Language Information
The Estonian program at the Indiana University Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS) offers students a great opportunity to learn a less commonly taught language from the Baltic region. Every year, IU offers introductory, intermediate, and advanced Estonian classes taught by professional and enthusiastic native speakers. The Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center also provides many resources for learning & engagement.
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people there and tens of thousands in various migrant communities elsewhere. It belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family. Like Finnish, Estonian employs the Latin script as the basis for its alphabet, which adds the letters ä, ö, ü, and õ, plus newer additions of š and ž.
Indiana University is the only university in the US that offers three levels of Estonian every year.
Intensive online Estonian courses are available during the summer through the Language Workshop.