Lithuanians=Slavs?

[Krakowiak]

Are Lithuanians slavic? Their language resembles German and FInno-Hungarian, similar to Latvian. But I always thought they were slavs, so are they or not?

[Boyko_Lowlander]

I always thought that Lithuanian and Latvian(Baltic languages) were closer to Slav languages. I read on some language site that Ukrainian has some borrowings from Polish and Lithuanian, as a result of occupation. The division of Nordic languages thousands of years ago was German and Balto-Slav. German belongs to Kentum(West) and Slav belongs Satem(East). I assume that Balts belong to the Satem group because of their close linguistic ties to Slavs.

Balts and Slavs certainly look alike; they are more closely related to one another(followed by Germans) than to any other race.

[NickSimbirski]

Apperantly there's a study linking the earlier Germanic people (Goths, Visigoths, etc) to the Slavs a lot more directly than believed before. Given this information, the Lithuanians would undoubtedly be considered Slavic since they aren't directly Germanic in the first place. However, there were instances of Lithuania being conquered by others in the past, for example, the Swedish Empire, the Teutonic Knights, etc. This could have led to any change in language toward the recent Germanic dialects.

[Hussar_]

lithuanians aint slavs they may have slav mix since they been with poland long time but lingustic aint slavic its baltic like latvian even if its close too slav...theres 0,5 million poles in lithuania many off them are of polonized that mix with lithuanians..in dna poles are close to lithuanians and latvians proly the most closest together with ukes and belarusins..theres some german imigration to east since long time ago so there to mix into slavs.... cause many poles settle there and mix and there as balt tribes in north est poland that assimilated to poles...Jozef Pilsudski was from Wilna-Lithuania where there was majorety poles before ww2...he was from polonized lithuanian tatar noble familys i think...

[thepolkaholic]

I always thought that Wilno aka Vilnius was a traditional part of Poland. I know that before wwII Wilno/Vilnius had only 1% Lithuanians as population.

I think it was. Wilno is very similar to Lvov in many ways. IN architecture and there was a major Polish University there.

It saddens my heart that when i talk to Lithuanian people they very hostile toward Polish people. In Wilno which retains a very large Polish Population of people who never left. All the symbols of Polish culture. Like the Polish language engraving on Trakai castle have been removed.

[Volodya987]

Yes, this Djed who claims to own all, is very happy to pit Anglos living in Lithuania against Anglos living in Poland.
Otherwise, how could "this Djed", sometimes called a "the International Community" profit?