INTRODUCTORY SURVEY OF THE SOUTH ESTONIAN LANGUAGE ISLANDS

The South Estonian language islands – Leivu, Lutsi, Kraasna – are three historically South Estonian-speaking exclaves located not only beyond the bordersof Estonia, but also geographically separated from the main body of South Estonianspeakersfor at least several centuries. Two of these communities – Leivu and Lutsi –were located in present-day Latvia. The third community – Kraasna – was locatednear the northernmost Lutsi communities – only about 35 kilometres distant across thepresent-day Latvian border in Russia. This article acts as an introduction to the studiesin this volume by describing the history and current state of the communities at its focus.It