Chinese master's student shares Estonian grammar adventures online
For Qiaoqiao Li, a bachelor's in Estonian wasn't enough — last year, she moved from China to Tartu to tackle one of the language's trickiest features in her master's thesis.
Li came to Estonia to study the language she loves, and is now focusing her master's thesis on the sihitis, the grammatical object involved in Estonian's notoriously tricky partitive case.
"I'm in my second year of master's studies in Estonian and Finno-Ugric linguistics at the University of Tartu," Li said, speaking in Estonian.
Although she has been living and studying in Tartu for over a year, she first began learning the language in China, where only one university in the entire country offers it. The scarcity of programs influenced her choice of field.
When she first arrived in Tartu last year, Li recalled, she couldn't hold a conversation with locals in the language.
"Now, after this year, I feel like my Estonian has improved a lot," she said.
She's still working on navigating Estonian slang, which is commonplace for locals but still feels foreign to her.
What still remains a puzzle to her, however, is the Estonian sihitis — the object involved in the grammatical partitive case.
"Why does Estonian have so many rules?" she asked. "I was so confused, and also so curious, about who came up with the Estonian sihitis. I don't understand it at all, but I'm interested and wanted to learn more, so I chose it as the topic of my thesis."
'Am I famous now?'
Living in Estonia, she misses her grandparents, who raised her, but enjoys seeing the seasons change firsthand. "It's such a wonderful feeling, because you know time is flying — I've already lived in Tartu for so long!" she remarked.
Li admitted she still occasionally still feels lonely as a foreigner, but friendships — both in person and online — help.
She has been chronicling her adventures on social media, posting videos about life as a Chinese student in Estonia — and the joys and challenges of tackling Estonian grammar.
She laughed recalling the first time someone approached her, saying they'd seen her on TikTok or Instagram. "'Oh my gosh,' I thought, 'Am I famous now or something?'"
Li finds Estonian cuisine intriguing. She was shocked to discover locals eat Russian pelmeni with sour cream, saying, "Why? For me, dumplings are supposed to be eaten with vinegar or chili."
Despite the cultural differences, she feels embraced by Estonians.
"I get so much love from Estonians," the Chinese student said. "Someone wrote that my Estonian is so good, keep it up, or that they hope I have a good life and experiences in Estonia."
Li has many favorite Estonian words, but nunnu — meaning cute — is her favorite. "I think Estonian is nunnu," she said.
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Editor: Annika Remmel, Aili Vahtla
