keeleelust

Keel eelust is a sociolinguistic concept that refers to the vitality or life of a language within a community. It reflects how actively a language is used in daily life, across generations, and in formal domains such as education, media, and government. The concept encompasses both the current state of language use and its prospective viability.

The term is Estonian in form, deriving from keel (language) and elu (life), with the suffix -st indicating a state or quality. It is used in academic and policy discussions to assess whether a language remains robust enough to persist in the face of social and demographic change.

Determinants of keeleelust include intergenerational transmission, the range of social domains in which the language is used (home, school, workplace, media), institutional support (educational policies, official status), community attitudes and perceived prestige, and the demographic strength of the language user base.

Measurement typically combines quantitative indicators—number of speakers, age structure, schooling in the language, media presence—with qualitative indicators—perceived prestige, community cohesion, policy support. The ethnolinguistic vitality framework and related indices are commonly referenced in this work.

Applications of keeleelust analysis include guiding language maintenance and revitalization efforts, informing education policy, media production, and community programs aimed at sustaining or increasing use across generations. In multilingual contexts, vitality varies by language and region, and critics note that measurements can overlook power dynamics or rapid sociopolitical changes, underscoring the need for longitudinal assessment.

See also: linguistic vitality, language endangerment, language policy, language revival, ethnolinguistic vitality.