Information on Lithuania and the Lithuanian Language

Achievement & Equality Team

Information on Lithuania and the Lithuanian Language

Let the sun in Lithuania

Remove the darkness

Let both light and truth

Follow our steps

Let the love of Lithuania

Burn in our hearts

National Anthem of Lithuania

LITHUANIA AT A GLANCE

Location – North-east Europe, on the Baltic Sea

Neighbours – Latvia, Belarus, Poland, Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian exclave)

Size – 25,212 square miles

Population –3,366,200 (130th)

Density – 133.5 people per square mile

Average Life Expectancy – Males65 years, Females 77 years

CapitalCity – Vilnius (population 554,409)

Currency - Litas

Time Zone – Eastern European time (+2 hours)

Potted History

In the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania controlled a large part of Europe. Russian control was established in the 18th century. Like the other Baltic states, Lithuania was independent from the First World War until 1940, when it was invaded by the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet republic to declare independence in 1990.

Political Pressure Points

About 80 people were arrested in January 2009 when protesters, upset at the handling of the financial crisis, pelted parliament with stones. Joining the EU and NATO in 2004 irritated Russia; relations with Moscow remain tense, particularly as Lithuania borders Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, where the Kremlin has threatened to deploy Iskander missiles.

Population Mix

Lithuanian 84.5%, Polish 6.8%, Russian 6.4%, Belarusian 1.2%

Religious makeup

Catholic 79%, Orthodox Christian 4%, no religious affiliation 9%

Main languages

Lithuanian

Living national icons

Jonas Mekas (film-maker), Violeta Urmana (soprano), Eimuntas Nyakroshus (theatre director), Deividas Semberas (football), Edvinas Krungolcas (pentathlete), Virgilijus Alekna (athletics)

Website

Irvk.It

The Nottinghamshire Context

Cyprus, the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became part of the EU in 2004. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007. This has enabled residents from these countries to have freedom of movement and the ability to work anywhere in the EU. This has meant increased migration to the UK for economic reasons. Migrants from these countries may work in low paid unskilled jobs, although be highly skilled in particular industries back in their home country. Some jobs may also involve shift work which can impact on family life and ability for parents to attend meetings.

Education in Lithuania

General education is provided in schools following primary (grades1 to 4), lower secondary (grades 5 to10) and secondary (grades 11to12) educational programmes. A child typically starts primary education when he or she turns six or seven. Pre-school education is provided for children from age one to six but is not compulsory.

• Schooling in Lithuania is compulsory for children from six to sixteen.
• Primary (elementary) schooling starts at six and lasts for four years.
• Lower secondary school (called basic school) is for pupils aged 11 to 14.
• Students attend senior secondary school from 14 to 18.
• Secondary school students may choose to attend vocational schools that offer technical, agricultural, commercial and trade programmes.
• Most students study in Lithuanian, although courses in Russian and Polish are also offered.
• At academic gimnazija (high schools), students study classical and modern languages, social sciences, natural sciences and arts. Upon graduation, students are issued a certificate of secondary education.
• After secondary school, about 40 per cent of students pursue higher education.
• Enrolment to higher education institutions is done on a competitive basis and all applicants must have completed general secondary education. Rules of enrolment are set by the higher education institution as confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Science.
• There are two types of higher education institutions in Lithuania;- universities and colleges. These may be state or private. In 2004 there were 48 institutions providing post-school education in Lithuania. Of these, 21 were providing higher education and 27 were providing further education.
• New arrivals from Lithuania may include speakers of Russian and Polish as well as Lithuanian. Well-planned welcome and induction arrangements can help schools identify children’s home languages and cultures.

Information about the Lithuanian Language

Lithuanian is the native language of the Republic of Lithuania, where it is spoken by over 3 million people, about 80 percent of the total population. Minority languages include Belarusian (1.5%), Polish (7.7%), and Russian (8 %). Others, most notably Ukrainian and Yiddish make up a further 2.1%. Lithuanian is one of the Baltic languages, which are from a branch of the Indo- European family.

Lithuanian is perhaps the oldest of all the modern Indo-European languages. It has been said that the speech of some Lithuanians who live in rural areas is the closest thing today to the speech of the original Indo-Europeans. Lithuanian also bears certain remarkable similarities to Sanskrit, the progenitor of the modern Indic languages. The Lithuanian words sūnus (son) and avis (sheep) are identical to the Sanskrit, while many others such as dūmas (smoke, in Sanskrit dhūmas), vilkas (wolf, in Sanskrit: vrkas), and antras (second, in Sanskrit: antaras) differ only by a letter or two. Some Lithuanian words are thought to be even older than their Sanskrit counterparts i.e., they may have disappeared from Sanskrit before the latter was committed to writing.

The basic vocabulary of Lithuanian does not possess many loan words. Some words known as senieji skoliniai (old loan words) were borrowed from its close neighbours (Slavs and Germans) a very long time ago. Usually, when Slavs or Germans introduced a new concept or item, Lithuanians used the same word for that concept or item with minor changes to conform to the phonological system of the language. Words like stiklas for "glass" (from the Slavic "steklo"), muilas for "soap" (from the Slavic "mylo"), gatvė for "street" (from the Germanic "gatwo"), spinta (a generic term for storage furniture, such as cupboards, wardrobes, bookcases, and so forth; from the German "Spind"), are all examples of old loan words.

Like most other languages, Lithuanian has quite a few international words which came into the language along with 20th-century inventions. Some of them are direct, for example, ekonomija, schema, kosmosas, while others are hybrids, i. e. one stem is international and the other is Lithuanian. An example of the latter usage is šviesoforas, "traffic light" (lit. light-bearing). The modern, 32-letter script is based on Latin with the with the addition of .

Lithuanian is divided into two distinct dialect areas that do not have a high degree of mutual intelligibility: Aukštaitian(Highland Lithuanian) , and Samogitian (Lowland Lithuanian). Standard Lithuanian is based on Aukštaitian.

Here are few examples of Lithuanian literature.

Sample text:

Senais Laikais visa Lietuva buvo apaugusi tamsiais,tankiais miškais. Juose buvo daug, stumbrų, stirnų, vilkų, lokių, šernų, lapių. Karaliai, kunigaikščiai, riteriai ir bajorai medžiokles ruošė.

Translation:

Long, Long Ago, Almost the whole of Lithuanian was thick forest. Many animals- wolves, bears, deer, foxes and boars - roamed the forest, so that hunting was one of the favourite sports of kings, knights and noblemen.

Sample text:

Visi žmonės gimsta laisvi ir lygūs savo orumu ir teisėmis. Jiems suteiktas protas ir sąžinė ir jie turi elgtis vienas kito atžvilgiu kaip broliai.

Translation:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Words and Phrases

English / Lithuanian
Welcome / Sveiki atvykę
Hello / Labas, Sveikas, Sveiki
How are you? / Kaip sekasi? Kaip tau sekasi?
I'm fine, thanks. And you? / Ačiū, gerai. O Jums?
What's your name? / Kuo tu vardu? (informal) Koks tavo vardas? (frm)
My name is ... / Mano vardas ...
Where are you from? / Iš kur jūs? Iš kur tu esi?
I am from…. / Aš iš ...
How old are you? / Kiek tau metų?
I am ….years old / Man …. Metų
Pleased to meet you / Malonu tave matyti, Malonu susipažinti
Good morning / Labas rytas
Good afternoon / Laba diena
Good evening / Labas vakaras
Good night / Labanakt, Labos/Geros nakties
Goodbye / Viso gero
Good luck / Sėkmės! Geros kloties!
Cheers/Good health! / Į sveikatą!
Have a nice day / Geros dienos!
Bon appetit / Gero apetito! Skanaus!
I don’t understand / Aš nesuprantu
Please speak more slowly / Prašom kalbėti lėčiau
Please write it down / Ar galite užrašyti? Gal galite tai užrašyti?
Do you speak Lithuanian? / Ar kalbate lietuviškai?
Excuse me / Atsiprašau!
How much is this? / Kiek šitas kainuoja? Kiek tai
kainuoja?
Sorry / Atsiprašau! Atleiskite!
Thank you / Ačiū, Dėkoju, Labai ačiū
Prašom (reply)
Get well soon / Sveikite, Taisykitės
How do you say … in Lithuanian? / Kaip lietuviškai pasakyti …?
Leave me alone! / Atstokite! Palikite mane ramybėje!
Happy Easter / Sveiki sulaukę Velykų
Teacher / Mokytojas (M) Mokytoja (F)
School / Mokykla
Class / Klasė
Books / Knygos
Pen / Parkeris/šratinukas
Read / Skaityk
Write / Rašyk
Listen / Klausyk
One / Vienas
Two / Du
Three / Trys
Four / Keturi
Five / Penki
Six / Šeši
Seven / Septyni
Eight / Aštuoni
Nine / Devyni
Ten / Dešimt
Who? / Kas?
Where? / Kur?
What? / Ką?
Why? / Kodėl?
When? / Kada?
How? / Kaip?
Large / Didelis
Small / Mažas
More / Daugiau
Less / Mažiau
Monday / Pirmadienis
Tuesday / Antradienis
Wednesday / Trečiadienis
Thursday / Ketvirtadienis
Friday / Penktadienis
Saturday / Šeštadienis
Sunday / Sekmadienis

Useful guidance is available from:

New Arrivals Excellence Programme Guidance

(2007) Ref 00650 – 2007BKT- EN

This resource is for primary and secondary schools and contains guidance on admission and developing classroom practice.

A language in common: assessing English as an additional language

QCA (2000) (QCA/00/584).

This document sets out steps used in assessment of EAL, linked to English National Curriculum levels. It provides guidance and exemplifications.

Aiming High: guidance on supporting the education of asylum seeking and refugee children (DfES 0287 – 2004)

This guidance helps explain the value of an inclusive ethos and curriculum to all pupils.

Aiming High: meeting the needs of newly arrived learners of EAL

(DfES 1381 -2005)

Information on working with newly arrived isolated EAL pupils in settings that have little or no access to EAL support.

Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years (DfES 0013 – 2006PCK- EN)

Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Access and engagement in English:teaching pupils for whom English is an additional language (DfES 0609 – 2002)

Publications/Catalogues are available from:

MUNDI Tel: 0115 8546418

Mundi

Global Education Centre

Foxhall Lodge

Foxhall Road

Nottingham

NG7 6LH

(under construction/Aug 2010)

Mundi loan resources to schools in Nottinghamshire free for up to half a term

e-mail:

GRANT AND CUTLERTel: 0207734 2012

55-57 Great Marlborough Street,
London'
England
W1F 7AY

Web:

A one-stop shop for foreign language resources including language-learning material, reference books, technical dictionaries, literature, history, politics etc.

MILET Publishing Ltd Tel: 0207603 5477
6 North End Parade
London W14 0SJ
England

Web:

Milet publishers a wide range of bilingual picture dictionaries, including board books for use in early years settings.

TRENTHAM BOOKS LTD Tel: 01782 745567

Westview House,734 London Road,

Stoke on Trent,

UKST4 5NP Web:

Trentham publishes 'a wide range of titles plus seven professional journals, mainly in the field of education and social policy.

MANTRA LINGUA Tel: 0208 44 55 123

Global House

303 Ballards Lane

London
N12 8NP
UK

Web:

Mantra Lingua creative learning resources Audio CDs, Big Books, e-books, fun tales, folk tales, friezes, games, language learning, packs posters, story props, toys videos and so on.

Classroom Resources are available from:

Interactive video clips showing children teaching their home languages.

The following website translates words, phrases and short paragraphs from English to Lithuanian available at

The Dingle Granby Toxteth Education Action Zone website; Useful letters for parents translated into Lithuanian available at:

DLTK's Crafts for Kids features a variety images that can be used for creating pupils own subject-specific dictionaries.

Activities for ESL Students can be adapted for EAL pupils in primary and secondary schools. Has bilingual quizzes in large number of languages, available at

Writing systems and languages of the world available at

EMA Online resource base for teachers has been developed by Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester LAs with funding from the DfES, available at;

Racist bullying. Advice designed for schools to dip in and out as appropriate for them and offers discussion topics and activities to stimulate debate and spark activity involving everyone in the school community, available at;

Teachernet states that a successful home–school relationship can be a key element in making a school stronger and more effective. In particular, it can make a real difference to groups of underachieving pupils and their families, available at;

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team