A Estonian language (eesti keel) is spoken by astir I.One million population, of which a low majority sleep in a Northern European country of Estonia.

Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. Estonian is non related its southern neighbor Latvian, which is a Baltic language related to Lithuanian. Estonian is as well non related its eastern neighbor Russian, which is an Indo-European language. Estonian is related to Finnish, spoken on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, and sir thomas more distantly to Hungarian. One of a distinctive features of Estonian is that it hwhen what is traditionally seen as trinity degrees of phoneme length: short, hanker, & "overlong", such that IPA . the distinction between yearn & overlong is, within practice, when much a matter of syllable stress (involving pitch) as duration. Long & overlong vowels are non distinguished witharound written Estonian; stop, notwithstanding, come out in writing using terzetto "degrees": b,d,g; p,t,k & pp;tt;kk (entirely unverbalised plosive speech sound).

Phonology
There are nine phonemic monophthongs — a e i o u õ [] ä [æ] ö [ø] ü [y] — which use at times deuce-ace phonetic lengths. One, elementary & hanker come segmentally phonemic, & the third length level is suprasegmentally phonemic & assisted by a distinctive tonal contour. A script distinguishes simply short & hanker (marked by vowel doubling). There come Nineteen segmental diphthongs (Hint 1978), & polysyllablic vowel clustering are besides witnessed.

There exists of these series of blocks, unstate500 unaspirated, by having ternary phonemic lengths, written b d g, p t k & pp tt kk. A rest of the consonants likewise own distinctive length, but only short & yearn come distinguished within writing. When by owning vowels, 2 segmental length levels come phonemic, & a third level is suprasegmentally phonemic. For instance, for 'north', short 'north' within lina "sheet", half-long 'north' within linna "town's", above-long 'north' within linna "to the town". the latter addition of length is trackable to a grammatical marker *-han dynasty that has elided.

A fricative consonant come s h, added by having f š ž z for loans. A more consonants come j fifty one thousand north r v, + a allophonic velar nasal in nk and nanogram. Consonants can be palatalized; this is non spelled out.

A stress is on the number one syllable; even so, international loan & across-long consonants could vary this pattern.

Vocabulary

Although Estonian & English languages are of completely different origins (allowing out a extremely controversial Nostratic and Proto-World language theories), one could identify numbers of similar words in the ii languages. This is primarily due to the fact that Estonian language has borrowed about of these third of its vocabulary from either Germanic languages, including about 15% of the sum total of word roots inside modern Estonian which were borrowed from either Low German (Low Saxon) in a period of the period of German rule in Estonia.

Projected origin	There are no of word roots	Period	Examples
Nostratic (divinatory)	130?	15 000 – 10 000 BC	mi(na), si(na), vesi, tabama, arbuma, puur, poeg, päkk, keel, pelgama, süva, vedama, üks
Uralic	120	5000-4000 BC	ala, üla, esi, taga; look at, as well, kes, mis, ei; minema, tulema, tundma, ujuma, pelgama, kaduma, mõskma; puu, kuusk, kõiv, murakas, suvi, päev, kaja, kuu, lumi, soo, juga, kala, küü, sisalik; keel, kõrv, luu, maks, põlv, põsk, silm, muna, neelama, pala, sulg, kõrv; tuli, süsi, suusk, nool, sõudma, punuma, vask, vöö; elama, koolma, vägi, nimi, sala, naine; kaks, viis
Finno-Ugric	270	4000 -3000 BC	aju, üdi, hing, pea, pii, sapp, vats; aru, jää, koit, voor, paju, pihl, kask, mari, pohl, kamar, rebane, nugis, siil, utt, hiir, püü, mõtus, vares, pääsuke, säga, säinas, särg, täi, kusilane, koi; koda, küla; põlema, küdema, pada, leem, või, väits, vestma, sau; sõba; kolm, neli, kuus; nõid, ise, ilm; talv, sügis, immunoglobulin a; isa, poeg, küdi, kond; valge, hahk, uus, sepp
Finno-Permic	50-140	2500 -1500 BC	kõht; kõri; säär; koobas, põrm, sõnnik; peda(jas), kuslapuu, oks, pähkel, kiud, peni, orav, kotkas; rehi, kuduma, amb, mõla, õng; äi, äike; parem, vana; lõuna; meel
Finno-Volgaic	100-150	1500 -1000 BC	selg, koon, käpp, vaim; kevad, täht, järv, haab, saar, igor yevgeneevich tamm, vaher, sarapuu, õlg, lehm, siga, pett, jahvatama, kurg, kurvits, parm, sääsk; keema, hiilgama, käis, piir; vene; lell; jumal; aher, jahe, kõva, süva; kargama, pesema, püsima, lüpsma
Finno-Lappic	130 - 150	One thousand – Five hundred BC	vihm, sammal, org, vili, põõsas, põud, õnn, veli, ime, luule, taga, tõsi, nälg, küll
Baltic-Finnic	600 - 800	D BC – 800 AD	põder, oja, udu, hobu, mänd; kõne, sõna; aeg, eile; laps, rahvas, linn; nuga, king; julge
Estonian & unknown	appr. 1000		räni, roie, jonas salk, videvik, jäärak, ila, aas, lubi, lõhn, kaan, kesv, ürp + many onomatopoetic-descriptive words
Artificial	50-60		veenma, roim, laip, kolp, relv, ese, süüme, mõrv, ulm, siiras, range, sulnis, nõme, taunima, naasma, reetma, embama; eirama, eramu, etlema, kõlar, külmik, meetmed, meene, siirdama, teave, teismeline, teler, üllitis, ärandama, levimuusika, süvamuusika, taies, rula
Proto-European loans (supposititious)	appr. 50	5000 – 3000 BC	higi, huul, koib, kõrv, kube, külg, liha, lõug, nahk, rind, selg; mägi, mets, azadirachta indica, nõmm, oja, org, saar, soo; ahven, haug, koger, koha, rääbis, siig, vimb; jänes, konn; helmes
Indo-European & Indo-Iranic loans	20 - 45	3000 – G BC	mesi, sool, osa, sada, põrsas, varss, sarv, puhas, vasar
Proto-Baltic & Baltic loans	100 - 150	1D – 500 BC	hammas, hani, hein, hernes, hõim, oinas, puder, põrgu, ratas, seeme, sein, mets, luht, sõber, tuhat, vagu, regi, vill, veel, kael, kirves, laisk
Proto-Germanic & Germanic loans	380	2000 BC – 13th century	agan, ader, humal, juust, kana, kaer, rukis, lammas day, leib, põld; aer, mõrd, laev, noot, puri; : kuld, raud, tina; sukk, katel, küünal, taigen; kuningas, laen, luna, raha, rikas, vald; kalju, kallas, rand; armas, taud, kaunis, ja
Old Slavic loans	50-75	10th – 13th century	sahk, sirp, turg, teng(elpung), pagan, papp, rist, kasukas
Proto-Latvian loans	40	6th- 7th century	kanep, lääts, magun, udras, kõuts, palakas, lupard, harima, kukkel, vanik, laabuma, kauss, mulk, pastel
Sale German loans	750	Twelfth – 16th century	kool, neer, ribi; kruus, torm; kõrvits, peet, salaah, petersell, münt, köömen, loorber, palm, igor yevgeneevich tamm, roos, ploom; hunt, köök, kruubid, kringel, pannkook, pekk, prantssai, sült, vorst, õli, tärklis, pruukost, kruus, pann, pütt, korv, lähker, toober, tuli, lamp, lühter; käärid, teljed, vokk, lõuend, samet, siid, vilt, kuub, kört, loor, müts, muda, mantelpiece, püksid, vammus, nööp; hoov, häärber, kelder, kemmerg, korsten, ruum, saal, tall, haamer, hing, höövel, kellu, kapp, pink, thing, trepp, vall, võlv; jaht, jääger, kants, kütt, lager, lahing, piir, püss, poiss, tääk, vaht; altar, ingel, jünger, psalm, prohvet, salm, preester, troost, pihtima, vöörmunder, piiskop, sant; preili, memm, mats, härra, proua, kelm, narr, naaber, kuller, laat, selts, krahv, kadakasaks, arst, pidal, plaaster; hangeldama, tingima, kortel, mat, toll, vaagima, viht, üür, paar, piik, tosin, veerand; näärid, reede, tund, vastlad; ankur, kiil, tüür, praam, madrus, pootsman, kotermann, loots, kippered herring; kaart, kool, kunst, maaler, maalima, paber, trükkima, uurima, trumm, tantsima, piip, vilepill, pasun; good, topelt, väärt
Swedish loans	140	Thirteenth – 17th century	kratt, kroonu, kuunar, julla, pagar, näkk, plasku, plika, solk, tasku, räim, tünder, moor, puldan
(High) German loans	500	Sixteenth – 20th century	larhv, lokk, seitel; kastan, pappel, kirss, jasmiin, jorjen, kartul, tulp, vihk; ahv, auster, kalkun, siisike, miisu, mops, taks, kits, vau, viidikas, nepp, pistrik; klimp, klops, kotlet, kompvek, supp, civil wrong, viiner, soust, vahvel, vürts, vein; jope, kittel, kampsun, kleit, vest, lips, värvel, sall, pluus; kamin, pliit, käär(kamber), sahver, latter, kabel, palat; pult, sohva, leen, kummut, kardin, sahtel; uur, klade, klamber, latern, sihverplaat, silt; opman, oober, tisler, tudeng, velsker, virtin, antvärk, aadlik, kärner, kelter, kutsar, lärm, oksjon, krempel, klatš; krehvtine, hull, liiderlik, napp, noobel, ontlik, plass, tumm, trammis; kleepima, klantsima, mehkeldama, sehkendama, rehkendama, trimpama, pummeldama, praalima, turnima; ahoi, proosit, hurraa, hopp, hallo
Finnish loans	90	Nineteenth – 20th century	aare river, sangar, harras, jenka, julm, jäik, sünge, tehas, uljas, vaist, vihjama, säilima, kuvama, haihtuma, anastama
Hebrew loans	< 5		jaana(lind), tohuvapohu
Roma loans	<5		manguma

Orthography

Rather Finnish, Estonian employs a Latin alphabet, in addition to which a Estonian alphabet contains letters š, ž, ä, ö, ü, and õ. A utilise of letters c, Letter q, w, x & y is limited to proper names of foreign origin, and letters f, z, š, & ž come out inside loan & foreign list lone. Letters ä, ö, & ü come pronounced likewise to their equivalents around German, a language from either which it were originally borrowed. A letter õ denotes an unrounded /o/, or even the online, back, unrounded vowel (IPA ). (It has a different healthy from either the equivalent letter within Portuguese. These are similar to the Russian ы and the Vietnamese o-horn.)

Estonian writing system is fundamentally phonemic by having every phoneme of the language delineated by exactly 1 character. Exceptions to this derive from either historical agreements - for instance a initial letter 'h' aroun500 words, preservation of the morpheme inside declination of the word (writing b, g, d in situ in which p, k, t is pronounced) & in the utilise of 'we' & 'j'. Besides, š & ž may be substituted by having sh & zh inside a few written texts.

Modern Estonian writing system is according to a Newer Orthography created by Eduard Ahrens in the second half of the 19th century according to Finnish Orthography. A Older Orthography it replaced was created in the 17th century by Bengt Gottfried Forselius and Johann Hornung based on High German orthography. Earliest writing around Estonian experienced generally utilized ad hoc writing system according to Latin and Low German orthography. A few influences of the High German orthography - for example, writing 'W'/'w' instead of 'V'/'v' persisted swell into a Thirties.

Grammar

Typologically, Estonian is the transitional form from either an agglutinating language to an inflected language. All over a course of Estonian history, German has exercised a hard influence around Estonian, each in vocabulary & syntax.

Within Estonian nouns & pronouns don't use grammatical gender, but nouns & adjectives decline within 14 events: nominative, genitive, partitive, illative, inessive, elative, allative, adessive, ablative, translative, terminative, essive, abessive, and comitative, with a instance & total of a adjective(s) universally agreeing therewith of the noun (except in the terminative, essive, abessive & comitative, in which there exists agreement merely for the total, the adjective existence in the possessive form). So the illative for "a yellow house" (kollane maja) — "into a yellow house" is (kollasesse majja).

A object of the verb of the verb appears either in the accusative (for even total objects) or in the partitive (for unfair objects). A pack objective case looks exactly such as a possessive case. Possessive vs. separative example opposition of object used with transitive creates the telicity contrast, just as inside Finnish. This occurs as rough in same of the hone vs. frail aspect opposition.

a verbal formulas lacks a distinctive new tense (the present tense serves on this text) & features favorite forms to express an action performed by an unresolved subject (the "impersonal").

Language example

NURMEKUNNA HÜMN

Lyrics by Tõnu Trubetsky

Numbers

Reference
Mati Hint. Häälikutest sõnadeni. Valgus 1978, Tallinn.