The Votic Language: Research and Saving

Татьяна Агранат. The Votic Language: Research and Saving.Votic (Uralic, Balto-finnic family) now is one of minor languages of Russian Federation. Votian people are the oldest of known populations in Ingria. Ingria is situated on the very west of the European part of Russia, on south beach of Finnish Golf of Baltic Sea, near Saint Petersburg. The ethnonym Votes appeared in Russian chronicles in the 11th century. Then Votes belonged to the principality of ancient Novgorod and as one of its five administrative districts was called водскаяпятина(in Russian), ‘the Votian Fifth’. Ingrians appeared there later, but the area received the name Ingria. In the 17th century some Finnish people moved from Finland to Ingria (in that time Finland was subordonate to Sweden). So the three minor ethnic groups, native people of this area, live there, there are Votes, Ingrians and ingrian Finns; they speak relative balto -finnic languages: Votic, Ingrian and Finnish.