Estonian language
The Estonian language (Estonian: [eesti keel] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a Uralic language. It is mainly spoken in Estonia. The Estonian language is similar to Finnish and is one of the few national languages of Europe not to be an Indo-European language.
| Estonian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eesti keel | ||||
| Native to | Estonia | |||
| Ethnicity | Estonians | |||
| Native speakers | 1.1 million (2012)e18 | |||
| Language family | ||||
| Writing system | Latin (Estonian alphabet) Estonian Braille | |||
| Official status | ||||
| Official language in | .svg){kind=small}  European Union | |||
| Regulated by | Institute of the Estonian Language / Eesti Keele Instituut, Emakeele Selts (semi-official) | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-1 | et | |||
| ISO 639-2 | est | |||
| ISO 639-3 | est – inclusive code Individual codes: ekk – Standard Estonian vro – Võro | |||
| Linguasphere | 41-AAA-d | |||
 Distribution of estonian language | ||||
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The Estonian alphabet uses the Latin alphabet. It has many vowels, including Ö, Ä, Õ and Ü.
It has been influenced by and adopted many words from German and Swedish. The Estonian language also has different dialects.
Sample words
| Üks | One |
| Kaks | Two |
| Kolm | Three |
| Jah | Yes |
| Ei | No |
| Mina/Ma | I |
| Sina/Sa | You (in singular) |
| Tema/Ta | He/She |
| Meie/Me | We |
| Teie/Te | You (in plural) |
| Nemad/Nad | They |
| Olen/Mina olen | I am |
| Eesti | Estonia |
| Maja | House |
| Kodu | Home |
| Tee | Way |
Estonian Language Media
Estonian Grammar by Heinrich Stahl, published in Tallinn (Reval) in 1637
In 1857, the first Estonian weekly newspaper Perno Postimees welcomed readers with "Terre, armas Eesti rahwas!" ("Hello, dear Estonian people!")
According to the 1897 census 96.1% of the native Estonian-speaking population (age 10 and older, roughly equally for males and females) was literate.
Geographic distribution of Estonian in the Russian Empire according to the 1897 census
North Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century
South Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century
Road sign in Estonian and Võro
An 1885 ABC-book in Võro written by Johann Hurt: "Wastne Võro keeli ABD raamat"
A sample of Estonian spoken natively
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References
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This language has its own Wikipedia project. See the Estonian language edition. |
