Latvian language
The Middle dialect is spoken in central and Southwestern Latvia. Kursenieki language, which used to be spoken along Curonian Spit, is closely related to the varieties of middle dialect spoken in Courland. The dialect is divided into the Vidzeme variety, the Curonian variety and the Semigallian variety. The Vidzeme variety and the Semigallian variety are closer to each other than to the Curonian variety, which is more archaic than the other two. There are three intonations in the Middle dialect. In the Semigallian variety, "ŗ" is still used. Standard Latvian is based on the middle dialect.
Latvian grammar
Unlike, for example, Romance languages where conjugation classes are assigned based on thematic vowels (e.g., "-are", "-ere", "-ire" forming, respectively, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugation in Italian) Latvian verbs are classified in conjugations regardless of whether they end in "-āt", "-ēt", "-īt", "-ot" or "-t". The classification depends on whether the verb stem has a thematic vowel, and if so, whether it is retained in present tense.