Votic Language

Votic Language

Votic or Votian (vađđa ceeli or maaceeli – also written vaďďa tšeeli, maatšeeli) is the language spoken by the Votes of Ingria. It is closely related to Estonian and belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Votic is spoken only in Krakolye and Luzhitsy, two villages in Kingiseppsky District, and is close to extinction (Language death). In 1989 there were 62 speakers left, the youngest born in 1938. In its 24 December 2005 issue, The Economist wrote that there are only approximately 20 speakers left. Some linguists have claimed that Votic is actually a dialect of Estonian.

In the 19th century it was already declining in favour of Russian (there were around 1,000 speakers of the language by the start of the World War I), but its decline was accelerated as Joseph Stalin took power. WWII had a devastating effect on the Votic language, with the number of speakers considerably decreased as a result of military offensives, forced migration to Finland under the Nazi regime, and the Stalinist policy of "dispersion" immediately after the war. Since then, the Votes have, as far as possible, concealed their Votic identity, pretending to be Russians in the predominantly Russian environment.