Votic

Votic (Vaďďa; Estonian: Vadja; Finnish: Vatja) is a moribund Finnic language closely related to Estonian. It is spoken in Ingria — alongside several other Finnic varieties, but thought to be the original language of the region.

Dialects

Two main dialects groups of Votic have been recorded, Western and Eastern (the latter is now extinct), spoken in an area of about 25×15 kilometers. 34 Votic-speaking villages with a total population of ~6000 were known in 1848, 21 ones with a population of ≤1000 in the 1910s. A third dialect extinct since the early 19th century, Krevinian, is recorded from in Curonia in eastern Latvia, descending from prisoners of war transported there by the Teutonic Knights circa 1450 CE.

A fourth supposed dialect was spoken in the village of Kukkozi separated from the main Votic-speaking area in Ingria. This Finnic variety, however, shows crucial differences from the main dialects of Votic (e.g. general retention of /o/, /ns/, /Vːh/, /k/, /NP/), and may be better considered a dialect of Ingrian with considerable Votic influence. The language Kukkozi is not treated here further.

Development

By far most of this section is sourced from Lauri Kettunen (1915): Vatjan kielen äännehistoria.

Core Finnic to Proto-Peipsian

Old sound changes & such common with Estonian or its eastern dialects. Core Finnic originally split into Northern Finnic (= Finnish proper + Savonian + Ingrian + Karelian + Veps) and Central Finnic (= Estonian + Votic). According to Tiit-Rein Viitso the latter then split into Northern Estonian and "Proto-Peipsian", from which Votic and the distinctive Kodavere dialect of Estonian descend.

Proto-Peipsian to Old Votic

All changes here are either evident in Krevinian, or chronologically demanded here. Changes that are ambiguous in their dating have been listed in the next section.

Old Votic to Common Votic

Changes that mostly take place between 1500 and 1900 CE, or must have been apparent as dialectal differences before the split of Krevinian.