- By the Imperial census of 1897. In bold are languages spoken by more people than the state language.
| Language | Number | percentage (%) | males | females |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvian | 507 511 | 75.29 | 240 672 | 266 839 |
| German | 51 017 | 7.56 | 23 372 | 27 645 |
| Yiddish | 37 689 | 5.59 | 18 137 | 19 552 |
| Russian | 25 630 | 3.8 | 16 319 | 9 311 |
| Polish | 19 688 | 2.92 | 9 985 | 9 703 |
| Lithuanian | 16 531 | 2.45 | 8 833 | 7 698 |
| Belarusian | 12 283 | 1.82 | 6 356 | 5 927 |
| Romani | 1 202 | 0.17 | 581 | 621 |
| Persons that didn't name their native language |
5 | >0.01 | 4 | 1 |
| Other | 2 478 | 0.36 | 1 993 | 485 |
| Total | 674 034 | 100 | 326 252 | 347 782 |
Read more about this topic: Courland Governorate
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“Like the train’s beat
Swift language flutters the lips
Of the Polish airgirl in the corner seat.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Translate a book a dozen times from one language to another, and what becomes of its style? Most books would be worn out and disappear in this ordeal. The pen which wrote it is soon destroyed, but the poem survives.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)