"It took a firm hand and a keen ear to ensure our language the status it enjoys today"

"Professor J. Endzelīns is not only the classifier and researcher of our language, but he is also the explorer of our language, who has tried to discover and understand the uniqueness of each word in a spirited contemplation. It took a firm hand and a keen ear to ensure our language the status it enjoys today." (Zenta Mauriņa. "Latviešu esejas" 1953)

On 22 February, we pay tribute to the linguist, professor and founder of Latvian classical linguistics Jānis Endzelīns (1873–1961) on the occasion of his 152nd birthday.

Jānis Endzelīns remains the most internationally recognised Latvian linguist and one of the greatest Baltic linguists of all time. Between the two World Wars, he established Riga as a world centre for Baltic language research by founding the first Baltic academic philology department at the University of Latvia. On a scientific basis, Endzelīns created and developed a unified Latvian standard written language, Latvian terminology, expanded the vocabulary and addressed contemporary language practice in education and culture.

The Museum’s Audiovisual Archive contains interviews with several contemporary Latvian linguists. The interviews reflect the role of Endzelīns in Latvian linguistics and the development of the Latvian nation. The Museum invites you to view the exposition's multimedia exhibit "The Latvian Language under Occupation Regimes". It was created as a part of a project by the Memorial Fund of Valeria Bērziņa-Baltiņa, a linguist and student of Endzelīns.