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	Uralic Finnic Estonian
Writing system	Latin (Estonian alphabet) Estonian Braille
Official status
Official language in	22x20px 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
300px Distribution of estonian language

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

• EstonianGrammar1637.jpg

  Estonian Grammar by Heinrich Stahl, published in Tallinn (Reval) in 1637

• Perno Postimees, Nr 1.png

  In 1857, the first Estonian weekly newspaper Perno Postimees welcomed readers with "Terre, armas Eesti rahwas!" ("Hello, dear Estonian people!")

• Russa literacy 1897.jpg

  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.

• Estonian language in the Russian Empire (1897).svg

  Geographic distribution of Estonian in the Russian Empire according to the 1897 census

• North Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century

• 2.6-South-Estonian.png

  South Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century

• Estonian-Voro-bilingual-parish-sign.JPG

  Road sign in Estonian and Võro

• Wastne Võro keeli A B D raamat.jpg

  An 1885 ABC-book in Võro written by Johann Hurt: "Wastne Võro keeli ABD raamat"

• WIKITONGUES- Liisi speaking Estonian.webm

  A sample of Estonian spoken natively