Latvian State Language Center

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Latvian State Language Centre (Valsts valodas centrs, VVC) is a state institution under the Minister of Justice. It was established in 1992 and is located at Eksporta iela 6, Riga, Latvia. The director is Māris Baltiņš and the deputy director is Inese Bursevica.

What it does
- Implement Latvia’s official-language policy and monitor the use of the Latvian language.
- Ensure laws and other official documents follow language rules.
- Provide official translations of laws, regulations, and other state or international documents.
- Promote consistent terminology and protect the rights of Latvian language users.
- Support the development and regular use of the Latvian language.

History in brief
- 1989: The Law on Languages restored Latvian’s status.
- 1998: Latvian was officially recognized in the Constitution as the official language.
- Since 1993: The Centre has supervised compliance with language laws.
- 2009: The Centre merged with the Translation and Terminology Centre, gaining new functions.

Structure
- Administrative Department: handles personnel, legal matters, record keeping, and information systems.
- Language Control Department: has a Riga branch and regional branches.
- Terminology and Legal Translation Department (including the Legal Translation Division): works on translating legal acts and related documents, and develops translation guidelines.

Latvian Language Expert Commission
- Regularly checks that laws follow Latvian language norms, codifies language norms, and gives opinions on language issues (e.g., capitalization, spelling of names, and language names).
- Includes two sub-commissions: for Place-names and Latgalian Written Language, plus a Calendar Names Expert Commission for personal names.