The
Võro language ( , ) is a language belonging to the
Finnic branch of the
Uralic languages. Traditionally it has been considered a dialect of the
South Estonian dialect group of the
Estonian language, but nowadays it has its own literary language and is in search of official recognition as an
regional language of Estonia. Võro has 74,499 speakers (
Võros) mostly in south-eastern Estonia, in the eight parishes of historical
Võru County:
Karula, Harglõ,
Urvastõ,
Rõugõ,
Kanepi,
Põlva,
Räpinä, and
Vahtsõliina. These parishes are currently centered (due to redistricting) in Võru and
Põlva counties with parts extending into
Valga and
Tartu counties. Speakers can also be found in the towns of
Tallinn,
Tartu and the rest of Estonia.