Editing Estonian language

{{short description|Finnic language mostly spoken in Estonia}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Estonian
| nativename       = {{lang|et|eesti keel}}
| states           = [[Estonia]]
| region           = 
| ethnicity        = [[Estonians]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|1.244850|2}} million
| date             = 2022
| ref              = e25
| familycolor      = Uralic
| fam2             = [[Finnic languages|Finnic]]
| fam3             = Southern Finnic
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Estonian alphabet]])<br>[[Estonian Braille]]
| nation           = [[Estonia]]<br>[[European Union]]
| agency           = [[Institute of the Estonian Language]] / {{lang|et|Eesti Keele Instituut}}
| dia1             = North (Standard) Estonian
| dia2             = [[Northeastern coastal Estonian]]
| iso1             = et
| iso2             = est
| iso3             = est
| lc1              = ekk
| ld1              = (Northern/Standard) Estonian
| lingua           = 41-AAA-d
| glotto           = esto1258
| glottorefname    = Estonian
| notice           = IPA
| map              = EU-Estonia.svg
| mapcaption       = Estonian is official in Estonia (dark green) and in the [[European Union]] (light green)
| fam7             = Central Finnic
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|et|ˈeːsʲti ˈkeːl||et-eesti keel.ogg}}
}}

'''Estonian''' ({{lang|et|eesti keel}} {{IPA|et|ˈeːsʲti ˈkeːl||et-eesti keel.ogg}}) is a [[Finnic language]] and the official language of [[Estonia]]. It is written in the [[Latin script]] and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the [[European Union]]. Estonian is spoken natively by about 1.1 million people: 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,000 elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |title=Estonian in a World Context |url=http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/Estonian_in_a_world_context/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927005518/http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/Estonian_in_a_world_context/ |archive-date=27 September 2018 |access-date=26 September 2018 |website=Estonica}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Estonian Language |url=http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |website=Estonica.org |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>

==Classification==
By [[Convention (norm)|conventions]] of [[historical linguistics]], Estonian is classified as a part of the [[Finnic languages|Finnic]] (a.k.a. Baltic Finnic) branch of the [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] (a.k.a. Uralian, or [[Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]])<ref>"Finno-Ugric" is sometimes used as a synonym for "Uralic".{{Cite journal |last=Bakró-Nagy |first=Marianne |author-link=Marianne Bakró-Nagy|date=2012 |title=The Uralic Languages |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2012_num_90_3_8272 |journal=Revue belge de Philologie et d'Histoire |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=1001–1027 |doi=10.3406/rbph.2012.8272}}</ref> [[language family]]. Other Finnic languages include [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and several [[endangered language]]s spoken around the [[Baltic Sea]] and in northwestern Russia. Estonian is typically subclassified as a Southern Finnic language, and it is the second-most-spoken language among all the Finnic languages. 

Alongside Finnish, [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] and [[Maltese language|Maltese]], Estonian is one of the only four (out of 24) [[Languages of the European Union|official languages of the European Union]] that are not [[Indo-European language]]s.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} 

In terms of [[Morphology (linguistics)|linguistic morphology]], Estonian is a predominantly [[agglutinative language]]. The loss of word-final sounds is extensive, and this has made its inflectional morphology markedly more [[Fusional language|fusional]], especially with respect to noun and adjective inflection.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ehala |first=Martin |date=2009 |title=Linguistic Strategies and Markedness in Estonian Morphology |journal=STUF – Language Typology and Universals |volume=62 |issue=1–2 |pages=29–48 |doi=10.1524/stuf.2009.0003 |s2cid=121233571}}</ref> The transitional form from an agglutinating to a fusional language is a common feature of Estonian typologically over the course of history with the development of a rich morphological system.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Rehm |first1=Georg |last2=Uszkoreit |first2=Hans |title=The Estonian Language in the Digital Age |chapter=Language Technology Support for Estonian |date=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-30784-3 |series=White Paper Series |location=Berlin |pages=47–64 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-30785-0_9}}</ref>

Word order is considerably more flexible than in English, but the basic order is [[subject–verb–object]].

==History==
The speakers of the two major historical languages spoken in Estonia, North and [[South Estonian]], are thought by some linguists to have arrived in Estonia in at least two different migration waves over two millennia ago, both groups having spoken considerably different vernacular.<ref name="Rannut" /> Some linguists have classified South Estonian as another, separate Finnic language, rather than a variety of Estonian. Modern standard Estonian evolved in the 18th and 19th centuries based on the dialects of northern Estonia.

During the Medieval and Early Modern periods, Estonian accepted many loanwords from [[Germanic languages]], mainly from [[Middle Low German]] (Middle Saxon) and, after the 16th-century Protestant [[Reformation]], from the [[Standard German]] language. 

[[File:EstonianGrammar1637.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''[[Estonian grammar|Estonian Grammar]]'' by [[Heinrich Stahl]], published in [[Tallinn]] (Reval) in 1637]]
[[File:Perno Postimees, Nr 1.png|thumb|In 1857, the first Estonian weekly newspaper ''[[Pärnu Postimees|Perno Postimees]]'' welcomed readers with ''"Terre, armas Eesti rahwas!"'' ("Hello, dear Estonian people!")]]
[[File:Russa literacy 1897.jpg|thumb|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]].]]
[[File:Estonian language in the Russian Empire (1897).svg|thumb|Geographic distribution of Estonian in the Russian Empire according to the [[1897 census]]]]

Oldest written records of Estonian language date from the 13th century. The "Originates Livoniae" in the ''[[Livonian Chronicle of Henry]]'' contains Estonian place names, words and fragments of sentences.

===Estonian literature===
{{main article|Estonian literature}}
The earliest extant samples of connected (north) Estonian have been found in the [[Kullamaa Manuscript]] ("Kullamaa prayers") dating from 1524 and 1528.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kurman |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owQBH74N8CIC |title=The Development of Written Estonian |date=1997 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |location=London |isbn=9780700708901}}</ref> In 1525, the first Estonian language book was printed. It contained a religious [[Lutheran]] text which, however, never reached its intended readers, as it was immediately censored and all printed copies were destroyed.

The first extant Estonian book is a bilingual German-Estonian translation of the [[Luther's Large Catechism|Lutheran catechism]] by S.{{nbsp}}Wanradt and J.{{nbsp}}Koell dating to 1535, during the [[Protestant Reformation]] period. An Estonian grammar book to be used by priests was printed in German in 1637.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dalby |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnckpL8auSIC |title=Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages |date=2004 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0-231-11569-5 |edition=rev. |location=New York |page=182}}</ref> The [[New Testament]] was translated into the variety of South Estonian called [[Võro language|Võro]] in 1686 (northern Estonian, 1715). The two languages were united based on Northern Estonian by [[Anton thor Helle]].

Writings in Estonian became more significant in the 19th century during the [[Estophilia#Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)|Estophile Enlightenment Period]] (1750–1840).

The birth of native Estonian literature was during the period 1810–1820, when the patriotic and philosophical poems by [[Kristjan Jaak Peterson]] were published. Peterson, who was the first student to acknowledge his Estonian origin at the then German-language [[University of Tartu|University of Dorpat]], is commonly regarded as a herald of [[Estonian literature|Estonian national literature]] and considered the founder of modern Estonian poetry. His birthday, March 14, is celebrated in [[Estonia]] as [[First language|Mother Tongue]] Day.<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpR0-OrrwssC&pg=PA126 |title=Culture and Customs of the Baltic States |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-33125-1 |location=Westport, CT |page=126}}</ref> A fragment from Peterson's poem "Kuu" expresses the claim reestablishing the birthright of the Estonian language:

:''Kas siis selle maa keel''
:''Laulutuules ei või''
:''Taevani tõustes üles''
:''Igavikku omale otsida?''

In English:
:''Can the language of this land''
:''In the wind of incantation''
:''Rising up to the heavens''
:''Not seek for eternity?''
:::''Kristjan Jaak Peterson''
	
In the period from 1525 to 1917, 14,503 titles were published in Estonian; by comparison, between 1918 and 1940, 23,868 titles were published.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Translation into Estonian – Ivextrans |url=https://www.ivextrans.eu/translated-languages/translation-into-estonian/ |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=www.ivextrans.eu}}</ref>

In modern times [[A. H. Tammsaare]], [[Jaan Kross]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?as_q=&num=20&btnG=Google+Search&&as_auth=Jaan+Kross Jaan Kross] at Google Books</ref> and [[Andrus Kivirähk]]<!--[[Jaan Kaplinski]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?as_q=&num=20&btnG=Google+Search&&as_auth=Jaan+Kaplinski Jaan Kaplinski] at Google Books</ref> and [[Viivi Luik]]--> are [[Estonia]]'s best-known and most translated writers.

Estonians lead the world in book ownership, owning on average 218 books per house, and 35% of Estonians owning 350 books or more (as of 2018).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhou |first=Naaman |date=2018-10-12 |title=Novel news: world's biggest bookworms revealed in study |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/12/the-more-books-in-a-house-the-brighter-your-childs-future-study-finds |access-date=2024-09-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} </ref> 

===Official language===
Writings in Estonian became significant only in the 19th century with the spread of the ideas of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], during the [[Estophilia#Estophile Enlightenment Period (1750–1840)|Estophile Enlightenment Period]] (1750–1840). Although [[Baltic Germans]] at large regarded the future of Estonians as being a fusion with themselves, the Estophile educated class admired the ancient culture of the Estonians and their era of freedom before the conquests by Danes and Germans in the 13th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jansen |first=Ea |title=Estonia: Identity and Independence |date=2004 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=90-420-0890-3 |editor-last=Subrenat |editor-first=Jean-Jacques |page=84 |translator-last=Cousins |translator-first=David |chapter=The National Awakening of the Estonian Nation |translator-last2=Dickens |translator-first2=Eric |translator-last3=Harding |translator-first3=Alexander |translator-last4=Waterhouse |translator-first4=Richard C. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kBZlHdp7tdcC&pg=PA84}}</ref>

When the [[Republic of Estonia]] was established in 1918, Estonian became the [[official language]] of the newly independent country. Immediately after [[World War II]], in 1945, over 97% of the then population of Estonia self-identified as native ethnic Estonians<ref name="Rannut">{{cite journal |last=Rannut |first=Mart |date=2004 |title=Language Policy in Estonia |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=996236 |journal=Noves SL.: Revista de sociolingüística |issue=1–2 (primavera – estiu) |page=4 |language=es}}</ref> and spoke the language.

When Estonia was invaded and reoccupied by the Soviet army in 1944, the status of Estonian effectively changed to one of the two official languages (Russian being the other one).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgtSqB9oqDIC&pg=PA207 |title=Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education |last2=Jones |first2=Sylvia Prys |date=1998 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=1-85359-362-1 |location=Clevedon |page=207}}</ref> Many immigrants from Russia entered Estonia under Soviet encouragement.<ref name="Rannut" /> In the 1970s, the pressure of bilingualism for Estonians was intensified<!--, resulting in the rapid spread of knowledge of Russian among the country's population. The Russian language was termed as "the language of friendship of nations" and was taught to Estonian children, sometimes as early as in kindergarten-->. Although teaching Estonian to non-Estonians in local schools was formally compulsory, in practice, the teaching and learning of Estonian by Russian-speakers was often considered unnecessary by the Soviet authorities.<ref name="Rannut" />
In 1991, with the restoration of Estonia's [[History of Estonia#Regaining independence|independence]], Estonian went back to being the only official language in Estonia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leclerc |first=Jacques |title=Estonie |url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/europe/estonie.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111175346/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/europe/estonie.htm |archive-date=2012-11-11 |access-date=2014-08-23 |website=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde |language=fr}}</ref> Since 2004, when Estonia joined the European Union, Estonian is also one of the (now 24) [[languages of the European Union|official languages of the EU]].

The return of former Soviet immigrants to their countries of origin at the end of the 20th century has brought the proportion of native Estonian-speakers in Estonia now back above 70%. Large parts of the first- and second-generation immigrants in Estonia have now adopted Estonian (over 50% as of the 2022 census).<ref name="Rannut" />

== Dialects ==
[[File:2.5-North-Estonian.png|thumb|300px|North Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century<ref name=map1>{{Cite journal |last1=Rantanen |first1=Timo |last2=Tolvanen |first2=Harri |last3=Roose |first3=Meeli |last4=Ylikoski |first4=Jussi |last5=Vesakoski |first5=Outi |date=2022-06-08 |title=Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=e0269648 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0269648|doi-access=free |pmid=35675367 |pmc=9176854 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1769648R }}</ref><ref name=map2>Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). ''Geographical database of the Uralic languages'' (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188</ref>]]
[[File:2.6-South-Estonian.png|thumb|300px|South Estonian dialects at the beginning of the 20th century<ref name=map1/><ref name=map2/>]]
[[File:Estonian-Voro-bilingual-parish-sign.JPG|thumb|Road sign in Estonian and Võro]]
[[File:Wastne Võro keeli A B D raamat.jpg|thumb|An 1885 ABC-book in [[Võro language|Võro]] written by Johann Hurt: "Wastne Võro keeli ABD raamat"]]
The Estonian dialects<ref>{{cite web |title=[Map of Estonian Dialects] |url=http://www.murre.ut.ee/assets/EESTIkhkingl.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114123/http://www.murre.ut.ee/assets/EESTIkhkingl.jpg |archive-date=26 August 2014 |access-date=23 August 2014 |via=Tartu University's Estonian Dialect Corpus}}</ref><ref>see [https://web.archive.org/web/20191222043756/http://www.murre.ut.ee/home/ Tartu University's Estonian Dialect Corpus website]</ref> are divided into two groups&nbsp;– the northern and southern dialects, historically associated with the cities of [[Tallinn]] in the north and [[Tartu]] in the south, in addition to a distinct ''kirderanniku'' dialect, [[Northeastern coastal Estonian]].

The northern group consists of the {{lang|et|keskmurre}} or central dialect that is also the basis for the standard language, the {{lang|et|läänemurre}} or western dialect, roughly corresponding to [[Lääne County]] and [[Pärnu County]], the {{lang|et|saarte murre}} (islands' dialect) of [[Saaremaa]], [[Hiiumaa]], [[Muhu]] and [[Kihnu]], and the {{lang|et|idamurre}} or eastern dialect on the northwestern shore of [[Lake Peipus]].

One of the pronunciation features of the Saaremaa dialect is the lack of the 'õ' vowel. A [https://www.visitestonia.com/en/oo-statue-to-mark-dialect-border five-metre monument] erected in 2020, marking the "border" between the vowels 'õ' and 'ö', humorously makes reference to this fact.

[[South Estonian]] consists of the Tartu, Mulgi, [[Võro language|Võro]] and [[Seto dialect|Seto]] varieties. These are sometimes considered either variants of South Estonian or separate languages altogether.<ref>{{cite web |title=Culture Tourism in South Estonia and Võru County: Situation Analysis |url=http://www.siksali.ee/cultour/EE_SituationAnalysisSummary_ENG.pdf |access-date=2 July 2013 |via=Siksali |archive-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220115230/http://www.siksali.ee/cultour/EE_SituationAnalysisSummary_ENG.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Also, Seto and Võro distinguish themselves from each other less by language and more by their culture and their respective Christian confession.<ref name="Rannut" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Eesti murded / Estonian Dialects |url=http://portaal.eki.ee/component/content/article/34-murded/46-murded.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113944/http://portaal.eki.ee/component/content/article/34-murded/46-murded.html |archive-date=2014-08-26 |access-date=2014-08-23 |website=Eesti Keele Instituut |language=et}}</ref>

==Writing system==
{{main article|Estonian orthography}}

===Alphabet===
Estonian employs the [[Latin script]] as the basis for [[Estonian alphabet|its alphabet]]. The script adds the letters ''[[ä]]'', ''[[ö]]'', ''[[ü]]'', and ''[[õ]]'', plus the later additions ''[[š]]'' and ''[[ž]]''. The letters ''c'', ''q'', ''w'', ''x'' and ''y'' are limited to [[proper names]] of foreign origin, and ''f'', ''z'', ''š'', and ''ž'' appear in loanwords and foreign names only. ''Ö'' and ''Ü'' are pronounced similarly to their equivalents in Swedish and German. Unlike in standard German but like Swedish (when followed by 'r') and Finnish, ''Ä'' is pronounced [æ], as in English ''mat''. The vowels Ä, Ö and Ü are clearly separate [[phonemes]] and inherent in Estonian, although the letter shapes come from German. The letter ''[[õ]]'' denotes {{IPA|/ɤ/}}, unrounded {{IPA|/o/}}, or a [[close-mid back unrounded vowel]]. It is almost identical to the [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] [[ъ]] {{IPA|/ɤ̞/}} and the [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] [[ơ]], and is also used to transcribe the Russian [[ы]].
Additionally ''C'', ''Q'', ''W'', ''X'', and ''Y'' are used in writing foreign [[proper names]]. They do not occur in [[Estonian words]], and are not officially part of the alphabet. Including all the foreign letters, the alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=2|Letter
!IPA
!Name
!Notes
!colspan=2|Letter
!IPA
!Name
!Notes
|-
|A
|a
|{{IPA|[ɑ]}}
|''aa'' {{IPA|[ɑːː]}}
|
|''Q''
|''q''
|—
|''kuu'' {{IPA|[kuːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY|Not officially part of the alphabet; only used in foreign proper names and citations, pronounced according to their source language. Occasionally, ''w'' is used instead of ''v'' in Estonian surnames (e. g. ''Wõrk''), as a remnant of older spelling.}}
|-
|B
|b
|{{IPA|[b]}}
|''bee'' {{IPA|[beːː]}}
|
|R
|r
|{{IPA|[r]}}
|''err'' {{IPA|[erːː]}} or ''ärr'' {{IPA|[ærːː]}}
|
|-
|''C''
|''c''
|—
|''tsee'' {{IPA|[tseːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|S
|s
|{{IPA|[s]}}
|''ess'' {{IPA|[esːː]}}
|
|-
|D
|d
|{{IPA|[d]}}
|''dee'' {{IPA|[deːː]}}
|
|'''Š'''
|'''š'''
|{{IPA|[ʃ]}} or {{IPA|[ʃː]}}
|''šaa'' {{IPA|[ʃɑːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|E
|e
|{{IPA|[e]}}
|''ee'' {{IPA|[eːː]}}
|
|'''Z'''
|'''z'''
|{{IPA|[s]}}
|''zett'' {{IPA|[setːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|'''F'''
|'''f'''
|{{IPA|[f]}} or {{IPA|[fː]}}
|''eff'' {{IPA|[efːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ|Only used in loanwords.}}
|'''Ž'''
|'''ž'''
|{{IPA|[ʃ]}}
|''žee'' {{IPA|[ʃeːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|G
|g
|{{IPA|[ɡ]}}
|''gee'' {{IPA|[ɡeːː]}}
|
|T
|t
|{{IPA|[t]}} or {{IPA|[tː]}}
|''tee'' {{IPA|[teːː]}}
|
|-
|H
|h
|{{IPA|[h]}}
|''haa'' {{IPA|[hɑːː]}} 
|
|U
|u
|{{IPA|[u]}}
|''uu'' {{IPA|[uːː]}}
|
|-
|I
|i
|{{IPA|[i]}}
|''ii'' {{IPA|[iːː]}}
|
|V
|v
|{{IPA|[v]}}
|''vee'' {{IPA|[veːː]}}
|
|-
|J
|j
|{{IPA|[j]}}
|''jott'' {{IPA|[jotʲːː]}}
|
|''W''
|''w''
|—
|''kaksisvee'' {{IPA|[kɑk.sisˈveːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|-
|K
|k
|{{IPA|[k]}} or {{IPA|[kː]}}
|''kaa'' {{IPA|[kɑːː]}}
|
|Õ
|õ
|{{IPA|[ɤ]}}
|''õõ'' {{IPA|[ɤːː]}}
|
|-
|L
|l
|{{IPA|[l]}}
|''ell'' {{IPA|[elːː]}}
|
|Ä
|ä
|{{IPA|[æ]}}
|''ää'' {{IPA|[æːː]}}
|
|-
|M
|m
|{{IPA|[m]}}
|''emm'' {{IPA|[emːː]}}
|
|Ö
|ö
|{{IPA|[ø]}}
|''öö'' {{IPA|[øːː]}}
|
|-
|N
|n
|{{IPA|[n]}}
|''enn'' {{IPA|[enːː]}}
|
|Ü
|ü
|{{IPA|[y]}}
|''üü'' {{IPA|[yːː]}}
|
|-
|O
|o
|{{IPA|[o]}}
|''oo'' {{IPA|[oːː]}}
|
|''X''
|''x''
|—
|''iks'' {{IPA|[iksː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|-
|P
|p
|{{IPA|[p]}} or {{IPA|[pː]}}
|''pee'' {{IPA|[peːː]}}
|
|''Y''
|''y''
|—
|''igrek'' {{IPA|[ˈiɡ.rek]}} or ''üpsilon'' {{IPA|[ˈyp.si.lon]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|}
{{notelist}}

===Orthography===
Although the Estonian [[orthography]] is generally guided by phonemic principles, with each [[grapheme]] corresponding to one [[phoneme]], there are some historical and morphological deviations from this: for example preservation of the morpheme in [[declension]] of the word (writing b, g, d in places where p, k, t is pronounced)<!--examples needed: kärbes-kärbse, etc --> and in the use of 'i' and 'j'<!-- eg maja-majja-->.{{Clarify|date=September 2012}} Where it is very impractical or impossible to type ''š'' and ''ž'', they are replaced by ''sh'' and ''zh'' in some written texts, although this is considered incorrect. Otherwise, the ''h'' in ''sh'' represents a [[voiceless glottal fricative]], as in ''Pasha'' (''pas-ha''); this also applies to some foreign names.

Modern Estonian orthography is based on the "Newer orthography" created by [[Eduard Ahrens]] in the second half of the 19th{{nbsp}}century based on Finnish orthography. The "Older orthography" it replaced was created in the 17th{{nbsp}}century by [[Bengt Gottfried Forselius]] and [[Johann Hornung]] based on [[German language|standard German]] orthography. Earlier writing in Estonian had, by and large, used an ''ad hoc'' orthography based on [[Latin]] and [[Middle Low German]] orthography. Some influences of the standard German orthography – for example, writing 'W'/'w' instead of 'V'/'v' – persisted well into the 1930s.

<!-- Not exactly the subject of this article, but please note that: Estonian words and names quoted in international publications from Soviet sources are often back-transliterations from the Russian transliteration. Examples are the use of "ya" for "ä" (e.g. Pyarnu instead of Pärnu), "y" instead of "õ" (e.g., Pylva instead of Põlva) and "yu" instead of "ü" (e.g., Pyussi instead of Püssi). Even in the Encyclopædia Britannica one can find "ostrov Khiuma", where "ostrov" means "island" in Russian and "Khiuma" is back-transliteration from Russian instead of "Hiiumaa" (''Hiiumaa'' > Хийума(а) > ''Khiuma'').-->

==Phonology==
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Liisi speaking Estonian.webm|thumb|A sample of Estonian spoken natively]]
{{Summarize|from|Estonian phonology|date=March 2015}}
{{main article|Estonian phonology}}
===Vowels===
There are 9 vowels and 36 [[Diphthong|diphthongs]], 28 of which are native to the Estonian language.<sup>[[Estonian phonology#cite note-1|[1]]]</sup> All nine vowels can appear as the first component of a diphthong, but only /ɑ e i o u/ occur as the second component. A vowel characteristic of Estonian is the unrounded back vowel /ɤ/, which may be [[Close-mid back unrounded vowel|close-mid back]], [[Close back unrounded vowel|close back]], or [[Close-mid central unrounded vowel|close-mid central]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Monophthongs of Estonian<ref name="Asu 2009 367">{{Harvcoltxt|Asu|Teras|2009|p=367}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|- style="font-size:88%;"
![[Unrounded vowel|unrounded]] || [[Rounded vowel|rounded]]
![[Unrounded vowel|unrounded]] || [[Rounded vowel|rounded]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|{{IPA link|y}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɤ}}
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|{{IPA link|ø}}
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA link|æ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɑ}}
|
|}
===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Consonant phonemes of Estonian<ref name="Asu 2009 367"/>
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|
! rowspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan=2| [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]/<br/>[[Palatal consonant|palatal]]
! rowspan=2| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! plain
! [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]]
|-
! colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|nʲ}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Plosive]]
! short
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʲ}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
|
|-
! [[gemination|geminated]]
| {{IPA link|pː}}
| {{IPA link|tː}}
| {{IPA link|tʲː}}
|
| {{IPA link|kː}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Fricative]]
! voiced
| {{IPA link|v}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! voiceless short
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|sʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
! [[gemination|geminated]]
| {{IPA link|fː}}
| {{IPA link|sː}}
| {{IPA link|sʲː}}
| {{IPA link|ʃː}}
|
| {{IPA link|hː}}
|-
! colspan=2| [[Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|lʲ}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|-
! colspan=2| [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|}

Word-initial ''b, d, g'' occur only in loanwords and  some old loanwords are spelled with ''p, t, k'' instead of etymological ''b, d, g'': ''pank'' 'bank'. Word-medially and word-finally, ''b, d, g'' represent short plosives /p, t, k/ (may be pronounced as partially voiced consonants), ''p, t, k'' represent half-long plosives /pː, tː, kː/, and ''pp, tt, kk'' represent overlong plosives /pːː, tːː, kːː/; for example: ''kabi'' /kɑpi/ 'hoof' — ''kapi'' /kɑpːi/ 'wardrobe [<abbr>gen</abbr> <abbr>sg</abbr>] — ''kappi'' /kɑpːːi/ 'wardrobe [<abbr>ptv</abbr> <abbr>sg</abbr>]'.

Before and after ''b, p, d, t, g, k, s, h, f, š, z, ž'', the sounds [p], [t], [k] are written as ''p, t, k'', with some exceptions due to morphology or etymology.

Representation of palatalised consonants is inconsistent, and they are not always indicated.

[[Voiced velar nasal|ŋ]] is an allophone of /n/ before /k/.

While peripheral Estonian dialects are characterized by various degrees of [[vowel harmony]], central dialects have almost completely lost the feature. Since the standard language is based on central dialects, it has no vowel harmony either. In the standard language, the front vowels occur exclusively on the first or stressed syllable, although vowel harmony is still apparent in older texts.<ref>Prillop, Külli et al. 2020. ''Eesti keele ajalugu''. Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus. p. 133.</ref>

==Grammar==
{{main article|Estonian grammar}}
Typologically, Estonian represents a transitional form from an [[agglutinating language]] to a [[fusional language]]. The canonical word order is [[subject–verb–object|SVO]] (subject–verb–object), although often debated among linguists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Martin |first=Ehala |date=March 2006 |title=The Word Order of Estonian: Implications to Universal Language |journal=Journal of Universal Language |volume=7 |pages=49–89|doi=10.22425/JUL.2006.7.1.49 |s2cid=52222499|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In Estonian, nouns and pronouns do not have [[grammatical gender]], but nouns and adjectives decline in fourteen cases: [[nominative]], [[genitive]], [[Partitive case|partitive]], [[illative]], [[inessive]], [[Elative case|elative]], [[allative]], [[adessive]], [[ablative]], [[translative]], [[terminative]], [[essive]], [[abessive]], and [[comitative]], with the case and number of the adjective always agreeing with that of the noun (except in the terminative, essive, abessive and comitative, where there is agreement only for the number, the adjective being in the genitive form). Thus the illative for ''kollane maja'' ("a yellow house") is ''kollasesse majja'' ("into a yellow house"), but the terminative is ''kollase majani'' ("as far as a yellow house"). With respect to the [[Proto-Finnic language]], elision has occurred; thus, the actual case marker may be absent, but the stem is changed, cf. ''maja – majja'' and the [[Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia|Ostrobothnia dialect]] of Finnish ''maja&nbsp;– majahan''.

The verbal system has no distinct future tense<ref name="apj">{{cite journal |last1=Pérez |first1=Efrén O. |last2=Tavits |first2=Margit |date=2017 |title=Language Shapes People's Time Perspective and Support for Future-Oriented Policies |journal=American Journal of Political Science |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=715–727 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12290 |doi-access=free}}</ref> (the present tense serves here) and features special forms to express an action performed by an undetermined [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] (the "impersonal").

==Vocabulary==
{{main|Estonian vocabulary}}
Although Estonian and the [[Germanic languages]] have very different origins and the vocabulary is considered quite different from that of the Indo-European family,<ref name=":0" /> one can identify many similar words in Estonian and English, for example. This is primarily because Estonian has borrowed nearly one-third of its vocabulary from Germanic languages, mainly from Low Saxon ([[Middle Low German]]) during the period of [[History of Estonia#Estonian Crusade: The Middle Ages|German rule]], and [[High German]] (including [[standard German]]). The percentage of Low Saxon and High German loanwords can be estimated at 22–25 percent, with Low Saxon making up about 15 percent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eesti kirjakeele sõnavara ajalugu |trans-title=History of Estonian Vocabulary |url=http://www.fillu.edu.ee/sisu.php?teema=2&id=30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070721113833/http://www.fillu.edu.ee/sisu.php?teema=2&id=30 |archive-date=2007-07-21 |website=FILLU |language=et}}</ref> Prior to the wave of new loanwords from English in the 20th and 21st centuries, historically, Swedish and Russian were also sources of borrowings but to a much lesser extent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eesti keele käsiraamat 2007 |url=http://www.eki.ee/books/ekk09/index.php?link=L_10 |access-date=2020-09-30 |website=Eesti Keele Instituut |language=et}}</ref> In borrowings, often 'b' and 'p' are interchangeable, for example 'baggage' becomes 'pagas', 'lob' (to throw) becomes 'loopima'. The initial letter 's' before another consonant is often dropped, for example 'skool' becomes 'kool', 'stool' becomes 'tool'.

===''Ex nihilo'' lexical enrichment===
Estonian [[language planner]]s such as [[Ado Grenzstein]] (a journalist active in Estonia from the 1870s to the 1890s) tried to use formation ''[[Estonian vocabulary#Ex nihilo lexical enrichment|ex nihilo]]'' (''Urschöpfung'');<ref name="Zuckermann 2003 p149">{{cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |title=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |title-link=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |date=2003 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-1723-2 |location=New York, NY |pages=[https://archive.org/details/languagecontactl00zuck/page/n159 149] |author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann}}</ref> i.e. they created new words out of nothing.

The most well-known reformer of Estonian, [[Johannes Aavik]] (1880–1973), used creations ''ex nihilo'' (cf. 'free constructions', Tauli 1977), along with other sources of lexical enrichment such as derivations, compositions and loanwords (often from Finnish; cf. Saareste and Raun 1965: 76). In Aavik's dictionary (1921) lists approximately 4000 words. About 40 of the 200 words created by Johannes Aavik allegedly ''ex nihilo'' are in common use today. Examples are * ''ese'' 'object', * ''kolp'' 'skull',  * ''liibuma'' 'to cling',  * ''naasma'' 'to return, come back', * ''nõme'' 'stupid, dull'.<ref name="Zuckermann 2003 p149" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Eesti entsüklopeedia|trans-title=Aavik, Johannes |url=http://entsyklopeedia.ee/artikkel/aavik_johannes2
 |language=et}}</ref>   

Many of the coinages that have been considered (often by Aavik himself) as words concocted ''ex nihilo'' could well have been influenced by foreign lexical items; for example, words from [[Russian language|Russian]], [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[English language|English]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]. Aavik had a broad classical education and knew [[Ancient Greek]], [[Latin]] and [[French language|French]]. Consider ''roim'' 'crime' versus [[English language|English]] ''crime'' or ''taunima'' 'to condemn, disapprove' versus [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ''tuomita'' 'to condemn, to judge' (these Aavikisms appear in Aavik's 1921 dictionary). These words might be better regarded as a peculiar manifestation of morpho-phonemic adaptation of a foreign lexical item.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |url=https://archive.org/details/languagecontactl00zuck |title=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |date=2003 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4039-1723-2 |location=New York, NY |pages=[https://archive.org/details/languagecontactl00zuck/page/n160 150] |url-access=limited}}</ref>

== Example text ==
Article 1 of the ''[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'' in Estonian and English:
:{{lang|et|Kõik inimesed sünnivad vabadena ja võrdsetena oma väärikuselt ja õigustelt. Neile on antud mõistus ja südametunnistus ja nende suhtumist üksteisesse peab kandma vendluse vaim.}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Estonian Human Rights Institute, Estonia |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Estonian (Eesti) |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=est |access-date=13 September 2021 |website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref> 

:''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|website=un.org}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[The BABEL Speech Corpus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Asu |first1=Eva Liina |last2=Teras |first2=Pire |date=2009 |title=Estonian |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=367–372 |doi=10.1017/s002510030999017x |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Jaan |last2=Lehiste |first2=Ilse |title=The Temporal Structure of Estonian Runic Songs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYRwDHtxf9wC |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |date=2001 |isbn=3-11-017032-9}}
* {{cite journal |last=Soosaar |first=Sven-Erik |date=2013 |title=The Origins of Stems of Standard Estonian – a Statistical Overview |journal=TRAMES: A Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=273–300 |doi=10.3176/tr.2013.3.04 |doi-access=free}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.estonica.org//en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ Estonica.org article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202041601/http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |date=2018-02-02 }}

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