by Jonas Daugirdas. (updated 24 Dec 2018 with section on diphthongs). PART 1: Pronunciation of consonants d, t, and n. Many children of Lithuanian families who were raised in America pronounce certain consonants when speaking Lithuanian in a way that makes their spoken Lithuanian quickly identifiable as non-native. One little …
Read More »The SAULĖ Newspaper 1888-1959. A Giant of the Lithuanian Press
By Carol Luschas. Between 1864 and 1914, over 400,000 people emigrated from the Baltic region. Pennsylvania became home to one of the largest concentrations of Lithuanians in the United States. Many Lithuanians settled in the small coal mining town of Mahanoy City in northeastern Pennsylvania. As the Lithuanian population grew, …
Read More »A debut film project pulls together top Lithuanian talent. MOTHERLAND
Tomas Vengris. A boy stares out the window as an old Soviet car rattles over uneven streets. He hears his mother’s voice, recounting her childhood memories: running through endless fields of wildflowers on her father’s beloved estate, swimming in the silver moonlight, dancing under the falling blossoms of the apple …
Read More »The Aestians in Roman Chronicles
by Eugenijus Jovaiša. Aestians is the name given to people living to the east and south of the Baltic coast in the general region of Klaipėda by the Roman historian Tacitus. The history of the Aestians or aisčiai, our ancestral people, is a fascinating puzzle full of charming details of …
Read More »Lithuanians in Harbin
Rytis Satkauskas. Lithuanian emigration studies usually deal almost exclusively with Europe, the Americas, and Australia, where strong Lithuanian communities were formed over the years. There is, however, the virtually unknown story of a Lithuanian enclave in the Far East, specifically in the City of Harbin in Manchuria. The community had …
Read More »A trip turned pilgrimage. OUR LADY OF ŠILUVA DE RINCON, NEW MEXICO
Vilius Žalpys. On Oct. 1, 2015, I flew out of Portland, Oregon, to visit with family and friends in Los Angeles, California, and attend the annual Lithuanian Days Festival at St. Casimir’s Parish in LA. I intended to spend the week in and around LA. As I was filling out …
Read More »The Naval Training Ship “Prezidentas Smetona”
By Romualdas Adomavičius of the Lithuanian Sea Museum. As early as 1923, the problem of protecting Lithuania’s Baltic Sea coastline from illegal activity had become acute. Huge amounts of alcohol and other contraband were entering Lithuania by sea, most often coming from Danzig (present day Gdansk). The old, slow motorboats used …
Read More »Hidden Treasure Lithuania’s Independence Act Found
The long-sought and assumed lost Declaration of Lithuania’s Independence, signed on February 16, 1918, was discovered in Germany’s diplomatic archives in Berlin. Professor Liudas Mažylis (right) of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas announced the discovery on March 29, 2017. “The Lithuanian version of the resolution with all 20 clearly visible original …
Read More »Fighting Fake News, Twisted History & Cyber Trolls: The 24/7 Lithuanian Life of Linas Johansonas
Sandy Baksys. If his voice is a little ragged and his words come out rapid-fire, that’s because Linas Johansonas, 57, is simultaneously living two very full “Lithuanian lives.” His first life is grounded in Cleveland, Ohio’s 18,000 square-foot Lithuanian Community Center, where Johansonas assists Rūta Degutis, president of the Lithuanian …
Read More »JONAS KAROLIS CHODKEVIČIUS: A MILITARY GENIUS
By Miltiades Varvounis. The Chodkevičius (Chodkiewicz) family was one of the richest and most influential families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the 16th –17th centuries. The most prominent member of this family was Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius (Jan Karol Chodkiewicz), a renowned Lithuanian military commander. He played a …
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