The Estonian Language

The Estonian language is beloved to all Estonians and has been a key to the nation's survival for centuries. No matter who the occupying power has been, whether it was the Danes, Germans, Swedes or Russians, Estonians have always stubbornly refused to give up their language regardless of the attempts made to eradicate it. The U.S.S.R. were the last to fail when they tried to wipe out all three of the Baltic States' languages. Russian was given equal official status in Estonia between 1944 and 1991 and was often accorded a higher status since it was the official language of the entire U.S.S.R. 

Spoken by a mere 1.1 million people Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family.  Its nearest relatives are Finnish and the nearly extinct Livonian.  Hungarian is also related to Estonian albeit considerably more distantly.  Estonian is not related to any of the Indo-European languages such as English, French, German or Russian.

A native English speaker may be forgiven for thinking that Estonian is easy to learn because it is a phonetic language with no prepositions, genders or articles. However, it is Estonian's 14 grammatical cases that makes it extraordinarily difficult for foreigners to get right. 

There are three main dialects of Estonian - Northern (includes the dialects of the western Estonian islands), Southern and the nearly extinct Northeastern Coast dialect (Narva and Narva-Jõesuu).  Debates persist among linguists as to whether to classify Võro and Seto as Southern Estonian dialects or as different languages altogether. 

Estonian is now the only official language in the Republic of Estonia and the country's government has taken several steps to preserve it for future generations. Estonian law stipulates that all advertising must be in Estonian and if a Russian business wishes to advertise in Russian it must also feature an Estonian translation.

Estonian Food

The last time my family got together my sister suggested we should cook an Estonian feast. I was thrilled at the prospect of whipping up a few familiar dishes whilst my father pulled a face and said  "Estonian food is boring". I guess his mind flashed back to his childhood, remembering all the times he ate boiled cabbage whilst growing up, and loathing it. But the truth is whenever we're in Tallinn my father often orders kapsapirukas (cabbage pie) which leads me to think he doesn't have such an aversion to cabbage as he would like us to believe. Estonian cuisine whilst simple, is anything but boring.  Its flavours are unique and do not cease to delight the taste buds. You can taste it in the peenleib with the caraway seeds, in the salads with the dill and radishes and you taste it in the cakes and slices filled with the delicious berries picked fresh from the forest.

A huge informal economy for produce still exists in Estonia today. People often produce their own eggs, milk, honey, fruit and vegetables and trade their surplus with friends and family or simply give it away. The Estonian diet largely consists of pork, fish, herrings, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot and myriad types of mushroom. About fifteen types of mushrooms are poisonous so it pays to do your research before eating them. The most common type of berry found in the Estonian forest is the blueberry and you can also find strawberries, cranberries and raspberries.

For our dinner party my sister made traditional Estonian fish salad, I provided dessert with an apple and rhubarb crumble and my father went with my favourite Russian dish - beef stroganoff. As an entrée I also made little pastries filled with bacon, onion and cheese which my grandmother often used to make too.

Interesting Facts About Estonia

Estonia has two Independence Days - February 24th when Estonia first declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1918 and August 20th when independence was restored in 1991

Jõgeva is known for being the coldest place in Estonia. Its lowest recorded temparature was  −43.5 °C

Kiiking is an Estonian sport invented by Ado Kosk in 1996

The cornflower is the national flower of Estonia

Estonia was the first country in the world to introduce a flat tax system and online political
voting

Skype was invented in Estonia

Estonia is the least religious country in the world followed by the Czech Republic

Up until Estonia fully adopted the Euro in January 2011,  Paul Keres was the only chess grandmaster in the world to feature on a banknote, on the 5 Estonian kroon note

Estonia won The Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 with their song "Everybody".  The following year Estonia became the first ex-Soviet country to host Eurovision and many doubted the country's ability to put together a successful show. However, Estonia proved its skeptics wrong and the contest proved to be a great success.

Popular Estonian Names

When my sister was born my mother wanted to name her "Emma" but when my Estonian grandmother heard about this she protested because "Ema" means mother in Estonian. My vanaema implored my parents to change their minds and they did, naming her Sarah instead. As a compromise Emma became her middle name.

There are several names unique to Estonia whilst others have been  Estonianised over the generations. The popular boys name John is known as Jaan or Jaanus in Estonia and Peter is spelt Peeter with the double e. Double vowels are a feature of the Estonian language, including names, and are always pronounced with extra length.

Here are some of the most popular Estonian given names, their meanings and English equivalents.

Boys
Andrus - (Andrew) - "manly" or "strong"
Jaak -  (Jacob) - "supplanter"
Indrek
Mihkel - (Michael) - "who is like God"
Nigul - (Nicholas) - "victory of the people"
Krists - (Christian) - "follower of Christ"
Lembit - "beloved"
Mikk - "who is Godlike"
Leks - (Alexander) - "defender of man"
Rolli - "famous throughout the land"
Toomas -  (Thomas) - "twin"
Tõnis - (Anthony) - "flourishing"

Girls:
Anu - (Anna) -  "grace"
Etti - (Elizabeth) - "oath to God"
Hele - "shining"
Helja / Helju - "floating"
Leena - (Lena) - "light or enlightened"
Liis - "joined with God"
Kaisa - (katherine) - "pure"
Mari - (Mary) - "bitterness"
Maarja -  (Maria) - "bitter"
Riina - (Katarina) - "pure"
Reet - (Margaret) - "beautiful pearl"

"Sepp" is the most common surname in Estonia, it's the equivalent to the English surname "Smith".  Other common surnames are: Kask, Kukk, Koppel, Rebane, Saar, and Tamm.

Estonian Traits

Being half Estonian and half Australian I have often been teased for my mixed heritage. On the one hand I have the endless optimism and the down to earth nature of an Australian but also possess the polite, reserved and formal qualities of being Estonian. It's a good mix to have and has served me well through life. My sister told me recently that Estonian women are known for being very well organised and for cooking delicious meals without the aid of recipes whilst Estonian men are perceived to be like "MacGyver" - they can fix anything. I know this is definitely true in my father's case. Here are some other personality traits which are typical of Estonians.

Estonians are taciturn people. They prefer to say little and to communicate using direct speech. Estonians don't like to engage in small talk so if they have nothing to say they will probably say nothing at all.

Estonians are stubborn, reserved and disciplined people. They tend not to show their emotions even though they experience them like everybody else, rather, they like to appear strong and composed.

It's rare to get a big belly laugh out of an Estonian particularly if he or she doesn't know you well. A funny joke is more likely to be met with a wide grin rather than uproarious laughter.

Estonians are self reliant people. For centuries they have survived harsh winters and foreign oppression, living off their own produce and their wits.

National pride is strong in Estonia and it's common to find the Estonian national flag displayed outside people's homes. Nearly every home in the country, especially outside the city, has an apple tree in the garden and cat ownership is high in Estonia too.

Estonians have long been a superstitious people. They consider it bad luck to shake hands across a threshold or slice bread facing the front door. If you drop a slice of bread you must always pick it up and kiss it to avoid bad luck coming your way.

It is considered very impolite in Estonia to yawn without covering your mouth or talk to someone with your hands in your pockets.

Estonians are cautious. They are wary of strangers and may give you a cool reception in the first instance. Once they get to know you they will open up and you will find them to be very warm and hospitable.

A compliment given by an Estonian is always genuine. It will only be given if they feel you're truly deserving of it.

The Unexpected Benefits of Having an Online Presence

Several years ago my father received a telephone call from an Estonian relative living in Canada. This man, Heino Lestal, was trying to locate some of his distant relatives but as my father didn't recognise his name nor had any knowledge of his existence he politely replied “sorry, I can’t help you' and hung up. Years later my father relayed this story to me and I was left completely dumbfounded. "What??" I said to him incredulously, “you didn't think it was important to tell me?”. I have been researching our family history for years and he knows this. We have a rare surname and my genealogist has told me that all Lestals are distantly related.  I couldn't believe my father had been so silly but he can be like that  If he's busy or preoccupied, some things go completely over his head.  I asked my father "Did you ask this man anything about himself, did you learn anything at all?”.   “No.  I didn't think much of it at the time.” came his honest reply.

Thanks to the Internet I was able to locate Heino's family but it was years later and unfortunately he had died in the meanwhile. I corresponded with his wife and daughter Linda via email but they only knew limited information. Heino was the key but unfortunately he didn't write any of it down.

Earlier this year Linda wrote to me and asked if I could add my family history information to the genealogy website Geni. I thought it sounded like a good idea so I did. A few months later, completely out of the blue, I received a message from a distant cousin still living in Tallinn who informed me we are descended from the same family. I thought to myself “Wow! another relative has found me!”.  And as Tallinn is a small city it's quite possible I've walked past him in the street, visited the same restaurant or pub as him and not even know it. We're the same age, it's quite possible.

I think it's important to have an online presence, particularly in this day and age. It's so easy to find people and I want my family to find me. Over the years I have collated all the family history information I have been able to acquire from relatives and researchers in Estonia. I think it's important to share with family and hand down to future generations. After all we are what we came from.

What Makes Estonia Great

Estonia has always been an enchanting country and since it regained its independence in 1991 Estonia has slowly emerged as a leader among the former Soviet countries. Estonia has a technologically savvy society with the majority of young Estonians owning laptop computers and the latest mobile phones to carry out their online banking, voting and business needs. Free wireless Internet connections are available in many public places making communication with the rest of the world ever more possible.

Every day more and more people are discovering the beauty of Estonia, a country that was once hidden away from the rest of the world but is now definitely on the map.

Here are five things which I believe make Estonia great.

1. Its countryside  Estonia's countryside with its neat farms and immaculately kept houses has a wonderful gentleness which grows on you.

2. Freedom.  Estonians love their freedom and are the freest people on Earth, i.e. their lives have the least amount of government interference in all of the Western world.

3. Economic policy. Estonia has an extremely friendly economic policy. This has made Estonia the most prosperous of all the countries which were once part of the Soviet Union.

4. Estonia is a great place to own a business. It was the first country in the world to introduce a flat tax system with the current rate being 21%. If you own a business in Estonia and chose to reinvest the profits back into the business then you pay no tax at all.

5. Estonia's proximity to the sea and extensive coastline. Tallinn's port does not freeze over in the winter and there are over 1500 islands to explore.