Education and Science, Estonia, Forum, Good for Business, Latvia

The winner of the award was announced by Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu and Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics at a formal ceremony in Jurmala, Latvia, on Thursday evening.

Reinsalu emphasized that the award recognizes the work of notable people who help bring the Estonian and Latvian languages and cultures closer to each other.

"Ilze Talberga is committed to teaching Latvian language and culture in Estonia. In her work, she has delved into the deepest layers of grammar, while also finding her way into the readers’ souls with her translations of Latvian literature," Reinsalu said. "Ilze has said that 'Estonian is the love of my life and I will never tire of it.' It is an extremely beautiful motif for the closeness of our two cultures," the Estonian minister added.

This year, Ilze Talberga defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Tartu, titled "On the Equivalents of the Latvian Verbal Prefixes in Estonian." In 2018, she and the poet Contra translated Nora Ikstena's successful novel "Mates piens," published in English as 'Soviet Milk," into Estonian.

The foreign ministries of Estonia and Latvia have jointly presented the award since 2009.

The aim of the Languages Award is to enhance knowledge of the Latvian and Estonian languages and to recognize the achievements of Latvian and Estonian translators, linguists and teachers in the promotion of the Latvian and Estonian languages.

The value of the award is EUR 3,000 and the Award Fund receives equal contributions from the ministries of foreign affairs of Latvia and Estonia. Last year, the award was presented to translator Guntars Godins for his translation of the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg" ("Kalevdels" in Latvian).