In the Finnish research tradition, Ludic has been considered a transitional dialect area between Karelian and Veps,[6] while in the Russian research tradition it is, on ethnographic grounds, normally considered a dialect of Karelian. A status as an independent language has been proposed in recent times.[7] Ludic is characterised by a specific mixture of Karelian-like traits (such as the diphthongisation of the Proto-Finnic non-open long vowels: e.g. *pää > piä 'head', *soo > suo 'swamp', contrast Veps pä, so)[8] and Veps-like traits (such as an almost complete loss of consonant gradation).[9] Like Veps, Ludic has also partially lost vowel harmony.
Sounds /f,fʲ,bʲ,pʲ,vʲ,mʲ/ only occur in recent borrowings.
/h/ can also be heard as a velar [x].
/n/ is heard as velar [ŋ] when preceding velar consonants.
/ɡ/ can be lenited as a fricative [ɣ] in intervocalic positions.
Written language
The modern development of Ludic as a written language began during Perestroika in 1989, when the Petrozavodsk literary journal Carelia published the first poems in Ludic, based on the Kujärv dialect. At the same time, Lidia Potašova started teaching Ludic at the Kujärv school, using a Latin-based alphabet developed by Miikul Pahomov. The writing system was initially tested in literary texts before being applied to educational materials. In 1991, Potašova translated a Veps primer into Kujärv Ludic. Potašova and Pahomov later prepared the first proper Ludic primer ABC-kird’ Kujärven lüüdin kielel (2003), which also included a grammar sketch and a small Kujärv Ludic dictionary. This was followed by the reader Tervheks! (2007) by Potašova and Pahomov.[10]
Subsequent publications have used two slightly different written norms. One is the Kujärv-based literary variety employed in primers, readers, and children's literature, while the other is a broader "general Ludic" standard that draws on central and northern Ludic dialects in an attempt to reduce dialectal differences. Pahomov himself experimented with this broader norm in works such as Lüüdiland (2000), Ehtsluužb (2005), and Ukon bembel (2010), where both orthographic tendencies are represented.[10]
In early Ludic publications the vowel /y/ was written either as Y, following the unified Karelian alphabet, or as Ü, by analogy with the Veps alphabet. This variation preceded the later standardization in primers and schoolbooks.
Ojansuu, Heikki; Kujola, Juho; Kalima, Jalo; et al., eds. (1934), Lyydiläisiä kielennäytteitä, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. LXIX, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Turunen, Aimo (1946), Lyydiläismurteiden äännehistoria. I. Konsonantit, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. LXXXIX, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Turunen, Aimo (1950), Lyydiläismurteiden äännehistoria. II. Vokaalit, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. XCIX, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Virtaranta, Pertti (1963), Lyydiläisiä tekstejä. I, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 129, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Virtaranta, Pertti (1963), Lyydiläisiä tekstejä. II, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 130, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Virtaranta, Pertti (1964), Lyydiläisiä tekstejä. III, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 131, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Virtaranta, Pertti (1976), Lyydiläisiä tekstejä. IV, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 132, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
Virtaranta, Pertti (1986), Haljärven lyydiläismurteen muoto-oppia, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 190, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, ISBN951-9019-96-0
Virtaranta, Pertti (1994), Lyydiläisiä tekstejä. VI. Anna Vasiljevna Tshesnakovan kerrontaa ja itkuvirsiä, Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Toimituksia (in Finnish), vol. 218, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, ISBN951-9403-72-8
.png)
