Abstract |volume=30 |pages=221–231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206043018/http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?07PLAAAA02154540 |archive-date=6 February 2012 |access-date=26 October 2007}}</ref>

Towards the end of the 20th century, a number of words and expressions related to new technologies and telecommunications were borrowed from [[English language|English]]. The Lithuanian government has an established language policy that encourages the development of equivalent vocabulary to replace loanwords.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seimas of Lithuania |date=2003 |title=State Language Policy Guidelines 2003–2008 |url=http://www.vlkk.lt/files/language_policy_guidelines.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001220256/http://www.vlkk.lt/files/language_policy_guidelines.doc |archive-date=1 October 2006 |access-date=26 October 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, despite the government's best efforts to avoid the use of loanwords in Lithuanian, many English words have become accepted and are now included in Lithuanian language dictionaries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=English to Lithuanian to English Dictionary |url=http://www.dicts.info/2/english-lithuanian.php?word=student |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231229/http://www.dicts.info/2/english-lithuanian.php?word=student |archive-date=2011-06-28 |website=Dicts.info}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lingvozone English to Lithuanian Online Dictionary |url=http://www.lingvozone.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014110255/http://www.lingvozone.com/ |archive-date=14 October 2008 |website=Lingvozone.com}}</ref> In particular, words having to do with new technologies have permeated the Lithuanian vernacular, including such words as:
* Monitorius (vaizduoklis) ([[computer monitor]])
* Faksas ([[fax]])
* Kompiuteris ([[computer]])
* Failas (byla, rinkmena) ([[electronic file]])

Other common foreign words have also been adopted by Lithuanian. Some of these include:
* Taksi ([[taxicab|taxi]])
* Pica ([[pizza]])
* Alkoholis ([[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]])
* Bankas ([[bank]])
* Pasas ([[passport]], pass)
* Parkas ([[park]])

These words have been modified to suit the grammatical and phonetic requirements of Lithuanian, mostly by adding -as ending, but their foreign roots are obvious.

==Old Lithuanian==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 
| header_align = left/right/center
| footer = The earliest known Lithuanian glosses (~1520–1530) written in the margins of [[Johannes Herolt]]'s book ''Liber Discipuli de eruditione Christifidelium''. Left: word ''ßch[ÿ]kſtu[m]aſ'' (parsimony); Right: words ''teprÿdav[ſ]ʒÿ'' (let it strike) and ''vbagÿſte'' (indigence).
| footer_align = left/right/center
| image1 = The_earliest_known_Lithuanian_glosses_(~1520–1530),_word_(šykštumas).jpg
| width1 = 210
| image2 = The_earliest_known_Lithuanian_glosses_(~1520–1530),_words_(tepridaužia,_ubagystė).jpg 
| width2 = 152
}}

[[File:CATECHISMVSA PRAsty Szadei (in Lithuanian language) by Martynas Mažvydas, published in Königsberg, 1547 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas|''Catechism'' of Martynas Mažvydas]], the first printed book in Lithuanian. It was printed on 8 January 1547 by [[Hans Weinreich]] in [[Königsberg]].]]
[[File:Lithuanian panegyric to Sigismund III Vasa, first hexameter in Lithuanian, 1589.jpg|thumb|upright|Panegyric to [[Sigismund III Vasa]], visiting capital [[Vilnius]], first hexameter in Lithuanian language, 1589.]]
[[File:Manifesto of Tadeušas Kosciuška uprising in Lithuanian language; issued and distributed in Vilnius in 1794.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of a text in Old Lithuanian – a [[manifesto]] of the [[Vilnius uprising (1794)|Vilnius Uprising of 1794]] against the [[Russian Partition]], originally issued and distributed in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius in spring of 1794.]]
[[File:Constitution of May 3 in Lithuanian language.jpg|thumb|upright|Old Lithuanian edition of the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]].]]
[[File:Old Lithuanian Texts. Mykolas Karpavičius, Kozonius. (The Lithuanian sermon delivered in the Church of St. Johns, Vilnius), 1794.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sermon]] in Lithuanian language, dedicated to the [[Vilnius uprising (1794)|1794 Vilnius uprising]], which was delivered at the [[Church of St. Johns, Vilnius|Church of St. Johns]] in Vilnius in 1794]]
The language of the earliest Lithuanian writings, in the 16th and 17th centuries, is known as '''Old Lithuanian''' and differs in some significant respects from the Lithuanian of today.

Besides the specific differences given below, nouns, verbs, and adjectives still had separate endings for the [[dual (grammatical number)|dual number]]. The dual persists today in some dialects. Example:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case !! "two good friends"
|-
| Nom-Acc || dù gerù draugù
|-
| Dat || dvı̇́em gerı̇́em draugám
|-
| Inst || dviẽm geriẽm draugam̃
|}

===Pronunciation===
The vowels written ''ą, ę, į, ų'' were still pronounced as long [[nasal vowel]]s,{{sfnp|Ambrazas et al.|1997|p=13}} not as long oral vowels as in today's Lithuanian.

The original Baltic long ''ā'' was still retained as such, e.g. ''bralis'' 'brother' (modern ''brólis'').

===Nouns===
Compared to modern Lithuanian, there were three additional cases. The original [[locative case]] had been replaced by four so-called ''postpositive'' cases, the [[inessive case]], [[illative case]], [[adessive case]] and [[allative case]], which correspond to the prepositions "in", "into", "at" and "towards", respectively. They were formed by affixing a [[postposition]] to one of the previous cases:

* The inessive added ''*-en'' > ''-e'' to the original locative in singular and to the accusative in plural.
* The illative added ''*-nā'' > {{lang|lt|-n(a)}} to the accusative.
* The adessive added ''*-pie'' > ''-p(i)'' to the original locative in singular and to the inessive in plural.
* The allative added ''*-pie'' > ''-p(i)'' to the genitive.

The inessive has become the modern locative case, while the other three have disappeared. Note, however, that the illative case is still used occasionally in the colloquial language (mostly in the singular): ''Lietuvon'' 'to Lithuania', ''miestan'' 'to the city'. This form is relatively productive: for instance, it is not uncommon to hear "skrendame Niujork'''an''' (we are flying to New York)". There are some words still used in adessive case: esu "namie" (could be equally substituted with "namuose") I'm 'at home'.

The uncontracted dative plural ''-mus'' was still common.

===Adjectives===
Adjectives could belong to all four accent classes in Old Lithuanian (now they can only belong to classes 3 and 4).

Additional remnants of i-stem adjectives still existed, e.g.:
* loc. sg. {{lang|olt|didimè pulkè}} 'in the big crowd' (now {{lang|lt|didžiame}})
* loc. sg. ''gerèsnime'' 'better' (now ''geresniamè'')
* loc. sg. ''mažiáusime'' 'smallest' (now ''mažiáusiame'')

Additional remnants of u-stem adjectives still existed, e.g. ''rūgštùs'' 'sour':
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Case !! Newer !! Older
|-
| Inst sg || rūgščiù || rūgštumı̇̀
|-
| Loc sg || rūgščiamè || rūgštumè
|-
| Gen pl || rūgščių̃ || rūgštų̃
|-
| Acc pl || rū́gščius || rū́gštus
|-
| Inst pl || rūgščiaı̇̃s || rūgštumı̇̀s
|}

No u-stem remnants existed in the dative singular and locative plural.

Definite adjectives, originally involving a pronoun suffixed to an adjective, had not merged into a single word in Old Lithuanian. Examples:
* ''pa-jo-prasto'' 'ordinary' (now ''pàprastojo'')
* ''nu-jie-vargę'' 'tired' (now ''nuvar̃gusieji'')

===Verbs===
The [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] class of [[athematic verb]]s still existed in Old Lithuanian:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! &nbsp; !! 'be' !! 'remain' !! 'give' !! 'save'
|-
| 1st sg || esmı̇̀ || liekmı̇̀ || dúomi || gélbmi
|-
| 2nd sg || esı̇̀ || lieksı̇̀ || dúosi || gélbsi
|-
| 3rd sg || ẽst(i) || liẽkt(i) || dúost(i) || gélbt(i)
|-
| 1st dual || esvà || liekvà || dúova || gélbva
|-
| 2nd dual || està || liektà || dúosta || gélbta
|-
| 1st pl || esmè || liekmè || dúome || gélbme
|-
| 2nd pl || estè || liektè || dúoste || gélbte
|-
| 3rd pl || ẽsti || liẽkt(i) || dúost(i) || gélbt(i)
|}

The [[optative mood]] (i.e. the third-person imperative) still had its own endings, ''-ai'' for third-conjugation verbs and ''-ie'' for other verbs, instead of using regular third-person present endings.

===Syntax===
Word order was freer in Old Lithuanian. For example, a noun in the [[genitive case]] could either precede or follow the noun it modifies.

==See also==
{{Portal|Lithuania|Languages}}
* [[Lithuanian dictionaries]]
* [[Lithuanian literature]]
* [[Martynas Mažvydas]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Reference==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Citation |last1=Ambrazas |first1=Vytautas |last2=Geniušienė |first2=Emma |last3=Girdenis |first3=Aleksas |last4=Sližienė |first4=Nijolė |last5=Valeckienė |first5=Adelė |last6=Valiulytė |first6=Elena |last7=Tekorienė |first7=Dalija |last8=Pažūsis |first8=Lionginas |year=1997 |editor-last=Ambrazas |editor-first=Vytautas |title=Lithuanian Grammar |publisher=Institute of the Lithuanian Language |place=Vilnius |isbn=9986-813-22-0 |ref={{harvid|Ambrazas et al.|1997}}}}
* Dambriūnas, Leonardas; Antanas Klimas, William R. Schmalstieg, ''Beginner's Lithuanian'', Hippocrene Books, 1999, {{ISBN|0-7818-0678-X}}. Older editions (copyright 1966) called "Introduction to modern Lithuanian".
* {{Cite book |last=Dini |first=P. U. |title=Baltų kalbos: Lyginamoji istorija |date=2000 |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas |isbn=5-420-01444-0 |location=Vilnius |language=lt |trans-title=Baltic Languages: A Comparative History}}
* {{cite web | author=Klimas, Antanas | title=Baltic and Slavic revisited | work=[[Lituanus]] vol. 19, no. 1, Spring 1973 | url=http://www.lituanus.org/1973/73_1_02.htm | access-date=23 October 2007 | archive-date=6 May 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506213608/http://www.lituanus.org/1973/73_1_02.htm | url-status=dead}}
* {{SOWL}}
* Remys, Edmund, ''Review of Modern Lithuanian Grammar'', Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, Chicago, 2nd revised edition, 2003.
* Remys, Edmund, ''General distinguishing features of various Indo-European languages and their relationship to Lithuanian'', Indogermanische Forschungen, Berlin, New York, 2007.
* {{ cite book | last= Zinkevičius | first= Zigmas | title=Lietuvių kalbos istorija | trans-title= History of Lithuanian | volume=1 | place= [[Vilnius]] | publisher= Mokslas|date= 1984| isbn= 5-420-00102-0 | author-link=Zigmas Zinkevičius}}
* {{cite book |last1=Subačius |first1=Giedrius |title=The Lithuanian language: traditions and trends |date=2005 |publisher=The Lithuanian Institute, [[Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)|Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania]] |isbn=9955-548-09-6 |url=https://subacius.people.uic.edu/SUB_KN/SUB_2005_Lith_Lang_2nd_ed_ENGLISH.pdf |access-date=16 January 2023}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Venckienė |first1=Jurgita |title=Lietuviški XIX a. pabaigos ir XX a. pradžios antkapių užrašai: santykis su bendrine kalba |journal=Archivum Lithuanicum |date=2017 |issue=19 |publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History |location=Vilnius |url=https://www.istorija.lt/data/public/uploads/2020/12/2017-archivum-lithuanicum-t.-19-1-jurgita-venckiene-lietuviski-xix-a.-pabaigos-p.-9-38.pdf |access-date=16 January 2023 |language=lt}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite JIPA|first1=Rima |last1=Bakšienė |first2=Agnė |last2=Čepaitienė |first3=Jurgita |last3=Jaroslavienė |first4=Jolita |last4=Urbanavičienė |title=Standard Lithuanian|pages=1–31|doi=10.1017/S0025100323000105|onlinedate=2023-07-25|soundfiles=yes |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/standard-lithuanian/EC7F33EC51FCE8F7142A63D99C38199D |doi-access=free}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=lt}}
{{Wikivoyage|Lithuanian phrasebook|Lithuanian|a phrasebook}}
{{Incubator|lt|wikinews}}
{{Wiktionary category|type=Lithuanian language|category=Lithuanian language}}
* [https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/litol Baltic Online – Series Introduction]
* [http://www.lkz.lt/ Academic Dictionary of Lithuanian]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130926081505/http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/grammar/grammar11.html The Historical Grammar of Lithuanian language]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326114512/http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~junwang4/langev/localcopy/pdf/nakhleh05JLSA.pdf 2005 analysis of Indo-European linguistic relationships]
* [http://webapp.lt/lit/ Lithuanian verbs training]
* [http://webapp.lt/lit/test.php Lithuanian verbs test]
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lithuanian-language Encyclopaedia Britannica – Lithuanian language]
* [https://spw.uni-goettingen.de/projects/aig/lng-olt.html glottothèque – Ancient Indo-European Grammars online], an online collection of introductory videos to Ancient Indo-European languages produced by the University of Göttingen

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