Estonian language
Finno-Ugric language
The Estonian language (Estonian: eesti keel) 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)[1] |
Latin (Estonian alphabet) Estonian Braille | |
Official status | |
Official language in | Estonia 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 codeIndividual codes: ekk – Standard Estonianvro – Võro |
Glottolog | esto1258 |
Linguasphere | 41-AAA-d |
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
changeÜks | 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 |
References
change- ↑ Estonian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Standard Estonian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Võro at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Estonian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia