University of Tartu celebrated Mother Tongue Day

On 14 March, the University of Tartu celebrated Mother Tongue Day in the UT Museum with a lecture in the Võro language. The university also publicly highlights the importance of the Estonian language in various fields of life.

The University of Tartu has a long-standing tradition of celebrating Mother Tongue Day with a lecture on the development of the language. This year’s public lecture was held on 14 March at 12 in the White Hall of the University of Tartu Museum, where Lecturer in South Estonian Language and Culture Sulev Iva delivers the lecture in the Võro language for the first time in the history of the university’s Mother Tongue Day celebrations, “Võro, seto, mulgi ja tarto kiil – lõunõeesti põlitsidõ piirkunnakiili lugu” (“The Võro, Seto, Mulgi and Tartu languages – the story of the ancient regional languages of South Estonia”). The presentation materials had a translation into Estonian. Read more about the Mother Tongue Day lecture on the university’s website (in Estonian).

The University of Tartu is the first Estonian-language university, and it is possible to study here in Estonian at all levels of higher education. The alumni of different faculties talk about how they use Estonian in their everyday and professional lives. On the occasion of Mother Tongue Day, writer Kristiina Ehin, journalist Taavi Eilat, pharmacist Indrek Ventmann, and statistician Ene-Margit Tiit share their thoughts on how Estonian and the use of Estonian play an essential role in their lives and work. All the alumni stories are available in Estonian on the university’s website.

Higher education in the Estonian language is highly valued in Estonia. According to Aune Valk, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the University of Tartu, the provision of internationally attractive English-taught programmes at Estonian universities is not a problem for Estonian-language higher education. The risk emerges when opportunities for studying in Estonian diminish or when we, Estonians, do not use our language in a clear, beautiful and versatile manner. “Although we have increased the number of English-taught curricula over the last decade, we have not done so at the expense of Estonian-taught programmes, the number of which has remained almost unchanged. Estonian is the main language of instruction at the University of Tartu, and we must ensure that the diversity of its use continues to grow in the era of artificial intelligence,” Valk said.