Seto (;Seto language @ google scholar /ref> et, setu keel) is a dialect of Estonian or a separate language spoken by 12,549 people. It is sometimes identified as a dialect of Võro, or the two are described as one language, Võro-Seto. Setos () mostly inhabit the area near
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...
's southeastern border with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
in
Setomaa
Setomaa (; russian: Сетумаа, seto, Setomaa) is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto people. The Seto dialect is a variety of South Estonian. The historic range of Setomaa is located in the territories of present-day ...
, and are primarily
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
and live in historical
Võru County
Võru County ( et, Võru maakond or ''Võrumaa''; vro, Võro maakund) is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga County and Põlva County and is the only Estonian county bordering two countries - Latvia ( Alūksne Municipality a ...
.
Language sample
Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
:
* Seto:
* Võro:
* Estonian:
* Finnish:
* 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.''