Seto dialect

Not to be confused with the Seto dialect of the Fon language.

Seto
seto kiil´
Native to	Estonia
Region	Setomaa
Ethnicity	Setos
Native speakers	25,080 (2021 census)
Language family	Uralic Finnic South Estonian Ugala Ugandi Võro-Seto Seto
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	seto1244
ELP
South Estonian today. Seto is marked with light red colour.
Distribution of Seto speakers according to the 2021 census.

Seto (seto kiil´; Estonian: setu keel) is a dialect of South Estonian spoken by 25,080 people. It is sometimes identified as a variety under Võro, or the two are described as Võro-Seto. Setos (setokõsõq) mostly inhabit the area near Estonia's southeastern border with Russia in Setomaa, and are primarily Eastern Orthodox, while Võros (võrokõsõq) are traditionally Lutherans and live in historical Võru County.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front		Back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
Close	i	y	ɯ	u
Mid	e	ø	ɤ	o
Open	æ		ɑ

• Vowel length is also distinctive.

Consonants

	Labial		Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
	plain	pal.	plain	pal.		plain	pal.	plain	pal.
Plosive	p	pʲ	t	tʲ		k	kʲ	ʔ
Affricate			t͡s	t͡sʲ
Fricative	v	vʲ	s	sʲ				h	hʲ
Nasal	m	mʲ	n	nʲ
Approximant			l	lʲ	j
Rhotic			r	rʲ

• Stop, affricate and fricative sounds can also be heard as voiced [b, bʲ, d, dʲ, ɡ, ɡʲ, d͡z, d͡zʲ] and [z, zʲ], when between vowels or within voiced consonants. They also may be written as such ⟨b, b’, d, d’, g, g’, ds, ds’, z, z’⟩.
• Other sounds /f, x/ appear only in loanwords.

Language sample

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

• Seto: Kõik inemiseq sünnüseq vapost ja ütesugumaidsist uma avvo ja õiguisi poolõst. Näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetun'stus ja nä piät ütstõõsõga vele muudu läbi kjauma.
• Võro: Kõik inemiseq sünnüseq vapos ja ütesugumaidsis uma avvo ja õiguisi poolõst. Näile om annõt mudsu ja süämetunnistus ja nä piät ütstõõsõga vele muudu läbi käümä.
• Estonian: Kõik inimesed sünnivad vabadena ja võrdsetena oma väärikuselt ja õigustelt. Neile on antud mõistus ja südametunnistus ja nende suhtumist üksteisesse peab kandma vendluse vaim.
• Finnish: Kaikki ihmiset syntyvät vapaina ja tasavertaisina arvoltaan ja oikeuksiltaan. Heille on annettu järki ja omatunto, ja heidän on toimittava toisiaan kohtaan veljeyden hengessä.
• English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.