Search

The research aims to examine pupils' text creation skills in the Latvian language and history state examinations (SE). The source of the research is the examination papers of pupils in Kurzeme in the 2021 Latvian language SE (an opinion; 250 words) and history SE (task 3 of part 3 - an essay; 200 words). Examination of the evaluation criteria of both examinations shows that the evaluation criteria of the Latvian language examination pay more attention to the quality of spelling (10 points out of 34 (approx. 30%) can be obtained for orthography and punctuation). The article summarizes the main types of errors in morphology and syntax in both examinations. Several types of errors are distinguished in morphology: unjustified use of macrons or their absence, spelling of consonants, words written incorrectly together and separately, spelling of onyms, and errors in the spelling of verbs and foreign words. A number of syntactic constructions were studied in the pupils' examination papers - coordinated parts of sentence, coordinated parts of sentence with a generalising word, participial clauses, insertions and explanatory word groups -, as wethe frequency of their use in the pupils' examination papers and the most frequently detected cases of errors. The use of punctuation marks in the sentence, separating the subordinate clause, has also been studied. A comparison of the two examination papers leads to the conclusion that there are no statistically significant differences in the text creation task in Latvian or history SE in Kurzeme. Spelling and punctuation skills are solid, and the number of errors is equal. As pupils take the examinations, caution is observed in using more complex syntactic constructions. In the analysis, examples from pupils' examination papers are presented in italics, preserving their style, spelling and punctuation errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a general overview of easy-to-read language both abroad and in Latvia. In English, there are two terms that are used to refer to easy-to-read language: “easy-to-read” (also “easy write”, “easy info”, “easy access”, “aphasia friendly”) and “plain language” (also “plain writing”, “layman terms”); in Latvian, “easy-to-read” is used the most. Currently, the Latvian National Terminology Portal offers only one term, namely, vieglā valoda (“easy-to-read” in English); therefore, this term is used throughout the paper. Since 1980s easy-to-read language both in Europe and the whole world has been known as a way of presenting information to people with various language learning disabilities. However, over time it became clear that easy-to-read language is suitable not only for people with learning disabilities: it is convenient for other groups of people as well, such as those who have just started learning the language in question, elderly people and children. At first, easy-to read language developed in parallel in Scandinavia and Germany. In 1990s, Latvian experts visited colleagues in Sweden to learn about easyto- read language. Already during the first meeting, the idea to introduce easy-to-read language in Latvia in cooperation with the Easy-to-Read Language Centre was born. In 2000, the Easy Language Agency was founded in Riga, and up until now it remains the only organisation in Latvia consistently and purposefully working in this field. Although at first the aim was to help people with intellectual disabilities, now there are already 7 target groups in Latvia that use easy-to-read language. Latvian Radio 1 features news broadcast in easy-to-read language every evening. There is a lack of public understanding and information on easy-to-read language in Latvia, as well as its role and importance, since many people believe that it concerns only the target audience or target groups in question and does not need to be addressed at the national level. While the websites of Latvian state institutions are required to have an “Easy-to-read” section, the regulations do not specify the content such a section should have. In addition, there is a general lack of knowledge and understanding how to adapt a text to easy-to read language: often such adaptations are formal or inadequate. In the autumn of 2020, the University of Latvia Centre for Applied Linguistics and the Latvian Language Agency began a new cooperation project with ERASMUS+: “Promoting Easy-to-Read Language for Social Inclusion” (abbreviated to PERLSI). The project duration is set until 2022, and the partners are Slovenia and Lithuania. The project aims to present a comparative study on easy-to-read language in the partner states. Regarding the project outcomes, Latvia awaits easy-to-read language guidelines that would promote further development of easy-to-read language in Latvia, as well as its practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the various meanings of the words būt and būti 'to be' in Latvian and Lithuanian and their acquisition. The aim of the research is to discover in what meanings these words are used by the learners of the second Baltic language, i.e., the learners whose mother tongue is a Baltic language and who are learning the other Baltic language - Latvian for Lithuanians and Lithuanian for Latvians. Both languages are closely related, and the meanings are similar. However, their grouping in each linguistics tradition is different. Therefore, this paper attempts to group meanings from both languages into a single system that could be used to compare usage tendencies. Such a system was made based on the Latvian grouping tradition but is not concise. The meanings in which būt/būti is used may depend on the topics of the texts. There seems to be an overuse of the location meaning in texts written by learners of Latvian; learners of Lithuanian seem to be using the verb in a larger variety of meanings. Perfect times are also more present in texts written by learners of Lithuanian. It seems to hint at a systemic difference between Baltic languages: Latvian tends to use perfect times in situations when Lithuanian does not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As evidenced by the studies referred to in the introduction of the paper, television is the most popular mass medium both in Latvia and throughout the European Union, and it plays a key role in shaping the linguistic environment. Therefore, it is important that at least the speech of journalists and programme hosts on television corresponds to the norms of literary Latvian. Lately, viewers have been particularly concerned about the quality of language. The rather low quality of Latvian used in mass media stems from both the speech commonly used by the society and the journalists' Latvian language skills. A knowledgeable journalist is regarded as an authority, and viewers put their trust in authoritative and erudite speech. However, journalists sometimes lack awareness of their role and influence on the wide audience watching, evaluating, and quoting them. Examples were gathered from the most popular television channels in Latvia that broadcast in Latvian - LTV1, TV3, Rīga 24TV, S-TV - and the following programmes: "Rīta Panorāma", "900 sekundes" (broadcast on LNT in 2019), "TV3 Ziņas", "Bez tabu", "Tieša runa", etc. The examples show that there are numerous errors, linguistic inaccuracies, and stylistic shortcomings, particularly regarding lexis. The aim of the paper is to focus on the most common errors, those being lexicostylistic errors and the widespread use of colloquial speech. Although a mixture of styles is common nowadays and colloquial speech has become an integral part of publicist style, its usage in TV programmes cannot always be justified. A short insight into new words coined by journalists is provided as well; however, these words are not included in dictionaries and are unlikely to become neologisms. The conclusion of the paper focuses on the causes of errors and advice regarding the improvement of the journalists' language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is a part of the analysis of the collection of articles of the Latvian Literary Society (Lettisch-literärische Gesellschaft) Magazin, herausgegeben von der Lettisch-Literärischen Gesellschaft (so-called "Magazin") with special emphasis to the materials important in the history of Latvian language, especially, of the development of terminology in Latvian. This paper deals with the almost forgotten author Pēteris Zēvalds (Peter Seewald) (ca. 1838/1839-1910), a schoolteacher in Jelgava (Mitau) and active contributor of "Magazin" from 1865 to 1877. In 12 sequels (published in eight issues of "Magazin"), he collected 2198 words and expressions from his native place, now Birzgale parish, originally, from the private manor in Linde parish (aus Privatgut Lindenschen Gemeinde in Kurland)). This paper provides a more detailed analysis of two other word collections (both published in 1874 in issue 3 of XV volume of "Magazin") of Zēvalds. They contained current lexis, including a lot of new terms. The first one is created as a successive excerpt of neologisms and lesser-known words (in Latvian-German comparison) from the weekly newspaper "Baltijas Vēstnesis" (using numbers 44th, 48th, 49th un 51st from 1872 and successive first 49 from 1873, excl. number 9th). There are 467 numbered entries or 495 words in total. Most of the words in Zēvalds's collection are related to terminological lexis. They can be divided into four groups (indicating the serial number used in the original): (1) terms currently used in the same form or with minor changes of ending (7. greizsirdība, 29. pilnvare, 41. māksla, 33. cēlons, 69. veicināšana, 88. pirmvaloda, 237. izvilktne (= atvilktne), 275. viels); (2) terms which have a different correspondence in modern Latvian (32. valodas=iztirzāšana (= valodniecība), Sprachforschung; 49. lietuve (= lejkanna), Gieskanne; 54. rakstiens (=raksts, dokuments), Schriftstück; 183. atvēles=zīme (= atļauja), Erlaubnißschein; 187. jūras=pāržmauga (= jūrasšaurums), Meerenge); (3) words, that could still be considered as potential terms (11. tiesas=laulība, Zivilehe; 37. sauljumte, Sonnenschirm) and (4) those, which, from the moment of fixation, can be considered occasional words (43. spīdgans, Sternschnuppen, Meteor; 387. muldu=valsts, Reich der Träume; 409. tulpete (= runas=vieta), Katheder, Rednerbühne). Zēvalds's collection is a unique material that allows identifying the perception of the interested reader about the lexical neologisms in one newspaper. Zēvalds's second collection of words contains the technical expressions from legal country house purchase agreements. There are 83 numbered entries (in German-Latvian comparison) from the legal contract written in German with a lot of additional conditions and long pay-outs delay. This list (at least the part containing legal terms and terminological wordgroups) can be regarded as the first term bulletin in Latvian. The possible addressee of this term list is the parish pastors to whom farmers sought advice on such matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its ever increasing number of speakers, Spanish, being one of the socalled major languages of the world, has overtaken English in terms of native speakers in recent years, now ranking second behind Chinese, and its growing popularity and expansion can be felt in Latvia as well. In recent years it is evidenced by an increase in translations of original works into Latvian, cinema and theatre performances, rapid growth of various Spanish companies and, undoubtedly, the interest of the residents of Latvia, particularly young people, in learning Spanish. In Latvia, Spanish can be learned in general education schools, starting from Form 6; it is more popular among secondary school pupils, as evidenced by the number of general education schools: in academic year 2018/19 Spanish could be learned in 18 general education schools, while in academic year 2019/20 there were 16 education institutions offering the language. Moreover, the capital of Latvia is not the only place where Spanish is taught as a second or third foreign language: everything depends on the opportunities provided by each individual school. In total, there were 32 schools in Latvia where Spanish was taught as the third or even the fourth foreign language during last academic year. To obtain secondary education in Latvia, one of the centralised exams has to be taken in a foreign language; English is the most popular choice among schools. Those who wish to obtain a certificate in Spanish can do so at the Instituto Cervantes DELE examination centre, which has been operating at the Latvian Academy of Culture since 2004. The centre offers an opportunity to take exams at 6 levels and obtain the internationally recognised DELE diploma, certifying the examinee’s Spanish knowledge and skills. Spanish can also be learned in courses and at language centres irrespective of the students’ age and previous knowledge. Picasso and Seneca, two private Spanish language centres, have been successfully operating in Latvia for more than 10 years, and their students range from pupils to seniors. Bachelor students learn Spanish at the Latvian Academy of Culture in the Latvia-Spain Cross-Cultural Communication programme; however, they do not obtain a qualification in philology. Master students can learn Spanish as part of the Romance Language and Culture Studies study programme at the University of Latvia, and the language is also offered as an elective course at other higher education institutions in Latvia. Unfortunately, systemic Spanish acquisition and programme continuity is hindered by the lack of a Spanish philology bachelor study programme at the University of Latvia. The paper focuses on Spanish learning traditions, issues, and future opportunities in Latvia, drawing upon data available in the state education system and interviews with industry experts: officials, educators, and translators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content and structure of the conclusion part of the scientific article and the linguistic means for writing this part of the text in the Latvian language of science are still uncharted topics, unlike the introductory part of the scientific text. The analysis of the conclusion part's content of Latvian scientific articles shows that many authors lack understanding of creating a good conclusion for their papers in various fields of science. The present study aims to explore and describe the conclusion part of the scientific article, paying attention to its content and structure and providing recommendations for the final part of the article, following a specific scheme. Scientific articles in the Latvian language published after 2010 have been selected to achieve the aim. Their conclusions - a separate part of the text, a paragraph, or a couple of last sentences, which can be considered the final part of the article - have been examined. When reviewing the material to be analysed, content analysis was performed that let detect 1) the most common structure of the conclusion part - a text similar to the summary or numbered statements; 2) the most common shortcomings of the conclusion part of the scientific article - the conclusion is too short, formal, or too detailed, similar to the narration of the article's content; high degree of generalization; the application of new aspects and problems that have not been mentioned in the body of text; use of citations. One of the options that authors could use to finalise their scientific article is to follow a five-step formula: 1. Restate your research topic in one sentence. 2. Restate the thesis in one sentence. 3. Summarise the main points in some sentences. 4. State the significance or results in a couple of sentences. 5. Conclude your thoughts by inviting readers to action or putting forward an idea that makes them think more about the topic. Authors of scientific articles should get acquainted with the advice of academic writing professionals on how to create the conclusion part of a scientific text. There are various tips for writing a good conclusion on university homepages and academic writing sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to study the constructions unprefixed verb + adverb and prefixed verb + adverb widely used in the colloquial speech, bliezt augšā - uzbliezt augšā, locīt iekšā - ielocīt iekšā, sist augšā - uzsist augšā, lauzties ārā - izlauzties ārā, their relations and usage in Latvian, and also the lexical meanings of verbs and adverbs involved in these constructions. Although constructions unprefixed verb + adverb and prefixed verb + adverb are reviewed in Latvian grammar books and other studies by analysing the verb expressing aspectuality, little attention has been paid to the constructions with a verb with figurative meaning and their relations. The descriptive, comparative, distributive, and transformative methods are used in the paper. The study found that, in the Latvian colloquial speech, constructions prefixed verb + adverb are used the same way as constructions unprefixed verb + adverb bliezt augšā, locīt iekšā, sist augšā, lauzties ārā, and the meaning of the prefix corresponds to the adverb. Several meanings have been found in these constructions in a certain context; in some cases, the meanings are opposite. It is concluded that these constructions are used in emotional, expressive utterances; these constructions make what is said emotional and vigorous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on reflections after an emotional discussion on the word and term medijs(i) ("medium") in Latvian that broke out during the yearly conference The Word: Aspects of Research at Liepāja University, in November 2019. The aim of this paper is not to blame or replace the broadly spread two-word term plańsaziņas līdzekļi with an anglicism mediji. In Latvia, there are many titles and documents where this term has a permanent and stable place. Such as, for example, The National Electronic Mass Media Council. At the same time, it is time to recognise the use of the word medijs(i) as an entirely accepted synonym of plańsaziņas līdzeklis(ļi) and even as a semantically more broadly usable term in the context of developing information and communication technologies. As this short insight into the research of the word shows, the term is already currently used not only among professionals but also on the level of state institutions, public and private organisations, and companies. On the other hand, especially in the contexts of communication science, arts, and philosophy, the spectrum of meanings of the word medijs(i) in the vocabulary of modern Latvian must be broadened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to show the most significant phonetic and morphological features belonging both to the deep Tamian (tāmnieku) subdialects of the Livonic dialect and the Curonian (kursiskās) subdialects of the Middle dialect. The main focus is on the forms used in the deep Tamian subdialects of Pope, Ziras, Piltene, Zlēkas, Ance, Dundaga, and Ugāle, based on the materials acquired by the author during the period 2008-2019, and compared with the data of dialect archive of the Latvian Language Institute of the University of Latvia (collected in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early written Latvian texts are important sources not only for linguistics but also for culture and social studies. Latvian texts (and indeed Latvian culture as a whole) show consistent German influence. These texts were produced in a cross-cultural context of Catholicism and Protestantism and display elements from local folklore. The history of the Latvian written language dates to the 16th century and is largely linked to the Reformation of the Church. The earliest texts from the 16th century are various versions of translations of the Lord's Prayer, as well as separate short records in the books of Riga trade associations. Since the 17th century, the scope of genres of written sources widens: lexicographical, legal, and other secular texts have been published. There are two significant aspects of these early Latvian texts. The first is that most of the texts were translations from German, Latin, and Polish, and there were very few original texts. The second aspect is that most of the translators were not native speakers of Latvian First punctuation marks in Latvian appeared in the 16th century in translations from the German language. In 16th-century texts, the following punctuation marks - point, question mark, slash, double hyphen, colon, and parentheses - were used. Semicolons and exclamation marks were used in 17th-century writings. The following punctuation marks have entered the 18th century: a dash, dots, round quotation marks, a comma, and an apostrophe, but they had been used on a different basis than today. While reading various texts of the 16th and the 17th century, the author also looked at the punctuation marks used at this time - a point, a question mark, a slash, a colon, a semicolon, brackets, a double hyphen, and an exclamation mark. In this study, the use of punctuation marks of 11 texts of Early Written Latvian is analyzed, and a comparison of Early Latvian Texts and the Luther Bible is given. The descriptive method and the comparative method are used. At the end of the paper, the main conclusions are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latvian folklore is an important national heritage of the past that can also be used to study the lexicon development of the Latvian oral tradition. The present paper studies the use of words krāpt (to cheat), krāpnieks (cheater) and their synonyms in Latvian folk songs in order to establish how folklore reflects the development of the relevant thematic vocabulary. The aim of the paper is to establish the lexical and semantic field of words krāpt and krāpnieks, the lexical synonymy within this thematic field, to provide and analyse the examples of their usage, and to compare the folklore data with the dictionaries of the relevant period and modern dictionaries. The analysis confirms that Latvian folklore reflects a comparatively wide synonymy of the words in question both of Latvian and of foreign, mostly German origin, for example, valšķis and šķelmis. Furthermore, some of the initial word meanings, for example, piekrāpt and pievilt ('to propose a romantic relationship') are not attested in modern Latvian. However, most of the initial meanings of the words recorded in Latvian folklore have not changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the proportion of reductions is increasing in several text genres. One kind of reductions is an abbreviation. Abbreviations are used in scientific texts, mass media, fiction, and elsewhere. It is important to clarify what, how, and why to reduce, what influence it has on text-formation and perception of the text. Printed and written Roman alphabet letters are used in Latvian capitals and minuscules. Capitals in Latvian are used both in syntactic and stylistic function and in lexico-semantic (proper nouns and abbreviations) function. Capitals are used in different language varieties, in mass media (magazines, newspapers) and also internet portals. The aim of this paper is to analyse the usage of capital letters in loan and national abbreviations, general and dedicated abbreviations, nonce use of sound abbreviations. The author also looked into the process of lexicalization of abbreviations in internet portals. During the research, 17 mass media texts -- 8 magazines, 1 newspaper, and 8 internet portals -- have been studied. A large part of empirical material consists of edited sources -- magazines and newspapers. The author paid attention to the use of abbreviations in the articles and titles of articles in mass-media texts. Unedited, anonymous commentaries and titles of articles on the internet portals are also used. Commentaries of internet portals are an inter-genre between mass media and colloquial speech. Approximately 300 syntactic constructions were excerpted, and a part of them (written in bold) is analysed in this paper. Transcript of the abbreviation put into brackets is given at the end of the reference of every example. A part of the abbreviations is included in Andrejs Bankavs' "Dictionary of Abbreviations in Latvian" (Latviešu valodas saīsinājumu vārdnīca), another part -- in other sources. The descriptive method is used. At the end of the paper, the main conclusions are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latvia is the scene of a diglossic conflict between the Latvian and Russian languages where teaching / learning of English as a foreign language predominates in school. How, in this context, children of Latvian-French families living in Latvia perceive their languages? This paper presents the first results of a research on the social representations of French language among these children. Based on an analysis of interviews carried out by their parents with two eightyear- old children schooled in Latvian, the paper considers representations of French language organized around two main themes - the status and acquisition of French. These representations reveal two different connections between children and the French language, which offer reasons for reflection on the support of the acquisition/learning of a first language with major status at the global level but minor locally among bilingual children whose other first language is of major status locally but minor overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to share experience of the manner and amount of use of an intermediary language and translating in acquiring Latvian as a foreign language. The research is based on the results of direct observations inferred from the work with foreign students in Liepāja University, as well as analysis of learning materials including bilingual dictionaries and theoretical studies about the topicality of translating in acquiring foreign language. In modern linguodidactics there is no uniform understanding of suitableness of the intermediary language in acquiring a foreign language. Translating has been used in various language teaching approaches and methodologies. The novelty of language-acquisition theories is the post-communicative approach that includes also such technique as translation (Ur 2016, 7-9). The paper highlights the relevance of the intermediary language and translating in the early stages of language acquisition, that is, levels A1 and A2. It is illustrated by examples. Experience of the work with foreign student groups shows that sometimes it is possible to use several intermediary languages, for instance, English and Russian or English and German. One can observe that at times students being from the same foreign country use their common native language. It should be mentioned that foreign students have different knowledge of English used as the main intermediary language in Latvia universities. Thus acquiring Latvian as a foreign language quite frequently occurs in plurilingual learning environment. Translating is not necessary to be used as the main method but only in specific cases when foreign students encounter unusual new words and grammar differences. When analyzing work with bilingual dictionaries, the paper also deals with lexical and grammatical aspects of translations. It is necessary to stress that the use of an intermediary language and translating is influenced by individual needs of foreign students. At the early stage of language acquisition students find it difficult to choose the best translation if the dictionary offers a number of options. Some translation mistakes occur when Latvian words are entered in Google Translate without diacritics. The present research leads to the following conclusions. - When using an intermediary language for giving instructions and metalinguistic commentaries students' individual linguistic competence and language learning competence are developed. - Even through pictures it is possible to ensure understanding of word meaning, a dictionary is a great help in translating. Compilers of bilingual dictionaries should supplement the Latvian part with metalinguistic information being important in acquiring Latvian as a foreign language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both literary criticism and Translation Studies recognise that alongside explicit information, poetry is also characterised by its implicit information. The paper aims at briefly discussing the general theoretical insights regarding implicature and implicit information to the extent relevant for the analysis of the transfer of implicit information in the translations of Joseph Brodsky’s cycle A Part of Speech. Respectively, a focus of the paper is the notion of implicature which is a non-verbal (extra- linguistic) feature of an utterance (and of a text) forming its deep sense(s). It is essential to note: though formation of a sense is an underlying aim of every utterance (and of a text), implicature in literary texts as aesthetic units is a reasonably expected element. Another emphasis of the discussion is the interpretative potential of poetry and its benefits and limitations in the context of poetry translation. The complicated and diverse nature of implicit information (its classification is presented in the paper) of literary texts implies that this layer of information predetermines the necessity for poetry translators to possess target language skills at a mother-tongue level. The second part of the paper presents a discussion of the English and Latvian translations of the first poem (I was born and grew up in the Baltic marshland…) of Joseph Brodsky’s cycle A Part of Speech. The study leads to a number of conclusions. In terms of conveying implicit information, an essential criterion is ensuring that no unreasonable circumstances arise in the target text which could potentially lead readers to a narrowed interpretation. The analysis of the English and Latvian translations suggests that processing and formation of the features of a text related to its implicit information should cover various aspects, for instance, poetic technique, characteristics of individual units and network relationships which exist beyond the unit level (at the level of a text or texts). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the results of the study "Language and structure of Latvian scientific texts". The empiric research was gathered from a specially constructed corpus that was made of doctoral thesis summary introductions from various sciences, written from 2007 to 2017; this material was analysed with AntConc. The analysis in this paper focuses on wording used when authors describe the goal of the research done within their dissertations. Extra-linguistic factors taken into consideration, for example, can be deemed to lead back to the Soviet scientific tradition to write an "author's paper", a paper that condenses the whole dissertation within a relatively short paper, and the current Regulations from the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia on how a dissertation should be written make the introductions a text that has similar features even in different disciplines of science and therefore a text that can be studied via a concordance tool. Every dissertation must have a goal description. Through analysing the wording of the research goal it can be possible to determine stylistic differences in texts produced within different disciplines of science, the dominance of verbal style over nominal style, differences in verb semantics in the context of perfect or imperfect tenses and to make assumptions about the need for further research into research goal wording. The presented analysis is based on a selected choice of samples and intended as an encouragement to further research into the Latvian scientific language, hopefully based on a larger corpus that would look at all categories included in the introduction of the dissertation summaries and other scientific texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The translation of legal documents - not a new field in translation practice or theoretical discourse - gained a new dimension for translators' work in Latvia when, after restoring independence, the country was reintegrated into international processes and organizations. Consequently, the development of legal text translation competence has also become an important task in the study programs related to translation of LSP texts. Against this background, the paper addresses some of the issues of understanding and interpreting legislation in the translation situation, with a particular focus on working with the functions and implications of sentence syntax. This part of the work provides the translator with the opportunity to find not only successful grammatical solutions in the target language sentences, but above all, a prerequisite for understanding the meaning of the source text. For the purposes of the study, the relevant aspects are briefly outlined in a theoretical context by focusing on the specific features of legal texts and the competence-related requirements for translators; it also includes an analysis of examples based on both published translations of legislation and the typical problems encountered in student translations. The study leads to several conclusions. Accuracy (also with regard to interpretation), an element of the general concepts of equivalence/adequacy, stands out as a specific aspect and criterion of legal text translation quality; it is necessary to ensure that the meaning of terms is not broadened or narrowed and that the applicability or explicit/implicit attitude is not altered - translations of a number of units and elements tend to be almost literal. The practice of translating legal texts generally requires that target texts be rendered as consistently as possible, which to a large extent implies an almost literal relationship with the source text; any changes need explicit justification. A specific aspect of translators' competence is the examination undertaken during the pre-translation phase to determine the applicability of the relevant legal provisions and select the most appropriate sources of information. An important prerequisite for a quality translation is understanding the essence of the source sentence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the work is to analyse the texts of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), to study the influence of the language form on the interpretation of the content of these texts. The Court must ensure the uniform interpretation and application of European Union (EU) law in all Member States and all the official EU languages through translations from one language to another, thus affecting the form and content of judgments and making them difficult to read. This study uses discourse analysis to examine the narrative form of judgments - their syntactic and semantic macrostructure - to determine how such textual form affects the communication process in a situation where there is no single official language for communication between EU Member States. This paper finds that, although the structure of CJEU judgments is specific and difficult for many readers to understand, it serves as a key to the correct interpretation of these texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the results of a study conducted in order to detect potential false friends in Management Science doctoral thesis summary translations in English and Latvian, as well as the actual cases when false friends have been found in the mentioned texts. In order to do so, the author has explored the existing literature and summarised the classifications of false friends offered in the state-of-the-art literature in Latvia and abroad. The types of semantic relationships for Latvian and English word pairs have been analysed, and finally, the cases of false friends existing in the translations of Management Science doctoral dissertation summaries defended during the period from 2013 to 2019 have been singled out. The present research has been carried out in order to facilitate the writing and translating of the dissertations in English and Latvian. In the Management Science doctoral thesis summary translations from Latvian into English as well as in the recommendations of the faculties and programmes, false friends have been detected. In the translations from English into Latvian, in turn, it has been found that linguists are not always of the same opinion in respect to the translation of terms, which might be explained by the fact that thorough research of the language of science in Latvia started a relatively short time ago, namely in the 1990s, and is being carried out in very few institutions. Given the presence of false friends detected in the already defended Management Science doctoral dissertation summaries, it can be concluded that the phenomenon of false friends needs to be researched further to help researchers and translators avoid them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors writing fiction works often do not limit themselves to conventional (fixed in dictionaries) lexicon and use neologisms. Neologisms are the derivatives which are not included in Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language, Dictionary of Modern Lithuanian, headings of Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian, Digital Supplementary Card Index of the Lithuanian Language Dictionary, and Database of Lithuanian Neologisms. The paper discusses the formation, semantics, and particularities of usage of adjective neologisms found in Albinas Ņukauskas" poetry works compiled in two volumes of collected writings. After analysis of 183 neologisms found in the works mentioned, the following conclusions have been drawn: The adjective neologisms derived by means of all four types of derivation denoting various features are used in Ņukauskas" texts. The compounds make the largest group of neologisms (46%); 83% of compounds are formed with a connective vowel. The compounds are formed from the words belonging to different parts of speech, but most frequently from the adjective and the noun or two adjectives. The derivatives of suffixes (30% of all neologisms) are formed by adding 18 different suffixes: the largest group is composed of adjectives with -inis, -ė. The derivatives of prefixes make 10% of all neologisms. The derivatives with the prefix po- denoting not full feature and be- derivatives denoting missing entity with the help of an underlying word dominate this group. Meanwhile,13% of neologisms are of mixed formation or derivatives with the not fixed order of derivation stages. There are very little derivations with endings - they make only 1 % of all neologisms. The absolute majority of neologisms are based on the underlying words included in the dictionaries. There are derivations of atypical derivation, e.g. the author uses the underlying words of complex morphemic structure or three underlying words. The meaning of some neologisms is clear without a context; within a broader context the meaning of all adjectives becomes clear, even of those whose lexical meaning does not coincide with derivational meaning and the ones that have transferred meaning. Many derivatives are the names of colours. Some neologisms being of more complex structure essentially mean the same as the underlying words, and the formative of derivation only strengthens the meaning. A part of neologisms is formed due to analogy and is used alongside the derivative that has the same affix of derivation; other neologisms are used due to economy, repetition, specification, emphasis, or drawing the addressee"s attention. Since the texts are versed, the neologisms are also used for versification; the poet usually chooses the compounds with connecting vowels because they are by one syllable longer. All neologisms are expressed by epithets: some of them are words with the direct meaning (they denote objective features of reality), others (individual epithets) subjectively describe the entities, reveal the poet"s awareness of life and original vision. In the Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian Language, 90% of examples of neologisms were not found. Therefore, the majority of adjective neologisms might be created by the poet himself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formulation of the aim/goal of the scientific article should be regarded as the expression of the author's research intention to the reader. If the aim of the article is not stated, then the author seems to be saying that "you already understand what I am talking about here and why". Such acting is not a scientifically correct attitude. An aim is one of the essential research categories next to the subject, object, research question or hypothesis. The aim of this scientific paper is to identify and characterize the choice and use of the infinitive for formulating the aim in the Latvian scientific articles. For this purpose, verbs first are excerpted, then divided into scientific fields according to Frascati Manual 2015 (Natural sciences; Engineering and technology; Medical and health sciences; Agricultural and veterinary sciences; Social sciences; Humanities and the arts). The verbs's semantics analysis is done and conclusions are drawn. A total of 63 infinitive forms used to express the aim of research or scientific article are identified. Such verbs as "to analyze" and "to clarify" are used in scientific articles of all six scientific fields. In five of the six scientific fields, verbs "to explore", "to estimate", and "to determine" are used; in four - "to identify", "to work out", "to evaluate", and "to compare". In specific language material, these ten verbs can be regarded as the most often used infinitive forms in aim formulations. Beside simple formulations of aim with one infinitive form, more complicated aims's formations with three or four infinitives can be observed. Such examples reflect the complex substance of the aim of research or scientific article. In this case, several verbs used in the aim formulation are coordinated parts of a sentence, ordered according to the syntactic patterns of the Latvian language, using both ways of connection - conjunctive and non-conjunctive connection. For greater accuracy and clarity, the aim of the study should be distinguished from the aim of the scientific article in those scientific fields that are mainly engaged in quantitative, including experimental, research. A research report, often in the form of a scientific publication, is the final stage in the study process. Before writing it, the author has to find the answer to the question: "what do I want to achieve with this research report?" The wording of the answer is also the basis for the aim formulation in a scientific article. The author also reveals the aim of the study in the following text by focusing on the research itself (usually, the aim of the study is formulated in the past tense, because the research has already taken place). Mixing both of these aims or using vague references, for example, "the aim of the work" (what does the word "work" denote - research or article?) means confusing the reader and giving a bad example to other authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper views opportunities offered by forensic linguistics, compares its application by law enforcement institutions in various countries, and assesses the possibility of transfering linguistic expertise methodology into another language. The problem of research is an insufficient number of investigations conducted in the territory of Latvia and, namely, in relation to the Latvian language. If one compares forensic linguistics knowledge of the aforementioned Baltic country and, e. g. the United Kingdom, it becomes clear that the latter is able to offer a much wider means of expertise in the field. In addition, their expertise has already proven itself as admissible in both pre-trial and trial settings and, moreover, investigators are likely to use this knowledge to provide a strong proof in cases where language has been perceived as one of the central evidence. One of such examples is the expertise of short texts. The source of produced and gathered research material provides foreign forensic experts with a possibility to identify linguistic features, discern correlations and draw conclusions from such texts as Short Message Service (SMS) messages, comments, tweets, WhatsApp messages, etc. Unfortunately, due to several objective reasons Latvia's linguistic expertise does not offer such possibility yet. The author of the paper tries to assess to what extent and how effectively the methodology developed in another country where the field of forensic linguistics has a long history, could fit with the Latvian language and whether it will provide equally good results and admissibility options. In order to fulfil this task, a scientific experiment was conducted where comments on the topic of illegal migration were analysed for linguistic features, correlations and possible conclusions. As a result it was ascertained that there are such transfer possibilities, but it takes time investment and relevant preknowledge. Subsequently, it gives a reasonable ground in the sense of forensic linguistics to assume that law enforcement authorities could greatly benefit from the co-ooperation with research institutes and scholars as much as vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is dedicated to the formation and development of particular terms related to computer fraud in Latvian. The aim of the paper is to discuss the reasons for such development and to establish the extent of the linguistic domination of English, considering the fact that in the past decades the Latvian language has been mainly influenced by the English language which has become the main donor language also for many terms related to a computer fraud. Therefore, as we experience more and more complex methods of computer fraud which bear unusual English designations, we acknowledge the need to provide an appropriate equivalent in the target language. The analysis confirms that most of the terms discussed in this paper have been formed in the Latvian language by making a word-for-word translation from English into the Latvian language. Usually such translations are done by non-linguists, for example, IT specialists, journalists, internet commentators etc., thus causing inconsistency. Furthermore, it should be noted that a dictionary of Latvian terms related to a computer fraud has not yet been compiled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research gives an insight into the range of Latvian-German-Latvian dictionaries of legal terms published up to the present day; it analyses the information provided in the introductory sections of these dictionaries, looks into their microstructure (entry structure), and also presents a short description of the terms they comprise. Drawing on the experience of the lexicographers having compiled the existing legal German-Latvian-German dictionaries, the research identifies a number of issues related to developing a new lexicographic work -- an electronic glossary of contract law terms. These issues are the working model and lexicographic conception of the glossary; its title, language pairs, and size; potential glossary users; the principles and criteria for selecting sources and basic terms; and the glossary microstructure. The research also attempts to identify the position such a new glossary of legal terms may take among the modern specialized dictionaries. The research findings allow the conclusion that the practitioners in the field require a new glossary for translating and explaining legal terms, which is why the present paper offers the lexicographic conception and working model for developing such a new glossary and describes its entry structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although, there is a present passive participle in Latvian; according to Latvian grammar descriptions, these participles together with the auxiliary būt 'to be' does not constitute the paradigm of the passive voice in Latvian (Kalnača 2013, 504-505; Nau 1998, 37; Nītiņa 2001, 100). In Latvian these constructions with the present passive participle used in the predicate convey a modal meaning, either of possibility or necessity. Indicating the possibility, probability, or impossibility the present passive participles may have the passive meaning. (Endzelīns, Mīlenbahs 1993, 126; Holvoet & Nau, 2015, 8; Kalme, Smiltniece 2001, 270; MLLVG I 1959, 645; Nītiņa 2013, 57; Paegle 2003, 146) This paper analyses the present passive participle as a predicate and its different functions and meanings in the Balanced Corpus of Modern Latvian (LVK2018 (beta)) and the Lithuanian- Latvian-Lithuanian Parallel Corpus (LiLa) (contrastive part of the research). The corpora data show that the present passive participle as a predicate has been broadly used in the different genres of texts. Depending on the context it conveys the meaning of possibility or necessity. The analysis also shows that the sentences with the present passive participle used as the predicate with the meaning of possibility are transformable to the sentences with the modal verb varēt in the predicate, but the same constructions with the meaning of necessity are transformable to the sentences in the debitive mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of motivation has always been a typical question in the study process. If a student is motivated to master a foreign language, then the student is interested in every activity that is done within the study process, and is interested in getting a positive final result. If there is no motivation, then the study process does not go on successfully. It is important to create the student's motivation because it is difficult for the lecturer to work with the students, who do not have motivation. Mastering a foreign language is a creative process. You cannot just study vocabulary and grammar; you need to feel the language and to love to use it. The aim of the given paper is to investigate motivation and its role in the process of mastering a foreign language in a higher educational establishment. The tasks of the paper: to investigate the motivation and its aspects; to define the role of motivation in the process of mastering a foreign language in a higher educational establishment, and how the lecturer can strengthen the motivation of students in the foreign language learning process. Different scientific literature in Latvian, English and German was summarized and analyzed; there were also added examples from the French and German lectures for students of International Tourism Faculty in Turiba University. The author states: in the process of mastering a foreign language the student has both internal and external motivation. The external motivation can be based on praises, awards or threat and punishment. The internal motivation of the student is based on his/her own desire to achieve better results by mastering a foreign language and to escape failures. The lecturer must encourage the internal motivation that is based on achievements - then the student will work actively in classes. The lecturer must remember that very often the student does not have any contact with people whose native language is the language that the student studies. In that case the lecturer is like an example for the student, and the student associates the lecturer with the foreign language. The main factor, that can influence and encourage the motivation of the student in the process of mastering a foreign language, is the lecturer. The lecturer promotes the development of the student and motivates him to master a foreign language if the lecturer creates positive study environment, varies teaching methods and encourages student's independent work outside the lectures. Motivation is not constant within the study process. The lecturer should pay attention to this important issue before preparing for each lecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Historic Centre of Riga is the most important and largest urban monument in Latvia; in 1997, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Nowadays, several conservation and development plans have bee drawn up for the Historic Centre of Riga. These plans are postulated as original theoretical concepts of urban planning that have no precedent in Latvia. However, it is possible to trace a relatively long history of conservation of the urban cultural heritage related to Riga Historic Centre. This paper focuses on theoretical conceptions of conservation and development, as well as on functional use of the urban cultural heritage of Riga Historic Centre during the Soviet period. As a starting point of this research the first Riga Historic Centre Regeneration Project of has been chosen (the Project was approved in 1948); meanwhile, the final point is the approval of Riga Historic Centre Regeneration Plan in 1983. The author of the paper analyzes the concepts of urban conservation and development, which are included in these projects, economic grounds, and implementation schemes. The projects are analyzed within the context of theoretical and practical approaches to urban cultural heritage conservation, which were developed in Europe and the USSR. The analysis reflects political, ideological, and economic impact on the concepts of conservation of urban cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic was selected in order to address a pressing issue. The paper discusses research findings, which suggest that first-formers tend to make grammatical errors while reading. The paper deals with helping children learn the technique of reading and orienting them towards making sense of the texts they read. In order to achieve the former, teachers ought to use exercises designed for developing learners' reading skills, which are tailored to cater for learners' current level of achievement, unlock their potential, overcome failings, etc. At present, there is no shortage of manuals on how to teach reading to children. This specialised literature proposes different exercises and drills, but the usage of didactic games to facilitate reading literacy development is still a relatively uncharted territory. Admittedly, some sets of games have been devised and some manuals written that contain descriptions of didactic games. However, the quality and quantity of these materials is insufficient to support development of reading literacy. Over the course of the study, its authors designed and approbated a set of didactic games, which were subsequently used with learners during lessons. Findings from observation of 15 first-formers suggest that their performance of reading tasks improved subsequent to having been engaged with the proposed set of didactic games. The present study helped establish criteria for development of reading literacy. These criteria were used to evaluate the progress of 15 first-formers in terms of reading literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Money in society has always been, and also has an important place . It affects the economy and reflects the country's economic stability. Since 1999. 1st January in the world is a new currency. It is the European Union's common currency - the euro, becoming the more than 300 million Europeans currency. From January 1, 2014 Latvia became a member of the eurozone. Often we hear questions about the conditions of the Latvian government had to meet in order to introduce in Latvian the euro. The aim of study paper is to analyze the Maastricht criteria in Latvian from 2009 untill 2014. To achieve aim of study paper the following tasks were nominated: 1 ) study the theoretical aspects of the Maastricht criteria ; 2 ) To analyze the Maastricht criteria execution in Latvia from 2009 until 2014.; 3) Draw conclusions about the Maastricht criteria execution in Latvian from 2009 untill 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is possible to acquire the Latvian language as a foreign language both outside and within Latvia, and acquisition of the Latvian language as a foreign language could be said to have originated exactly from abroad. The article gives a historical overview of studying Latvian as a foreign language in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, highlighting how the situation has changed over the years and what are the main trends in studying Latvian as a foreign language in the Baltic States. The article summarises information obtained by contacting teachers who teach the Latvian language in the Baltic States. In addition, separate articles on traditions of teaching Latvian as a foreign language in Lithuania have been used, as well as a research paper on learning Latvian as a foreign language in European universities (Šalme 2008). The empirical experience of the article's author gained while teaching Latvian as a foreign language in Latvia has also been taken into account. Having summarised the situation in the Baltic States, it is concluded that in Lithuania and Estonia the Latvian language as a foreign language is learned primarily in universities which once had strong traditions of the Latvian studies and where the Latvian language was mainly studied for academic purposes. Over time, as the number of students has decreased, philology study programs have been closed, and now students learn the Latvian language in elective courses for professional and personal needs. In Estonia, historically it has been possible to learn the Latvian language both at Tallinn University and the University of Tartu, but due to the reduction in the number of students and various internal reforms the Latvian language as a foreign language in Estonia is taught only at the University of Tartu. In Lithuania, it has been possible to learn the Latvian language as a foreign language at five universities, besides starting from the 40s and 50s of the last century. But also in Lithuania, like in Estonia, due to the reduction in the number of students, the number of programs in which it has been possible to acquire the Latvian language as a foreign language is reducing. In several Lithuanian universities the Latvian language is currently an optional subject, although a few years ago it was a compulsory course for philology students. Foreigners in Latvia learn the Latvian language not only for study purposes, but also for personal and professional needs. In Latvia, it is possible to learn Latvian as a foreign language in several higher education institutions as well as a variety of non-formal courses. Foreign students who are studying in full-time bachelor's or master's study programmes at one of the universities in Latvia often acquire the Latvian language for professional purposes. It means that they are often able to use the Latvian language in a professional field of their own, but cannot communicate in simple everyday situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the manifestations of the ideology of political correctness in contemporary use of Lithuanian and Latvian words naming individuals according to their race, nationality, age (negras - nēģeris (a Negro), čigonas - čigāns (a gypsy), pensininkas - pensionārs (a pensioner), invalidas - invalīds (an invalid), etc.). The intentions of promoters and supporters of such ideology, at first glance, seem generous: the word substitutions suggested by them may be related to euphemisation of the language stimulated by tolerance to differentness, empathy, striving for unoffending communication. However, implementation of such ideology also involves newspeak and usually approaches extremes, even absurdity. The authors of the paper hold the opinion that intrusion of such ideology on the language is harmful per se. One of the characteristic consequences means the negative connotation of a word, which in the English-speaking society emerged naturally or was simply coined by ideology enthusiasts, is transferred to other languages disregarding the colouring of words in these particular languages, groundlessly attributing neutral words with negative evaluation of the named matter. By providing recommendations to use words in a particular way, one should not implicitly base on a certain ideology but, first, regard their own cultural tradition and follow the science of linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines the use of the verb būt 'to be' in a secondary predicative function. The author's previous research on the topic of secondary predicativity of a verb allows her to predict that there can be at least four cases when the verb būt 'to be' is used in a secondary predicative function: semi-declinable participle būdams (-a) 'being', indeclinable participles esot and esam 'being', including the dative absolute construction, and the use of the infinitive form būt 'to be' post an abstract noun: Bet vai man pietiek tikai ar stipru gribēšanu nebūt kukainim? (Repše 2016) In the language sources following cases of the use of participle būdams (-a) are found: with a compound secondary predicative component where the copula is in a form of a semi-declinable participle: Būdams viens, viņš [Rainis] ieguva telpu domām. (Ir, 3 (249)) There are also sentences with a copula būdams (-a) 'being' in a zero form: [Būdams] Apņēmības pilns, Gūtenmorgens izslīdēja caur virtuvi, paķerdams līdzi maizes ņuku un gabalu siera un desas. (Bērziņš 2017) The verb būt in a form of indeclinable participle with -ot esot is used in the dative absolute construction, that is also recognizable as a participial clause in the perspective of the present language (MLLVG II 1962; 434). Atklāsme ir tāda, ka darāmā ir daudz, daudz vairāk, nekā man likās, esot Valsts prezidentam. (Ir, 51 (90)) The indeclinable participle -am (ies), -ām (ies) is often used together with verbs šķist, likties 'to seem', forming a raising construction (Crystal 2008, 401-402): [..] tā [migla] šķitās dzīva esam. (R. Ziedonis LVK 2018) The given examples allow us to conclude - as the verb būt is mostly an auxiliary verb, also the secondary predicative components with the forms of būt are going to be compound and opinions of their interpretation will be diverse. The use of the verb būt in a secondary predicative function is varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]