The Syntax of Baltic

The history of Baltic syntax is difficult to reconstruct because of the late beginnings of its written tradition. Baltic texts from the 16th−18th centuries are mostly translations; the Old Prussian and Old Latvian translations, made by Germans with a rudimentary or at best imperfect command of the language, are of such poor quality that, in the case of Old Prussian, their value for syntax is nil, and for Old Latvian, their evidence must be used with caution and confronted with the modern language. For these reasons, Old Prussian will not be dealt with in this chapter. Old Lithuanian translations, though often slavish as well, are more reliable, but many genuinely Lithuanian constructions are not reflected in them because of the character of the mostly religious texts and the influence of the source texts