Htqe.2026.07

https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2026.07 | 116-127 | PDF

Frequency of Consonant Combinations in the Latvian Language

Olga Lezina¹, Julija Svitaja², Antons Kutuzovs³

¹ Independent researcher, Latvia

² Riga Technical University, Latvia

³ KU Leuven, Belgium

Abstract
Text literacy is a fundamental element of quality education at all stages. However, text comprehension is impossible without well-developed reading technique, visual perception, and fluency. Today, children begin learning to read in the preschool period: they first get familiar with letters and then move on to combining letters into syllables. This process takes a considerable amount of time. This raises an important question: is it possible to reduce the time required for initial reading instruction and the development of reading technique in children? In addition to methodological approaches, linguistic strategies may also be applied. For example, it is possible to identify which letter combinations in the Latvian language are most frequently used and to focus on these combinations in early reading. When children encounter these frequently used letter combinations in words, they will be able to recognize them more easily. This can increase reading fluency and, consequently, improve overall text comprehension. The study was carried out using data from the dictionary tezaurs.lv. The research identified the frequency of consecutive consonant blendings consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 letters. The findings show a significant gap between highly frequent consonant combinations in Latvian and those that occur less frequently. The results present a basis for further work on developing more effective approaches to teaching children at the stage of reading skill formation.

Keywords: consonant blendings, consonant combinations, consonant clusters, Latvian, reading fluency, sight comprehension

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article and confirm full responsibility for the article’s content.

While writing this work, the authors used Grammarly.com to improve readability and polish the English phrasing. After using this service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.

In: Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2026. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte, 2026. Rakstu krājums.  Ed. L. Daniela. Riga: University of Latvia, 2026. 236 p.
ISBN 978-9934-36-685-7 
https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2026