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Estonian language

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Estonian
eesti keel
Native toEstonia
EthnicityEstonians
Native speakers
1.1 million (2012)[1]
Uralic
Latin (Estonian alphabet)
Estonian Braille
Official status
Official language in
 Estonia
 European Union
Regulated byInstitute of the Estonian Language / Eesti Keele Instituut, Emakeele Selts (semi-official)
Language codes
ISO 639-1et
ISO 639-2est
ISO 639-3est – inclusive code
Individual codes:
ekk – Standard Estonian
vro – Võro
Glottologesto1258
Linguasphere41-AAA-d
Distribution of estonian language
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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.

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

[change | change source]
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

References

[change | change source]
  1. Estonian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Standard Estonian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
    Võro at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)