Latvian and Lithuanian are official EU-languages in Latvia and Lithuania, respectively. These languages are spoken both as first and second languages among the populations of each country.

Due to the simplified mobility and the worsening domestic economic situation, an increased number of inhabitants have migrated from the Baltic countries abroad, where different language contact situations and a wide transculturality have arisen. This makes Latvian and Lithuanian particularly interesting to study from a sociolinguistic and cultural heritage perspective. At Stockholm University, research in these areas covers, among other things: linguistic variation and change in different socio-historical contexts, language and identity, language contact, multilingualism, endangered languages, and language and education policy.