Getting Started to Learn the Lithuanian Language

Welcome to the Modern Source of the Indo-European language family.

If you're interested in Europe's linguistic heritage, start here to learn Lithuanian!

Languages such as Bengali and Sinhalese spoken far to the east, to languages such as Irish and Icelandic spoken on the far western islands of Europe all share one thing in common: they belong to the Indo-European family.

It may be difficult to see any resemblance between these disparate languages, but at their core they share the same lexical and grammatical structure.

When the Indo-European language family was still in its infancy, it started to branch into the separate dialects of Greek, Armenian, Avestan, Sanskrit, Tocharian, and the proto-languages of Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Italic, and Celtic.

One language would eventually emerge from the Balto-Slavic group of dialects that remained almost unchanged for millennia: Lithuanian. As far as what linguists can tell today, Lithuanian is the closest to our original Indo-European ancestor and is very much worthy of study, especially among linguists.

Like early languages such as Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, modern Lithuanian retains a complex grammar. While our goal is not to teach grammar, but to acquire it naturally through the use of frequent constructions, it is still worth your effort to understand the basics of the grammar.

Download Introduction to Lithuanian Ebook Here

You will get the following data in this book:

  • Super easy conjugations
  • Categorized lists of 280 common verbs
  • Easily recognize word endings
  • Prepositions and cases
  • Cognates with other European languages

Features inside include:

  • Presents most frequent dative case verbs together
  • Teaches a simpler case paradigm
  • Easily figure out perfective / imperfective usage
  • Easily master directional verbs and their cases
  • Easily remember vocabulary by etymology
  • Learn vocabulary etymology and cognates in Slavic, Germanic / English, Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit.

Here is the table of contents:

Introduction to Lithuanian

Verb Conjugation

  • Sample Verb Constructions
  • Modal Auxiliaries
  • Perfective and Imperfective Actions
  • Verb - Noun Relations
  • Embedded Clauses
  • Verbs that Start a Process

Verb Lists

  • Stative Verbs
  • Process Verbs (intransitive: no object)
  • Process Verbs (subject and accusative object)
  • Action Verbs (intransitive)
  • Dative Verbs with a Predicate State
  • Dative Verbs with a Process (something happening)
  • Dative Verbs with an Action

Directional Verbs

  • Directional Verbs with a Predicate State
  • Directional Verbs with a Process (something happening)
  • Directional Verbs with an Action

Nouns

  • Identifying Nominative Case Endings
  • Identifying Genitive Case Endings
  • Identifying Dative Case Endings
  • Identifying Accusative Case Endings
  • Identifying Instrumental Case Endings
  • Identifying Locative Case Endings

Prepositions

  • Most common preposition and the noun cases they govern

Indo-European Etymology

Here are some samples from the book:

Abbreviations in the following entries include: PIE (Proto-Indo-European), PBS (Proto-Balto-Slavic), PS (Proto-Slavic), Lv (Latvian), OCS (Old Church Slavonic), S (Sanskrit), G (Greek), L (Latin), PGc (Proto-Germanic), E English.

  • eĩti: to go. PIE *h₁ey-Lv iet; PS *jьti; OCS ити ‎(iti); R идти́ ‎(idtí); S एति ‎(eti); G εἶμι ‎(eîmi); L eō; PGc *ijjē; E ēode > yode
  • mãrios: sea. PIE *mor-i-; PBS *morjo; *morjaʔ; PS *morje; OCS морѥ ‎(morje); R мо́ре ‎(móre); S मर्यादा ‎(maryādā); L mare; PGc *mari; E mere
  • sakýti: say. PIE *sekʷ- > *enskʷé-; Lv sacīt; ; S सचते ‎(sácate); G ἕπομαι ‎(hépomai); L sequor, inquam; PGc *sagjaną, *sehwaną; E secġan > say, sēon > see

Download Introduction to Lithuanian Guide Here