Editing Estonian language (section)

===Alphabet===
Estonian employs the [[Latin script]] as the basis for [[Estonian alphabet|its alphabet]]. The script adds the letters ''[[ä]]'', ''[[ö]]'', ''[[ü]]'', and ''[[õ]]'', plus the later additions ''[[š]]'' and ''[[ž]]''. The letters ''c'', ''q'', ''w'', ''x'' and ''y'' are limited to [[proper names]] of foreign origin, and ''f'', ''z'', ''š'', and ''ž'' appear in loanwords and foreign names only. ''Ö'' and ''Ü'' are pronounced similarly to their equivalents in Swedish and German. Unlike in standard German but like Swedish (when followed by 'r') and Finnish, ''Ä'' is pronounced [æ], as in English ''mat''. The vowels Ä, Ö and Ü are clearly separate [[phonemes]] and inherent in Estonian, although the letter shapes come from German. The letter ''[[õ]]'' denotes {{IPA|/ɤ/}}, unrounded {{IPA|/o/}}, or a [[close-mid back unrounded vowel]]. It is almost identical to the [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] [[ъ]] {{IPA|/ɤ̞/}} and the [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] [[ơ]], and is also used to transcribe the Russian [[ы]].
Additionally ''C'', ''Q'', ''W'', ''X'', and ''Y'' are used in writing foreign [[proper names]]. They do not occur in [[Estonian words]], and are not officially part of the alphabet. Including all the foreign letters, the alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=2|Letter
!IPA
!Name
!Notes
!colspan=2|Letter
!IPA
!Name
!Notes
|-
|A
|a
|{{IPA|[ɑ]}}
|''aa'' {{IPA|[ɑːː]}}
|
|''Q''
|''q''
|—
|''kuu'' {{IPA|[kuːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY|Not officially part of the alphabet; only used in foreign proper names and citations, pronounced according to their source language. Occasionally, ''w'' is used instead of ''v'' in Estonian surnames (e. g. ''Wõrk''), as a remnant of older spelling.}}
|-
|B
|b
|{{IPA|[b]}}
|''bee'' {{IPA|[beːː]}}
|
|R
|r
|{{IPA|[r]}}
|''err'' {{IPA|[erːː]}} or ''ärr'' {{IPA|[ærːː]}}
|
|-
|''C''
|''c''
|—
|''tsee'' {{IPA|[tseːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|S
|s
|{{IPA|[s]}}
|''ess'' {{IPA|[esːː]}}
|
|-
|D
|d
|{{IPA|[d]}}
|''dee'' {{IPA|[deːː]}}
|
|'''Š'''
|'''š'''
|{{IPA|[ʃ]}} or {{IPA|[ʃː]}}
|''šaa'' {{IPA|[ʃɑːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|E
|e
|{{IPA|[e]}}
|''ee'' {{IPA|[eːː]}}
|
|'''Z'''
|'''z'''
|{{IPA|[s]}}
|''zett'' {{IPA|[setːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|'''F'''
|'''f'''
|{{IPA|[f]}} or {{IPA|[fː]}}
|''eff'' {{IPA|[efːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ|Only used in loanwords.}}
|'''Ž'''
|'''ž'''
|{{IPA|[ʃ]}}
|''žee'' {{IPA|[ʃeːː]}}
|{{efn|name=FŠZŽ}}
|-
|G
|g
|{{IPA|[ɡ]}}
|''gee'' {{IPA|[ɡeːː]}}
|
|T
|t
|{{IPA|[t]}} or {{IPA|[tː]}}
|''tee'' {{IPA|[teːː]}}
|
|-
|H
|h
|{{IPA|[h]}}
|''haa'' {{IPA|[hɑːː]}} 
|
|U
|u
|{{IPA|[u]}}
|''uu'' {{IPA|[uːː]}}
|
|-
|I
|i
|{{IPA|[i]}}
|''ii'' {{IPA|[iːː]}}
|
|V
|v
|{{IPA|[v]}}
|''vee'' {{IPA|[veːː]}}
|
|-
|J
|j
|{{IPA|[j]}}
|''jott'' {{IPA|[jotʲːː]}}
|
|''W''
|''w''
|—
|''kaksisvee'' {{IPA|[kɑk.sisˈveːː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|-
|K
|k
|{{IPA|[k]}} or {{IPA|[kː]}}
|''kaa'' {{IPA|[kɑːː]}}
|
|Õ
|õ
|{{IPA|[ɤ]}}
|''õõ'' {{IPA|[ɤːː]}}
|
|-
|L
|l
|{{IPA|[l]}}
|''ell'' {{IPA|[elːː]}}
|
|Ä
|ä
|{{IPA|[æ]}}
|''ää'' {{IPA|[æːː]}}
|
|-
|M
|m
|{{IPA|[m]}}
|''emm'' {{IPA|[emːː]}}
|
|Ö
|ö
|{{IPA|[ø]}}
|''öö'' {{IPA|[øːː]}}
|
|-
|N
|n
|{{IPA|[n]}}
|''enn'' {{IPA|[enːː]}}
|
|Ü
|ü
|{{IPA|[y]}}
|''üü'' {{IPA|[yːː]}}
|
|-
|O
|o
|{{IPA|[o]}}
|''oo'' {{IPA|[oːː]}}
|
|''X''
|''x''
|—
|''iks'' {{IPA|[iksː]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|-
|P
|p
|{{IPA|[p]}} or {{IPA|[pː]}}
|''pee'' {{IPA|[peːː]}}
|
|''Y''
|''y''
|—
|''igrek'' {{IPA|[ˈiɡ.rek]}} or ''üpsilon'' {{IPA|[ˈyp.si.lon]}}
|{{efn|name=CQWXY}}
|}
{{notelist}}