help with identifying a language/dialect

[Jules Levin]

On 25.03.2014 12:01, Katya Burvikova wrote:
>
> Dear Seelangers,
>
> Need some help with an undefined dialect. There is a woman with 
> Alzheimer who started to speak her home language. Her husband took 
> notes of what he hears and he'd like to know what language is it:
> Aiyaki= Very   'labai'
> Aiyaki Dobra = Very Good 'labai gera'
> Zureba = Dog   'shuo, shun-'
> Geniru = Thank you  'achu'
> Dimmi Bu Jou = Give me a kiss 'pabuchinuok mane'
> Dobra Nitz = Good Morning  (more likely good night) 'labas rytas'
> Yatkim = Hello 'alio'
>
> What language/dialect can it be?
>
> thanks a lot,
> Katya Burvikova

I just read Elena Gapova's guess.  There is nothing Lithuanian in these 
examples--as you can see from the Lithuanian I've added above [spelled 
more or less with English spelling].
What is the basis for the locale Wilnagebiet?  Where does the woman 
live?  If in the US, doesn't the husband know anything about where she 
came from?    If she's still alive, it means she came here when 
immigration records were well preserved.  That should be researched to 
establish where she actually came from.  If the nexus is actually in the 
Baltic area, I can think of some other languages that could be in play, 
such as the Turkic language of the Lithuanian Karaites, Yiddish, Hebrew, 
German, Latvian, and the two Finnic languages still surviving in the 
area--Estonian and the minority in Latvia whose name now escapes me.

Jules Levin
Los Angeles





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