Verb prefixes in Latgalian : a discussion based on data found in a collection of Latgalian folk tales

Latgalian originated in the eastern part of Latvia (see Maps 1 and 2, Appendix 1 ) . Although still spoken, it is gradually becoming extinct as it is being replaced by the more prestigious official, literary, standard Latvian which in turn is being replaced in many sectors of administration by Russian; eastern Latvia has a high concentration of Russian inhabitants (see Map 3, Appendix 1). In spite of the fact that it has been and is the language of literary expression of a number of poets and writers and that it even has its own newspaper published in Munich, Latgalian outside Latvia is spoken by an ever decreasing number of exiled Latgalians. Its speakers, coming from some of the poorest areas of rural Latvia, have traditionally been labelled as mostly uneducated and uncultured and it is only comparatively recently that such labels have begun to disappear