country info

Lithuanian belongs to the Baltic language group, along with Latvian and the died-out Prussian, a separate group of languages. Although Lithuanians and Latvians speak related languages, they do not understand each other. Contrary to common belief, Lithuanian is not related at all to Estonian, to Russian or to any other Slavic language. Lithuanian uses the Latin alphabet. Although Lithuania harbours a large Russian and Polish minority, it is recommended to avoid using Polish or Russian in your communication in Lithuania. There are frequent disputes between the Polish minority and the Lithuanian authorities concerning the use of the Polish language in education. It is always better not to take any side and stick to the official Lithuanian.