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The short answer is: it depends where you come from and where you are going. If you are a Finnish child, you will find Finnish no more difficult than an English child finds English or a Chinese child finds Chinese. If you are learning Finnish as a foreign language, though, it obviously makes a difference where you come from. If your native language is Estonian, you will not find Finnish very difficult: the two languages are closely related. If your native language is one of the Indo-European languages, on the other hand - like English, German, French... - then it will take you longer to get the feel of Finnish.
Learning a new language is never an easy thing to do, but there are ways to make it easier. There are also ways to make it more difficult. Aiming to learn French or Spanish comes with its own set of difficulties, but most of the learning is in new vocabulary and grammar.
When I left my job recently, I was touched to discover that my Finnish co-workers had clubbed together to get me a present: a pair of Reino slippers filled with Finnish Fazer milk chocolates.
The word tundra comes from the Finnish word "tunturia" which means barren land.
Plus, some languages are more prone to borrowing than others, and some societies try to protect themselves more than others. In France, efforts are ongoing to purge the language of foreign invasion and protect it going forward. In Finland, however, Finnish may be the world champion of borrowing.
The blog about Tampere and Finland
It is easy to not speak any Finnish in Finland. The blunt truth is that if you plan to visit Finland, you don’t need to know any Finnish to get by. Most Finns speak excellent English and are not at all offended that you can’t speak Finnish. After all, they are well aware that their language is small and, when compared to other European languages, and a bit strange.
Learn Finnish fast and easily with free online courses. Easy and fun way to teach yourself. Mp3 and pdf to download.
If you are planning to study in Finland or you are currently studying in Finland, we encourage you to learn Finnish with us. In some universities it’s obligatory to learn the basics of Finnish if you are an international degree student. On the other hand, if you are an exchange student, what would be cooler than to explore the culture of your host country by learning their language!
Continuing on from my Myötähäpeä post it seems only right to talk to you about two of my favourite Finnish words this week.
Some years back our local newspaper had a contest to find the most beautiful words in the Finnish langauge. The winner was äiti .
Learning Finnish, one word and one day at a time Hyvä ja kannatettava yritys esitellä yksi suomen sana päivässä.
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Learning a difficult language can be time-consuming, but that shouldn’t put off aspiring learners, says the US State Department’s Foreign Service Institute. According to a freshly-released list Finnish is among the group of languages the FSI considers to be the most difficult for English speakers to learn.
English: A dog. Swedish: What? English: The dog. English: Two dogs. Swedish: Okay. We have: En hund, hunden, Två hundar, hundarna. German: Wait, I ... What do you mean finnish is hard?
Album with topic of The More You Know uploaded by Slartibartfaster. Some Finnish words for your reading pleasure
Finland was an unusual destination for us—we replaced our usual tropical weather with snow and beaches with frozen lakes. After five years of avoiding winter we weren’t sure how we’d get on—even Finland’s May temperatures are far colder than we’re used to—but we loved visiting somewhere completely different. Finland is often overshadowed by its neighbours Sweden and Norway; it wasn’t a country we knew much about and only came on our radar recently because of bloggers like Hecktic Travels and Bridges and Balloons. We discovered a wild and beautiful country with a fascinating culture.
What does sisu mean to you? Most Finns will tell you that sisu is perseverance, guts, grit, or willpower. They’ll probably also quickly mention that sisu is a Finnish concept that has no translation in other languages. When prodded, however, many Finns will give a lengthier explanation of what sisu means to them personally, whether it’s holding on through rough times, not giving up, or simply a way of thinking that encourages getting more out life. The answers vary, but ultimately hold true to the ideal of Finnish persistence.
Actually, I would like to share some interesting facts about the Finnish language with you. Maybe some of you would even like to learn some basics, so here are my tips for learning Finnish:
I’ve lived here for over eight years now and I have a bit of a handle on the Finnish language. I’ve never had much of an affinity for languages – I was terrible at French in high school. So even though I have lived here so long, I still consider Finnish a nightmare – even worse when people start speaking in dialects I can’t get my head around! Like when my mother and father-in-law start speaking Savo. Don’t get me started…
There are a lot of things we learned about the Finnish culture during our stay in Finland. But what we are absolutely sure of, is that the Finnish language doesn’t sound like any other language we ever heard before. It doesn’t sound like Swedish. It doesn’t sound like Russian. We don’t know what it sounds like. Sometimes it sounds like a language of a fantasy story. For example the difference between some words in Finland, compared to that from other countries:
Finnish is a member of the Finno-Ugric family of languages, unlike most of the other languages spoken in Europe. Therefore, its structure and vocabulary are very different from the Indo-European languages.
I've been in Finland many years but I still can't get my head around this language. Maybe I'm just getting old. Some words have me stuttering worse than my old Fiat... it's fun trying to buy uusi sytytystulppat ja virranjakajan kansi .
The Finns don’t say something “vanished into thin air”... they say it “disappeared like a fart in Sahara” (Kadota kuin pieru Saharaan).
In this article I discuss some features of Finnish which in my experience as a teacher of Finnish to foreigners for many years are perceived as difficult, but in reality are simply different, for example, from English. To illustrate this difference I shall start with some historical background. Secondly, I shall discuss certain points of grammar: phonology (the sound system and pronunciation), morphology (how Finnish words are put together), and syntax (what is special about Finnish sentences). Finally, I shall suggest why and how Finnish has gained its reputation as 'a difficult language'.
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