The Võro language (Võro: võro kiil' [ˈvɤro kʲiːlʲ], Estonian: võru keel)[2][3] is a language[4][5] belonging to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages.[6] 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[7] and is in search of official recognition as an autochthonous regional language of Estonia.[8][9] Võro has 74,499[1] 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.[10][11][12]