Say you’re learning Estonian—you’ve been reading grammar textbooks, doing exercises, and practicing speaking in everyday settings. But maybe you’re looking for a deeper dive beyond the written rules. Maybe you want to learn the history of the language: its roots, how they grew, and even where the word “Eesti” originates.
Learning more than 4,000 years of linguistic history may seem like a daunting task—but the YouTube channel JuLingo makes it easy, breaking it down in just eight minutes. She covers the language families, where they originate, how they evolved, and ultimately, how Estonian emerged from all of these developments.
Check it out—you might learn something new! For example, did you know that the word “Aestii” appears in ancient Roman chronicles to describe Baltic tribes living in the region? When Germanic groups later arrived in the area, the name persisted and gradually evolved into “Eesti,” as we know it today. At the time, however, native Estonians referred to themselves differently: they called themselves “Maarahvas” (the “land people”) and spoke “Maakeel,” or the “land language.”
You can watch the video here:
This article was written by Natalie Jenkins as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
