In Latvia it’s “eiro”, not “euro”

This is cute – “…Latvia has stuck its mother tongue out at the European Union by refusing to call the single currency by its official name.”…
Despite pleas from the European Central Bank to stick to the official “euro” name, Latvia prefers to call the currency the “eiro” instead. This is because euro is a non-existent word in Latvian.
“The ‘eu’ dipthong is alien to the Latvian language,” says Latvia’s education minister Ina Druviete. National pride is also behind the country’s refusal to budge on the matter.
Latvia has fought to re-establish its linguistic identity after the end of the Soviet occupation during which the Russian language was forced upon its citizens. Latvian is now spoken by around two-thirds of the population of 2.3 million and is the official state language.
Hat Tip to Topi L. for the link!




