Editing Lithuanian language (section)

==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]]}}
{{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>