Top Tweets for #BalticUnityDay

🌿 Baltic tribes first appeared in written sources only in the 9th–11th centuries. They are divided into Western Balts (Prussians, Yotvingians, Curonians) and Eastern Balts (Lithuanians, Samogitians, Aukštaitians, Latgalians, Semigallians, Selonians). Most tribes have vanished - only Lithuanians (descendants of Aukštaitians and Samogitians) and Latvians (mainly from Latgalians) and their languages have survived. 🔸️Lithuanians were first mentioned in the early 11th c. in the Annals of Quedlinburg. At the time, they lived in separate lands like Aukštaitija and Žemaitija, not a united state. The modern standard Lithuanian language was formed in the late 19th to early 20th century based on the southern Aukštaitian dialect. It is considered the most archaic living Indo-European language. 🔸️Samogitians (Žemaičiai) as a tribe assimilated weakened Curonians and other Western Balts. Their dialect is more innovative; some linguists even classify it as a separate language. 🔸️Latgalians lived in present-day eastern Latvia. By the 13th century, they formed the core of the Latvian nation after mixing with Livs and other tribes. Modern Latvian evolved through this blending process. 🔸️Semigallians, Yotvingians, Selonians, and Curonians are extinct tribes. Their languages are known only through place names, personal names, and features preserved in regional dialects. 🔸️Old Prussians are the best-documented extinct Baltic people. Their language, which died out in the 18th century, has survived in written form and shares many traits with Lithuanian and Latvian. 👉 Though most Baltic tribes have disappeared, the Lithuanian and Latvian languages remain as living heirs of one of Europe’s oldest ethno-linguistic cultures.