The Estonian language is the official language of Estonia as well as one of the four non-Indo-European European Union official languages (the other 3 being Finnish, Hungarian, and Maltese). Rather, Estonian is in the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. Another member of this branch is Finnish; neither of the two languages are linguistically related to their nearest geographical neighbors. 

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The Estonian language, belonging to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family, has a long history shaped by its geographic location and cultural influences. The earliest traces of Estonian date back to the 13th century (in fact the oldest known written records of Finnic languages from Estonia date to this century), when written records first appeared. In 1525, the first book  in the Estonian language was published; interestingly, this book, a Lutheran manuscript, was destroyed immediately after publication - never reaching its reader.  Not surprisingly, the spoken language had been evolving for centuries before that. Throughout the Middle Ages, Estonia was under foreign rule, particularly by German, Danish, and Swedish powers, which introduced elements of these languages into Estonian. Despite these influences, Estonian remained distinct, with its unique phonetic structure and grammar, which includes a notable distinction in vowel harmony and the use of a 14-case system.

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The 19th century marked a period of national awakening, and the Estonian language underwent significant development, especially in literature and education, during the era of the Estonian national movement. In 1869, the first Estonian-language song festival was held, solidifying the language as a symbol of cultural identity. Following Estonia’s independence in 1918, Estonian was declared the official language of the state, further establishing its role in public life. The Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1991 brought challenges, as Russian was promoted as the dominant language, but after regaining independence, Estonia made strong efforts to preserve and revitalize the language. Today, Estonian remains a key part of the country’s identity, spoken by approximately 1.1 million people, with ongoing initiatives to maintain and strengthen its use in all aspects of life.​​