Votic language
| Votic | |
|---|---|
| Vod | |
| vađđa ceeli, maaceeli | |
| Native to | Russia |
| Region | Ingria |
| Ethnicity | Votes |
|
Native speakers
|
68 (2010 census) |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 |
Individual code: zkv – Krevinian |
| Glottolog | voti1245 |
Votic or Votian (vađđa ceeli or maaceeli – also written vaďďa tšeeli, maatšeeli) is the language spoken by the Votes of Ingria, belonging to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Votic is spoken only in Krakolye and Luzhitsy, two villages in Kingiseppsky District, and is close to extinction. In 1989 there were 62 speakers left, the youngest born in 1938. In its 24 December 2005 issue, The Economist wrote that there are only approximately 20 speakers left.
Votic is one of numerous Finnic varieties known from Ingria, and generally considered the oldest of these. Votic shares some similarities with and has acquired loanwords from the adjacent Ingrian language, but also has deep-reaching similarities with Estonian to the west, which is considered its closest relative. Some linguists including Tiit-Rein Viitso and Paul Alvre have claimed that Votic evolved specifically from northeastern dialects of ancient Estonian. Votic regardless exhibits several features that indicate its distinction from Estonian (both innovations such as the palatalisation of velar consonants and a more developed system of cases, and retentions such as vowel harmony). According to Estonian linguist Paul Ariste, Votic was distinct from other Finnic languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, as early as the 6th century CE and has evolved independently ever since.
Isoglosses setting Votic apart from the other Finnic languages include:
Features shared with Estonian and the other southern Finnic languages include:
In the 19th century Votic was already declining in favour of Russian (there were around 1,000 speakers of the language by the start of the World War I). After the Bolshevik Revolution, under Lenin, Votic had a brief revival period, with the language being taught at local schools and the first-ever grammar of Votic (Jõgõperä/Krakolye dialect) being published. But as Joseph Stalin took power, the language began to decline. WWII had a devastating effect on the Votic language, with the number of speakers considerably decreased as a result of military offensives, deliberate destruction of villages by Nazi troops, forced migration to the Klooga concentration camp in Estonia and to Finland under the Nazi regime, and the Stalinist policy of "dispersion" immediately after the war against the families whose members had been sent to Finland under the Nazi regime. Since then, the Votes have largely concealed their Votic identity, pretending to be Russians in the predominantly Russian environment. But they continued to use the language at home and when talking to family members and relatives. After the death of Stalin, the Votes were no longer mistreated and many of those who had been sent away returned to their villages. But the language had considerably declined and the number of bilingual speakers increased. Because Votic was stigmatised as a language of "uneducated villagers", Votic speakers avoided using it in public and Votic children were discouraged from using it even at home because, in the opinion of some local school teachers, it prevented them from learning to speak and write in Russian properly. Thus, in the second half of the 20th century there emerged a generation of young ethnic Votes whose first language was Russian and who understood Votic but were unable to speak it.
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Wikipedia