knowledge of finnish

WebDesEyen · Post by **WebDesEyen** » Thu May 15, 2003 9:57 am

i am doing some self studying here, but without someone to correct me or to speak finnish to me it is quite difficult.

for some reason the cd that i have just floods me with finnish words at recordbreaking speeds without even the chance to repeat them. this is something i found at several finnish lesson things, i think that finns are the only people in the world that apparently instantly know how to pronounce without repeating.

anyway, i am just wondering how your finnish was at the time of your move to finland.

**Sponsor:**

tjawatts · Post by **tjawatts** » Thu May 15, 2003 10:19 am

In Finnish pronounciation is always the same, i.e. it is almost perfectly phoenetic. So to be able to prounce any finnish word you need to learn the sounds for all the letters. My basic book (suomea suomeksi) has a whole load of stuff at the beginning for practising the sounds. Then prounounciation should be easy.

Still, not as easy as it sounds, especially when a Finnish person doesnt understand you and then repeats what sounds like exactly the same word you just said to the non-Finnish ear!!

Tony

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu May 15, 2003 11:07 am

The thing is you need to "deprogram" yourself from how you think you "know" your alphabet.

What is wrong with this alphabet?

ei
bii
sii
tii
ii
ef
ghii

compared to:
aa
bee
cee
dee
ee
äf
gee

Once you learn the alphabet you need to deprogram yourself from dipthongs and merging letters.

Rule number one: Finland is an independent countrry with stubborn people. Thus every letter is independent and stubborn. The one sound always the same one sound every time the same sound. Irregardless if it is alone like 'ä' and 'ö' or with a few friends 'hääyöaie'. Some teachers object - look rule three. The 'äng' -sound that has no letter is one of those things that just exists.

Rule number two: Sit down, shut up, numb your brain and speak s-l-o-w-l-y. Nothing irritates a Finn more than someone who is trying to put more letters in one letters place than is supposed. You need to cut your speech rythm to 2/3 - for the French, 3/4. For a Finn someone speaking too fast is idiotic, not the other way around. Silence is a virtue -remember?

Rule number three: funny foreign letters can be forgotten;

aa
pee
see
tee
ee
ähvä
kee
- is how some regions say theirs. You can sound "fancy city person" once you master the basics and then try getting your ghee oily...

WebDesEyen · Post by **WebDesEyen** » Thu May 15, 2003 11:18 am

hahaha!!!

thank you hank! now this is something that is useful for the beginning finnlinguist!

seriously, i already know how to pronounce the letters. like tony said, it's more the pronounciation of complete words and the accent thing...

also the lack of someone to communicate with is annoying. i don't talk to my sweetie enough... (apart from icq ect, but that's all typing)

tjawatts · Post by **tjawatts** » Thu May 15, 2003 12:49 pm

what do you mean by accent? There are no accents in Finnish. There is emphasis (always at the beginning of a word).

The pronounciation of whole word is putting the sounds of the letters together. But finnish ears are sensitive to a slight difference in how you prounce a letter, which is common especially for english people as we always change the way a letter sounds depending on where it is in a word.

You need to find the finnish speakers association of holland

I am sure there are some finns there.

best of luck

Tony

tjawatts · Post by **tjawatts** » Thu May 15, 2003 12:54 pm

p.s. or did you mean accent as in you have an awful dutch/english accent in your finnish

gavin · Post by **gavin** » Thu May 15, 2003 1:02 pm

tjawatts wrote:what do you mean by accent? Tony

Like Helsinki accent sounds different to Savo accent
Like Joensuu accent sounds different to Oulu accent

It's not as wide difference as in the UK, but there are certianly regional accents here (especially Savo

)

Cheers
Gavin

WebDesEyen · Post by **WebDesEyen** » Thu May 15, 2003 1:49 pm

tjawatts wrote:p.s. or did you mean accent as in you have an awful dutch/english accent in your finnish

yesh.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:08 pm

tjawatts wrote:what do you mean by accent? There are no accents in Finnish.

Klabbeissa on mulla tonnin stiflat.
Ei ne tonnii paina, mut ne bungaa sen.
Joskus mä stygen niille tsungaan,
silloin kun mä muille tsungaa en.

Monen vuoden jälkeen mä Hesarilla luudaan
ja dallaan sinne minne klabbit kuljettaa.
Snagarilla hodarin mä skruudaan,
ja rundaan kohti kulman kuppilaa.

Slurkit ohi bilikalla skujaa.
Näil kanteil ennen flindaa stikattiin.
Joka gubbel futas sillo vitun lujaa,
nyt futaa vähä iisimmin - päin helvettii.

Mä hiffaan Flemarilla Stigun, tutun dorgan.
Se pummaa huggen taikka febosen,
et se vois vetään boltsiin vaikka snadin borkan.
Mä biffaan sille stoben, bulin ja huurteisen.

Klabbeissa on mulla tonnin stiflat.
Ei ne tonnii paina, mut ne bungaa sen.
Joskus mä stygen niille tsungaan,
silloin kun mä muille tsungaa en.

Slade, vanha starbu, botskin alla bunkkaa.
Ei sil oo fyrkkaa luukkuun eikä skruudikseen.
Öögat valuu vodaa ja densalle se dunkkaa.
Ennen se tsombas dösaa duunikseen.

Mä dallaan Hagikseen ja venttaan sporaa.
Tää rundi pyörii niinku ennenkin.
Spurgujengi flänäpäissään joraa,
tai sit ne flaidaa, mä en maindaa - olkoon niin.

Ei täs kande paljo brassailla tai sniidaa.
Nyt on pakko panna tsigge flekkaamaan.
Mä griinaan, vaik mun tekis mieli spiidaa.
Tääl saa daijuun jos ei pysty gnekkaamaan.

Klabbeissa on mulla tonnin stiflat.
Ei ne tonnii paina, mut ne bungaa sen.
Joskus mä stygen niille tsungaan,
silloin kun mä muille tsungaa en.

tjawatts · Post by **tjawatts** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:13 pm

Sorry, in my first mail I was talking about accents like in french or german you know ' ` , umlout (is that how you spell it!) etc

I know about the different accents/dialects for different areas

Tony

daive · Post by **daive** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:14 pm

gavin wrote: It's not as wide difference as in the UK, but there are certianly regional accents here (especially Savo )

Cheers
Gavin

Gav, you should try understanding the Rauma dialect of Finnish, makes Savolainen sounds like the queens english!

gavin · Post by **gavin** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:31 pm

daive wrote:
gavin wrote: It's not as wide difference as in the UK, but there are certianly regional accents here (especially Savo )

Cheers
Gavin
Gav, you should try understanding the Rauma dialect of Finnish, makes Savolainen sounds like the queens english!

Hm. Maybe I should polish up my best Welsh accent for Saturday...

"Now see here, boy bach. If ewe wont to watch the rugby yewl ave to eat yure greens now, innit, but?"

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu May 15, 2003 4:00 pm

tjawatts wrote:Sorry, in my first mail I was talking about accents like in french or german you know ' ` , umlout

Ah yes, the accent, but the ümlaut is called 'diacritics' in English.

There is a hat on Š sometimes meaning "sh" -sound, but its only in funny foreign words. These days you write shekki, before it could be šekki ... (but I haven't got a clue where the hell it would come on the keyboard)

But how about: " Mies surmattiin raa'asti tarkk'ampujankadulla"?

And finnish *has* an accent:

La stenko dinka dulla o litu lipa lo!

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu May 15, 2003 4:13 pm

Ah, I forgot rule Four: syl-la-bi-ze

someone can try:

riiuuyöaie

kaksitariffikolmivaihevaihtovirtakilowattituntimittarinlukijansähköautonavaimensuojakotelonkansipainatuskuvankopio

Samppa · Post by **Samppa** » Thu May 15, 2003 11:18 pm

Fellas! I am hoping to visit the blessed lands of Finland on summer (approx. August). The hope dies last...

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland