A sculpture for the only uniquely Lithuanian letter Ė has been unveiled in Kaunas.
The work by sculptor Tadas Vosylius, entitled Taškas (Dot), aims to emphasise the uniqueness of the Lithuanian language.
The symbolic dot weighs four tonnes and is one and a half metres in diameter. It is made of stainless steel and is engraved with Lithuanian words with the letter Ė.
“I used a mirrored surface, and the words on it complement or speak to the idea,” Vosylius said.
The letter Ė came into being when the first Lithuanian texts were written down. The letter was first recorded in Lithuanian grammar in the 17th century.
“It turned out that what we had from Latin didn’t quite reflect the pronunciation, and then Daniel Klein [who wrote the first Lithuanian language grammar book] came up with the idea that we needed a special sign, and that sign became the letter E with a dot, which reflects the unique sound,” said Violeta Meiliūnaitė, chair of the Lithuanian Language Commission.
The design of the sculpture for the letter Ė was chosen from 40 proposals. The sculpture was gifted to Kaunas by ACME Group.
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