On September 28, the European Language Festival was held for the first time in Latvia. The multilingual event at the National Library of Latvia marked the celebration of the annual European Language Day with four Nordic languages – the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish language – represented at the event.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Latvia’s accession to the European Union and the recognition of the Latvian language as one of the official languages of the EU. In a festive setting, everyone was invited to explore different EU languages. Besides the obvious selection of languages, also Ukrainian, Norwegian and even sign language was represented at the festival.
Nordic languages shared a stand put together by the Nordic Council Ministers’ Office in Latvia. It gained a lot of attention, gathering language enthusiasts who are considering taking up either of the Nordic languages and also fluent speakers. Meeting staff from the embassies of Denmark, Finland and Sweden who native speakers of these languages was a great chance to practice the language or just to get the real taste of it. Norway’s ambassador Ine Måreng and the Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, Stefan Eriksson, were also present at the event.
The most popular activities were the mini language courses giving fifteen-minute introduction into each of the four Nordic languages represented at the festival. Participants could learn basic phrases, learn to count in different languages and discover words that sound the same in Latvian and Scandinavian languages. The Nordic quiz also got a lot of attention. A newly published mini grammar book of the Norwegian language in Latvianv was presented for the first time. This publication by “Valodas māja” was funded by DNB Bank and the Norwegian Embassy and on the day of the event was available for free.
Throughout the day, thematic discussions took place on the main stage at the library lobby. A discussion on the diversity and application of Nordic languages in Latvia was moderated by the Norwegian Snorre Karkonens-Svensons, founder of “Valodas māja” (House of Languages). Representatives from Norwegian DNB Bank’s Latvian branch, Mišela Blaua and Anete Krūmiņa, spoke about the importance of Nordic languages in the job market, as well as Nordic work culture and values. The Nordic segment on the festival’s main stage concluded with Linards Deidulis, a representative of the State Education Development Agency’s International Cooperation Programmes Department, introducing the Nordplus support programme. It offers financial support between partners in the area of lifelong learning from the eight participating countries and three autonomous regions in the Baltic and Nordic area. It is also intended to support the learning of Nordic languages in Latvia.
The European Day of Languages has been celebrated since 2001. Its aim is to raise awareness of diversity of European languages, encourage language learning and spark interest in translation and other professions that require mastering languages.
The European Language Festival was organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the National Library of Latvia. Supporters: Latvian Language Agency, State Education Development Agency, Embassy of the Slovak Republic, E-klase and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia.
Photos: Lauma Kalniņa
