Traditionally, it has been considered a dialect of the South Estonian dialect group of the Estonian language, but nowadays it has its own literary standard and is in search of official recognition as an autochthonous regional language of Estonia.
Tradicionalmente, foi considerado un dialecto do estoniano, pero hoxe está considerada unha lingua literaria e está a buscar o recoñecemento oficial como lingua rexional autóctona de Estonia.