Editing Votic language

{{Short description|Finnic language}}{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[Votic languages]] of Central America.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Votic
| altname          = Vod
| nativename       = {{lang|vot|vaďďa tšeeli}}, {{lang|vot|maatšeeli}}
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Ingria]]
| ethnicity        = [[Vots]]
| speakers         = 21
| date             = 2020
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2020 года. Таблица 6. Население по родному языку.|trans-title=Results of the All-Russian population census 2020. Table 6. population according to native language. |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=rosstat.gov.ru}}</ref>
| speakers2        = 100 with some knowledge (2021)<ref name=":1" />
| familycolor      = Uralic
| fam2             = [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]
| fam3             = Southern Finnic
| dia1             = [[Krevinian dialect|Krevinian]]
| dia2             = [[Kukkuzi dialect|Kukkuzi]]
| iso2             = vot
| iso3             = vot
| glotto           = voti1245
| glottorefname    = Votic
| notice           = IPA
| map              = 2.4a-Ingrian-and-Votic traditional.png
| mapcaption       = Distribution of Ingrian and Votic at the beginning of the 20th century<ref name=map1>{{Cite journal |last1=Rantanen |first1=Timo |last2=Tolvanen |first2=Harri |last3=Roose |first3=Meeli |last4=Ylikoski |first4=Jussi |last5=Vesakoski |first5=Outi |date=8 June 2022 |title=Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0269648 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0269648|doi-access=free |pmid=35675367 |pmc=9176854 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1769648R }}</ref><ref name=map2>Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). ''Geographical database of the Uralic languages'' (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188</ref>
| map2             = Lang Status 20-CR.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Vote is classified as Critically Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'' (2010)}}}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[ˈvɑdʲːɑ ˈt͡ɕeːlʲi, ˈmɑːˌt͡ɕeːlʲi]}}
}}
[[File:2.4b-Ingrian-and-Votic current.png|thumb|300px|Ingrian and Votic villages at the beginning of the 21st century<ref name=map1/><ref name=map2/>]]
'''Votic''' or '''Votian''' ({{lang|vot|vaďďa tšeeli}}, {{lang|vot|maatšeeli}}) {{IPA|lang=vot|link=yes|[ˈvɑdʲːɑ ˈt͡ɕeːlʲi, ˈmɑːˌt͡ɕeːlʲi]}}{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}, is a [[Finnic languages|Finnic]] language spoken by the [[Votians|Vots]] of [[Ingria]], belonging to the [[Finnic languages|Finnic]] branch of the [[Uralic languages]]. Votic is spoken only in [[Krakolye]] (now part of [[Ust-Luga]]) and [[Luzhitsy, Kingiseppsky District, Leningrad Oblast|Luzhitsy]], two villages in [[Kingiseppsky District]] in [[Leningrad Oblast]], [[Russia]]. In the 2020–2021 Russian census, 21 people claimed to speak Votic natively, which is an increase from 4 in 2010.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Росстат — Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=rosstat.gov.ru}}</ref> Arvo Survo also estimated that around 100 people have knowledge of the language to some degree.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=3 April 2021 |title=Vatjan kieltä puhuvat vähissä – Elämme aikaa, jolloin jälleen yhden suomensukuisen kansan kieli vaikenee |url=https://www.forssanlehti.fi/paakirjoitus-mielipide/5062863 |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Forssan Lehti |language=fi}}</ref>
== History ==
Votic is one of numerous Finnic varieties known from Ingria. Votic shares some similarities with and has acquired loanwords from the adjacent [[Ingrian language]], but also has deep-reaching similarities with [[Estonian language|Estonian]] to the west, which is considered its closest relative. Some linguists, including Tiit-Rein Viitso and Paul Alvre,<ref>Viitso, Tiit-Rein: Finnic Affinity. Congressus Nonus Internationalis Fenno-Ugristarum I: Orationes plenariae & Orationes publicae. (Tartu 2000)</ref> have claimed that Votic evolved specifically from northeastern dialects of ancient Estonian.<ref>Paul Ariste: Eesti rahva etnilisest ajaloost. Läänemere keelte kujunemine ja vanem arenemisjärk. Artikkeli kokoelma. Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus, 1956</ref> Votic regardless exhibits several features that indicate its distinction from Estonian (both innovations such as the palatalisation of velar consonants and a more developed system of cases, and retentions such as vowel harmony). According to Estonian linguist Paul Ariste,{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} Votic was distinct from other Finnic languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, as early as the 6th century AD and has evolved independently ever since.

[[Isogloss]]es setting Votic apart from the other Finnic languages include:
* Loss of initial *h
* Palatalization of *k to {{IPA|/tʃ/}} before front vowels. This was a relatively late innovation, not found in Kreevin Votic or [[Kukkuzi dialect|Kukkuzi Votic]].
* Lenition of the clusters *ps, *ks to {{IPA|/hs/}}
* Lenition of the cluster *st to geminate {{IPA|/sː/}}

Features shared with Estonian and the other southern Finnic languages include:
* Loss of word-final *n
* Shortening of vowels before *h
* Introduction of {{IPA|/ɤ/}} from backing of *e before a back vowel
* Development of *o to {{IPA|/ɤ/}} in certain words (particularly frequent in Votic)
* Loss of {{IPA|/h/}} after a sonorant (clusters *lh *nh *rh)

[[File:Votic language map.png|thumb|300px|A map of Votic and neighbouring Ingrian-Finnish and Izhorian villages 1848–2007]]

In the 19th century, Votic was already declining in favour of [[Russian language|Russian]] (there were around 1,000&nbsp;speakers of the language by the start of [[World War I]]). After the Bolshevik Revolution, under Lenin, Votic had a brief revival period, with the language being taught at local schools and the first-ever grammar of Votic (Jõgõperä/[[Krakolye]] dialect) being published. But after [[Joseph Stalin]] came into power, the language began to decline. [[World War II]] had a devastating effect on the Votic language, with the number of speakers considerably decreased as a result of military offensives, deliberate destruction of villages by [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] troops, forced migration to the [[Klooga concentration camp]] in Estonia and to Finland under the Nazi government, and the Stalinist policy of "dispersion" immediately after the war against the families whose members had been sent to Finland under the Nazi government. Since then, the Vots have largely concealed their Votic identity, pretending to be [[Russians]] in the predominantly Russian environment. But they continued to use the language at home and when talking to family members and relatives. After the death of Stalin, the Vots were no longer mistreated and many of those who had been sent away returned to their villages. But the language had considerably declined and the number of bilingual speakers increased. Because Votic was stigmatised as a language of "uneducated villagers", Votic speakers avoided using it in public and Votic children were discouraged from using it even at home because, in the opinion of some local school teachers, it prevented them from learning to speak and write in Russian properly. Thus, in the second half of the 20th century there emerged a generation of young ethnic Vots whose first language was Russian and who understood Votic but were unable to speak it.

== Education ==
There have been multiple attempts in Votic language education. In 1995–1998, Votic language courses were held in St. Petersburg, which were organized by [[Mehmet Muslimov]]. These courses were attended by about 30 people. In 2003–2004, courses were held again, and these were also organized by Muslimov. Muslimov has also made Votic self-study material available on the internet.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6u4SBgAAQBAJ&q=votic+language+speakers&pg=PA160 |title=Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union: Comparative Studies on Equality and Diversity |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-10455-3 |editor-last=Marten |editor-first=Heiko F. |language=en |editor-last2=Rießler |editor-first2=Michael |editor-last3=Saarikivi |editor-first3=Janne |editor-last4=Toivanen |editor-first4=Reetta}}</ref> During 2010–2015, there were Votic courses established, which were attended by around 10 people.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/CSOz1ARrM4k Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190516001255/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOz1ARrM4k Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |title=Vadja aabitsa lugu |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOz1ARrM4k |via=youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> There are also Votic events where studying material for Votic is given to people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatjalaiset |url=http://www.inkeri.fi/inkerilaiset/vatjalaiset/ |access-date=17 February 2020 |website=Inkeri |date=28 February 2016 |language=fi}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/2hChJO_JrZs Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200820192853/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hChJO_JrZs&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |script-title=ru:Лужицкая складчина под Кингисеппом. Большой водский праздник 2014 KINGISEPP.RU |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hChJO_JrZs |via=youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2015, a Votic study book called "Vad'd'a sõnakopittõja" was published by Heinike Heinsoo and Nikita Djačkov. There have also been a few lessons organized by T.F. Prokopenko for little children in a school in a Votic village.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Agranat |first=T. |date=2002 |title=The Beginning of the Votic Language Revival |url=http://www.linguapax.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CMPL2002_T3_Agranat.pdf}}</ref>

== Dialects ==
Three definite dialect groups of Votic are known:

{{tree list}}
*'''Votic'''
**Western, the areas around the mouth of the [[Luga River]]
**Eastern, in villages around [[Koporye]]
**[[Krevinian dialect|Krevinian]], areas around the city of [[Bauska]], [[Latvia]]
{{tree list/end}}

The Western dialect area can be further divided into the Central dialects (spoken around the village of [[Kotly, Leningrad Oblast (village)|Kattila]]) and the Lower Luga dialects.<ref name="Minorities">{{Citation |last1=Kuznetsova |first1=Natalia |title=Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union |volume=13 |pages=150–151 |year=2015 |editor-last=Marten |editor-first=H. |series=Multilingual Education |chapter=Finnic Minorities of Ingria: The Current Sociolinguistic Situation and Its Background |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/8267418 |place=Berlin |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-10454-6 |access-date=25 March 2015 |last2=Markus |first2=Elena |last3=Muslimov |first3=Mehmed |editor-first2=M. |editor-last2=Rießler |editor-first3=J. |editor-last3=Saarikivi |editor-first4=R. |editor-last4=Toivanen |display-editors=3}}</ref>

Of these, only the Lower Luga dialect is still spoken.

In 1848 it was estimated that of a total of 5,298 speakers of Votic, 3,453 (65%) spoke the western dialect, 1,695 (35%) spoke the eastern and 150 (3%) spoke the dialect of Kukkuzi. Kreevin had 12–15 speakers in 1810,{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} the last records of Kreevin speakers are from 1846. The Kreevin dialect was spoken in an enclave in [[Latvia]] by descendants of Votic [[prisoners of war]] who were brought to the [[Bauska]] area of Latvia in the 15th century by the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic order]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YMU5azMAV0C&dq=krevin+votic&pg=PA98 |title=The Uralic Languages |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-08198-X |editor-last=Abondolo |editor-first=Daniel |location=London |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref> The last known speaker of the eastern dialect died in 1960, in the village of ''Icäpäivä'' ([[Itsipino]]).<ref name="Heinsoo Kuusk">{{Cite journal |last1=Heinsoo |first1=Heinike |last2=Kuusk |first2=Margit |date=2011 |title=Neo-Renaissance and Revitalization of Votic – Who Cares? |url=https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/jeful/article/view/jeful.2011.2.1.11 |journal=Eesti ja Soome-Ugri Keeleteaduse Ajakiri |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=171–184 |doi=10.12697/jeful.2011.2.1.11 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
A fourth dialect of Votic has often been claimed as well: the traditional language variety of the village of Kukkuzi. It shows a mix of features of Votic and neighboring [[Ingrian language|Ingrian]], and some linguists, e.g. Arvo Laanest have claimed that it is actually rather a dialect of Ingrian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jokipii |first=Mauno |title=Itämerensuomalaiset: Heimokansojen historiaa ja kohtaloita |date=1995 |publisher=Atena kustannus Oy |isbn=951-9362-80-0 |location=Jyväskylä |language=fi}}</ref> The vocabulary and phonology of the dialect are largely Ingrian-based, but it shares some grammatical features with the main Votic dialects, probably representing a former Votic [[stratum (linguistics)|substratum]].<ref name="Minorities" /> In particular, all phonological features that Votic shares specifically with Estonian (e.g. the presence of the vowel ''õ'') are absent from the dialect.<ref name="Kallio14">{{Citation |last=Kallio |first=Petri |title=Fibula, Fabula, Fact. The Viking Age in Finland |volume=18 |year=2014 |editor-last=Frog |series=Studia Fennica Historica |contribution=The Diversification of Proto-Finnic |place=Helsinki |publisher=[[Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura]] |isbn=978-952-222-603-7 |editor2-last=Ahola |editor2-first=Joonas |editor3-last=Tolley |editor3-first=Clive}}</ref> The Kukkuzi dialect has been declared to be dead since the 1970s,<ref name="Heinsoo Kuusk" /> although three speakers have still been located in 2006.<ref name="Minorities" />

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Votic has 10 vowel qualities, all of which can be long or short; represented in the following chart. The vowels /ɨ/ and /ɨː/ are found only in loanwords. The Votic ⟨õ⟩ /ɤ/ , however, is impressionistically a bit higher than the [[Estonian language|Estonian]] ⟨õ⟩, with the rest of the vowel inventory generally corresponding to the ones found in Estonian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ariste |first=Paul |title=A Grammar of the Votic Language |publisher=Curzon |year=1997 |location=Richmond}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2| (IPA) <br> ([[Uralic transcription|FUT]]) !! colspan=2| Front !! rowspan=2| Central !! rowspan=2| Back
|-
! {{small|unrounded}}
! {{small|[[Rounded vowel|rounded]]}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAslink|i}} {{IPAslink|iː}} || {{IPAslink|y}} {{IPAslink|yː}} || {{IPAslink|ɨ}} {{IPAslink|ɨː}} ||{{IPAslink|u}} {{IPAslink|uː}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPAslink|e}} {{IPAslink|eː}}  || {{IPAslink|ø}} {{IPAslink|øː}} || {{IPAslink|ɤ}} {{IPAslink|ɤː}} || {{IPAslink|o}} {{IPAslink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| {{IPAslink|æ}} {{IPAslink|æː}} || ||  || {{IPAslink|ɑ}} {{IPAslink|ɑː}}
|}

In some central dialects, the long mid vowels {{IPA|/eː oː øː/}} have been diphthongized to {{IPA|/ie uo yø/}}, as in Finnish. Thus, ''tee'' 'road' is pronounced as ''tie''. Votic also has a large inventory of diphthongs. Interestingly, some diphthongs in Votic fail to conform to the vowel harmony pattern<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lauerma |first=Petri |title=Vatjan vokaalisointu |publisher=Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura |year=1993 |isbn=951 9403 57 4 |location=Helsinki |language=fi |trans-title=Votic Vowel Harmony}}</ref>.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Diphthongs
!
!ɑ
!u
!y
!æ
!i
|-
!ɑ
|
|ɑu̯
|
|
|ɑi
|-
!o
|
|ou̯
|
|
|oi
|-
!u
|uɑ̯
|
|
|
|ui
|-
!ɤ
|ɤɑ̯
|ɤu̯
|
|
|ɤi
|-
!ø
|
|øu̯
|øy
|
|øi
|-
!y
|
|
|
|yæ̯
|yi
|-
!æ
|
|
|æy
|
|æi
|-
!e
|
|eu̯
|ey
|
|ei
|-
!i
|iɑ̯
|iu̯
|iy
|iæ̯
|
|}

[[File:Votic vowel harmony Venn diagram.svg|thumb|A diagram featuring vowel harmony in Votic.]]

==== Vowel harmony ====
Votic has a system of [[vowel harmony]], in which vowels sounds pattern according to their position in the oral cavity. Underived words tend to contain either ''front-harmonic'' or ''back-harmonic'' vowels, including suffixes. Front-harmonic vowels are /æ e ø y/ ⟨ä e ö ü⟩; the corresponding back-harmonic vowels are /ɑ ɤ o u/ ⟨a õ o u⟩. Unlike Finnish, Votic only has a single neutral vowel /i/.

However, there are exceptions in the behavior of /o ø/ ⟨o ö⟩. Some suffixes including the vowel /o/ do not harmonize (the occurrence of /ø/ ⟨ö⟩ in non-initial syllables is generally a result of Finnish or [[Ingrian language|Ingrian]] loan words), and similarly onomatopoetic words and loanwords are may follow outside patterns of vowel harmony.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | 
! rowspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan=2| [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! rowspan=2| [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! {{small|plain}}
! {{small|[[palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]}}
|-
! colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|nʲ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʲ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʲ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|ts}}
| ({{IPA link|tsʲ}})
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
|
|
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
|
| 
| ({{IPA link|dʒ}})
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|sʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| ({{IPA link|x}})
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|zʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}}
| {{IPA link|ʝ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
| {{IPA link|rʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] [[approximant consonant|approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|lʲ}}
|
|({{IPA link|ʎ}})
|
|
|}

Notes:
* {{IPA|/dʒ/}} occurs only in eastern Votic, as a weak-grade counterpart to {{IPA|/tʃ/}}.
* Palatalised consonants are rare and normally allophonic, occurring automatically before {{IPA|/i/}} or before a consonant that in turn is followed by {{IPA|/i/}}. Phonemic palatalised consonants occur mostly as the result of a former following {{IPA|/j/}}, usually as geminates. In other environments they are almost entirely found in loanwords, primarily from Russian. In some words in certain dialects, a palatalised consonant may become phonemic by the loss of the following vowel, such as ''esimein'' > ''eśmein''.
* {{IPA|/tʲ/}} is affricated to {{IPA|[tsʲ]}} in Kukkuzi Votic.
*{{IPA|/ʎ/}} only occurs in complementary distribution with {{IPA|/l/}}.
*{{IPA|/x/}} mainly as a result of loanwords from Russian, Ingrian, and Finnish dialects, or as an allophone of {{IPA|/h/}}.

Nearly all Votic consonants may occur as geminates. Also, Votic also has a system of consonant gradation, which is discussed in further detail in the [[consonant gradation]] article, although a large amount of alternations involve voicing alternations. Two important differences in Votic phonetics as compared to Estonian and Finnish is that the sounds {{IPA|{{IPA|/ʝ/}}}} and {{IPA|/v/}} are actually fully fricatives, unlike Estonian and Finnish, in which they are approximants. Also, one possible [[allophone]] of {{IPA|/h/}} is {{IPA|[ɸ]}}, ''ühsi'' is thus pronounced as IPA: {{IPA|[yɸsi]}}.

The lateral {{IPA|/l/}} has a [[velarization|velarized]] allophone {{IPA|[ɫ]}} when occurring adjacent to [[back vowel]]s.

Voicing is not contrastive word-finally. Instead a type of [[sandhi]] occurs: voiceless {{IPA|[p t k s]}} are realized before words beginning with a voiceless consonant, voiced {{IPA|[b d ɡ z]}} before voiced consonants (or vowels). Before a pause, the realization is voiceless lenis, {{IPA|[b̥ d̥ ɡ̊ z̥]}}; the stops are here similar to the Estonian ''b d g''. Thus:
* pre-pausal: {{IPA|[vɑrɡɑz̥]}} "thief"
* before a voiceless consonant: {{IPA|[vɑrɡɑs‿t̪uɤb̥]}} "a thief comes"
* before a voiced consonant: {{IPA|[vɑrɡɑz‿vɤt̪ɑb̥]}} "a thief takes"

== Orthography ==
In the 1920s, the Votic linguist [[Dmitri Tsvetkov]] wrote a Votic grammar using a modified [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] alphabet. The current Votic alphabet was created by [[Mehmet Muslimov]] in 2004:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ernits |first=E. (Эрнитс Э) |date=2006 |title=Ob oboznachenii zvukov v vodskom literaturnom yazyke |script-title=ru:Об обозначении звуков в водском литературном языке |url=http://www.kirj.ee/public/va_lu/ling-2006-1-1.pdf |journal=Linguistica Uralica |language=ru |volume=42 |issue=1 |doi=10.3176/lu.2006.1.01 |s2cid=248306077}}</ref>
{|
|'''A а'''
|'''Ä ä'''
|'''B b'''
|'''C c'''
|'''D d'''
|'''<nowiki>D' d'</nowiki>'''
|'''E e'''
|'''F f'''
|'''G g'''
|-
|'''H h'''
|'''I i'''
|'''J j'''
|'''K k'''
|'''L l'''
|'''<nowiki>L' l'</nowiki>'''
|'''M m'''
|'''N n'''
|'''<nowiki>N' n'</nowiki>'''
|-
|'''O o'''
|'''Ö ö'''
|'''Õ õ'''
|'''P p'''
|'''R r'''
|'''<nowiki>R' r'</nowiki>'''
|'''S s'''
|'''<nowiki>S' s'</nowiki>'''
|'''Š š'''
|-
|'''Z z'''
|'''<nowiki>Z' z'</nowiki>'''
|'''Ž ž'''
|'''T t'''
|'''<nowiki>T' t'</nowiki>'''
|'''U u'''
|'''V v''' 
|'''Ü ü'''
|'''Ts ts'''
|}

A peculiarity of Muslimov's orthography is using ''c'' for {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} (this phoneme comes mostly from palatalization of historical {{IPA|/k/}}, compare Votic ''ceeli'' 'language', ''cülä'' 'village' with Finnish ''kieli, kylä''). Some publications use ''tš'' or ''č'' instead.

One may find different orthographies for Votic in descriptive work. Some use a modified Cyrillic alphabet, and others a [[Latin script|Latin]] one. The transcriptions based on Latin have many similarities with those used in closely related Finnic languages, such as the use of ''č'' for {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}. At least a couple of ways exist for indicating long vowels in Votic; placing a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] over the vowel (such as ''ā'') as in [[Latvian language|Latvian]], or as in written Estonian and Finnish, doubling the vowel (''aa''). [[Gemination|Geminate]] consonants are generally represented with two characters. The representation of central vowels varies. In some cases the practice is to use ''e̮'' according to the standards of [[Uralic transcription]], while in other cases the letter ''õ'' is used, as in Estonian.

== Grammar ==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2020}}
Votic is an [[agglutinating language]] much like the other Finnic languages.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ariste |first=Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofvoticla0000aris |title=A Grammar of the Votic Language |publisher=[[Indiana University Press|Indiana University]] |year=1968 |isbn=978-0-87750-024-7 |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]] |author-link=Paul Ariste |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kettunen |first=Lauri |title=Vatjan kielen äännehistoria |publisher=[[Finnish Literature Society|Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura]] |year=1915 |author-link=Lauri Kettunen}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiversity|Grammar of Votian dialects}}
* [http://www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Russia/Votian/Votian1.html Votian] at ''Indigenous Minority Languages of Russia''
* [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/votes.shtml The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire]
* [[Wikiversity:Classification of Votian dialects|Classification of Votian dialects]] at wikiversity 
*[http://www.vatland.ru/lang/tale.php Водские сказки (stories in Votic)]
*[https://sonad.oahpa.no/rus/vot/ Votic language dictionary at oahpa.no]
*[https://www.calameo.com/read/005258145ec58147e2945 Pajatõmmõ vad’d’a] {{in lang|ru}}
*[https://vk.com/doc588484040_549967731?hash=1d12e1a2c9e0999218&dl=0824bdc316aa384ddf Vad´d´a sõnakopittõja]
*[https://en.calameo.com/read/0052581451a4686e9ab9e Vad’d’a sõnakopittõja: ülezantõmizõd]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190430060303if_/http://vadda.keeleleek.ee/Heinike_Heinsoo_Suuri_paive_Virge_2018_Loit.pdf Suuri päive]
{{Uralic languages}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Votic Language}}
[[Category:Votians]]
[[Category:Finnic languages]]
[[Category:Ingria]]
[[Category:Endangered Uralic languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of European Russia]]