State Research Programme project "Latvian Language in Time, Space, and Society (LaTS)"

State Research Programme Project "Latvian Language in Time, Space, and Society” (LaTS)

The goal of the National Research Programme “Letonika – Fostering a Latvian and European Society” project “The Latvian Language in Time, Space and Society” (No. VPP-LETONIKA-2025/1-0012, vad. Sanda Rapa) is to strengthen and expand knowledge of Latvian as a dynamic system shaped by its historical development, regional and social diversity, functional variety, and multilingual environment in Latvia and beyond, while simultaneously developing Latvian as a cornerstone of national identity and state security. To achieve this goal, the Latvian language will be studied in six dimensions: sociolinguistics, terminology and translation studies, dialectology and the study of the Latgalian written language, onomastics, the history of the Latvian language, and language acquisition. The project consists of six interrelated sub-projects that together correspond to the research tasks defined in sub-paragraph 6.1.1 of the Cabinet Order No. 559 of 12 September 2025. All sub-projects will contribute to the horizontal objectives of the programme: the development of human capital through student involvement; the expansion of the knowledge base in linguistics and related disciplines through peer-reviewed publications and monographs; the improvement of digital resources and tools by enhancing open-access linguistic databases and corpora; contributions to education and language policy development; as well as the dissemination of research results and the provision of recommendations for policymakers..

22.12.2025. Project launched: sub-project leaders meet at their first management meeting

On 22 December 2025, a management meeting of the LaTS project was held to discuss the project’s launch, planned results, and the organisation of further work.
The participants agreed on the key administrative steps required to initiate the project, including the organisation of work and the review of staff workloads in view of parallel commitments in other projects. The importance of ensuring clear and timely information flow between sub-projects was emphasised.
Special attention was given to the results outlined in the project proposal and to initial planning for their achievement. The discussions particularly highlighted the preparation of scholarly publications and the efficient use of available human resources.
The meeting also addressed the recommendations provided by the external evaluators of the project, with a focus on strengthening links between sub-projects, considering technological aspects, planning the dissemination of results, and assessing potential risks at an early stage.
In conclusion, issues related to work mobility and participation in academic events were discussed, clarifying the general principles for linking project-related activities to project outputs during the initial phase of the project.