Not in a dictionary but in the Constitution, on 15 October 1998, the Latvian language gained its clearest legal sentence. By amending Article 4, the Saeima wrote in: “The state language in the Republic of Latvia is Latvian.” Until then, that article had contained only the formula for the flag — “red with a white stripe.” The same law also added the chapter on fundamental human rights to the Constitution, so the language sentence entered the core of the state’s basic law — beside the flag and the articles specially protected by referendum.

These amendments were made after the restoration of independence, when the Latvian state had to re-establish citizenship, institutions, and its language space. Later, 15 October was chosen as State Language Day, tying the calendar to the amendment of Article 4 of the Constitution.