GalleryHay's master-work was published in 1905, the year Peter's father was born. We found future Latvia well-represented with Latvian and two dialects of Liv.
The Lord's Prayer in Latvian
How much has Latvian changed in the past century, using the "Tēvreize," the name of the Lord's Prayer in Latvian, as a touchstone? We've transcribed old to modern orthography and added lines numbers (not the same as Bible verses) for our reference.
| "1905" | Modern | King James version | |
| 1 | Mūsu Tēvs debesīs | Mūsu Tēvs debesīs! | Our Father which art in heaven, |
| 2 | svētīts lai top tavs vārds | Svētīts lai top Tavs vārds. | Hallowed be thy name. |
| 3 | Lai nāk tava valstība | Lai nāk Tava valstība. | Thy kingdom come, |
| 4 | Tavs prāts lai notiek | Tavs prāts lai notiek | Thy will be done |
| 5 | kā debesīs tā arīdzan zemes virsū | kā debesīs, tā arī virs zemes. | in earth, as it is in heaven. |
"Arīdzan" is an archaic form of "arī", meaning "also." "Zemes virsū," [of the earth] [in the top], versus, "virs zemes" [on top of][the earth] is a change in style, both forms are equally valid. | |||
| 6 | Mūsu dienišķu maizi dod mums šodien. | Mūsu dienišķo maizi dod mums šodien. | Give us this day our daily bread. |
| 7 | Un pameti mums mūsu parādus, | Un piedod mums mūsu parādus, | And forgive us our debts, |
| 8 | kā arī mēs pametam saviem parādniekiem. | Kā arī mēs piedodam saviem parādniekiem. | as we forgive our debtors. |
The verb "pamest," which means to toss or cast aside, or to leave be, has been replaced with "piedot," to forgive. Interestingly, while "pamest" can have several meanings but which are nuances of each other, "piedot" has as its primary meaning "to augment", so, to give the engine more gas as you are driving, would be "piedot benzīnu." | |||
| 9 | Un neiemedi mūs iekš kārdināšanas, | Un neieved mūs kārdināšanā. | And lead us not into temptation, |
"Neiemedi" means "don't herd" (as in herding a flock) while "neievedi" means "don't transport" or "don't lead" "into." | |||
| 10 | bet atpestī mūs no tā ļauna; | Bet atpestī mūs no ļauna. | but deliver us from evil: |
| 11 | Jo tev pieder tā valstība un tas spēks un tas gods mūžīgi. | Jo Tev pieder valstība, spēks un gods mūžīgi. | For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. |
"Tā" and "tas" as a pronoun means "that". As an adjective, it translates to "that" in terms of pointing out something specific. However, instead of denoting specificity, it can also be used grammatically to reinforce the concept immediately following. We wonder if "that" was used here to emphasize Christian divinity over Latvian folk gods and godesses. | |||
| 12 | Āmen. | Āmen. | Amen. |
But now were were curious about another comparison, that of Hay's 1905 version and the Lord's Prayer in Sebastian Munters' Cosmographica Universalis. SEE OUR ARTICLE HERE The Cosmographia contains one of the first written recordings in Western literature of Latvian, that being the text and inter-linear translation of the Lord's Prayer].
We compared early our fragment to Hay's 1905 version, this time transcribed faithful to the original orthography and adding an interlinear translation with notes. Note the "uu" for "w" which in the Germanic orthography is pronounced as a "v," and "tz" pronounced as "ts." Overall, the two versions are quite similar despite being separated by nearly four centuries.
| Latvian, first half 16th century | 1905, as written | |
| 1 | Mus tabes kas tu es eckſckan debbeſsis, | Muhſu Tehws debbesſìs |
| 1 | Our father, you who are "inside heaven" (two words) | Our father "in heaven" (single word) |
| 2 | ſchuuetitz touus uuaartz, | ſwehtihts lai tohp taws wahrds. |
| 2 | Hallowed thy name (no verb) | "Let" your name "be" hallowed (imperative) |
| 3 | Enack mums touus vualſtibe, | Lai nahk tava walstiba. |
| 3 | Thy kingdom come | |
We originally suspected that "Enack" was an unintentional contraction of two separate words, "lai nāk" (let come), in modern Latvian. However, this may well be an imperative form of "come", as we also find this imperative as a single-word variant, "Ateik," in the Samogitian translation. That is similar to the modern Latvian verb "attecēt", to "come" at a trotting pace, or for water to flow. | ||
| 4 | touus praatz bus | Taws prahts lai noteek |
| 4 | Your mind shall be | Let thy will take place |
| 5 | ka ekſchan debbes ta vurſan ſemmes, | kà debbesſìs, tà arridſan ſemmes wirſù |
| 5 | as "inside heaven" (two words, again) then as "on top of" "the earth" | as "in heaven" (single word, again) then as "in the top" "of the earth" |
The 16th century and modern versions stylistically agree "on top of the earth," it is the 1905 version which is the outlier here. | ||
| 6 | Muſſe deniſche maiſe duth mums ſchodeen | Muhſu deeniſshku maiſi dohd mums ſchodeen. |
| 6 | Give us this day our daily bread | |
| 7 | pammate mums muſſe grake | Un pametti mums muhſu parradus, |
| 7 | Cast aside for us our sins | Cast aside for us our debts |
| 8 | ka meſs pammat muſſe parradueken, | kà arri mehs pamettam ſaweem parradneekeem. |
| 8 | as we cast [them, implied] aside for our debtors | as also we cast [them, implied] aside for our debtors |
Instead of "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," the 16th century version reads "forgive us our sins ["grekke" = "grēki" modern] as we forgive our debtors." This appears to imply either that debt was a sin, or that Latvians should forgive the debts of others while settling for their sins to be forgiven—but not their debts. | ||
| 9 | Ne... | Un ne eemeddi muhs eekſsh kahrdinaſshabas, |
| 9 | And herd us not into temptations, | |
| 10 | bet atpeſti mush no ta łauna; | |
| 10 | but deliver us from [emphasized...] evil; | |
"Atpestī" has a more specific meaning than to deliver. While deliverance means liberation or rescue, "atpestī" in religious context means specific deliverance from punishment for sins committed. | ||
| 11 | Jo tev peederr ta walſtoba un tas ſpeks un tas gohds muhſshigi. | |
| 11 | For to you belongs the [emphasized...] kingdom and the [emphasized...] power and the [emphasized...] glory forever. | |
| 12 | Amen. | |
| 12 | Amen. | |
We expect that our exercise here may be less interesting in the reading than our personal act of investigating and documenting. Nevertheless, we hope to also inspire you to do your own research. Twenty-five years since the launch of our web site, more and more historical materials as becoming available online. We urge you to explore this growing treasure trove!
the Lord's Prayer in Livonian
Hays also included two dialects of Liv (or Livonian), lībiešu valoda.
The Livs lived primarily along Latvia's coast, and were related to the Estonians. Peter's mother grew up singing Liv folk songs with her friends, but that generation is, or is nearly, gone. While Latvian government statistics indicated 250 Liv-speakers alive in 2011, there was news in 2013 of the death of the last Livonian speaker.1
| 1 | Death of a language: last ever speaker of Livonian passes away aged 103, The Sunday Times, June 5, 2013. |
- INTRODUCTION
- The Lord's Prayer in Latvian and Livonian
- The Lord's Prayer in Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Samogitian, and Old Prussian
