Editing Latvian language (section)

=== Origins ===

According to some [[glottochronology|glottochronological]] speculations, the [[Eastern Baltic languages|East Baltic languages]] split from [[Western Baltic languages|West Baltic]] (or, perhaps, from the hypothetical [[proto-Baltic language]]) between 400 and 600 CE.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lithuania taxation laws and regulations handbook.|last=International Business Publications, Usa.|date=2008|publisher=Intl Business Pubns Usa|isbn=978-1433080289|pages=28|oclc=946497138}}</ref> The differentiation between [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and Latvian started after 800 CE. At a minimum, transitional dialects existed until the 14th century or 15th century, and perhaps as late as the 17th century.<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>

Latvian as a distinct language emerged over several centuries from the language spoken by the ancient [[Latgalians]] assimilating the languages of other neighboring Baltic tribes—[[Curonian language|Curonian]], [[Semigallian language|Semigallian]], and [[Selonian (language)|Selonian]]—which resulted in these languages gradually losing their most distinct characteristics. This process of consolidation started in the 13th century after the [[Livonian Crusade]] and forced [[christianization]], which formed a unified political, economic, and religious space in [[Medieval Livonia]].<ref name="lnvm.lv">{{Cite web |url=http://lnvm.lv/en/?page_id=942 |title=Livonia. 13th-16th Century |access-date=2017-10-27 |archive-date=2017-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027130544/http://lnvm.lv/en/?page_id=942 |url-status=live }}</ref>