Estonian Learning Games

Estonian is the official language of Estonia, a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family, making it unrelated to the Indo-European languages spoken in most of Europe. Estonian is spoken by approximately 1.1 million people in Estonia, as well as by Estonian communities abroad.

The language has two main varieties: Northern Estonian, which forms the basis of the standard language, and Southern Estonian, which includes dialects such as Võru and Seto. Estonian uses the Latin alphabet with additional diacritical marks to represent specific sounds. The standardization of Estonian began in the 19th century during the national awakening. Rich in vowels and known for its complex case system, Estonian plays a central role in the country’s cultural identity, particularly through its literature and strong choral tradition.