Livonians

Uncommon card · No. 197260

The Livonians, or Livs, are one of the Finnic peoples who are indigenous to the Livonian Coast, in northwestern Latvia and southwestern Estonia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Finnic language closely related to Estonian and Finnish. It was believed that the last person to have learned and spoken Livonian as a mother tongue, Grizelda Kristiņa, died in 2013. In 2020, however, it was reported that newborn Kuldi Medne had become the only living person who speaks Livonian as their first language. As of 2010, there were approximately 30 people who had learned it as a second language. Historical, social and economic factors, together with an ethnically dispersed population, have resulted in the decline of Livonian identity, with only a small group surviving in the 21st century. In 2011, there were 250 people who claimed Livonian ethnicity in Latvia.

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