Mahoney (2017) conducted the first-known 100-word Swadesh–Woodward list comparison of EVK and Latvian Sign Language, concluding that a possible relationship between them – as descending from VLFS, perhaps via ÖGS and/or RSL, as Wittmann (1991) and Bickford (2005) proposed – was 'still uncertain as it is unclear how sign languages disseminated in Eastern European countries during the Soviet Union, but aside from superficial impressions that the core lexicons are similar, signs with shared parameters displaying small variation in handshape while retaining 4 selected fingers suggests that these languages share a parent'.
Mahoney (2017) analyzed the first-ever 100-word comparison of EVK and Latvian Sign Language, finding that their possible connection – possibly stemming from VLFS via ÖGS or RSL, as suggested by Wittmann (1991) and Bickford (2005) – remains unclear due to the lack of information on how sign languages spread throughout Eastern European countries during the Soviet era. However, despite superficial similarities in core vocabulary, signs with shared characteristics displaying minor handshape variations while retaining 4 specific fingers indicate a common ancestor.