The Estonian Language
One of the Few Non-Indo-European Languages in Europe
Closely related to the Finnish and Hungarian languages, the Estonian language is extremely unique and one of the very few Non-Indo-European languages left in Europe.
The Estonian language belongs to the Finno-Ugric language groups and is by far the most popular in the group. The language is currently one of the smallest in the world that fulfils all the traits necessary to be an independent state language and is spoken by only 1,100,000 people in the world, about 950,000 of them living in Estonia.
Though the earliest text in the Estonian language is from the 16th century, there is evidence that the language was used before the 13th century. This evidence is found in Latin and Danish records that cite Estonian geographical names, most of which are still being used. In the 1600s, the country began establishing grammar rules and language standards. For many years the country had two languages: Estonian and Russia. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was no longer a state language in the country.
The Estonian language uses the Latin alphabet and has influences from the German language. One very unique trait of the Estonian language is the three different phoneme lengths: short, long and “overlong.” Though the country is bordered by Sweden, Lativa and Russia, it’s language is most closely related to the Hungarian language and is divided in to two different dialects: the northern and southern dialects and the kirderanniku dialect.
Though the language is spoken by few, it does not look like the Estonian language will disappear anytime soon. New technology and interest in the subject has caused a great deal of studies to be performed, particularly at the country’s university.
It is here where the history of the language and it’s relationship with other European country’s is constantly undergoing new study, causing us to learn a little bit more about the mysterious language every day.
Tags: Tallinn
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