Why do Finns confuse G with Q?

distantspaces · Post by **distantspaces** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 1:30 pm

Why do Finns almost always make these spelling mistakes:

Spelling Guilty as Quilty
Spelling Guarantee as Quarantee

I generally use these clues to tell if a document was prepared by a Finn or not. Like today's HS international edition main story - i feel it was translated by a Finn...

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) welcomed the new Italian proposal for mutual security quarantees in the European Union on Tuesday

Can someone explain? To me, G and Q are two very distinct letters. Even though lower case G and Q look quite similar (g and q), it just can't be a spelling mistake! So what is it? Is it taught like that in schools? Then why don't they spell Good as Qood?

Just in'g'uisitive...

**Sponsor:**

RM · Post by RM » Wed Dec 10, 2003 1:48 pm

I don't think Q exists in the Finnish alphabet so it's a letter that needs more exposure. City Market is great with their Gollege Tops in the clothing department as well.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 2:11 pm

That is a quud guestion. Maype it is pigauce the Enclish have so quud losik in vritink in tö vööst pleis

Slothrop · Post by **Slothrop** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 2:49 pm

The offending individual has been summarily exeguted.

Usually it is C and G that get confused: Grazy Gurl curling tongs were a regular on bus-stop advertisements a few years back.

In fact in this instance the translator was innocent. The mistake appeared when a Finnish person in Sanomatalo took journalistic objection (quite correctly, as it happened) to the way in which the opening paragraph was shaped, and decided to mess with it. Instead of playing safe with cut'n'paste, he tried to fly solo and crashed.

It's been fixed. Thanks.

deojuvame · Post by **deojuvame** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 3:04 pm

So...

Pikku Q?

Pikku C?

... nah, doesn't work. Pikku with ANY letter after it still doesn't sound like a good child rapper name...

Post by **neil** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 3:21 pm

...and then there are all the zed's:

Zip - prononced Chip (as in zip file)
Zen - pronounced Chen (as in Zen café)
Zero- pronounced Chero (as in zero gravity)

Probably just alien words to most Finns

daive · Post by **daive** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 5:37 pm

distantspaces wrote:Why do Finns almost always make these spelling mistakes:

Spelling Guilty as Quilty
Spelling Guarantee as Quarantee

I generally use these clues to tell if a document was prepared by a Finn or not. Like today's HS international edition main story - i feel it was translated by a Finn...

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) welcomed the new Italian proposal for mutual security quarantees in the European Union on Tuesday
Can someone explain? To me, G and Q are two very distinct letters. Even though lower case G and Q look quite similar (g and q), it just can't be a spelling mistake! So what is it? Is it taught like that in schools? Then why don't they spell Good as Qood?

Just in'g'uisitive...

OK, so this may raise a question that I have been meaning to ask for ages... I go into my local bar and ask for a beer, Urqell to be specific and they always pronounce it (phonetics here) URQVELL. So where did the V come from!

Helmi · Post by **Helmi** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:07 pm

Was it Pilsner Urquel?

Maybe they mistook the 'u' for a 'v'

daive · Post by **daive** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 7:18 pm

Helmi wrote:Was it Pilsner Urquel?

Maybe they mistook the 'u' for a 'v'

Silly me with my typoos! Yep, Pilsner Urquell. Still baffling tho' as the Capital U looks just the same as the small u, anyhow. I will ask him next time I see him, well he is from Kankaanpää so it might be a regional dialect!

BAT · Post by **BAT** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 9:20 pm

I think the reason why Finns mix "Q" and "G" is that "Q" often sounds like a "K" and "K" and "G" are produced in the same place in the mouth, except that "G" is voiced and "K" is voiceless. In Finnish the voiced sounds are not natural - so the mix-ups between K, G, and Q can happen. (Finns will often pronounce "ghost" as "coast" etc.) This is all I could come up with as an answer.

BAT · Post by **BAT** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 9:28 pm

Urquel is usually pronounced like "ur-qwell". In Finnish "w" and "v" are interchangeable - hence the the "w" sound turning into a "v" sound.

Slothrop · Post by **Slothrop** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 10:09 pm

Further back-up on the Qu/Qv issue:

Look at typical Swedish names, also in Finland:

Nyqvist/Nykvist/Nyquist
Törnqvist/Törnkvist/Törnquist
Lönnqvist/-kvist/-quist

Do I have to draw a picture...?

- qvist/quist/kvist = branch, twig.

Multiple spellings create confusion.

j o h a n n a · Post by **j o h a n n a** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 12:02 am

my mom always says "pen-quin" instead of "pen-guin." i never really thought about it that much--all this speculation is interesting! learning a new language has definitely made me think more about how i speak (whether my native language or another one) & i wonder what i say oddly that everyone else notices.

Tomakaze · Post by **Tomakaze** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:45 am

my Quess is that it has to do with the U after the G in particular

daive · Post by **daive** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:38 am

Tomakaze wrote:my Quess is that it has to do with the U after the G in particular

A truly cardinal sin with no agvittal, you have been found Quilty and sentenced to 10 years in San Gventin!!

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