Faculty of Arts & Science 2012-2013 Calendar

Calendar Home | Course Timetables

Estonian

Given by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Estonian Studies

Estonian is spoken by approximately one million people in present-day Estonia and some 72,000 in other parts of the world, including 18,000 in Canada. Closely related to Finnish and more distantly to Hungarian, Estonian is one of the few Finno-Ugric languages to exist surrounded by speakers of Indo-European languages.
An ancient people, the Estonians have preserved their language and culture despite centuries of domination by other nations. Not only is their heritage enormously rich in folk epics and songs, but Estonians enjoy a vigorous and diversified literary tradition which continues in Estonia proper and in their adoptive countries.
Estonian studies at the University of Toronto are concerned with the language, literature, and culture of Estonia. The language courses will be of interest to those wishing to improve their language skills, as well as to students of general linguistics who desire to acquire a knowledge of a non-Indo-European language.

Estonian Programs

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

(4 FCEs or equivalent, including at least one at the 300+ level)
Four FCEs from: EST100Y1, EST200Y1, EST210H1, EST300Y1, EST400Y1, EST420Y1, FIN220H1

Estonian Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details here.

The Department reserves the right to assign students to courses appropriate to their level of competence in Estonian.

The basics of Estonian: elementary phonology, morphology, and syntax. Emphasis on reading and speaking as well as writing skills. (Offered in alternate years)

Continued emphasis on basic language skills, on acquisition of both active and passive vocabulary. (Offered in alternate years)

A comparative survey of oral traditions of peoples on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea (Finns, Carelians, Estonians, Livonians, Latvians) and their impact on these national cultures (e.g. Kalevala, Kalevipoeg, Lacplesis). No knowledge of Finnic or Baltic language required.

Advanced grammar and stylistics through study of a variety of texts; problems of composition; translation; oral and written practice. (Offered in alternate years)

A survey of the major writers and literary periods in Estonian literature. From Ksu Hans, Lament of Tartu to the National Awakening. Republican, Soviet, expatriate literature, and the New Awakening. Readings in Estonian or English. (Offered in alternate years)

A reading and research project of significant depth in a major topic in Estonian language, literature or culture approved and supervised by an instructor.

A reading and research project of significant depth in a major topic in Estonian language, literature or culture approved and supervised by an instructor.