Estonia, bordering Russia in the north-west, is one of the Baltic republics where domestic tourists love to go on vacation or on weekends. Only Estonian is officially recognized as the official language of Estonia. Immigrants speak Russian, German, and Estonians themselves willingly study English and other European languages in schools and universities.
Some statistics and facts
- Estonian is considered native by about a million people around the world. Of these, about 900 thousand live in Estonia.
- Russian in Estonia has a very long history. Old Russian dialects penetrated the country as early as the X-XI centuries. In addition to Russian, the list of languages of national minorities in Estonia includes Swedish and German.
- Up to 66% of Estonian immigrants speak Russian.
Estonian and regional dialects
The state language of Estonia has two dialects, which are very different from each other. North Estonian is common in the Baltic provinces, and South Estonian, in turn, is divided into several more dialects. For example, in the southeast of the country there are about 10 thousand representatives of the Seto people, whose dialect belongs to the branch of the Finno-Ugric group.
Russian language in Estonia
After the conquest of Estonia by the Livonian Order, Russian ceased to be a popular language of communication, and only after the end of the Northern War, the situation began to change. By the end of the 19th century, his position had strengthened and even teaching at the University of Tartu was conducted in Russian.
During the Soviet era, Estonian and Russian were equally supported by the education system, and both languages were taught in the republic. Russian has been considered a foreign language in Estonia since 1991, but the language continues to be popular both in everyday life and in various spheres of the country's public life.
Tourist notes
Despite the recommendations of the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination to consider the possibility of providing public services in two languages, the government of the republic and the Estonians themselves continue to ignore Russian and in every possible way make it clear to visitors that it is extremely undesirable for them in everyday communication. That is why for a tourist in Estonia, as in all the Baltic countries, knowledge of English or another European language is desirable. In this way, you will be able to avoid uncomfortable travel situations and make the most favorable impression about the country and its inhabitants.
