Regional Speech

Level 5

On Saaremaa you may hear söber and pöld instead of sõber and põld. That is regional speech, not a mistake.

How It Works

The islands (saarte murre). The speech of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Muhu and Kihnu is known for a sing-song intonation and several sound changes:

  • ö instead of õ: pöld (põld, field), sörmus (sõrmus, ring), mönus (mõnus, cozy). Õ is still used in Muhu, Kihnu and eastern Pöide.
  • No consonant cluster at the start of a word: ruut for pruut (bride).
  • A lost v: orst for vorst (sausage).
  • A special past negative: ma es nää for ma ei näinud (I didn't see).

South Estonian (Võro, Seto, Mulgi, Tartu). These varieties differ so much that Võro and Seto are often called languages of their own:

  • Vowel harmony, which the standard lost long ago: külä (küla, village), kellä (kella, clock).
  • A glottal stop written q, which also marks the plural: kalaq (kalad, fish).
  • Old word shapes: üts for üks (one).

Võro has its own newspaper, Uma Leht, and a written form of its own. In novels and plays, regional speech shows where a character comes from; read it as deliberate style.

Examples (5)

  1. Saaremaal öeldakse sageli pöld ja söber, mitte põld ja sõber.

    On Saaremaa people often say pöld and söber, not põld and sõber.

  2. Ma es nää teda.

    I didn't see him.

    Word by Word: I not-PAST see him

    Island speech. The standard sentence is Ma ei näinud teda.

  3. Muhus ja Kihnus on õ-häälik alles.

    In Muhu and Kihnu the õ sound is still used.

  4. Võru keeles on küla külä ja kalad on kalaq.

    In Võro, küla (village) is külä and kalad (fish) is kalaq.

    Külä shows vowel harmony; the q in kalaq is a glottal stop that marks the plural.

  5. Uma Leht ilmub võru keeles.

    The newspaper Uma Leht is published in Võro.

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Regional SpeechLevel 5

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Regional forms differ from the standard.

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