Hi everyone,
We were sitting with a group of finnish friends who were all from Savo and wherever and I whispered to my girlfriend to try to speak "nice" (so that the others might get the idea and I can follow the conversation) and she said that she can´t speak it - and that nobody can.
She said there is no place where "high-finnish" is spoken. The finnish that we foreigners are learning in the courses is just written and we will never find anybody except our teachers who speak that....
is that true or is she just lazy?
To test this, I went to the videostore and borrowed some children´s movies (Nalle Puh, Shrek and Alladin) to see if the characters there speak kirjekiele - Nalle Puh got kind of close, actually.
Papu
Puhekieli - are they lazy or does the kirjekieli not exist?
Imagine Switzerland. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Actually I do speak Deutsch and that´s what I was comparing it too:
I Switzerland (and Austria, by the way) you won´t find anybody who speaks the written language either. But at least in Germany you do.
It would be strange to have a language (Finnish) where the written language is not spoken anywhere.
I Switzerland (and Austria, by the way) you won´t find anybody who speaks the written language either. But at least in Germany you do.
It would be strange to have a language (Finnish) where the written language is not spoken anywhere.
Jabbadabbadooo
No she's not lazy, that's Finnish. Hearing "minä" or "minun ...ni" sounds really stupid in most cases. Never be afraid to ask what a word means or how would you say something if it was spoken.
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Re: Puhekieli - are they lazy or does the kirjekieli not exi
Sorry.... it's true. Written Finnish is what they teach and spoken Finnish varies over regions. The way someone in Savo speaks is actually different from someone who speaks Stadi or Turku or Karjala.Papu wrote:
She said there is no place where "high-finnish" is spoken. The finnish that we foreigners are learning in the courses is just written and we will never find anybody except our teachers who speak that....
is that true or is she just lazy?
Papu
E.g. Where are you going ? Minne sinä menet? (kirjekieli)= Minne sä meet? (puhekieli) = Minne työ määtte? (savo)
You are = Olet (kirjakieli) = Oot (puhekieli) = Ootta (savo)
Also the regional dialects have differences... a person speaking savo in Iisalmi or Kiuruvesi speak totally different from a person in Kuopio.
But console yourself.... even the Finns get frustrated by the regional dialects
In cartoons the characters don't use Finnish regional dialects... I guess so as not mess with the early linguistic developement... and it's quite close to written Finnish. It doesn't sound the same as 'normal' spoken Finnish and it's not a very 'natural' way of speaking I think... but then I listen to Savo 24/7Papu wrote:
To test this, I went to the videostore and borrowed some children´s movies (Nalle Puh, Shrek and Alladin) to see if the characters there speak kirjekiele - Nalle Puh got kind of close, actually.
Papu
saving chimpanzees is a big hairy deal
I heard a new one over the week end...I had to say..Mitä? when it was used...at the end of a explantion that "Stockmaans had the best meat selection"..she said.."eiks ookki?".... 
She Repeated slowly in´correct Finnish..Eikö Olekkin..."is that not so!"
But..when I asked.. is written Finnish ever used 100% at any time/place?
After a silence..."yes in Church"....Bit like Oxford English....
She Repeated slowly in´correct Finnish..Eikö Olekkin..."is that not so!"
But..when I asked.. is written Finnish ever used 100% at any time/place?
After a silence..."yes in Church"....Bit like Oxford English....
Finnish is a diglossic language, otherwise a bi-language. The standard form we, foreigners, learn at Finnish classes (kirjakieli) of the language is way too different from the colloquial (puhekieli) form; it is like if we study a language at school and another in the everyday life... 
So I guess the standard language is is used for official writing and it is also used for public speaking, you can imagine Tarja (Halonen) on TV. but the colloquial Finnish is used for chatting, in the movies and in most cases it's the language everybody speaks and understands...
I don't know what kind of Finnish they teach to Finnish pupils and if they manage to speak/write it only for school issues (eg. essays).
So I guess the standard language is is used for official writing and it is also used for public speaking, you can imagine Tarja (Halonen) on TV.
but the colloquial Finnish is used for chatting, in the movies and in most cases it's the language everybody speaks and understands... I don't know what kind of Finnish they teach to Finnish pupils and if they manage to speak/write it only for school issues (eg. essays).