Latgals (people)
The term Latgale as a popular name can refer to the inhabitants of the Latgale region (Latvian: Latgale ) in eastern Latvia in general, to the ethnic Latvian inhabitants of this region in particular, in the narrowest sense only to the Latgalian- speaking people, or to the old Baltic tribe.
In Latvian referred latgalieši (Latgalian: latgalīši ) ethnic Letts from Lettgallen while Latgali (Latgalian: Latgali ) refers to the stem. However, the terms are mixed up in slang Latvian and some Latgalian nationalists advocate the use of the term latgaļi to distinguish today's Latgalian speakers as an independent people or cultural group.
The old Latgals
The ancient Latgals lived in the central and eastern parts of Latvia, in the region of Livonia (Latvian: Vidzeme ) and Latgale (Latvian: Latgale ). Political divisions meant that Livonia and Latgale developed differently from 1562 to 1917.
The modern Latgale
During the first independence of Latvia from 1918 to 1940, Latgale was the only area of Latvia in which there were strong regional parties. The idea of Latgale's political autonomy was popular but never achieved. Although Latvian governments mainly promoted a common Latvian culture, the Latgalian language was in use as an official and educational language.
During the time of the Soviet Union , the Latgalian culture and language was suppressed, negated and forbidden. Only after regaining independence were they able to develop anew, and with them a Latgalian identity.
Some Latgals consider themselves to be an independent ethnic group, as does the Suiti Catholic minority in Courland. The majority, however, see themselves as belonging to the Latvians. There are no exact figures on this, as the Latvian government does not list the Latgals as a separate group in its censuses.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f The Latgalians - a distinct Latvians or a different nation? July 12, 2009, accessed August 16, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Latgale - a part of Latvia. April 25, 2014, accessed August 16, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c Jade Mitchell-Ross: Latgalians. March 17, 2014, accessed August 16, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c Edgars Cakuls: Latgale - the unknown south-east of Latvia . In: East - West . European perspectives . Volume 10, No. 1 . Pustet, 2009, ISSN 1439-2089 ( online ).