Estonian language course for the beginners starts this fall at the University of Toronto

Learn Estonian for Both Credit and Enjoyment!

Once again, the University of Toronto is offering an Estonian language course as part of its curriculum. Students from all Toronto area universities (Toronto, York and Ryerson) have the opportunity to take the course for credit. If the course just sounds interesting and too good to pass up, you can also consider auditing the course for personal fulfillment.

The course will be offered at the introductory level. It is focused on the basics of Estonian pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Students will learn by reading, writing and speaking in Estonian. Although the course is not directed to those already fluent in the language, a little knowledge of Estonian will go a long way and definitely will help get you through. If you have ties to the Estonian heritage and culture and have wanted to strengthen these bonds, this is a great opportunity get a better appreciation of all things Estonian by enhancing your knowledge of the Estonian language. If you know of people who are held back from a stronger bond with their Estonian heritage by their language skills, why not recommend this course to them?

Estonian is an interesting language for its own sake. Estonian is different from most spoken languages in Europe. It belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family, which also includes Finnish and Hungarian. The role of vowels in Estonian is among the greatest in any European language, whereby a string of vowels can form meaningful words around the frame of few consonants. It also has the additional vowels õ, ä, ö, ü. If you have trouble with the following tongue twisters, then this course is for you. Jäääär (edge of the ice), Õueala (courtyard), Kõueöö (night of the thunder), Puuõõnsus (hollow of the tree), Töö-öö (working night).

The instructor for this course is Marju Toomsalu. Marju is a passionate advocate for language and welcomes the opportunity to combine her love of language with teaching. She inspires her students to discover the nuances of understanding that language variations hide and offer, and also enjoy selected aspects of comparative linguistics using simple everyday terms.

If you are interested in taking this course please call or email Marju at 416 979 5000 x 4196, mtoomsal@ryerson.ca or look the course up in the University of Toronto’s course calendar, EST100Y Elementary Estonian. Lectures will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 – 9 pm at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus.

This course is a key part of the Estonian Studies Program at the University Of Toronto. It is made possible through the generous financial support of Tartu College in recognition of the importance of the Estonian Studies Program to the Estonian community.