Votic or Votian is part of the Balto-Finnic subgroup of Finno-Ugric languages and is closely related to Estonian. It is spoken in Krakolye and Luzhitsy, two villages in the Kingisepp district of St. Petersburg, Russia, by about 20 people, all of whom are elderly.
Efforts are currently being made to revive Votic with some lessons in the language a one school. It appears that most younger Votes are not all that interested in the language though.
There is no standardised writing system for Votic. The system below was developed by Ferenc Válóczy.
| A a | B b | C c | D d | D' d' | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i | J j | K k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L l | L' l' | M m | N n | N' n' | O o | P p | R r | R' r' | S s | Š š | S' s' |
| T t | T' t' | U u | V v | Y y | Z z | Z' z' | Ž ž | Õ õ | Ä ä | Ö ö | Ü Ü |
Information about the Cyrillic alphabet for Votic compiled by Wolfram Siegel.
Исун теекырвылл
Ајаја вајылтыб веероа.
Ен тахо ылла сиинэ, кусса тулын.
Ен тахо ылла сиинэ, кухыы менен.
Михси терпитөисси
Нэен тэмээ вајылтыттава веероа?
a poem entitled "Вееровајылтамин (Бертолт Брехт)"
Information about the Votic language and people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votic_language
http://www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Russia/Votian/Votian1.html
http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/votes.shtml
Enets, Erzya, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Karelian, Khanty, Komi, Kven, Livonian, Mansi, Mari, Moksha, Nenets, Saami, Udmurt, Veps, Võro, Votic