Capitalization and Punctuation Rules in Latvian for English Speakers

Introduction to Latvian Capitalization and Punctuation

Understanding the rules of capitalization and punctuation is essential for mastering Latvian, especially for English speakers. While some rules are similar to English, Latvian has its unique conventions that learners should be aware of.

Capitalization Rules in Latvian

Latvian capitalization rules are generally simpler than English. Here are the key points to remember:

• The first word of a sentence is always capitalized.
• Proper nouns such as names of people, places, and organizations are capitalized.
• Days of the week, months, and seasons are not capitalized in Latvian.
• Languages and nationalities are not capitalized.
• Titles of books, movies, and other works only capitalize the first word and proper nouns within the title.

Examples of Capitalization in Latvian

Punctuation Rules in Latvian

Latvian punctuation shares many similarities with English but also has some differences. Here are the main rules:

• Commas are used to separate clauses and items in a list, similar to English.
• Quotation marks in Latvian are usually „double angle quotes" („"), not "double quotes".
• The period, question mark, and exclamation mark are placed inside quotation marks if they belong to the quoted material.
• Colons and semicolons are used similarly to English but are less common.
• Ellipses (…) indicate omitted text or pauses, just like in English.

Examples of Latvian Punctuation

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Capitalizing days of the week or months, which should be lowercase.
2. Using English-style quotation marks instead of Latvian „angle quotes".
3. Capitalizing languages and nationalities.
4. Overusing commas where Latvian grammar does not require them.