What language is Estonian derived from?
Estonian belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages, and it is most closely related to Finnish, Votic, Livonian, Ingrian, Karelian, and Veps.
Who are Estonians descended from?
The Scandinavian connection from the Estonian Viking Age and later from being a part of the Danish and Swedish Empires for few centuries, especially Northern Estonia (historically called Estland), left a lasting influence on the creation of the Estonian identity during the national awakening period of the 19th century.
Is Estonian related to Finnish?
Finland and Estonia are situated a mere 80 km apart from each other across the Gulf of Finland. The languages of these two countries, Finnish and Estonian, were the same language (Late Proto Finnic) around 2000 years ago, but have grown apart since then.
Is Estonian a Germanic language?
Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. This is primarily because the Estonian language has borrowed nearly one third of its vocabulary from Germanic languages, mainly from Low Saxon (Middle Low German) during the period of German rule, and High German (including Standard German).
Were there Estonian Vikings?
Finnic tribes have been thought to have lived in both Northern, Western and Southeastern Estonia at around AD 1000. There are also mentions of a possible Norse settlement in Harjumaa on the 11th century. The inhabitants of Viking Age Estonia are seen as the direct ancestors of modern-day Estonians.
Is Estonian Nordic?
Estonia doesn’t belong to Scandinavia, but it does have a close link to the Nordic countries, like Denmark and Norway. As a “Baltic” country, Estonia has many links with Scandinavian regions, through cultural, political, economic, and historical ties. Estonia used to be a part of Sweden from the 1500s to the 1700s.
Can Estonia be Nordic?