Systemic and Structural Changes in Latvian as a Result of Recent English Influence

Abstract

This article looks at several aspects of the impact of English upon the Latvian language during the last fifteen years. Independence brought the necessary legal framework for sustaining Latvian in new conditions: administrative and legal use of the language was revived, and many other functional areas (e.g. defense, shipping) regained, with old terminology restored or newly created. From the mid-1990s, integration into the European Union called for further development of terminology, as well as considerable translation and interpreting capacity. Media openness brought numerous new concepts and terms, mainly from English. As a result of the political and linguistic reorientation of Latvia, English has become the main direct, indirect and intermediary contact language of Latvian, contributing not only to its word stock by means of loans but also affecting the language system, structure and conventions. Thus, apart from traditional loans, one sees semantic loans, change of meaning, ousting of earlier borrowings, spreading of less usual word formation patterns, enhanced use of idiom transformation and wordplay elements. Translation is viewed as a major vehicle of change in Latvian.