Estonian at the University of Toronto

Estonian is a Finno-Ugric language distantly related to Hungarian but quite close to Finnish.In fact, Estonians and Finns can understand much of each other's language.
Estonian is spoken by about 1 million people. The vast majority of them live in Estonia where Estonian is the official language. The largest Estonian diaspora is in Canada, but Estonian is spoken also by Estonian immigrants and their descendants in Finland, Sweden, Australia, Germany and other countries.
Estonian uses the Latin alphabet and, once English-speaking students have learned basic rules of pronunciation and mastered the Estonian alphabet, they will find pronunciation much easier than they expected.
Estonia has been a member of the European Union since 2005 and, since it restored its independence in 1991, is one of the fastest developing countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Estonia has a long tradition of song festivals and has internationally well-known musicians and composers, including Arvo Pärt.
Estonia also is home to technological feats, such as mobile positioning and Skype, the Internet telephone that many use but few know that it is an Estonian invention.

Visit the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures website for more information.
Consult the A&S calendar for specific course offerings.

There is an exchange agreement between the University of Tartu, Estonia, and the University of Toronto. For further information please contact the International Student Exchange Office.

Is it really true that there are 14 cases in the Estonian language?
Yes, and for an English speaker it may look unnecessarily complex. However, the case endings are not difficult to remember. Moreover, students will come to appreciate the musicality that the case endings add to the basic forms of the words. It is also true of some other peculiarities of the Estonian language that these may seem difficult at first but once the students discover how Estonian differs from their native tongue or other languages they can speak, it enriches the perception and understanding of what they already know, and by extension, their identity.
What is the introductory level language class like?
The course develops all the four skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. The emphasis is on providing basic communication skills in Estonian. The group size is usually about 15 students and the group meets for five hours a week.