Trumpa, Edmunds. 2012. Latviešu ģeolingvistikas etīdes [Studies in Latvian Dialect Geography]. Rīga: Zinātne. ISBN 978–9984–879–34–5.Sarkanis, Alberts. 2013. Latviešu valodas dialektu atlants. Fonētika. Apraksts, kartes un to komentāri [Latvian Dialect Atlas. Phonetics. Description, Maps and Commentaries]. Rīga: LU Latviešu valodas institūts. ISBN: 978–9984–742–68–7
The last year saw the appearance of two significant contributions to the study of Latvian dialects. These are the phonology part of the Latvian Dialect Atlas prepared by Alberts Sarkanis (2013) and Latviešu ģeolingvistikas etīdes by Edmunds (Edmundas) Trumpa (2012a). The two are very different in their aims and methods, even though both deal with phonetic isoglosses of traditional rural dialects. In fact, traditional rural dialects are still considered as the only object of research by Latvian dialectologists in spite of the considerable changes to the field elsewhere, marked by the breakdown of the barriers between dialectology and sociolinguistics (see e.g. Chambers & Trudgill 2004 and Auer & Schmidt 2010). However, of the two reviewed books, Trumpa (2012a) seems to be closer to the modern understanding of research into language and space, and therefore his work can be seen as a promise of changes in Latvian dialectology, whereas Sarkanis (2013) almost entirely belongs to the traditional approach. Nevertheless, in the context of Trumpa’s rather innovative book, Sarkanis’ Phonological Atlas serves as a summary of achievements from the previous stage.
