Estonian (eesti, eesti keel) is spoken today by more than a million people the majority of whom live in the Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik). The remaining speakers of Estonian live in countries like Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland or Australia. The Estonian language is written with the Roman alphabet.
If you have no previous understanding of Estonian you will find it very difficult to understand even the odd word as it has very little connection with other languages. However when you start to speak with Estonian speakers or read Estonian language newspapers you will notice that Estonian has taken a few words from Russian and German.
Estonian, like most other languages has a number of dialects. There are three main dialects: Northeastcoast dialect, Northern Estonian and Southern Estonian. However many linguists suggest there are only two main dialects. Certainly many dialects have only a few speakers and are threatened with extinction.
We are delighted that you are interested in learning Estonian. We are also delighted to show you a few interesting links: