Latvian language
Upper Latvian dialect is spoken in Eastern Latvia. It is set apart from rest of the Latvian by number of phonetic differences. The dialect has two main varieties – Selonian and Non-Selonian. There is a standard language, the Latgalian language, which is based on deep Non-Selonian varieties spoken in south of Latgale. The term "Latgalian" is sometimes also applied to all Non-Selonian varieties or even the whole dialect. However, it is unclear if it is accurate to use the term for any varieties besides the standard language. While the term may refer to varieties spoken in Latgale or by Latgalians, not all speakers identify as speaking Latgalian, for example, speakers of deep Non-Selonian varieties in Vidzeme explicitly deny speaking Latgalian.
Latvian name
Before the emancipation from serfdom (1817 in Courland, 1819 in Vidzeme, 1861 in Latgale) only noblemen, free craftsmen or people living in towns had surnames. Therefore, the oldest Latvian surnames originate from German or Low German, reflecting the dominance of German as an official language in Latvia till the 19th century. Examples: "Meijers/Meijere" (German: "Meier", farm administrator; akin to Mayor), "Millers/Millere" (German: "Müller", miller), "Šmits/Šmite" (German: "Schmidt", smith), "Šulcs/Šulca" (German: "Schulze", constable), "Ulmanis" (German: "Ullmann", a person from Ulm), "Godmanis" (a God-man), "Pētersons" (son of Peter). Some Latvian surnames, mainly from Latgale are of Polish or Belorussian origin by changing the final "-ski/-cki" to "-skis/-ckis", "-czyk" to "-čiks" or "-vich/-wicz" to "-vičs", such as "Sokolovkis/Sokolovska", "Baldunčiks/Baldunčika" or "Ratkevičs/Ratkeviča".